Devil You Know(Lost Boys Book 1)(119)

“Late night meetings.”

“With who?”

“Salvatore Federico.”

Cold turned into numb. “He knows Federico?”

Guy was barely holding on to his rage. “Yeah. We know Federico is linked to the dirty cops at the precinct, we know the dirty cops are linked to Edward’s murder, and that fucking asshole Timothy Gallagher is the point where all the parts intersect…Miguel Dobbs was being played by two puppet masters.”

That explained why Salvatore cut ties with Dobbs because evidence tampering was one thing, the murder of a cop was something else altogether. “Shit.” I yanked out my phone. I called Thea, but her phone went to voice mail. I called Mic.

“Where is she?”

“Her apartment, her uncle arrived about a half an hour ago.”

“Gallagher?”

“Yeah.”

I had walked into firefights where I’d been outnumbered ten to one, dodged IEDs, been tortured even, but never had I felt the fear that crippled me in that moment knowing that Thea was even now with a killer, a man she trusted and loved.

“It’s him.”

Mic hissed over the line, “Fucking hell.”

“I’m on my way. I want ears on her apartment now.”

“Thea?” Guy grabbed his coat. “I’m coming with you.”

“I’ve got Cam on the line,” Razor said as we hauled ass out of the building, my discipline holding on by a thread as bloodlust consumed me. If he hurt her, even just one hair on her head, I’d kill him. Tear him apart, piece by piece…I would embrace the monster I had been called my whole life.

“Tell him we had the wrong fucking uncle.”

Hold on, baby. I’m coming.





“What am I going to do with you? Getting whatever your father hid won’t be enough. You’re a loose end.” Uncle Tim was pacing my apartment and I thought to make a break for it, but the callous, almost disinterested act he was putting on was just that, an act. He was alert and on edge and I didn’t stand a chance at outrunning him.

Maybe if I could appeal to the man who I had looked up to my whole life, to my beloved uncle, it might snap him out of his homicidal ideas. “You’ve been such a huge part of my life. I have to believe we can find a way through this that doesn’t end in more violence.”

“Oh Thea, you’re so idealistic. It’s sweet and completely impractical. The good guy never finishes first. I love you, but we have to think of the greater good. When I become Senator I will have an impact on millions and millions of lives. I can’t allow sentimentality to cloud my purpose.”

I knew he was arrogant, had always believed he had a reason to be, I hadn’t realized he was a narcissist. Sentimentality, the greater good…if we weren’t talking about me I’d actually be laughing right now.

“You’re my godfather.”

“Yes and it will make me an even more likable candidate when I’m there to help your family through their grief.”

The man was certifiable. How had we never known this? And I thought I was good at reading people. “You’re crazy.”

True fear gripped me in that moment because I was dealing with someone who had long ago gone off the reservation. There would be no talking down or reasoning with him. My only play was to make an escape, but he was a man who had killed once already to keep the dream alive. Crazy and determined…a dangerous combination.

He reached for his phone. I should have known. He wouldn’t do it himself; he’d bring someone in to do the dirty work. I couldn’t believe I was actually listening to him make the call to place a hit on me. Where the hell was the goddamn cavalry? But no one was watching for Uncle Tim.





“He’s calling for a hit,” Mic said. We’d just stepped into the surveillance van outside of Thea’s building.

Anton was pacing, the man was barely keeping his shit together. “Son of a bitch. That motherfucker Federico lied to me.” He reached for his phone.

It was smart of Federico to give up Hartnett to keep Gallagher protected because there was just enough truth in his lie to make it believable. On paper, Hartnett and Gallagher were very similar and with Hartnett playing dirty…yeah sending us in that direction was definitely smart.

“Lucien. Federico lied. You still got your guys on him? Yeah. He’s calling in a marker. Yeah, take him out. I’ll explain later. Thanks man.”

Anton snapped his phone shut. “Lucien’s got Federico’s phones tapped and his place under surveillance. A precautionary measure given the chat we had with him. He’ll take out the hit man Federico calls. But that fuck needs to go down too.”