Covarra brooded over Salazar’s suggestion. He snapped at his protective detail over every minor irritant. He got the Forest Avenue guards to line up again, raged at them and killed one more sentry.
That didn’t pacify him.
He pictured Panig Janikyan smirking at his troubles, and that made him furious.
‘I told you what you should do.’
His deputy appeared in the evening, and only then did Covarra relent. He went to his bedroom and brought out the phone the attacker had given him.
‘There’s no bug in it. We checked,’ Salazar said when he fingered it suspiciously.
The Street Front boss brought up the solitary number stored in it and, after a few moments, called it.
Cutter was half-asleep in the Tahoe when the phone buzzed.
He was parked on the Via de Las Olas, a curving strip of road in Pacific Palisades. It fronted the ocean, where steep cliffs gave way to the coastal highway down below.
There were a few other cars, most of them empty, their occupants out for a walk or taking in the natural scenery.
He jerked awake and reached for his cell. Nope, that wasn’t the one that was buzzing. Alertness flooded him when he brought out the burner and checked the incoming call.
Covarra!
‘Talk,’ he ordered.
The Street Front boss started with a string of curses.
‘Is that all you’ve got to say?’
He could hear the gang leader’s harsh breathing as he fought to control himself.
‘You don’t know who you’re tangling with,’ Covarra whispered. ‘My people are everywhere. They will find you. They will bring you to me. I’ll—’
‘Do you know who I am?’
No reply.
‘Do you know where I am?’
‘Wherever you are—’
‘You don’t. You know nothing about me, but I know everything about you. Fear me.’
Cutter hung up, pushed his seat back and went to sleep.
‘Puto!’ Covarra swore and threw the phone against the wall. It bounced and fell to the floor in pieces.
‘What have you done?’ Salazar ground at him and hurried to pick up the pieces. ‘It’s destroyed,’ he said bitterly. ‘Luis!’ he called out to a guard. ‘Get me a burner phone,’ he ordered when the man appeared. The sentry disappeared and returned with a device that he handed over. The deputy removed its battery, replaced the SIM card with the one from the destroyed phone, and held his breath. ‘The number works,’ he said, with satisfaction.
He turned to his friend and waggled his finger in remonstration. ‘You’re letting your anger dictate to you. That man is playing with—’
‘I’LL KILL HIM.’
‘Do that. But first, we need to find him.’
‘I WON’T CALL HIM AGAIN. IT WAS YOUR IDEA. DID YOU HEAR HOW HE SPOKE TO ME?’
‘He was right. We know nothing of him. Our men have been searching for almost ten days. Have we found him? No.’
‘What do you suggest?’ Covarra snarled. ‘You want me to ignore him? Do you know how weak that will make us look?’
‘No. I am saying bring him to us.’
‘How?’
‘By agreeing to meet. Tell him you are ready to talk, answer whatever questions he has.’
‘We’ll set a trap for him.’ The gang leader’s eyes lit up wickedly. He rubbed his hands unconsciously. ‘We’ll capture him when he arrives. Why didn’t you suggest this before?’
‘You were too angry to listen.’
‘I won’t call him right away. That will only make me look weak. Fuse,’ Covarra commanded his friend, ‘find a place where we can meet. Somewhere secure.’
His lips curled in anticipation at the thought of capturing the attacker. Oh, the things he would do to the man.