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“Anything he has will be better, cleaner, than what I got.”

“Yes.”

“You have your knife, though.”

I cracked a grin, teasing him. “I always have a knife; I’m Cuban, man.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “Gimme a break, your last name is Bean.”

“’Cause my father went for the Latinas even though he was a black man.”

He chuckled. “And where’s your father now?”

I tipped my head at him. “In heaven, watching over his boy.”

His brows furrowed. “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “Drunk drivers should just be taken out and shot.”

“Agreed.”

My eyes absorbed his face.

“I’ll see ya,” he said quickly, giving my shoulder a hard pat before he turned and walked away from me.

Ira, who never spoke, was suddenly in front of me, hand on my cheek for a minute before he followed after Gabe.

“Be careful, kid,” Francesco said when he reached me, slapping my face gently. “And I never meant anything when I hassled you. It didn’t mean shit.”

I knew exactly what Francesco wanted from me—if he could be certain no one would ever find out, if I would allow it, if it would stay between us. The way his eyes always slid over me, the sound of his breath when he leaned close, how often he teased me about sucking his dick. I knew. I wasn’t stupid.

“And if you need a piece, you call me. I’ll get you something untraceable, like the others.”

But Gabriel had already told me to ask Conrad, and I would have gone that route anyway. Francesco, regardless of what he said or tried to imply, was not my friend. He could not be counted on like the man who might one day, accidentally or purposely, kill me.

“I’m sorry Benji’s dead. I’m sorry about all of them. Make sure you call his folks, okay?”

I was startled and watched him as he left, jogging down the hall after Gabe and Ira.

“Mr. Bean?”

When I turned, there was a doctor, and he wanted to know how to get in touch with Benji’s family. I told him I needed my friend’s phone.

“I better get you some coffee,” Conrad said softly, appearing quietly at my shoulder, “’cause you’re gonna be up for a while.”

And of course he was right. He was always right.

Chapter 3

I CALLED Landry and told him what had happened, and it took everything in me plus Conrad getting on the phone to keep him from coming to the hospital. Landry was scared that whoever had killed the other runners was coming after me, but I reminded him of who exactly my guardian angel was and that Gabriel had told me that as long as I stayed out of sight, all would be well. Kady and his guys weren’t actively looking for me. They would just find me if I was hanging out in my usual haunts. No one was hunting me; it was more a question of opportunity, and even then, even if they found me, there was still Conrad to consider.

Landry didn’t understand, but he had met Conrad, so when the man said I was safe, he believed him.

My friend had excused himself at the hospital for a while, and when he returned, he reiterated Gabriel’s words to me and told me to lie low, steer clear of all the casinos and my regular clients. He promised that I would be fine as long as I didn’t try to conduct business as usual. It was a clash beyond my scope; I did not need to be involved. They had killed the runners to interrupt Adrian’s cash flow and that was it. As horrible as it was, if I stayed out of sight, no one was coming after me.

“Won’t the cops be all over this?” I asked Conrad. “I mean, he was murdered. Won’t there be an investigation?”

He shook his head. “You watch too much TV where everybody works and takes any death seriously. You have to realize, in the real world, with the way bodies pile up in any big city, no one is killing themselves to find out what happened to Benji.”