“What did pops have to say?” Smith asks, stepping to Adam’s side.
“A bunch of bullshit,” Rick murmurs, walking to the box of donuts and snagging a chocolate glazed one before he adds, “He swears they came to him and told him that I was bleeding out, and yet he came here to threaten Candace’s father. He was full of shit. He’s working for Tag.” He takes a bite of the donut and motions for me to come and taste it.
My growling stomach isn’t going to argue. I move to Rick’s side, and take the donut from him, while he grabs another.
“He might be telling the truth,” Smith offers. “We can’t find any communication between him and anyone close to Tag before last night.”
“Gabriel uses a burner phone,” I say, licking chocolate from my finger. “Why can’t he?”
“He could,” Adam agrees, glancing at Rick. “Asher’s searching cameras at various locations your father frequents, looking for a point of contact.”
“Whether they met before last night or last night really doesn’t matter,” Rick says. “He’s with them.” He grabs another donut. “What’s happening with Gabriel? Anything new?”
“Interesting answer there,” Smith says. “He’s meeting with Ted Pocher, the billionaire behind many a political campaign. A man rumored to be a powerhouse in the Deep State, or to some the Society, if you believe that shit exists.”
“It does,” Rick says. “And the people involved will do whatever it takes to win where they want to win.”
Adam arches a brow. “I take it Tag worked for them?”
Clearly doing the unthinkable and losing his appetite, Rick tosses a donut back into the box, unfinished. “He all but gave a few of their people belly rubs. And that, my pretties, is why Tag wants Gabriel dead. Because as long as Tag exists, Tag’s a liability. It also confirms my suspicions as to why he wanted me front and center. He wants to be damn sure this doesn’t look like a black ops hit that gets him on the wrong side of the Society. Not even he wants that.”
“This just gets worse,” I say. “They’re never going to let us walk away.”
“Of course, we will,” Rick says. “By dethroning Gabriel. If he doesn’t exist, if he’s no longer a viable candidate, then the Society goes away. At least where we’re concerned. Gabriel’s reputation is the only reason that the black ops operation is a problem for them.” His brow furrows. “What I don’t get is why Tag didn’t tell me they were involved. That piece of information steps up the intensity. It motivates me to end this quickly. That’s what he wants.”
“What if he doesn’t know?” Smith suggests.
“He knows,” Rick assures him. “Zero possibility he doesn’t. The minute this turned political, my head should have been in that space. What I don’t get is why Tag didn’t use the Society as a way to motivate me to kill Gabriel and free Candace.”
“Maybe he felt that would make you grab Candace and run,” Smith replies. “He needed you here to kill Gabriel.”
“I don’t run,” Rick states. “Tag knows that. We’re missing something and we need to figure out what that is.”
My cellphone rings and I pull it from my pants pocket where I’ve slipped it, glancing at the caller ID with a cringe. “It’s Gabriel.”
Rick’s hand immediately covers my hand where it holds the phone. “Let it go to voicemail.”
“I can’t do that,” I insist quickly. “I already ignored one of his calls and my father—”
“You need to let it go to voicemail.”
“She’s right,” Adam adds. “She needs to buy us more time to get everyone out of this.”
“Butt out, fish man,” Rick snaps, but his eyes never leave my face. His focus remains on me. “Trust me. Let it go to voicemail.”
Trust me.
Those words undo my resolve. This isn’t an emotional response for him. There’s a reason. I need to do as he said and trust him. I let the call go to voicemail.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Candace
The minute my phone stops ringing, my heart skips a beat. “He’ll call back, Rick,” I say. “I let it go to voicemail to talk to you, but I can’t risk triggering him. What if he goes after my father?”
“Which is why I didn’t let you take that call,” Rick assures me, eyeing Adam. “Find out if he’s calling while sitting with Pocher. You don’t want you, or your father, to end up on Pocher’s radar beyond Gabriel’s expiration date.”
Expiration date.
Death.
I swallow hard. “Right. No. I don’t.” Now I eye Adam and the understanding in his eyes is there now, respect, too, for where Savage’s head is right now. Savage isn’t responding emotionally. He’s thinking and calculating our next move, and suddenly I’m thankful that I didn’t answer that call.
Adam’s phone picks that moment to start ringing and he eyes the caller ID. “It’s Asher.” He answers the call and we watch him, waiting as he listens, and then says, “Got it. I’ll call you back.” He disconnects and says. “Seems Savage is right to worry. Asher has a waiter on the payroll who bugged the salt shaker. We’ll get the full audio when the dinner is over. Bottom line, Pocher wants to vet Candace at some ball next weekend.”