Rev It Up (Black Knights Inc. #3)(27)
“Yes,” she grumbled. “Which leads to the next important question, which is why in the world would you bring me and Franklin here when you know you’ve got guys gunning for you? Why would you bring us to the center of all the trouble?”
“Believe me, you’re safer here at the compound than any place else.”
“What the heck is going on, Frank?”
“Some guy out of Las Vegas named Johnny Vitiglioni has hired a bunch of backwoods goons to take us out,” Boss explained, and Jake resisted the urge to reach out and grab Shell’s hand when she gasped quietly. If the last few minutes were any indication, she wouldn’t welcome his touch—and he was going to try very hard not to let that hurt him.
Of course, even if it did hurt him—okay, so let’s be honest here; it most certainly did—he was determined to take it.
He deserved it, after all…
But if there was one thing he knew about Shell, it was that she couldn’t hold a grudge for long. She was too softhearted, the wonderful woman. She’d eventually forgive him for his past mistakes, no matter how egregious they were. That’s what he loved best about her, her big, wide-open heart. All he had to do was stick with it, stick with her and—
“There’s fifty grand on each and every one of our heads,” Boss finished.
Oh, hell. His mind was wrenched away from his relationship, or non-relationship as the case may be, with Shell. So, whoever wants them all adiosed means business.
Because fifty thousand dollars was a lot of money, even for a professional hit, and when you multiplied that by the number of Black Knights, it became a small fortune.
He listened intently as Boss recounted a story of a corrupt senator, illegal weapons deals, missing files, and a cross-country chase that ended in two hired thugs being sent to their maker by one of the Black Knights.
“It seems Vitiglioni has sworn a vendetta against us.” Boss shrugged like having a price on his head was nothing more than a minor inconvenience, a pesky gnat buzzing around his picnic lunch. “And until we can get rid of him and cut off the money he’s willing to supply for our deaths, we have to be extremely vigilant. Hence the need for the guys we’ve got on the rooftops surrounding the compound and the whole Barnum and Bailey theme going on back here.” He pointed to the overhead canopy.
“What’s to stop this Vitiglioni character from using an RPG or hand-held missile to try to take out the entire compound in one fell swoop?” Jake asked, his mind spinning with logistics.
“Nothing,” Boss admitted. “Except the fact that he’s a small-time crook, and it’d be extremely difficult for him to get his hands on anything like that. And given the guys he’s hired to do his dirty work answered an ad in Soldier of Fortune magazine, I’d bet the farm they don’t have anything more than handguns, rifles and maybe a little C4. And just so you know, it’d take a lot more than an RPG to take down the shop.” He smiled and winked proudly. “The walls on the factory building are three feet thick and reinforced with the same alloy steel they use on aircraft landing gear. It’d take a two-ton bomb to level Black Knights Inc.”
“That’s very reassuring, Frank,” Shell cut in. “Truly it is. But I really don’t understand what any of this has to do with me. I don’t understand why I’d need to stay here.”
“Because when Vitiglioni realizes he can’t get to us, he might start going after targets he can get to.”
Jake nearly tossed his dinner at the mere thought…
“S-so you’re telling me you intend to bring in everybody’s families?” Shell demanded, her expression filled with disbelief. “Mac’s and Ozzie’s and—”
“Come on, Shell,” Boss cut in. “Everybody else’s families don’t live here in Chicago, where the hit men just happen to be hanging out. Your situation is different, and you know it. I might’ve been less worried a week ago. But after that stunt you pulled in the hospital, I have to make sure I take the proper precautions.”
Rock had filled Jake in on the situation with Shell and Boss. The fact that Boss had kept her hidden from the employees of BKI and the fact that Shell had recently blown right through that rule.
A little part of him thought, Go, Shell. Because he couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for her to remain separate from that part of her brother’s life when she’d grown so accustomed to sharing it. Of course, after everything that’d happened back in California, he could certainly understand why Boss had chosen to do what he’d done, and knowing she’d inadvertently entered the crosshairs by appearing with BKI personnel had him wishing she’d stayed hidden away—permanently.
“You planned this all along, didn’t you?” Her eyes flashed, and Jake was pretty sure that had Boss been the least bit flammable, the dude would’ve burst into a giant fireball then and there.
“What? Planned to have some jack-off Las Vegas mobster put a price on our heads?”
“No. You planned to back me into this corner even before you came to my house this evening. That’s why you were trying to convince me to pack a bag so Franklin and I could spend the night.”
Boss shrugged. “Yeah? So what? If you’d cooperated, you’ve have what you need now instead of me having to send Snake after it.”