Page 65 of Down & Dirty: Reaper

Maybe Vi needed to have a little talk with her. Get some insight. It would be good for both their professional and personal relationship.

Reaper could have died and, unlike her who hadn’t been at risk, was sleeping like a damn baby.

That possibility affected her more than it did him.

Then she realized why.

And that “why” meant she was fucked.

Chapter Thirteen

One issue with Reaper “working” for the Russos was the fact, according to Indie, the majority of the Chens were based out of Columbus.

And while Columbus was the closest “big” city in Ohio to Shadow Valley, it was still a three and a half to four hour drive. So unlike Reaper going into Pittsburgh, doing a job or two, and still being able to sleep in his own bed every night, he wouldn’t be able to do that with this new assignment.

And that alone sucked. In the light of day, they realized it meant that he would need to be gone for days at a time. Doing so took him away from both the crew and Vi herself.

To plan this next step, they’d had a team meeting earlier in the morning and decided to continue leaving hints around Pittsburgh that the Chens want to take over the area and stop the fentanyl traffic coming from Mexico so they could cash in by selling their own product in a new, large market.

Realistically, if it was truly the Chens involved—and not the Shadows—they would be hiring multiple mercenaries or agitators to put a hurting on the Russos. Whether it was taking out some of the Sicilians, destroying some of their legitimate and illegitimate businesses, or trying to push their fentanyl at cheaper prices in the Russos’ territory to steal sales.

So, in addition to Reaper going out to Ohio, the Shadows would keep doing those things and hope the Russos pinned it on the Chens. At least the destructive parts, not the selling drugs part because her team would not be doing that.

They needed to get to the point where they could step back and safely watch the two criminal syndicates destroy each other from a distance.

While that was all well and good—and an awesome plan if it worked smoothly—the fact that Reaper would be that far away from Shadow Valley without backup or support worried Vi.

At the team meeting, they had discussed whether Ghost, T-Bone, or Grim should accompany him.

In the end, Vi decided none of them would go, but she would. She’d temporarily hand over the reins of the operation to Indie, since she was unofficially the “assistant manager.” Her sister would keep everything running smoothly and coordinate the attacks on the Russos in Pittsburgh while Reaper did his thing in Columbus.

Creating havoc in both cities at the same time would keep La Cosa Nostra from thinking any missing, maimed, or murdered Mafia goons was done by Reaper. The man had skills, but not enough to be in two places at once.

“Seems like things are getting serious between you two,” Indie said, walking into Vi’s office.

Vi had been tying up a few loose ends before she could go home, pack a bag, and hit the road. The sooner they went, the sooner they could get back.

“I really didn’t expect you to go out in the field,” Indie finished. “But I guess for some reason, you’re making an exception. That reason must give good dick.”

That wasn’t the reason but one of a few that had made her want to go. “No, it makes sense for me to go because he doesn’t need anyone to help with the actual job, he only needs someone there as backup. It would be a waste for the rest of you to go.”

Indie perched an ass cheek on the front edge of Vi’s desk. “One of us would be better backup than you.”

Vi rolled her eyes. “Thanks for that vote of confidence, sis.”

“I mean, you’ve got skills, but not like the rest of us.”

No she didn’t! “What are you talking about? I train, work out, practice at the range regularly, and can defend myself and others. I’m fully capable of being his backup.”

“Dad never did any jobs.”

“Bullshit. He got shot while doing a job with the OGs, remember?” They only learned about that because he still had a scar. Diesel never brought it up but when they had spotted it, he didn’t lie about it. He also wanted his daughters to know how dangerous their business was before they got deeply involved.

That bullet wound didn’t deter any of them. In fact, all three of Diesel’s daughters thought it was cool. But only because he survived with merely a scar. They wouldn’t have had any thoughts if he had died because, obviously, none of his girls would exist.

“So, there will be some double banging going on in Ooooh-hi-oooooooh,” Indie groaned out the last part. With a grin, she then shot a finger gun before using her fingers to make the universal sign for fucking by using her one finger to penetrate two others held in a circle.

“Aren’t you clever?” Vi said dryly.