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“Good. Quiet.”
“Seems so. I’ve not heard from Aric since yesterday morning.”
“Guy’s probably shacked up in a hotel room with one of my dancers.”
Another chuckle, and he nods. “I know this probably upsets you, my friend. But we must give him what he wants. He’s a good ally.”
Was a good ally.
Gaze lowered, he shakes his head and huffs. “I don’t blame your mistrust of him, though. He has an unpredictable nature, at times. I don’t particularly care for cops, in general, let alone federal agents. They tend to complicate things.”
“Like Castellano.”
Coming to a stop, he shoots me a knowing look, his lips stretching to a smile. “You know about Castellano.” It isn’t a question, and I don’t bother to answer.
“You had me take out a cop who was investigating a trafficking ring. Why is that?”
“It’s because of my affection for you that I shield you from much of the mundane details. The minutiae of running this operation. You’re like a son to me, Thierry.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me he was a cop?”
“Would you have brought him to me, knowing his fate?”
That is the question. How far have I sunk into the pits of the underworld? Could I have turned over a man, knowing what he stood for? Knowing that he was at the safe house that night to rescue that young girl who ultimately shot herself?
“I’ll spare you the contemplation, my friend. For as much as you carry out my orders without question, you still grapple with your conscience. It’s the age-old dilemma of good versus evil. Which is how I knew that you were lying about the girl. What’s her name? Céleste?”
It takes every muscle in my face to hold my deadpan expression. To avoid giving so much as a flicker that he might call my bluff. Years of training with Julio taught me to control my facial features under pressure, the body’s natural responses to tremble, or shiver. My reaction is as flat and unmoved as a steel blade.
“C’mon, Thierry. You mean to tell me you haven’t fucked her every way to Tuesday? I know you too well, my boy. You are good, but deep inside of you is a dark yearning. Like a scab you cannot help but pick and pick and pick. She is a temptation. The forbidden fruit.”
“What is it that you want with her?”
“I personally want absolutely nothing with her, so you can relax. It so happens her grandparents do.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Interesting story. Twenty years ago, their young daughter, Vivienne, was impregnated by a very wealthy and powerful man. Unfortunately, the unborn child’s fate was … undecided. You see, according to their beliefs, children are either born as breeders, sacrificial lambs, or sold on the black market to fund the sect’s interests.”
“The sect …. You’re talking about Antitheus?” I ask.
“Yes. Antitheus is what they go by. Fashionable, no? Anyway, this particular child was chosen as a sacrifice, which would bring great fortune to the gran Cabro’s followers.”
“Gran Cabro?” The man Castellano seemed to fear that day I delivered him to Julio.
“The Great Goat. As I understand the Valir call him Le Bouc Noir.”
Black goat. “And who is he to you?”
“Business acquaintance, you could say. Nothing more, really. He respects my authority, and I respect his gifts for the occult.”
“Who is he?”
Looking out over the gardens, Julio smiles. “I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to answer your question.”
“Because you don’t know? Or you don’t want to tell me?”
“Both.”
