“Uh…um…he has a lot of people who work for him, a…a driver. Maybe he tells him things, his wife.”
“Wow, thank God you gave us this plethora of knowledge; we would be so lost without it,” I deadpanned and Gideon chuffed.
“Nathanial, you’re useless to me. I can’t trust you, and as I said before, you’re a huge liability.”
“Please, Mr. Hendrix. Tell me what I can do, anything just…please.”
Gideon grinned. “Work out how to kill the housing deal.”
“What? I…how?”
Gideon shrugged. “That’s for you to figure out. You have one week to make it happen. If you don’t, you’ll never make it to St. Barts.”
“If I, by some miracle, am able to squash the deal, he’ll come after me.”
Gideon pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. His thinking face, I liked to call it. “I’ll make you a deal, Nathanial. You make this real estate problem of mine go away, and I will give you round the clock protection until I’ve figured out the best way to neutralize Benito.”
“Okay, I can try for an injunction, maybe. I have a judge who owes me a favor. I need to speak with Gretchen.”
“I don’t give a shit how you do it. Just do it, Nathanial. You have one week. If I have to take this into my own hands, it’s going to be very fucking ugly.”
“Right. Okay, Mr. Hendrix. But you understand the second Benito gets wind of what’s going on, he will come after me.”
Gideon turned to Alex. “Call Raff. I want a team of four guys on Nathanial at all times, starting when he leaves here today.”
“Yes, Boss.” Alex began texting, and Gideon faced Nathanial.
“There, done.”
Nathanial nodded. “Okay, I’ll do whatever I can.”
Gideon slapped Nathanial’s face none too lightly. “Good man.”
The four men arrived to take Nathanial out of there, and I waited until Gideon and I were in the car on the way home.
“Do you think he’ll make it happen?”
“He better. I wasn’t kidding; if he doesn’t, I will have to get my hands dirty.”
I reached over and slotted my fingers between his. “Is it a safety thing? Is that why you really don’t want Benito living in that house?”
Gideon looked at me, his expression stormy. “That’s part of it. But it’s strategic. Benito thinks he can do whatever he wants, thinks I’m easily moved out of the way. He clearly wasn’t watching too well these last two years if he thinks any of that to be true. So, I have to show him just how far my reach goes.”
I lifted his hand to my mouth and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “Then we show him, and I’m sure once he realizes he’s underestimated you, his tune will change.”
“Damn straight it will.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gideon
The following week was quiet…tooquiet. I’d heard nothing from Nathanial, so I asked Hank what he knew. All he could tell me was that Nathanial was acting a little more unhinged each day. I wasn’t sure what unhinged meant in terms of how Nathanial was acting, and this worried me because tomorrow was the deadline. If he didn’t handle this house situation, I was going to have to, and bodies would fall.
It was a cool evening, and Penn and I were enjoying dinner outside. I’d just wiped my mouth when the ground quaked, and a resoundingboomechoed through the street.
“What the fuck?” I spun in my chair and saw smoke billowing from the trees.
“Sounded like an explosion.” Penn got up as Danny and Toni came running over to me.
