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“Mmm…” Dante said. “That means you allowed yourself to be used as their puppet.”
“I just… I didn’t think it meant anything.”
“Then you are a bigger fool than you appear to be,” Constantine growled. “I think you should go ahead and pull the trigger.”
“I agree,” Maxim huffed. “He’s not worth the time and effort to try and get any information from him.”
I pressed the cold steel into Michael’s head, reveling in the horrific look of terror in his eyes.
“Please don’t kill me. I’ll pull out of the running.”
“That’s a good thing to do or those pictures will be on the desk of every major news station in America by the end of the day,” Dante said with a grin on his face. “That is if my brother allows you to live.”
“I’m debating it.” I could swear I gathered a stench of urine. Jesus. The man needed to get a grip. It was all fun and games until somebody pissed in their pants. “As you might imagine, pulling out of the race will anger the members of the Death Squad. I suspect they’re going to want to know why you did. And in turn, they won’t like your decision, which will likely result in you and your entire family being tortured before you’re killed.”
“No,” he moaned. “Please help me.”
I backed away, rubbing my lips on purpose as I lowered the weapon. “I tell you what. I am in a generous mood since I’m going to ask the woman I love to marry me tonight, so I’ll make you a deal.” I pulled out the cloth I’d brought with me, rubbing any possibility of fingerprints off the weapon in my hand. Then I slowly extended my arm, offering him my weapon. He wouldn’t try to shoot me. He wasn’t that stupid. “You can either take your chances pulling out of the race or take matters into your own hands. That’s entirely up to you. It’s a free country and that’s why we take voting very seriously. Go on. Take it.”
It took Michael a few seconds, but he finally did, his body still shaking. I smiled and nodded, feeling far too giddy in my own damn skin.
“I think we’ve outstayed our welcome, gentlemen. Let’s go ahead and leave our good senator alone. He has some decisions to make.”
As I headed for the front door, I felt lighter than I had in recent days.
Once outside, the door closed behind the four of us, I was able to take a nice deep breath.
“You have balls of steel, Diego,” Maxim admitted. “I admire that in a man.”
Constantine laughed, pulling out an envelope of his own. “I took the liberty of having my people cross reference the list Emmanuel provided you with known associates and family members. Just so we can keep an eye on those we know are involved with the Death Squad.”
“Yes, we should double check who we are dealing with. I’d hate to miss anyone important,” I told them all.
Dante took it from him, pocketing it immediately. “I’ll work on that later today while our lover boy here proposes.”
I couldn’t keep a grin off my face. “I appreciate you coming all the way out to LA for this.”
“It was well worth seeing the look on the senator’s face,” Maxim sneered.
“I agree. Good luck on your proposal. When are you headed to Alaska?” Constantine asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“We’ll need to monitor the situation with the Death Squad,” Constantine added as he nodded in recognition.
“I have a suggestion that we consider inviting new members of the group to our organization,” Dante recommended.
“That’s not a bad idea.” We continued walking toward the street, although I admitted I was loitering a bit to see if Michael would heed my advice to him.
Constantine glanced at Maxim who nodded. “We were talking about that on the ride over. I have a couple of suggestions. I’m certain we all do. We’ll discuss after you return from Alaska.”
“Sounds reasonable.” When I continued to hesitate, Maxim lifted an eyebrow.
“Is there anything else we need to discuss?” he asked.
I held up my hand, turning my head toward the senator’s house. The single loud pop as the gun was fired was exactly what I’d hoped to hear.
I rubbed my knuckles against my jacket, blowing on them afterwards. “And that, gentlemen, is how you handle a politician in need of a lesson learned.”
