Page 79 of Penn

“My attorney will have divorce papers drawn up by the end of the day. We’ll repurpose the last ones I drew up after you killed that poor woman in Reno.”

“But—”

“And don’t forget that you signed a prenup, baby,” she says. “You won’t see a cent of my father’s money. And you’ll never see our kids again.”

“You can’t do that!” he shouts. “I built this life! Everything in this house is mine!”

Pacino holds a hand up. “Technically, your wife’s trust fund paid for the house.”

“That’s right!” Caroline says. “I’m not leaving. You are. Can you men keep him out here while I pack the few things of his he actually paid for?”

“Gladly,” I say.

“You think you’re so smart,” Stephen says. “This isn’t over.”

Moving into his space, Pacino and I tower over him. “It’s just getting started, motherfucker,” I say with a smile.

“I’ll call the police and have you arrested for assault. One look at my face and your knuckles, and you’ll be locked up where you belong.”

“Then I’ll have to tell them about Miranda,” Caroline says, tossing out a single suitcase. “Call the cops. See what happens.”

“Plus, we know you’re in bed with the Venom, and they’ll probably be more interested in how to get rid of the drugs than a simple assault on a man who tried to hurt a pregnant woman,” Pacino says. “We have receipts.”

“Or maybe we should just send the proof that he’s skimming off the Venom to line his pockets. We all know Butch isn’t the greatest at math, but I wonder how he’d react to learning he’s been shorted three million dollars in the past year,” Kannon says.

Stephen pales, and he stumbles backwards. There’s real fear now. The threat of prison didn’t scare him. Nor does the idea that he’ll lose everything he has when his wife leaves him. But he knows as well as we do how the Venom handles people stealing from them.

Now we have him by the balls.

Chapter 30

Penn

Stephen’s trapped, and he knows it. The fancy suburban shield is gone. The illusion of his wealth and safety is shattered and laying on the floor by his feet. All that’s left is a pathetic man who has next to nothing left.

No home.

No wife.

No children.

No girlfriend.

And soon… no life.

“We can talk about this,” Stephen says, his voice cracking. His hands shake as he presses them against the siding.

He’s used to getting everything he wants. Everything can be either bought off by his money or his charm. And we’ve taken away both.

“Not much to talk about,” I say.

“You got what you wanted. I’m out on my ass. I’m losing my family. My house. Just let me go and suffer on my own.”

“We didn’t get shit, Patterson,” Kannon snaps, his gravelly tone cutting deep. “You’ve been playing middleman for the Black Venom bastards, and you’re passing yourself off as a pharmaceutical salesman to keep people off your back.”

Sliding down the side of the house, he hugs his knees, curling into himself until he’s half the size he was moments ago. “What more do you want?”

“You have a list,” Capone says. “The names of every dealer you recruited to push Venom Dust, not to mention the harder shit killing even more people.”