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“Fine,” Mayhem says, in a way that still carries some residual musicality, like an 80s or 90s band that’s doing the state fair concert circuit, but knows their best days are far behind them. He clears his throat and talks normally. “Fine.”
“So, what’s the target?” I say, both wanting to know and not wanting to know. This morning has been hard enough already waking up without Emily beside me, spending a near-sleepless night wondering just what she’s hiding from me, and being serenaded by the world’s worst musical act since Milli Vanilli. With my luck, Havoc and Mayhem will tell me that our target is John Wick.
“Once we’ve finished our preparations, Havoc and I will call you, and then you’ll join us as we teach the naughty boys at The Red Room a serious lesson.”
I somehow keep my anger off my face. Frustration and rage fill my chest; Diesel damn well better infiltrate the Red Room and find the information we need about Moretti before Havoc and Mayhem can get their shit together, otherwise my best chance at finding out who wants to kill the people I care about will go up in a fuckton of gunsmoke. “What kind of lesson?”
“Let’s just say, for Charlie’s sake, that we’re going to give them the spanking of a lifetime.”
Chapter Forty-One
Emily
Somehow, I’m not surprised to find my stalker ex-boyfriend sitting alone at the corner booth of the diner, waiting for me with a smug, skin-crawling grin on his face. If there’s something awful going on in my life, it can all probably be traced back to Jay.
“Emily, so glad you could make it. Come on, take a seat, the coffee’s great.” He gestures to the open spot across from him.
A few diners turn and look at me, their attention drawn in the relative quiet of the diner at mid-morning at that awkward time between breakfast and lunch. They glance at me for about a disinterested second, then all turn back to their phones or their newspapers.
As I walk to the booth, I swallow my fear and revulsion and slip my hand into my purse for a second to touch the gun inside. It’s a small thing, a revolver, a make and a model that I don’t know. Gary explained everything about it and was meticulous in showing me how to handle the thing safely, but, to me, a gun is a gun is a thing for shooting Jay if he tries to hurt me or anyone I care about ever again. I’m done with him.
Except, right now, I need him.
And that reason is the only thing that propels me forward and makes me sit down across from that repugnant excuse for a human being.
“Hi Jay.”
“You look well, Emily. How’s work?”
“Why do you have to do this? Why can’t you just get to the point about what you want from me and how you can help me make Officer Abram’s case disappear? You and I both know how I feel about you. There’s no reason to dance around it.”
“What I want is for you to answer my questions.” His voice is cold. Which isn’t a surprise. Jay’s voice was often cold, even when we were together. Cold, at least, until that moment when everything would seem to snap and he’d go volcanic-hot, and I’d have to do everything in my power to cool him down. “So do it.”
“Work is fine.”
“That all?”
“I’m sure you know how things are going. I’m sure you’ve been checking into me, following me, all that stuff that the restraining order says you’re not supposed to do.”
“As if it’s suddenly a crime in this country to care about someone. What’s wrong with you, Emily?”
I bite my tongue, resisting the urge to list all the things wrong with Jay, not me. Instead, I force myself to stay focused on why I'm here.
"Look, Jay. You said you could help with Officer Abram's case. How?"
He leans back, a self-satisfied smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. "Oh, I can help alright. I've got some... let's call them 'friends' in interesting places. They can make things disappear. Evidence, testimonies, even entire case files if necessary."
A chill runs down my spine. I knew Jay had connections, but this level of influence is terrifying.
“Are you serious?”
“Completely. My father’s golf buddies with the head DA and several judges, not to mention the fact that you know how close Burt and I are. All I’d have to do is tell him I think he should drop the case, and he’ll tell the DA to drop the charges, and then my dad’s buddies will make this whole thing go away for both you and Maggie as if nothing ever happened.”
"And what do you want in return?" I ask, dreading the answer.
Jay's eyes gleam with a predatory light. "It's simple, really. But first, why don’t we talk about you for another minute? Tell me how things are going with that paper of yours. It’s got to be close to done, right? Get that in, and all you have are a few more classes and test and then you’re a full-fledged pharmacist, right? Bet you’re already feeling pride that you’re getting so close. Bet that gets you excited, too. Does it?"
I feel the bile rising in my throat. My hand instinctively moves towards my purse again, seeking the cold comfort of the gun inside. But I force myself to remain calm, to keep my voice steady.
