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Other Designated Physical and Mental Conditions was a red flag to employers. It wasn’t supposed to be, but Corey had been turned away everywhere he’d applied. He’d been forced to get a rent-a-cop job at the ER just to pay his bills. That had been humiliating, but it was made worse by the pittance they called a salary. It hadn’t been enough. Not by a long shot.
So he’d made his own way, starting Three Vets and bringing in Bobby and Ed. Now he held the reins. He made the decisions. He made the money. If he kept building his organization, he could branch out. Take on more people. Take on even bigger jobs.
Maybe they had enough to retire. But he didn’t want enough. He wanted more than enough. He wasn’t walking away now.
“We’re not retiring to the Caribbean,” he said. “Too risky passing back and forth over the border when we have domestic jobs.”
Ed sighed. “Corey. If NOPD knows about Dewey, they’ll be searching for us. For murder. Nobody’s gonna want to hire guys who’re hiding from the law. We need to run while we still can.”
Ed’s words tugged at Corey’s gut, but he brushed the uncertainty away, scoffing instead. “Of course they’ll hire us. It’s not like they’re inviting us to their garden parties now. They meet with us in secret already. It’s not like they’re expecting choirboys. We kill for money.”
“How are you going to get clients? How will they find you?”
“Same as they do now. We’ll either find them, like I did with Doyle, or they’ll find us on the dark web or through word of mouth. Why are you arguing with me about this?”
“Because I don’t want to go to prison with Aaron,” Ed snapped, then sighed again. “Will you consider laying low after the Doyle job? It’ll be winter soon. We could go to the Bahamas and work on our tans.”
“I’ll consider a vacation, but we are not quitting. I’m not, anyway.” He met Ed’s gaze and held it, challenging. “Are you?”
Ed shook his head. “No. I’m with you.”
Corey clapped him on the shoulder. “Knew I could count on you. Wake me when Bobby’s buddy finds that safe house. I want Jace gone from the face of the earth.”
Future clients wouldn’t care that he was wanted by the cops. They’d only care that he got the job done. But he did need to clean up his own mess if he expected anyone to hire him to clean up their messes.
Jace had to go.
Mid-City, New Orleans, Louisiana
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 12:05 P.M.
“Oh my God,” Lucien moaned when the hammering upstairs stopped. He slumped back onto Kaj’s living room sofa, where he’d been sitting next to Jace. “Finally.”
At Kaj’s dining room table, trying to focus on the background check of Corey Gates filling her laptop screen, Val heartily agreed. Phin had been doing demo work, preparing Elijah’s bedroom closet to become his safe room. Val hadn’t anticipated how loud it would be. The fact that she’d had so little sleep was combining with the noise to give her a terrible headache.
“Stop complaining!” Phin yelled from upstairs. “Unless you get up here and give me another pair of hands, I don’t want to hear your whining, Lucien.”
Lucien made a face. “You can’t possibly hear me because you’re being so damn loud!”
Beside her, Elijah hummed happily. He was wearing headphones and listening to music as he did his schoolwork.
“Lucien, hush,” Val said with forced patience. “You’re making it worse.”
Lucien turned to her, his lower lip pushed out in a pout. “But, Moooom. He started it.”
She laughed. “Shut up.”
Jace lifted the hand that wasn’t cuffed. “I could help. I’ve been on Corey’s demo crew for years. I can do simple things.”
Lucien snorted. “I don’t think so. You’re not going up there to see what he’s doing.”
Jace lifted his eyebrows. “He’s putting in a safe room. From the sound of it, in the bedroom at the back of the house.”
Lucien glared at Val. “Did you tell him? We don’t know that he’s not secretly working with his brother.”
Jace spoke before Val could answer. “I’m not secretly working with my brother. I hate my brother,” he added with a venom that he hadn’t used before. “Corey beat the hell out of me. He beat Rick. Not just yesterday, but all the time.” He glared at Lucien. “You saw my bruises last night. You know.” Breathless, he calmed himself. “I know construction. That guy carried in an exterior door and steel braces for the walls. Nobody uses an exterior door inside unless they’re soundproofing or need it to be extra secure. Mr.Cardozo is scared for Elijah and he hired bodyguards, so a safe room makes sense.”
Val’s lips curved. “He’s got you there, Lucien.”
