Page 104 of Tied Over

“What’s with the look?”

“That makes no sense. You had Craig Hartley gunning for you. I would think that would be infinitely worse than Gabriel Brodie.”

“Yeah, but Hartley was after me, never Ian. He would have never harmed him to hurt me. He wouldn’t have seen the point. And after the time he saved Chickie’s life when he was shot, I wasn’t even afraid he wanted to kill me anymore.”

“You’re serious?”

“Absolutely. As weird as this is to say, Brodie was far more unhinged than Hartley.”

“How?”

He shrugged. “Brodie is absolutely convinced that our boss is the devil. He thinks that Sam Kage ruined his life, and he takes no responsibility for flushing his own life down the toilet.”

That was true.

“Hartley knew what he was doing at all times. He was never out of control. People always say he was deluded, and some of the things he believed could be out there, but he was completely sane.”

“You think Brodie needs to be in a mental facility?”

“I think his delusion is coming from somewhere, and not just from him being a dick like everyone always thought. I think there’s trauma there, and I hope they unpack it and don’t simply send him to prison and throw away the key.”

“An attempt on the life of not one but three federal marshals… I can’t imagine he’ll be breathing free air for the foreseeable future.”

“Agreed.”

I took a breath. “What about Mills?”

“He helped orchestrate the attack on Ian, and he’s the one who shot at and missed Eli. He’s going to prison as well.”

“For a very long time,” I said, studying his face.

“You’re looking at me weird. What is it?”

“You were really never scared of Hartley?”

“When he first stabbed me, yes,” he said softly, thoughtfully. “When he kidnapped me, oh yes. But again, after someone saves your big dorky dog, it’s hard to muster terror when you think of them.”

I was quiet a moment. “You know, a lot of people think, because there was no autopsy, that he’s still alive.”

“Yeah, well, they weren’t there. I promise you, Craig Hartley is gone.”

I sipped my coffee and agreed that Bodhi was right—I did tend to make it the consistency of crude oil.

“You’re still looking at me like I grew another head,” Miro said, smiling.

“You just sounded almost sad there.”

“It’s an odd thing, the relationship Hartley and I had. I mean, for the rest of my life, my name will be tied to his.”

“You have standing offers to be interviewed by some of the biggest names in the business. Everyone wants to know what you know about Hartley. There’s been so many shows and articles and books, but no one knows more than you.”

He nodded.

“Can I ask?”

“About his vault?”

“Yeah. Are you ever gonna go to Switzerland and look inside?”