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It was an effective little operation, one that signaled rAz was open for business, and Henri was ready to get this shit over and done with. “Okay, let’s do this.”
“Right, you remember the drill?”
“You’ve only told me a hundred times.”
“Good, now say it back to me.”
Henri rolled his eyes. “I approach Bomber Jacket, let him know I have a meeting, get my ass inside, and get you the confession you need.”
“A confession might be a little too much to hope for if you plan to stay alive, Boudreaux. I’ll settle for some kind of confirmation or connection between rAz and the dead girls. Okay?”
Dick scanned the area again before looking back to Henri.
“Our eyes are all over this building. According to our undercover guy, there’s some young newbie frisking people in the hall and one guy inside with rAz. It makes sense; they attract less attention with less people. That doesn’t mean they aren’t willing to get their hands dirty, though. I’ll be outside in the hallway, and if at any time it feels like it’s all going to hell in a handbasket, you just make the transaction and get the fuck out of there, okay?”
Dick’s frown and the serious line to his lips made Henri forget his smartass reply. Instead, he nodded, got out of the car, and headed across the street. He had his gun stashed in the back of his jeans and his phone in his pocket, and as he headed toward his target, Henri took a deep breath and focused.
The inside of the building was a shithole. There was trash in the halls, paint peeling off the walls, and it was cold—no, scratch that, it was fucking freezing.
Henri had gotten past the two pawns out the front with little to no effort, but as he headed up the stairs toward the fifteenth floor, he wondered how much his thighs were going to hurt tomorrow and took great delight in knowing Dick’s would hurt like a bitch too.
Of course the fucking elevator had to be broken. That was a given, right? But did this rAz asshole really need to be so high up? Henri supposed the guy did that to keep himself away from anyone who might want to put a bullet in his head, and also to make it more difficult for people to run. Something Henri was hoping he wouldn’t have to do tonight. He was already pissed off, and honestly, that would just be the cherry on top of his bad fucking week.
As he spotted the fifteenth floor, Henri pushed through the grimy door and came into a dimly lit hallway. A couple of the lights worked, but the majority were blown, which was a bonus for him, since Henri had always worked best in the dark.
With an eye on the end of the hall, he made his way down to the room number he’d been given. A familiar face stepped out into his path and shut the door behind him—Bleach Boy.
Ah, yes, Henri remembered this punk from his little one-on-one with Ricky G. He’d been high on the product he was supposed to be pushing, but tonight he seemed a lot more lucid and…hostile. Out to prove yourself tonight, are you?
“Hey? You can stop right there,” Bleach Boy said, as Henri closed in on him.
Not wanting this to go tits up before he even set eyes on the prize, Henri did as requested, knowing this little fucker had been sent out to check him for a wire and weapons. Henri stopped in the middle of the hall as the kid approached.
“No one goes inside without being checked first.”
Henri held his hands up. “Aww, and you were the one sent out to feel me up. I’m flattered. You were the cuter one between you and Ricky.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Bleach Boy said, his homophobic side working in Henri’s favor, making him…unfocused.
Henri shrugged, not worried in the slightest about the guy in front of him. He could take Bleach Boy with his bare hands. In fact, he could take any of these guys with just his bare hands, as long as he caught them at the right moment.
Bleach Boy patted him down, located Henri’s phone and pulled it free, and then continued on. Henri made sure to spread his legs wide, and when the kid glared up at him, Henri winked.
He quickly got to his feet and spat out, “Turn around and face the wall.” Then he ran a hand down to where Henri’s gun was stashed and pulled it free.
As Henri rounded back to face his smug little welcoming committee of one, he saw Bleach Boy examining his Glock. “I’ll hang on to this. You won’t be needing it in there.”
Henri nodded and looked up and down the hall to make sure they were alone. “You’re probably right. Someone like you would need that more than I would in this neighborhood.”
