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“What?” I asked.
“You,” he said softly. “I ask what I can do for you and all you want is to meet me and save your friend.”
“What did you think I was going to ask for?”
“I kind of thought you’d ask us to extract you,” he admitted.
“Why the hell would I want that? I’ve worked too fucking hard to get here just to pull out now.”
“You’re a good man, Matthew Lynch. A better man than we deserve on our side.” He sighed. “I’ve got to go. You okay?”
“Five by five, boss,” I assured him. “Talk to you soon.”
We hung up and I slid back down onto the mattress, rolling to my side and hugging a pillow to my chest.
I didn’t like how attached I was to Griffin. As dangerous as my work with the cartel could be…this felt worse. Could you get Stockholm Syndrome from the good guys? It would make more sense that I’d become attached to the players in the GSD. But the deeper I got into the cartel…the more I found myself depending on the calls from Griffin like they were my lifeline.
Then again…maybe they were my lifeline. Those calls were the only thing I had to remind me of who and what I really was.
Without Griffin checking up on me, it was entirely possible that I’d just give in to the life I’d built over the last four years. Allow the drugs and the violence and the money to pull me under like a riptide.
But no. That wasn’t me. And I knew it wasn’t ever going to be me.
Because Griffin wouldn’t let that happen.
And neither would I.
Chapter Five
~Griffin~
“You asked to see me?” Chip asked as he stepped into my office.
“I did, come sit with me.” I motioned toward the sofa and chairs set up across the room from my desk. “You want a drink?”
“No, sir,” he said as he dropped into one of the chairs. “Thank you, though. What can I help you with?”
“What can you tell me about Kenny Longmire?” I asked, leaning against the arm of the sofa and facing the enforcer.
I knew I had to play this carefully. If anyone suspected I was considering pulling Kenny off the streets, it could compromise everything I’d worked for. And if I fucked it up royally, it would compromise Matt as well. Because of everyone in the Detroit branch of the GSD, Kenny was closest to the new Knight.
“Speedball?” His tone sounded surprised. “Not much. He’s a grunt. A junkie. Some of the guys in the cartel take advantage of him, you know. But I’ve never—”
“I’m not accusing you of anything,” I said, holding up a hand to shut him up. “I’m not accusing anyone of anything,” I added. Chip didn’t sound suspicious of the questioning, but I figured I should at least act like I wasn’t as familiar with the kid as I really was. Because the only way I actually knew anything about him at all was through Matt.
Fuck, this was such a mistake. But all I could do now was press on. “I’m just curious about him. Who does he hang out with?”
“He spends a lot of time with Matt Lynch,” Chip said, lifting a shoulder in a shrug.
Not helpful. Obviously I already knew that. And honestly…I didn’t like it. Not that I’d ever admit that to anyone. But the way Matt talked about Kenny bothered me.
“They’re like total brothers,” Chip continued. “Matt gets super pissed when people fuck with Speedball. I mean, they still do it, but not in front of the Knight.”
“What about Eddie?”
“Yeah, Eddie’s pretty tight with Kenny, too. He doesn’t fuck with the kid so much.”
“No, I would imagine it’s a bad look for the Duke to…” I trailed off, not wanting to finish the thought. I couldn’t really imagine the Duke of Detroit sleeping with a teenage grunt. Then again, it wasn’t smart to think too highly of anyone out in the streets of the cartel. “Eddie was in Chicago last week?”
