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My head is fucking throbbing. It’s still dark. There’s some sort of course bag over my head that’s about as soft as sandpaper. My hands are bound.
Where the fuck am I?
Suddenly, I’m blinded with light when the bag is ripped from my head, scratching my skin. I blink at my surroundings. It takes me a few seconds to be able to focus again, but when I’m able to make out my surroundings, I notice I’m in a massive space with tall, rounded metal ceilings and corrugated metal walls. It smells strongly of fuel.
There’s a large private jet to my left. White with no markings of any kind.
I’m in an airplane hangar.
In front of me, in a director’s style chair, sits Tico Ricci himself, complete with perfectly groomed white beard and matching hair combed to one side. He’s wearing a tailored grey three-piece suit with a baby blue tie. He crosses one shiny brown shoe over the opposite knee. The sleeve of his jacket shifts when he moves, exposing a large silver and diamond watch. Everything about him screams power and intimidation, but that shit won’t work on me.
Tico is staring down at me as if he’s waiting to speak. He motions for his goons to stand aside.
I rise off my knees, my hands still bound behind me.
“I’m sorry to have to bring you here like this,” Tico starts in his thick Brazilian accent. “But I am not fond of people knowing where I am. I received word you were looking for me, and now, here you are.”
“Ever heard of Uber?” I ask. “Would have made for a more pleasant trip. Well, unless you get the guy that wants to chat your ear off the entire time, and chatty, your men are not. Or maybe they were. Couldn’t tell you. I was unconscious.”
He smiles. “What can I do for you, Nine? What is so urgent that you saught me out for a private audience?”
“It’s about Jared Cox.”
His jaw stiffens. “What about that motherfucking cunt would you like to discuss?” he asks between his teeth. “Maybe, how many ways I’m going to make him suffer before he dies? Because that is the only thing I want to talk about when it comes to that thieving piece of shit.”
I shake my head. “Sounds swell, but no. It’s about his girlfriend. His ex-girlfriend, Lenore Leary.”
“Yes, I’m listening. Go on,” Tico replies, leaning forward in his chair.
“She didn’t have shit to do with Jared’s deals. She needs to be left alone,” I demand.
“I understand,” Tico says, taking a tumbler of whiskey handed to him by one of his men. “But there is still the matter of my men that you killed.”
I shrug. “It isn’t a matter. They were shooting at us. It’s part of the game we all play. You win some; you lose some. They lost.”
Tico jerks his chin to a man in the corner who comes over and cuts the ropes tying my wrists together.
I pull my smokes from my pocket and light one. “Thanks,” I say, sarcastically.
“You should have just let them take the girl, and they wouldn’t have lost,” Tico argues.
I inhale deeply and blow the smoke out through my nose. “I couldn’t do that. She’s an innocent and not a player of the game.”
Tico swirls the whiskey in his glass. “You got some sort of history with this girl?”
“I’ve got everything with this girl,” I answer, honestly.
“Tell me where Jared Cox is,” Tico demands. “And maybe, we can talk more about this girl of yours.”
I shrug and take another drag of my smoke. “He’s dead. I killed him. You’re not the only one he stole from, and when I went to ask him about the money he took shots and hit Bear. So, I took him down.”
Tico nods several times approvingly. “Good. That man was a fucking coward. Always has been. I’m disappointed about not getting to do it myself, but the fact that he’s dead still brings me great joy. It figures that he couldn’t take his punishment like a fucking man.” He sighs. “I’ll be honest with you, kid, because you’ve been honest with me. After Jared disappeared, we did look into the girl, naturally, which is why my men came after her. That’s when we found these.” He hands me a file. “Every page has two signatures. Jared Cox and a witness, Lenore Leary. This is why we initially thought she had some involvement, but we quickly learned that her signature was forged after comparing it to her real estate deals. We no longer have any interest in her. You need not worry about her safety. At least, where I’m concerned.”
Then who put the hit out on Lenny if it wasn’t Tico?
“So, you’re just going to drop the fact that you were ripped off for millions? I don’t know you personally, but I know your reputation, and I feel like you’re the kind of man who doesn’t wash his hands of a few million dollars easily.”
