“Who’s that?” Meghan asks, her face buried in a pillow.
“No clue,” I say before picking up the phone.
Letting out a growl, I press the connect button. “Can’t fucking go twenty-four hours without you fucking bothering me, Simon.”
“Listen here, you fucking cretin…” he snaps out at me before letting out a slow breath.
“Aw, that’s all you got to say?” I ask with a grin.
“Get to highway forty heading east out of town towards Bethlehem. We’ve got a hit on the LPR for both cars,” Simon says.
Instantly switching from fucking-off mode, my brain rattles a question out, “What’s the coverage of the vehicle?”
“One unmarked police vehicle with the chief of police in his personal vehicle are in a loose tailing formation. They’ll be joined soon by Detective Somers in another unmarked. Once we have enough men in the area, we’ll pull them over.”
“Any chance we have Alexei in the vehicle?” I ask as I motion for Meghan to get up.
“Yes, confirmed from a quick traffic light camera shot before they got on the highway. Also, there is a good chance Meghan’s father is in the vehicle, but we can’t be sure.”
Grabbing my jeans and t-shirt off the floor, I say, “We’ll be out the door in two minutes.”
Dropping the phone to the bed, I quickly begin to pull my clothes on. “Get ready, baby. They got a location on Alexei.”
“Oh god, it’s starting up again, isn’t it?” Meghan asks as she stands up from the bed.
“No,” I say quietly to her. “It’s getting ready to end. I’m through fucking around with these guys.”
I watch as Meghan quickly yanks on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Since I talked her into using a hip holster for her gun when we go out in public she’s taken to wearing some of the tightest jeans I’ve seen on a woman.
Tight clothing is good on Meghan, very good.
Both of us race through the house, grabbing our gear from the kitchen as we go. I strap on my vest before I hop into the black Lexus with tinted windows, and we squeal out of the garage.
* * *
Connecting to Simon through the car’s phone system, I ask, “What’s the distance between Alexei and me?”
“Five miles, no traffic in-between,” Simon responds.
“Who’s all in this parade?” I ask.
“We’ve got Johnathan and Andrew a mile ahead of you. James is enroute, but at the present he’s fifteen miles out from the current target,” Simon says.
“What about Jude?” I ask.
“He’s on a different task. We’ve still got Alexei’s father to deal with,” he says.
“So, he’s guarding the guy’s incapacitated body?” I ask.
“Yes, even though we’re positive that the location is secure, we’re not taking any chances.”
“That’s so fucked,” Meghan mumbles as she looks over at me.
Shrugging my shoulders, I say, “It’s a good bargaining chip for us. We’ve not used it yet, and from what Simon says about the gas line explosion they caused, Alexei more than likely thinks that he was killed.”
“Agreed.” Lucifer comes on the line. “Although we’ll be letting that little secret out soon enough. I think if we’re careful and use it at the right moment, we’ll cause quite the shitstorm back in Russia.”
“Bringing the rest of the crew on comms, one moment,” Simon says.
While we’re waiting, I reach over to Meghan’s leg and squeeze her thigh. Taking my eyes off the road for a brief look, I see that her body is tight and tense. Her hands keep squeezing themselves. She’s as wound up as can be.
“Calm, Meghan. Take deep breaths,” I say as I squeeze her thigh again.
This time, though, my hand slides up close to the parting of her legs.
Looking down at my hand and then up to my eyes, she gives me a small laugh.
Then she whispers, “You’re thinking about that even now?”
“Yep.” I smirk at her before turning my eyes back to the road.
It’s a partial lie though. Sex is always going to be on my mind when I have her anywhere near me, but right now I’m thinking more about what I’m going to do when I get my hands around Alexei’s throat.
“On another note, I’ve spoken with the Italians. They’ve adamantly denied any and all actions against the Irish when the bombing happened. They’ve also requested a sit down with us to discuss the matter,” Simon says through the speakers,
Meghan freezes up beside me.
Turning my attention to her again, I see anger flash through her eyes.
Well shit. I was planning on talking to her about this, but hadn’t had the time or information to go further than my suspicions of what might have happened.
“What… what…” Meghan growls out.
“They weren’t in a position to do what they were accused of,” Simon says quickly, before he curses loudly. “Shit! The damn undercover officer is pulling the lead car over. Get moving now!”