“Because you don’t and Leary got too close to Reginald. I don’t have to tell you how much Blink didn’t like that,” Lavender sang, then clicked his teeth. “He might love you but you put Blackhurst and you put Blink at risk when Leary targeted Reginald.”
“Fuck!” Speed gulped down his drink before leaving his glass to go pace by the window. “I talked Francis out of that! He knows Marston’s too young and doesn’t give a shit about Mickey.”
“Can you guarantee that Leary won’t find another reason to suspect Reginald? What if he goes after Paul and Reginald gets in the way? You know he will.”
“It won’t come to that. Beesley says he’s close and won’t need me, remember? Sloan recused himself. Francis won’t be worried about Reginald once he finds out he’s facing a bunch of charges from all the dirty dealshemade with the Feds. They’re going to have him for bribing agents for info and paying them to look the other way while he and Mickey got away with all kinds of wild shit.”
“Meanwhile, Reginald and Paul are living at Blackhurst. Need I remind you how Blink feels about having anyone under his roof, let alonethose two?”
“Blink likes the FBI less than I do and Marston will have the house on high alert,” Speed predicted with a hard wince. “This is really bad.”
“Oh, it gets worse,” Lavender said, causing Speed to cross himself. “Chance can’t find Leary.”
“What?” Speed’s voice cracked. “What do you mean? Chance can findanyone.”
“Except Frank Leary, it seems.”
“I’ll talk to Francis and get him to tell me where he is.”
“What if you can’t?” Lavender asked softly. “This will unravel quickly if you’re not careful. If it hasn't begun to already,” he warned but Speed shook his head.
“It won’t. I won’t let it.”
“Speed.” Lavender gripped his arm, hoping to comfort and console him. “I admire your will and all that you’ve accomplished through patience and sheer determination. But this one might be beyond your control. You won’t be able to stop Frank Leary from seeing this through and he will eventually discover that it was you. Unless I get to him first because Blink won’t allow a threat against him to go unanswered. The only way you can neutralize the threat against Blink and get to Leary before he gets to you is if you act now. Give Beesley that number and let justice take its course,” he urged.
There was a long silence before Speed nodded. “I’d rather he was alive and in prison than dead. I might be able to save Beesley a lot of time if I can get Francis to tell me where he is. Or I might be able to tell Beesley which state to lock down and search.”
“I’ll give you one last chance and I’ll give Beesley a head start but I won’t hesitate if we find out he’s on Blackhurst’s doorstep or ours,” Lavender said, warning Speed.
“Ok.” He nodded quickly. “I understand.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then. Good luck.” Lavender offered Speed a bow and took his leave. He waited until he was outside and striding across the street before looking back. “I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”
ChapterFifteen
“I’ll leave you alone but I’ll be out back in the garden if you need me.” Blake kissed Speed on the cheek, giving him strength.
“I’ll need you,” Speed said. He held onto Blake’s hand, not quite ready to let him go.
“And I’ll be ready.” He winked and Speed knew it was time. He had too much to lose and couldn’t afford to wait any longer. He was resolute as he took out Francis’s phone and called him. It took a few extra rings, setting Speed’s nerves on edge before Francis finally answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Francis.”
“Hey, Speed. How’s the recovery going?” His tone was a touch more pointed and cranky than Speed was expecting but Francis was rarely Mr. Sunshine.
“Pretty good. Can’t complain,” he said, not in the mood to mine any sympathy. “What have you been up to?”
“Still looking for whoever’s responsible for the hit on Mickey. I’m sure you remember that someone blew his fucking head off,” Frank growled at Speed. He pulled the phone from his ear and gave it a confused look before putting it back to his head.
“Of course, I remember. What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Just seems like you should have heard something by now.”
“I’m doing my best but I’ve been stuck in bed,” Speed reminded Francis gently, not wanting to rile him up any more than he already was. “What’s really going on here? Are you accusing me of something?”
“Maybe…”