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“Good.” I tilted my chin toward him and we kissed, slow and soft. When he pulled back, I squeezed his hand. “Keep an eye on him. I’ll take the van back.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
I turned and left Owain standing in the kitchen, a huge smile on my face.
I was a part of this now, deep in the crew whether I liked it or not, and if I was going to be a member of a criminal organization then I was going to do my damn best to make it stronger.
When this was all over, we’d come through better than ever.25OwainI kicked Clifton in the back of the knee and send him sprawling down onto the floor. He grunted as his face hit Hedeon’s hardwood floor. The television played a football game and Hedeon stood a few feet away toward his kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest. Leigh lingered behind me, looking lost and awkward. Clifton rolled onto his side and groaned as I kicked him in the ribs twice for good measure.
I wish I could put a bullet in his head, but Hedeon stared down at Clifton like he was a prize cow at the county fair.
“You did good,” he said. “It was smart, keeping him alive.”
“It was Leigh’s idea.” I looked at her and nodded. “I wish I could take credit.”
“Couldn’t have done it without you,” she said.
“I don’t care whose idea it was. I’m just glad he won’t be a problem anymore.”
“Before you talk about killing him, I actually have an idea.” Leigh stepped forward, her hands held up.
Hedeon tilted his head and nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Clifton actually gave me the idea—him or one of his guys. See, the problem with our sales model is, we wait for our customers to come to us. But this is the modern world, and people want their shit delivered.”
Hedeon snorted. “You want to do home delivery for fucking drugs?”
“That’s the idea. The Jackals are already doing it. They have the infrastructure and the knowledge built up, all we need to do is take them over and get them to work for us.” Leigh looked at Clifton and gestured. “Now we have that chance.”
I stared at her and burst out laughing. It was the most absurd, most brazen, most insane—and most brilliant plan I’ve ever heard in my life. No wonder she wanted to keep Clifton alive. I let my laughter spill out as I turned and pulled her into a big hug, lifting her up off her feet. Even Hedeon smiled at that as my effusive laughter became contagious. She struggled in my arms but I held her tight, hugging her and laughing, before I finally got control of myself and put her back down. She grinned at me and fixed her hair.
“I take it you approve.”
“Approve? That fucking brilliant. That’s the best use of this little piece of shit imaginable.”
“One problem though,” Hedeon said. “How do we know we can trust hm.”
I turned to Clifton and walked over. He stared up at me with real fear in his eyes—but something else as well.
Clifton wasn’t a stupid man. He’d always been motivated by profit about all else, and now he saw a chance to save his own skin and make a lot of money in the process. It was a tempting proposition, and I already knew he’d fall for it.
“What do you say, old friend? Think you can reassure my boss here?”
He struggled to his feet. His eyes were blacked out and his lips were both swollen and torn. His clothes were stained with blood and rumpled, and his hands were tied behind his back, but he managed to kneel in front of Hedeon with some semblance of dignity.
“I’ll work for you,” he said, “so long as you give my guys a twenty percent cut.”
Hedeon barked a laugh. “Why the fuck would I do that? Your life’s in the balance here.”
“They won’t work for free. Give them a decent cut and promise you’ll pay more if they do a good job. Offer them incentives.”
“He’s right,” Leigh said. “Clifton here might agree to this based on the threat of violence, but his guys never will. You have to make it worth their time.”
Hedeon grunted and nodded. “All right. Twenty percent of the cut, spread out among your guys however you see fit. I’ll pay more if they prove to be useful.”
Clifton bowed his head. “They’ll be worth it. I promise.”
“But you have to swear one thing.” Hedeon walked over to Clifton and grabbed him by the hair. He leaned forward and stared into Clifton’s eyes, their faces inches apart, so close that Clifton could’ve spit in Hedeon’s mouth. “If you betray me, if you even consider hurting anyone in my crew, I will burn you to the ground. It won’t be Owain coming after you, but every single man I have available. It’ll be a personal affront, and I promise, I’ll crush you.”
