“So you blew the place up?”
He raked his fingers through his greasy hair. “I couldn’t get the injunction. I tried calling in some favors, but nobody wanted to get involved once they heard Benito Calvern owned the property.”
I glanced at Danny. He’d thought the injunction would be a no-go. “Did they say why they didn’t want to get involved? While he’s running for governor, nothing I’ve found on him proves he’s a violent man.”
Nathanial shrugged. “I don’t know. But I was desperate. I figured if I made it look like a gas leak, it would be fine.”
“And has it been?”
He swallowed loudly. “I think so. Gretchen kept the utilities on—didn’t want things to get stagnant, or whatever.”
“Have you heard from Benito?” I moved to sit on one of the chairs near Nathanial.
“Yeah. He called. I acted surprised, but I don’t know if he bought it.”
I hummed. “Why were you in a dive bar, Nathanial?”
His hands were shaking. “I was scared.”
“I had men on you; you evaded them. They would have kept you safe even though you blew up the house.”
His eyes were wide and frantic. “I had to. If your guys knew I was going to do that, they’d have told you and stopped it, and then I’d have been killed by you for missing the deadline.”
Sweet Jesus. “You have to go home, Nathanial. By disappearing, you look guilty. Does your wife know?”
He shook his head. “Not that I had anything to do with the explosion. I told her I was dealing with the fallout and had to go upstate for a few days.”
I motioned to Toni. “Here’s a change of clothes and toiletries. Shower, get cleaned up, get the fuck home, and act like nothing has happened. My guys will stay on you.”
“What if he finds out?”
“We will figure it out. Right now you need to join society again. This…” I motioned with my finger his dirty self. “Makes you look responsible. Shake it off, and get back to it.”
He nodded wearily. “Yeah, okay. Are we good?”
“For now. Just keep your mouth shut.”
“Yes, Mr. Hendrix.”
I left Nathanial at the house with four guys who I instructed not to let him out of their sight. I had my family returning next week, and I had to make sure this Benito Calvern shit was put to rest by then.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Penn
Four daysafter the blast I was outside mowing the lawn, much to the displeasure of Gideon and the landscaper—what could I say? I liked manual labor—when an unexpected visitor arrived.
“Sir!” Raff shouted.
I shut the mower off and looked over at the man. “What?”
“There’s someone here.”
I glanced toward the gate, but all I saw was a black Escalade. “Who?”
“Benito Calvern.”
Motherfucker.“Did you tell Gideon?”
