Rosaline

III.

I held my beer, watching the rest of the men were getting wildly drunk and dancing with the performers. The dancers moved and twisted their bodies for more tips, making their audience eye them lustfully.

I scrunched my nose in distaste as one of my men reached to stroke one of their legs, getting a wink in return.

If I didn't know them so well and didn't know it was all consensual, I would have cut off his hand.

We had just completed another assignment and Xavier was letting the men celebrate at Frank's club. Unfortunately, he dragged me along with them, just like every time an operation was successful. I would had preferred to stay on our property working on our new problem, but Xavier always insisted that it would bring a sense of morale and connection.

So there we were, sitting in the corner of our VIP room, not wanting to be a part of the men's excursions. While I would normally feel a sense of pride for our last mission overseas being a success, I was in no mood to celebrate. 

Not that I was ever in the mood to socialize. But Xavier, who would normally be chatting with the others, was just as anti-social as I was at the moment.

I took a swing of my beer and then dialed the familiar number on my phone. The man answered during the first ring.

"Hey, boss–"

"Any word of him yet?" I cut off Erik Coda, our lead hacker, getting straight to the point.

"No, boss. It's already been a month and there haven't been any reports from him since he last contacted you," Erik grunted, seemingly annoyed and worried.

"Last time we heard from him was a few days before the shooting. Angelo said he was meeting someone in the area to discuss dealing with the Diablos. I sent a few men to track any signals weeks ago and I already reported the footage to Xavier."

"Well, better come up with something before Xavier gets even more upset," I growled as I hung up the phone.

Xavier looked at me with a calm expression, but I sensed the anger already building up.

I shook my head in confirmation and he growled, slamming his fist on the table and startling the people closest to us. The usually mischievous man was nowhere in sight.

"Damn it! I have a bad feeling about this. If Angelo hasn't contacted us by now, he's either missing or dead." Xavier said harshly and I nodded in agreement.

We both looked at each other with sadness and anger. We both knew the likelihood of finding him alive was small. Angelo De Luca was one of our top ranks and although he was a bit of an asshole, he was family.

"I agree. We just need Erik to confirm it all before we go in ourselves. With Angelo gone, we lost our advantage on them. Do you think the shootings in LA are connected?" I asked. My body stiffened at the thought.