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Hedeon stroked his chin and sipped his drink. He paced across the room and looked out the window that sat over the sink. I gave Robin a look and held out my hand when she half stood up. She sank back down into her chair and looked anxious.
He turned back to face us.
“I’ll admit, she’d be useful,” he said. “I assume you know things we don’t. Names, places, numbers. All very useful. But you’re asking us to trust you, when you’ve proven that you can’t be trusted.”
Her face turned red. “They tried to kill me. Leo saved me twice. Who do you think I’m going to be loyal to now?”
Hedeon shrugged. “That’s a fair point.”
“For what it’s worth, I believe her,” I said.
He nodded at me. “That’s worth something.”
“I want this.” Her words were soft and laced with rage. “I’m not some pawn anymore. They don’t get to just… use me up then throw me out when I’m not longer useful to them.”
“So this is revenge,” Hedeon said.
“That, and I want a future.” She sat up straight. “You can give that to me.”
He smiled and took a long sip of whiskey. “I’m not sure I can give you as much as you want,” he said, turning to look at her. “But your offer is interesting.”
“I’ll vouch for her,” I said. “I saw what happened. I know she’s not making this up. They really did try to take her out.”
“And I’d be dead if it weren’t for Leo,” she added.
Hedeon held up a hand. “I understand. But you have to understand my position. I’m going to war against a much bigger foe. Even though your uncle is weaker than he’s ever been, they still have years of experience, more men, more guns, and more money. I can’t afford to have a little mole slip into my operation and fuck everything up.”
“I’m not a mole.” Her fingers turned white as she clutched her glass. “I’m not working for them anymore.”
“So you say, but—”
She stood up. Her chair skittered back and hit the wall. Hedeon tensed, but didn’t move.
She leaned her chin up and tugged down the neckline of her sweatshirt. “Look at this,” she said. “Look at what they did to me. You think this is fake? You think we faked this?”
I grinned at Hedeon and gestured at her. “Come on. You can’t deny that.”
“Fine,” he said, holding up his drink. “I’ve seen enough then.”
She released her sweatshirt and sat back down. She looked exhausted, like that outburst had taken all of her energy.
Hedeon finished his drink and put the glass back down on the counter.
“You’ll continue working with Leo,” he said. “You won’t know about the rest of my operation. That’s just how this works.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“We function in discreet cells,” I said. “Hedeon passes orders between us. I don’t work with the same guys every time, and I don’t always know what my orders are going to be until I get somewhere.”
“We used lots of burner phones and lots of temporary emails,” Hedeon said. “I will provide you a phone, but we’ll communicate through Leo.”
“Fine with me,” I said.
“She’s still your responsibility,” Hedeon said. “But now it seems that it’s less babysitting, and more fighting.”
I shrugged. “Either is fine with me.”
Robin rolled her eyes and Hedeon laughed.
“What about my cut?” she asked.
“That’s tricky,” he said. “Most of my men, we don’t do business this way. They get paid in simpler ways. Cash mostly, sometimes cars, sometimes drugs.”
“I’m not interested in any of that. I want a percentage of whatever business you build on top of my uncle’s organization.”
“Two percent,” Hedeon said. “Maybe more if your information is worth something.”
“Ten percent.” She stared at him.
Hedeon laughed. “Two percent. Up to five, if you’re useful. That’s the best you’ll get.”
“Better than my deal,” I said.
She looked at me for a long moment then nodded to Hedeon. “Fine. I’ll take it.”
“Good.” He sighed and rubbed his face. “Now you two need to get the fuck out of my house. I keep telling Leonid here that he can’t just show up whenever he wants to.”
“And yet I never learn,” I said.
Robin stood. “How do I know I can trust you?”
“You don’t,” he said. “But try anyway. Things go better if there’s trust.”
“Come now,” I said softly. “Let’s get going. You got what you wanted.”
She stared at Hedeon for a brief beat but let me take her wrist and lead her away. We walked back through the living room, down a creaking hallway, and out the front door.
“Why do I feel like I just sold myself out?” she asked.
“Because you did,” I said. “But it’s not such a bad thing. You betrayed people who don’t deserve you.”
“What’s with him, anyway?” She frowned back at the house.
I released her wrist, but kept guiding her down the block.
