Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

DAMON

"I fucked up." Gianni rubbed his cheeks with the heels of both his hands and grimaced. "I should have looked into where Rose was before we flew out of Sydney."

Reuben looked at him over the top of his desk. "How did she respond?" He seemed more interested in Mina's reaction to seeing her sister than in Gianni screwing up.

Right here was a prime example of why I kept insisting she was a distraction. Not because I didn't care about how she felt, but because Gianni making a mistake should have been a higher priority. He didn't make mistakes like that. Neither did I.

Except on this occasion. I hadn't looked into Rose's whereabouts either. My attention was focused on searching for Kurt. And keeping an eye out for any sign of trouble in Dusk Bay. The city was a cesspool at the best of times. Mostly under Reuben's control, but a cesspool nonetheless. I didn't envy Caleb having to keep a close eye on it. Although, fuck knows if the man fit in better than the rest of us would.

Gianni looked at Reuben through his spread fingers. "Surprised, but happy to see her, I guess. They sat together after dinner and had a long chat. Rose was as pissed off as you'd imagine. She went all mother tiger over what happened to her baby sister."

"That sounds like Rose," I said. Both of us were good at fixing things. I would have brought her in on this earlier if it wasn't for Mina's insistence. Rose had contacts I didn't and vice versa. Between us, we could have Kurt screaming down in the basement by now.

"It doesn't sound like too much harm was done," Reuben concluded. "Have you?—"

"Dane is still at Brutham Academy," I interrupted. "Asher is on tour. As of two minutes ago, Rose is back in Melbourne."

Ric contacted me before Gianni and Mina returned from Dusk Bay. I'd anticipated Reuben wanting to know the whereabouts of her other siblings.

Reuben nodded. "They're easier to keep track of than Kurt."

I held back a grimace. The comment wasn't personal, but it was difficult not to take it to heart.

If anyone should be all over finding him, it was me. This was literally my job. I didn't appreciate Kurt making a laughing stock of me, or my network of contacts. I wasn't even one of the first five people in line to kill him slowly, but I'd happily watch.

"I have everything and everyone on this," I said smoothly. "Lasalle is like a ghost. Or a slug. He's left a trail behind, but no one seems to know where he is. If he's paid people to say they haven't seen him, he's paid them well. Not even threats or torture have uncovered anything. If I didn't know better, I'd think he doesn't actually exist."

"Is that possible?" Gianni frowned. "He was in the building where he kept Mina just before we found her. Maybe he ran out onto the road and got hit by a car. He could be a John Doe lying in the morgue somewhere. His face might be so smashed in he's unrecognisable. His teeth all broken up and his ugly face ruined."

He waved his hands in front of his face. He didn't find himself attractive, but he had the kind of face people couldn't help looking at. Intelligence burned in those dark eyes, along with a good amount of deviousness. He fascinated people and in turn, was fascinated by people.

He fascinated me, but he wasn't the only one who held my attention.

"I think you're projecting," I told him. "You want to smash his ugly face in and ruin it."

"Hell yeah I do," he agreed. "So do you."

I shrugged one shoulder. "A bullet between his eyes is quicker and cleaner." I knew Reuben's preference for neat and tidy over messy and sloppy. Truthfully, I shared that preference. Mess got out of control too quickly.

"I don't care how he dies, as long as he dies." Reuben steepled his fingers and pressed them against his lips. His voice was low as ever, a rumble that made my balls tingle.

As long as I'd known him, he'd had that effect on me. Something I barely admitted to myself, much less to him. He was my boss. That was one of many reasons why I had to push those thoughts aside and focus on the conversation.

"I was thinking we could set a trap for him," I said. "Something that will ensure he comes out of the hole he's buried himself in."

Reuben turned those ice blue eyes on me and arched an eyebrow in question. "You have something in mind?"

"We can start by hacking his bank account and draining all the funds," I said.

Until now, we'd been keeping track of them, watching for money to be withdrawn. Hoping the transactions would give away his location. So far, he hadn't touched any of his accounts. Not the ones we knew about anyway.

He may not even notice us empty his accounts, but it would be fucking satisfying.

"Can I have a Maserati?" Gianni asked. "I mean, Kurt's money should go to something useful."

"His money should go to Mina," Reuben said. "She can decide if you should have a Maserati."

Gianni punched the air and grinned. "That wasn't a no."

Reuben smirked at him.

Gianni, as always, was unapologetic.

"Have the twins hack his accounts," Reuben said to me. Parker was studying cybersecurity to prevent anyone from hacking us, but that skill was useful in reverse. "Make sure they don't drain the money into their own accounts."

That was definitely something they'd do, given half a chance.

I glanced over at Gianni.

He looked back at me. "What?"

"I'm waiting for you to wonder out loud if the twins would buy you a Maserati." I leaned against the wall, crossed my arms and cocked an eyebrow at him.

He chuckled. "They probably would, but if that money is meant for Mina, and they tried to take it, I'd have to smash their kneecaps. Then we'd have to transfer the money to her and, voilà, we're back to me asking her for a Maserati."

"I see you've thought it all the way through," I said.

"I always do." He grinned. "To be honest, I thought you would have too."

I rolled my eyes at him, then turned back to Reuben. "If that gets no response from him, we may need to think bigger."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting…"

"If Kurt knows Mina is alive and well, and with us, that's going to elicit some kind of response," I said.

"Prick," Gianni snapped. "We're not using her as bait."

Reuben bristled too, but waited for me to continue.

"I'm not suggesting we use her as bait. Sooner or later people are going to need to know she's alive and what he did to her. We could let everyone know. Eventually, word would get back to him. People who are loyal to him might turn on him. This might be exactly what we need to draw him out."

"Mina isn't ready to—" Gianni started.

"It doesn't fucking matter what she's ready for," I said. "The fact is, this might be the only way to get to him. I'm not suggesting she walk around the streets waving a red fucking flag. I'm just saying we can let people know she's here and let the rumour mill do the rest."

"You're a red fucking flag," Gianni muttered.

I choked back a laugh. "Pot, meet kettle."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He rounded on me.

"I mean, you're not exactly a middle-class, suburban working guy, are you? We break the law for a living. We kill people. Threaten, bribe and coerce. What's that if not a red flag?"

"Sounds like a green flag to me." He jutted his chin out in defiance. "Women, and men, are attracted to powerful people like us. You need to read one of Mina's mafia romance books. I'm telling you, we're fucking hot. Some more than others." He pretended to fluff the back of his hair.

"Yeah, some are." I resisted the urge to look at Reuben. If he was in a book, he'd be the character readers were drooling over. Him and Mina.

I forced myself to not think about her on her knees, his cock between her lips. I would also not think about me on my knees doing the same thing.

Reuben cleared his throat. "I'll think about it. That's something we'll need to discuss with Mina before we proceed. I'm not going to do that behind her back."

"I wasn't suggesting we should," I said. "She should know the plan before we execute it."

Having her upset after the fact was another distraction we didn't need. She should be told what we were doing and deal with it. She wanted Kurt dealt with even more than we did. She'd understand the need for this.

"If we do," Gianni said firmly. "There has to be a better way."

"You could walk around Sydney waving a red flag," I suggested. "Maybe with the words, 'Where the fuck are you, Kurt?' written on it."

"That would be subtle," Reuben said dryly. "If I thought it would work, I'd send Gianni out right now."

"If I thought it would work, I'd go," Gianni said. "On the other hand, Damon is better looking than me. He'd be much better at something like this."

I ignored the comment. "If I thought Kurt would actually reveal himself for his sister, we could try that. It doesn't seem like there's much love lost between them." Since Daze was one of those top five in line to eviscerate Kurt, I doubted he'd care what happened to her.

"Is there anyone he cares about?" Reuben asked. "A wife? Children? Friends?"

"None," I said. I thought for a moment. "Mina said something about her being given to Kurt as payment for some debt. I've always had a feeling there was more to it than that. I haven't found any evidence of financial debt."

I'd gone through every record I could find from five years ago, and further back. If Mina's father owed Lasalle anything, there was absolutely no record of it. That didn't mean it hadn't happened. Some transactions still took place with cash. That was exactly why the Brotherhood of Kings was pushing for a cashless society. It was much easier to track funds electronically than it was to trace notes and coins.

"That might have been a lie Kurt spun," Gianni said.

"Then how did she end up with him?" I asked. "I don't get the impression he randomly snatched her off the streets. Have either of you dug down deeper?"

"She hasn't been—" Gianni started.

"Let me guess, she hasn't been ready," I interrupted. "She might have to be ready. Anything she can tell us might be the key to leading us to him."

I understood she needed to heal, but we couldn't sit around and wait forever. If we did that, she may never be ready. Kurt could elude us until the day he died of natural causes. I had no intention of letting that happen. Whatever the cost.

Gianni looked like he was going to continue the argument, but exhaled and nodded. "I'll speak to her. If that's okay with you, boss?"

Reuben inclined his head. "Do that. Damon is right. She might have the answers we need."