She giggled into his kiss, and though I couldn't hear it from my distance, I could see the way her body shook and the tip to her lips as she smiled. She pulled back just enough to talk to him, though his arms stayed wrapped around her. With him dressed in his robe, he made no move to walk her to the BMW parked in the driveway with a driver waiting for her.
I grabbed my phone, dialing Matteo quickly. "What have you got?" he answered.
"Were you aware that Murphy has a woman?" I asked, starting the car as subtly as I could as she climbed into the backseat of the BMW.
"Murphy has lots of women," Matteo laughed. "What of it?"
"This one's different." I shifted into drive. "She spent the night at his house and seems to have her own driver or security detail. I can't say which yet."
Matteo was silent on the other end. "That is interesting.”
"Yeah. Get one of the others to watch Murphy for the day. He isn't going anywhere for at least thirty. I'll follow her and see what I can find." I pulled out of my parking space after giving them enough lead time to not be suspicious. Murphy was already tucked back inside his home, oblivious to the predator who could have slit his throat before he'd stepped inside if I'd wanted to act. But Matteo said we couldn't strike yet, so that was what we'd do.
"She feels that significant?"
"He could just be hiding her from O'Connell. I don't imagine Liam would take kindly to Murphy running around on his daughter even if they aren't actually together yet, but if nothing else it could be the information you need to win Liam's trust. Their operation is splintering at the seams, with the younger generation supporting Murphy and the old-timers staying behind Liam. It will explode at some point, so we might as well use it to our advantage."
Matteo sighed. "It all comes down to the women, doesn't it?" he asked.
I nodded, adding in a grunt so he could hear me when I realized he wouldn't see me. "Some men don't even protect the women they claim. Let alone the others who they don't give the first crap about."
"But we do," Matteo said, and I knew like me, he probably questioned his sanity. Our need to shelter women and children would inevitably put our own at risk. We'd lose men in the coming war, and we could only hope that we would be enough to protect the wives and kids through it.
But I'd never be able to look at myself in the mirror, let alone Calla, if I sat by and let Murphy establish his trafficking ring in our city. The thought of Calla and the kids being sold like that was enough to motivate me.
Those women and children had families who loved them too. They were just helpless to defend their loved ones.
So we did it for them. "But we do," I agreed. I hung up the phone, following the blond in the BMW to a luxury apartment building that confirmed everything I'd already suspected. The driver went upstairs with her. The personal security I'd thought him to be.
The apartment building wasn't something that an escort could afford. It wasn't something most could afford on their own.
I'd have to send one of the grunts to find out her name. I would be too memorable if anyone spotted me, and I suspected I'd be watching her regularly. With the fact that she wasn't known to O'Connell, she'd be a valuable point of contact for Murphy with his allies and men that Liam might not know about.
It was a little victory, a little sliver of information we didn't have the day before.
Hopefully, I'd have a little victory with Calla too.
Thirty-Three
Calla
I was terrible at soccer. Absolutely and completely terrible.
With Ryker in the center of the new, larger goal he’d had delivered the day before, I wanted nothing more than to hit his striking face with the ball.
It was a shame I was horrible.
I considered asking Axel to do it for me, but I figured that might not make the best impression as a mother. Stupid responsibilities.
Ryker grinned at me as if he could sense my inner turmoil, and on the rare occasion that one of my kicks went anywhere near him, I hid behind my lack of skill.
“Oops,” I shrugged when he caught the ball against his abs. He gave a light grunt that transformed into a laugh, and I glared at him. Of course, the fucking meatball couldn’t even pretend to be hurt for my sake.
“Should I just lay down and you can use my head as the ball instead, Sunshine?” he chuckled, and Axel and Ines looked at me as they fought to control their giggles. Axel bent over at the waist, touching his knees as he pretended not to listen to our conversation and worked to teach Ines how to kick her smaller ball into a miniature net just for her.
“I think that might help, yes,” I admitted. Ryker shook his head, tossing me the ball that I jumped away from. I’d barely settled myself down when he charged out of the net.
Those hands of his grabbed me around the waist when he collided with me, lifting me up into his arms until I had to wrap my legs around his waist as he strolled around the field. “How much longer do I have to endure before you forgive me?” he whispered, staring up at me with a bright gaze and his lips pursed into a pout that looked comical on his rugged face.