There was Breaker, the contract muscle, and Shooter, the sniper.
There were the Grassis and their docks.
There was Third Street and their hookers and heroin.
Then, well, there was Lo and Hailstorm who were in a league all their own. They had their hands in a little bit of everything. But they were this machine, this thing full of well-oiled parts and highly trained people.
If Lo was personally calling, it could not have been good.
"What? You've got to be fucking kidding me, Lo."
I knew the feeling that was in my stomach right then. I had lived with it every single day for ten years.
Dread.
"Marco?" he said, again, for his sons' benefits.
That name meant nothing to me, and I turned helplessly to the women at my side.
It was Lea who looked the most concerned and Lea who first spoke.
"Right before Eli went away. And I mean right before," she said, looking at me. "There was this shit going down with The Henchmen and Lex Keith and all that crap you've had to have heard stories about. What you might not have heard was that Janie's, Lo's favorite protege, man Wolf had gotten himself pulled in by this cop on a fucking power trip. And something about him didn't sit right with Janie. She was desperate, so she came to Charlie to ask for him for help in, ah, extracting some information."
Beating the shit out of him, more like.
"Charlie said no, but I started to throw a fit about it and then Eli stepped in and agreed to do it. So he did it. And after we learned that the cop wasn't really a cop. His loyalty was to his family. The Abruzzo family from out in Long Island."
"And?" I asked as Charlie just stayed silent, listening to whatever Lo had to say.
"And Janie went to the Grassis since this is their turf and no other mob is supposed to be stepping in. The Grassis seemed to take care of it."
"From what we can tell," Charlie said suddenly, "they did. And Lo is just warning us in the name of caution. It seems like that shit that went down with The Henchmen," he said, and I felt my stomach turn over, knowing that that shit was horrific beyond words, "might be linked back. She just wanted us to keep an eye out."
"Yeah, if only we could find the pain in the ass and fucking warn him."
That was Shane.
And it was such a Shane-thing to say that I found myself smiling despite a very serious situation.
"We're going to find him," Ryan said, tone firm. "Shane will go to his apartment. The women need to all be back at their places in case he shows up there. The rest of us will scour the town."
"I'll put calls out to all the local friendleys that can keep an eye out, Henchmen excluded since they got enough of their own shit to deal with," Charlie said, very much still in work-mode. "Scotti..."
"I'm calling now," I agreed, reaching into my back pocket to send out a massive text to all my brothers to keep an eye for him, that it was important, that he could be in danger.
"He can't go far," Hunter reasoned. "He has probation. He has to stay in town. And he will have to check in with the parole office between now and tomorrow morning. He might not want to see any of us right now, but he's not stupid. He's not a glutton for punishment. He doesn't want to go back to jail. He will check in. But we do need to find him to warn him."
"Baby," Mark said, moving toward me as I tucked the phone away so my hand was free, the other one supporting the bottom of the baby sling around my chest.
"It's fine," I said, giving him an encouraging smile. "Go. You have to go."
"I promise I will be home by bedtime, no matter what," he said, touching the top of Natalie's head.
"Mark, take as long as you..."
"I will be home to help you put the kids to bed," he cut me off, tone soft and firm at the same time. "You know finding Eli is important to me, honey. But this," he said, running a hand down my cheek, then over Nat's head, "is every bit as important. So I will see you in about four hours to help you get all of them bathed and in bed. No matter what. Okay?"
Six years and he could still make my heart do that swelling thing at times. "Okay," I agreed, leaning in when he pressed a kiss to my temple.
"Love you," he said, eyes meeting mine, showing me how much he meant it.
"I love you too. Now go. You're wasting time."
He gave me a smile and ran off toward Charlie's car, all of them piling in because they needed to leave the cars for us to get the kids home.
"Alright," Helen said as we all watched our men drive off, "how about we have a late lunch before you guys all head out?"
And that was Helen Mallick for you.
Maybe it came from over thirty years in that life. Actually, that wasn't even right. Her entire life, childhood included, was full of stress and criminal situations. But she had spent her early marriage waiting on a man who might come home bloodied and bruised or not at all while she had to keep it together for five young sons. So in this situation, she was as calm as ever as she smiled at her grandchildren and started herding them inside the house.
She would let them help too.
She was that kind of grandma.
She didn't care about all the counters, floors, and walls getting covered in food. She didn't care about having to scrub the kids off after.
She just wanted them to help, consequences be damned.
It was almost dinner time when we finally made it home. I ushered Elizabeth and Jules into their bedroom with a huge pile of toys, then put Natalie in her crib.
It was the first time all day that I could get away and breathe for a moment. So that was what I did. I walked out and fed Nugget and his coop-mate Chicka. I checked my phone, but had nothing from Mark or my brothers.
It was almost eight, almost bedtime, leaving me thinking he was going to break his promise, when I saw the lights of his truck pull into the drive, followed by the slam of his door, and then the footsteps on the path.
"Hey," I said on a grateful exhale when he stepped inside. "Is everything okay?"
"Everything is fine," he said, voice calm. "Where are the girls?"
"Natalie is asleep, but she is going to want the boob in another half an hour. Elizabeth and Jules are playing with blocks. I just... needed to breathe."
He nodded at that.
"They're being quiet. Let's let them be for a minute," he said, gesturing toward the couch.
I moved with him, sitting down, my body a little tense as he seemed to somehow relax. His arm slid around my shoulders even as I angled to the side a little to look at him.
"Did you guys find Eli?"
It was right then that it happened.
His light eyes started to dance.
A ridiculous grin started to pull at his lips.
"Yeah."
It was like a boulder was lifted from my shoulders. It didn't matter suddenly that he was maybe broken from years in the system, that he was actively trying to distance himself from us, his family.
He was out.
He was okay.
They knew where he was.
The rest, I was certain, would fall into place.
"And?" I prompted, impatient, while he just kept grinning at me.
"Baby, you aren't going to believe this shit..."
XX
TIMELINE
TIMELINE:
Eli's story technically starts on the day he was arrested.
Then there is a six year period while he is in jail.
His story continues after he is released.
In the Navesink Bank timeline, this sets his story to continue where Renny's book starts.
DON'T FORGET
If you enjoyed this book, go ahead and hop onto Goodreads or Amazon and tell me your favorite parts. You can also spread the word by recommending the book to friends or sending digital copies that can be received via kindle or kindle app on any device.
ALSO BY JESSICA GADZIALA
The Henchmen MC
Reign
Cash
Wol
f
Repo
Duke
Renny
Lazarus
Pagan
The Savages
Monster
Killer
Savior
Stars Landing
What The Heart Needs
What The Heart Wants
What The Heart Finds
What The Heart Knows
The Stars Landing Deviant
--
DEBT
For A Good Time, Call...
Shane
Ryan
The Sex Surrogate
Dr. Chase Hudson
Dissent
Into The Green
Dark Mysteries
367 Days
14 Weeks
Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance
Dark Secrets
Unwrapped
Peace, Love, & Macarons
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jessica Gadziala is a full-time writer, parrot enthusiast, and coffee drinker from New Jersey. She enjoys short rides to the book store, sad songs, and cold weather.
She is very active on Goodreads, Facebook, as well as her personal groups on those sites. Join in. She's friendly.
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<3/ Jessica
Mark (The Mallick Brothers #3) Page 22