Page 37 of Gilded Lies
“Not forever, brother.”
Rune raises his head and I see tears in his eyes. The man is a fucking rock. He didn’t cry when his mother beat him. He didn’t shed a damn tear when the doctors reset his leg after having a run-in with a metal baseball bat. Nor when he took three bullets saving my life.
But the man has tears in his eyes at losing the one person in our pathetic lives who means something to all of us.
I put a hand on his shoulder and squeeze. “Find us a way to watch over her from afar. Even if it’s for only a few seconds to make sure she is okay. Something that auto deletes every two minutes.”
He nods and gets to work. He’s good with his hands and his brain. If you want backdoor access to any security grid mainframe, he’s your guy.
Oliver pulls out a black book from the safe, and we pore over names and contacts. Wars don’t happen in a single night. You work your allies and make sure no one will turn on you when your back is turned. You call in favors and give a few in return.
“I have some friends in Chicago. Harlon, Cassius, and Santi. If we need weapons, they will supply.”
I nod. “Get it done. We need men, too. The more guns we have on our side, the faster this ends.”
“They have friends in New York. People who will get their hands dirty for the right causes. They call themselves the Savages.”
I like them already. It’s always good to make new friends.
I look over to find Rune who has a grim look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
Rune flips his phone around and shows us six squares filling the screen of his phone. Magnolia is in none of them. My heart clenches.
“You put cameras in her apartment and didn’t tell us?”
“Not exactly. I tapped into the feed of what is already there. You’ll never guess the password.” He stands and Oliver takes the phone from him.
“Where is she? What are you showing me? I see an empty apartment.”
“Exactly.”
“Find out where she went and get access to whatever security system they have there. I have a feeling she’s moving to another city but won’t stray far from her job. Call Raja, Rune. Apply whatever pressure you have to for the information we need. He’s our ticket in.”
Rune pulls up the keypad on his phone. “What are we willing to promise him in return for information on Magnolia?”
“Whatever he wants,” I deadpan. “Remember the property we have in Paris. It would make a great place for a new Golden Key Society. We can sign the deed over tonight.”
“When this wraps up, who’s going to be the one to tell her we violated her privacy?”
That is Oliver.
“We all can while we are on our knees begging for her to take us back.”
Oliver hands me my cell and a list of allies. “Let’s get started.”
Rune is already on the phone with Raja.
A few weeks more and this will be done. We will do whatever it takes to win her back. By Valentine’s Day, Magnolia will be in our arms once again and all will be right in the world.
Seven
Oliver
Two weeks turned into eleven months of death and destruction. I’m exhausted. We all are. No part of me isn’t in pain.
Every promise Danika, Rune, and I made to each other fell through. Two weeks into eliminating the Hightowers we found out the family has spent the last two decades fortifying their compound, weapon reserve, and army. Danika’s father made an enemy out of the wrong man, and it nearly cost us our lives.