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“You walk into my shop uninvited; surely you know my reaction is to be expected.”
“Oh, please, I’m just here to pay you a friendly visit.”
I scoff at this point.
Jared is obviously up to something. Maybe he knows about Amelia and suspects that we had something to do with her escape. I need to be smart. He’s playing a game and I must be at least two steps ahead.
“Damn!” He wolf whistles, admiring the shop and looking impressed. “This is some serious upgrade compared to the last time I was here. I like what you’ve done with the place, I must confess,” he says in praise.
“Cut to the chase, Jared. What the hell do you want?”
He takes out a cigar and lights it up. “Tell me, Rueben...” He let the smoke out. “How do you handle traitors among your people?”
“What’s that supposed to mean, Jared?”
“It means exactly what I asked.” He stares blankly at me.
“Well, you know the drill. They fuck up, we fuck them up,” I reply with a rather palpable frown. “Can you tell me now why the fuck you’re here?”
“Two weeks ago, we had somebody quite important taken from us and believe it was an inside job.”
“Okay…” I indulge him, tucking both hands in my pockets. “How do you know was an inside job?”
“It was a quick grab and run, and the operation was carried out in less than five minutes. Those motherfuckers had to be professionals.”
I’m smiling on the inside.Of course we’re professionals.
“Did you check the cameras?” I ask.
“Like I said, ‘professionals’. They wiped everything clean and left no traces for us to follow. They’re ghosts.” He stares at me suspiciously, as if trying to fish something out of me.
I sigh. “That’s unfortunate, Jared.”
“Hmm. It is, isn’t it?” He still doesn’t stop looking right at me.
“Fess up, Jared, and spit it out.” I walk toward him. “Is there something you want to say to me?” I halt before him, unhappy with his assumptions, and my displeasure is evident in my gaze.
My men notice my countenance, and they all subtly reach for their guns, alert for whatever comes next. Jared glances at them as some crack their knuckles and necks in readiness for a fight.
Jared laughs lightly and says, “Tell your men to stand down…there won’t be any need for violence.”
I hesitate for a moment before signaling them, and they lay down their guards.
“Who did the gang have that was taken?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
I can see the skepticism in his eyes as he finally says, “Okay… Don’t get mad, though.”
“And why the fuck would I do that?”
He sighs. “Well…it was Amelia Burke.”
“You say her name like I’m supposed to know who she is.”
“She’s William Burke’s daughter.”
“You’re kidding, right?” My eyebrows rise as if in disbelief and he shakes his head.
“And you kept this information from me?!” I burst out angrily.
