I wanted one week of nothing.
That was all I was asking for.
This last week was one for the history books.
I’d never been in so many fucking places in such a short time. If I saw another fucking plane, it would be too soon. Italy went about as good as expected, not that I gave a damn if Giovanni got his alliance. Layla was indeed her brother’s sister. Fuck, that woman had a mouth on her. Then to make matters worse, I got a fucking call from Nurse Jessica that Bullseyes doctors were bringing him out of the damn coma. Flying back immediately, the shit that went down in Louisiana was a massive clusterfuck. It couldn’t have gone worse. Bullseye was gone, and Savage was one more shot away from needing a new fucking liver.
If it wasn’t for nurse Jessica, the bastard would probably be dead by now. I knew he was taking his sister’s death hard, and I got that. We all missed Kitty, but it was time to snap the fuck out of it and get back to business. I needed his help with finding Toxic, and there was still his sister’s funeral to get through. Instead, Savage was currently upstairs, probably drinking again.
God, I hoped Jessica could snap him out of it.
I stretched out as Ravage handed me a beer, putting my feet up on the table. Grateful, I took a long draw as Ghost walked in and shut the door behind him. “She’s with him,” he said, sitting down.
He looked about as bad as I felt.
“You sure she can help?” Doolittle asked, unsure. Had to admit I wasn’t positive myself, but I was willing to try anything.
“Nope,” I said before taking another drink. “But with what I’m paying her, she better do something. So, how is Player?”
“Ready to bolt,” Ghost quietly said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Fuck,” I groaned then asked. “I thought having Luciano here was helping.”
“He’s doing everything he can. Between the both of them, he’s at a loss. He still thinks he can keep Player contained, but I’m not sure anymore. Player’s gone quiet, and we’ve all noticed it. He’s distancing himself from everyone. He’s here, but he’s not if you catch my drift.”
Fuck yeah, I knew what that meant. It meant that my brother was about to lose his shit and go off the fucking rails, and when that happened, all any of us could do was stand back and watch the carnage. Nodding, I asked. “Any word on a court date yet?”
“No. Phantom was keeping tabs on it, but I had to hand it over to Vicious and Matrix.”
That captured my attention.
“What the fuck happened with Phantom?”
“She had a visitor. Fucker put a gun to Ghost’s head, and Phantom shot him,” Ravage said flatly.
“Excuse me?” I asked, looking at the three men before me.
“Yeah,” Ravage continued. “Shocked the fuck out of us too. Looks like Phantom’s past is coming for her.”
“Fuck,” I sighed. I really didn’t need this shit right now, and I was at my limit between Layla, Giovanni, Player, Savage, and Diablo. “She say anything?”
“No.” Ghost said. “But we are about to have visitors.”
“Who?”
“Fuck if I know,” Ghost muttered, shaking his head.
“Great,” I deadpanned. Why not? Let’s add more fucking drama to my plate of bullshit. I knew very little about Phantom, and what I did know was classified, and I hadn’t even told Ghost yet. It wasn’t that I was keeping anything from him, I wasn’t, and I just didn’t see a need with everything going on. I guess I was going to have that sit down with him soon and bring him up to speed on our sister.
“How did things go in Italy?” Doolittle asked.
“Who the fuck knows? Those Italians are cocky bastards. Almost fucking threw down with one of them. Gio is pissed, but he can handle them. Layla is officially a Golden sister, and she wears my mark,” I grinned, adding, “Though I don’t think she appreciated the name Duchess.”
The men chuckled.
“Anyway, before I got the call from Jessica, things were moving along in Italy. Fucking Italians are no joke, and they are really good at pissing me off. Had to hold Layla back from ripping into one of the fuckers, but all is good. Gio called and said he got his alliance and that Don Victor agreed to the marriage. They have a couple more days of negotiations. Antonio is keeping me briefed. I will call Gio when I know he’s back in Chicago.”
“So, we got the deal for the guns?” Ravage asked.