Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 190(@200wpm)___ 152(@250wpm)___ 127(@300wpm)
"What were you doing?"
"Come in and close the door," Dillon orders me.
I reluctantly step into the tiny office, shoving the door closed behind me.
"Nate, this is Emmett," Dillon drawls, eyes narrowed on me. "Emmett, this is Nate."
"I know who he is," Nate says. "He's been sleeping with my sister."
Well…fuck.
"I'm in love with your sister," I correct.
Nate grunts, his eyes locked on my face. "That better mean you're going to be good to her and take care of her because she deserves it."
"I will," I vow solemnly.
Nate eyes me for a long moment before jerking his chin in a nod. "Good," he finally says. "Keep her happy, and we'll be cool."
"How do you know about me and your sister?"
"Stopped by the house the other night," Nate mutters. "Your truck was out front."
"You were at the house?"
"I didn't come in," he says. "I just…wanted to check on her." Nate swallows, guilt flickering through his expression again. "I figured she was worried."
"Understatement," I growl.
Nate sighs heavily, glancing down at his lap. "I'd do it again," he whispers vehemently, looking up at me again. His eyes lock with mine. "She's given up everything to take care of me. I owed it to her to make sure she was safe."
"I appreciate that you want to take care of her," I say, scrubbing my hand through my hair. "But putting yourself in danger isn't the way to accomplish that, man. You think she'd be okay if she lost you?"
Nate's jaw pulses again.
"Tell him where you were, Nate," Dillon murmurs.
"Houston."
"Easton told me." I glance at Dillon and then back to Nate. "Why were you in Houston? And why the fuck was your backpack in the woods if you were in Houston?"
"My backpack was in the woods?" he asks, brows furrowed with confusion.
"You weren't out there?"
"No. I was at the track," he says. "That's where our dad hooked up with these two. I figured that was the best place to go to find out who they are and who they work for."
"Jesus." I rock back on my heels, stunned. The pricks were in their house. It's the only explanation. "You were at the racetrack?"
"I didn't go in. Obviously." He rolls his eyes exactly like his sister does. "But I asked around, kept an eye on things. Found a few people willing to talk." He shrugs. "Seemed like the best way to protect her was to figure out who we're dealing with."
"He's not wrong," Dillon mutters. "I've been asking the same fucking questions since you told me that Vincent owed money. Apparently, people are more willing to talk to a kid than they are the cops, though. He got the information they wouldn't give us."
"Who are they?" I growl.
"Alexei Palatov and Sergei Boyarin." Dillon meets my gaze. "Alexei has loose ties to the Russian mob."
"Fucking hell. Why are they in Texas?"
"Not sure," Dillon mutters. "But I'm guessing he's hiding out from his former Bratva buddies. Probably pissed in their cheerios."
"Arson and attempted murder isn't hiding out," I growl.
"Criminals don't learn new tricks, Emmett," Dillon snorts. "They may move locations, but they do the same shit as always. He set up shop at the racetrack to keep cash flowing into his coffers. And violence is the only form of cooperation pricks like him know."
I cut my eyes at Nate. "Did you see him at the track while you were there?"
Nate nods. "He showed up last night. Seemed angry about something. I got photos and then headed back here. Figured it was time to talk to Sheriff Armstrong."
"The backpack," I mutter, cursing. "I'm guessing they've been doing a little camping to lay low. We found their campsite." They probably intended to use the fucking backpack to lure Nina out if they couldn't get their hands on Nate. We blew up their plans when we stumbled across it.
"You did good, kid," Dillon says. "Not sure how I feel about you taking the risk you took, but you got a helluva lot of good intel."
"What's the plan?" I ask, leaning against the door with my arms crossed. That's the important question. What the fuck is he going to do with the information Nate managed to get? Because Alexei is still out there right now, and so long as he's out there, Nate and Nina aren't safe.
"Easton is working on getting warrants issued," Dillon mutters. "He's also coordinating with Houston to see if they can get eyes on the track. As soon as we know whether he's still there, they'll raid. In the meantime, we're going to keep up the search here, pretend we haven't found Nate. I don't want them running before we get to them."
"Good," I grunt, glancing at Nate. "Do you need anything else from him in the meantime? If not, he has someplace to be."
"Nah, I think we've got what we need." Dillon hesitates for a moment. "Keep him and Nina close until we raid, Emmett. Don't let either of them out of your sight. And keep him out of sight. I'll have a car out front until then to make sure no one shows up on the doorstep. You might consider moving them to your place, too."