Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Stefano nodded his agreement. “We’ll need the answers fast, so tell your investigators to put a rush on it but to be thorough.”
“I have a performance coming up,” Amaranthe announced. “Two full rehearsals including a dress rehearsal. They’ll either strike during one of the rehearsals or the performance itself if they think a large number of riders will be present.”
“Cancel,” Salvatore ordered. “Say you’re sick.”
“That’s one way to handle it,” Amaranthe agreed quietly. “Or we can use this opportunity to get out ahead of them and for once be in a position to stop them.”
Geno forced himself to breathe through his every protest. Amaranthe was trained for this very thing. She was his partner. His every instinct roared at him to lock her up somewhere safe, but she needed to know he saw her as an elite rider. Being a rider was a good part of who she was.
Although he knew everyone was waiting on his decision, he didn’t make the mistake of speaking too soon. He waited for his mind to stop spinning out of control and work the way he was taught. He was leader of the New York shadow riders. He’d been taught for years by the Archambaults. He had the intellect to work the problem and get it right if he just allowed himself to think like the head of the family.
“We’ll need volunteer riders, Stefano. If not from Chicago, we can call them in from San Francisco or LA. We might need both. We’ll have to find a way to bring them in without anyone knowing. Dario and Valentino are already here. They arrived in a private jet. It makes sense that they would attend Amaranthe’s performance. It also makes sense that they have bodyguards with them. We have box seats allowing us to keep other audience members safe.”
“I see where you’re going with this,” Lucca said. “If it’s leaked that Stefano will be in the audience and the three of us will be there, along with Valentino, Emme’s husband, you believe they’ll wait to make their strike.”
Geno nodded. “Why go after just Amaranthe when they can get several of us in one big swoop? It would be natural for my cousins to come in to see my fiancée’s performance. We make a big deal of it.”
He felt Amaranthe’s body relax into his and knew he’d played it smart. The more he laid the plan out, the more it felt right. “We can set the theater up in advance. We’ll have tracking on the known survivors of the Boutler family and any of their associates.”
“It’s still a risk,” Lucca pointed out.
“There’s always a risk,” Geno agreed, “every time one of us walks out the door. We’re riders, Lucca. We’re sworn to protect others. We’re not going to hide from these bastards. They’re coming after us and everyone we care about.”
“They declared war,” Valentino said. “Just the way my dear uncle Miceli did when he got so greedy; he wanted to sell human beings to make more money. He killed his own brother and then went after another brother just for power.”
“We’re going to have to send a report to the International Council and also the Archambaults,” Amaranthe said. “Although I don’t believe any of these people are official riders. It’s possible they will ask us to delay, but they’ll know it’s impossible to do so. Jean-Claude will give the go-ahead, as will the rest of the council. Jean-Claude is leader of the Archambault riders, so I very much doubt that he’ll tell us to delay until the French riders can get here.”
“They can get here overnight,” Stefano pointed out. “Do we delay sending in our report?”
“We need to protect Brielle,” Dario said, pointing to the papers, snapping his fingers, all business, indicating he wanted every copy. “I’m burning these. That’s why I didn’t bring a digital copy.” There was an edge to Dario’s voice. Even a mild threat if one wanted to read it that way. That was interesting to Geno. That meant Brielle had joined Dario’s inner circle whether Dario was aware of it or not.
Geno could have told him he had that report imprinted on his brain nearly verbatim. He didn’t need the written one, and he was sure Amaranthe didn’t, either. He handed the papers over immediately.
“The Archambaults and the council are going to want to know where we acquired all the information,” Stefano said.
“That’s not my problem,” Dario stated. “We asked her to do this for us and get as much data going as far back as she could and to be thorough. When you demand that of Brielle, you can’t ask her where she gets her information.”
Valentino looked every bit as protective. “Brielle is very driven as a researcher. She’s instinctive on a keyboard. I don’t think she knows where she’s going half the time, she just follows the trail no matter how faint it is. Nothing gets in her way.”