Finn was right. Trying to get anywhere near Benson on his home turf would be suicide, but I didn’t trust that I could take him out with a sniper rifle either. With his Air magic and the precognition that went along with it, he might be able to dodge a bullet at the last second. No, I was going to do the hit face-to-face, with one of my knives, so I could be sure that he died. So I’d have to figure out another place to approach Benson, like maybe outside Underwood’s when he went there for his usual Sunday-night dinner of veal cutlets. He liked them rare and bloody, according to Silvio—
My cell phone rang, cutting into my murderous musings. I pulled it out of my jeans pocket and stared at the caller ID. I frowned. I wouldn’t have expected him to call. Not after what had happened at the club yesterday. Not when he was supposed to be taking some time off.
“Hello?”
“Gin?” Xavier’s voice rumbled in my ear.
“Hey, man, what’s up? How are you?”
After Owen and Finn had left, I’d phoned Roslyn last night to check on her. She’d sounded okay, and Xavier had been at her house, but I hadn’t spoken to him. Xavier needed some space from Bria and everything related to Benson right now—including me.
“I just heard from a buddy of mine on the force,” he said. “He gave me a heads-up about something.”
The dark note of worry in his voice made me sit up straighter.. “What?”
He let out a breath. “Bria told the higher-ups that she would be bringing in the witness to Troy’s murder this afternoon. She’s supposed to be at the station with Catalina by five o’clock.”
I let out a curse so loud that an old woman sitting in one of the booths sniffed and shook her finger at me in disapproval.
“Bria actually told them when she was showing up with Catalina?” I asked in a much lower voice. “She knows how dangerous that is, right? Benson is sure to hear about it. He’ll try to stop them before they get to the station.”
“I’m sure she stalled as long as she could, but she had to tell them.” Xavier paused. “And I don’t think she cares at this point, Gin. About anything other than getting Benson.”
I cursed again, because he was right. The old lady gave me another disapproving sniff, but a cold glare from me had her ducking her head and examining the ketchup smears on her plate.
I’d hoped that Bria would spend a few more days dotting her i’s and crossing her t’s before she went ahead with her plan to use Catalina’s testimony against Benson. Or at least until I could kill him and make everything else moot. But I should have known better. My sister could be as stubborn as I was when it came to people who hurt the folks she cared about. Bria had promised Max, her informant, that she would have his back, that she would watch out for him, that she would protect him, so I could understand her need to avenge him, even if that meant putting herself and Catalina in danger instead.
Bria and I might be pissed at each other right now, but I wasn’t going to let my sister die.
“Do you know what route Bria is going to take to the station?” I asked. “I’ll get ahead of her, go over there, and check it out. Make sure that everything’s on the up-and-up.”
“We talked about it yesterday,” Xavier said. “Before we got the call about Roslyn. I’ll text you the info as soon as we hang up. But there’s only one potential ambush spot. That’s why we had decided on this particular route.”
He rattled off a location I was familiar with, then paused again. “I’ll meet you there, if that’s okay.”
“Are you sure? You and Bria didn’t exactly part on good terms yesterday. I understand if you want to sit this one out.”
“Bria’s my partner,” he said. “She’s had my back dozens of times. I owe it to her to do the same, even if we’re not getting along right now. What Benson did to Roslyn yesterday . . . it shook me up pretty bad. But the more I think about it, the angrier I get. Bria might be obsessed with taking Benson down, but she’s not wrong about wanting to get him off the streets.”
“I know. But getting herself and Catalina killed won’t solve anything, so let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. What do you say?”
“I’d say that I wouldn’t mind getting a little payback on Benson myself.” I could hear the grin in Xavier’s voice.
“I’m on my way. See you there.”
“Will do.”
Xavier and I hung up. A second later, my phone beeped with info on the route he and Bria had worked out—
A shadow fell over me, and someone cleared her throat.
The old woman I’d annoyed earlier with my cursing was standing in front of the cash register. She held out a twenty-dollar bill and her order ticket, even as she started tapping her high heel against the floor. I didn’t want to waste a second in getting to Bria and Catalina, but I couldn’t exactly run out the door when she was right in front of me.
So I gave her a bland smile and quickly cashed her out.
“You should watch yourself, young lady,” she said in a snippy tone as I handed over her change. “Some of us don’t appreciate such salty language.”
My smile sharpened. “Sorry, ma’am,” I drawled. “But I can assure you that cursing is going to be the least of my sins today.”
17
I told Sophia what was happening and asked her to watch over the restaurant. Sophia didn’t like staying behind, but she grunted and said that she’d call Jo-Jo and let her sister know what was going on, before she went back to slicing tomatoes.
I called Owen and Finn, but neither one of them answered, so I left them both messages. Then I dialed Bria.
As expected, my call went to her voice mail. Hi, you’ve reached Detective Bria Coolidge with the Ashland Police Department . . .
“Bria,” I snapped. “Pick up your damn phone. Benson knows that you’re on your way to the police station with Catalina. He’s going to set up roadblocks to try to catch you. Turn around. Go somewhere else, anywhere else. And call me back the second you get this.”
But I couldn’t afford to wait for anyone to return my calls, so I grabbed Silvio’s file, went into the back of the restaurant, and grabbed the same duffel bag from behind the same freezer that I had yesterday when Benson had been holding Roslyn hostage. Déjà vu all over again.
I hefted my bag onto my shoulder, opened the back door, and strode outside, scanning my surroundings as I hurried toward the far end of the alley. But no one was crouched down behind a trash can or lurking behind a Dumpster. Normally, I would have been happy that no one was lying in wait to try to kill me, but right now, the lack of assailants worried me.