Page 80 of Desperate Victory

We were all on our guard, Lainey B as well and she was well-armed. I’d go over her weapons again later. Make sure she had everything she needed. If someone tried to make off with the women, they were going to be in for a world of pain.

If Lainey let any of them survive long enough for us to get there.

Amusement speared me at the thought.

“You look way too happy about something,” Freddie observed. “Want to share with the class?”

“Not really.” I cut him a look. “You need to talk though.”

Instead of responding, Freddie frowned and looked back out at the stage. More crew had begun to arrive. O’Connell and his twin had arrived with Vaughn. My phone buzzed with a message from Adam. He and Ezra were almost ready for the meeting with the local Bratva.

The Dovzhenko family had provided introductions and arranged a meeting with potential allies. We’d take all we could get in the city. Adam and Ezra would have backup from a pair of Vandals.

I sent back an acknowledgement then checked the tracking app. Everyone was popping on the screen.

Adam.

Ezra.

Milo.

Me.

Lainey B.

Each one of us demarcated by a different color. If for any reason the apps lost connection with a tracker, a warning message would go out. We’d gone over the program a few times and tweaked the responsiveness.

It was solid.

Didn’t mean I wouldn’t check even with Lainey right there.

“I’ll be fine,” Freddie said after a marked, and a far too long hesitation. “I should probably?—”

“We’re going for a walk,” I told him. “Go tell PPG bye.” Then, taking my own advice, I crossed to where Lainey was talking to PPG and the twins, who’d arrived with coffee in hand.

Sliding an arm around Lainey’s middle, I pressed my lips to her ear. “Stepping out to talk to Freddie. Might be a bit. Stay with them until I come back?”

She relaxed into me and tilted her head back so she could meet my gaze. Fresh worry filled those eyes and I smiled.

“Nothing to worry about.” The conversation was for Freddie. Something was up with him.

“Okay,” Lainey murmured. “Don’t disappear on me.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised.

“All I’m asking,” she quipped easily, the callback made me grin.

I gave her a gentle squeeze then dropped a kiss on her lips before I swung my attention to O’Connell. “Keep one eye on her.”

“Not a problem,” Liam said with a salute. Freddie had already spoken to Emersyn and retreated. He flicked a look toward Freddie then to me. I met his gaze easily. They were Freddie’s people, but this wasn’t a conversation I would invite anyone else to unless Freddie wanted to ask them himself.

Leaving Lainey with them, I headed toward the wings where Freddie waited. We could have used the way Zhukovsky and Vedriš exited. Those doors were closer.

Close wasn’t our destination. I followed him past the technicians and crew working to bring in equipment, costumes, and more. This wasn’t a small setup and PPG wouldn’t be using anything that hadn’t come in with their people, been vetted, and double checked.

When we reached the back doors, they were all standing wide, letting in the cooler air. The sun shining down decried the chillier temps from before the sun was up. Spring was arriving in the Czech Republic, but it wasn’t that warm yet.

I followed Freddie as he went around the clusters of crew. We were leaving the theater entirely and heading toward the river. I scanned the area as we walked. The last thing we needed to do was get sloppy and pick up a tail or borrow trouble.