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“Isn’t that enough?”
“No, it’s not, because if you truly knew who I was, you could’ve destroyed me.”
“Oh?” His eyes widen.
“But you won’t. Because now I know who you are, and I have connections that you can’t even imagine.”
He visibly shudders once more.
“I sit here, and I hold a gun on you. I could easily shoot you right now. I’ve done it before, you know. Just the fact that you ever harmed Katelyn is enough to make me want to blow your head off. I’m not going to. I’m not going to for one simple reason. I need you alive, for reasons I’m going to keep to myself for now. You need me alive, because without me, your protection goes out the window.”
“You’re offering me protection?”
“No, I’m offering you a deal, and here are the terms. I will protect you, see that no harm comes to you, and you’ll do the same for me.”
“Why would I want to do that?”
“Because if you don’t, I’ll have you sliced open.”
He opens his mouth but then shuts it, clearly thinking better of arguing with me.
“You’re right. My street name is Lucifer Raven. But my real name is…Lucifer Charles Ashton the third.”
His eyebrows nearly fly off his forehead. “You’re related to that producer?”
“Do you think a lot of people are named Lucifer?”
“I just assumed it was part of your street name. Your real name is Luke something.”
“We’re not all that different, Pollack. Except that I never visited that island with my old man. I never did those horrible things that you did to women.”
“Exactly how are we similar?” he says.
“Not in any way that I’m proud of. That’s all I’ll say. But here’s what I will tell you. My connections go much farther than some simple drug lords. I know the people with the real power, both in the underground and in real life. My old man could have you offed in a second. So could the drug kingpins in LA. All it would take is a simple phone call from me. And…if anything happens to me? They have their orders.”
His lips tremble. “What orders?”
“Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.”
He inhales. Exhales. A shudder racks through his body. “Fine. You have a deal.”
“Good enough. Since you won’t tell me what you did to Katelyn, I won’t push it. You’re going to give me something in return for not pushing it.”
What I don’t tell him is that I’m almost glad he won’t tell me. If I truly knew? I’m not sure my newfound mental health would keep me from gutting him right here and now.
“All right.” His gaze doesn’t waver from my gun.
“You’re not going to leave this place. In fact, I’m going to have someone watching you at all times.”
“I have a job,” he says.
“What the hell do you do?”
“I’m an—"
“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “You had enough money to go to that damned island. Even with the fine you paid, you can easily stay here and not go anywhere. You’re at my fucking beck and call. Is that clear?”
“Who… Who will be watching me?”
“What fun would this be if I told you that? Just know that I’ve got someone good on you at all times. You move? I’ll know. Their orders are to kill.”
“Oh… Okay.” His voice cracks.
Good. He’s scared.
No one will be watching, of course. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
And now he knows who I really am.
That will be enough to keep him quiet. If my father was on that island and escaped incarceration, he can easily have Pollack killed without blinking an eye.
“I’m going to go now. You’re going to lock yourself in. You will order your groceries to be delivered. That is that.”
“I understand.”
“Make the call.”
“To whom?”
“To whoever you work with. Your boss. Tell him or her that you have a family emergency, and you have to take an unpaid leave of absence for an indefinite period of time.”
“I can’t just—”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Fine. My phone… It’s in my pocket.”
“Well, get it out. You’re acting like someone has a gun held to your head.” I can’t help a caustic laugh.
“I have your permission. To get my phone.”
“You do. You’re going to make the call, and you’re going to put it on speaker. Because I don’t really trust you not to call someone else and try to maneuver out of our deal.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, you probably wouldn’t. You’d be stupid to try. Funny thing is…I still don’t trust you.”
Slowly, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a smart phone. He punches a number.
“Hi, Darlene. It’s Chris. I need to talk to Ray.”
“Sure, Chris. I’ll patch you through.”
Pause.
“Hey, Chris, what’s up?”
“Sorry I didn’t get in today. I’ve got a family emergency.”
“Oh my. Anything I can do to help?”
“No, I can’t really talk about it.” Pollack’s voice cracks, and he clears his throat. “I’m going to need to take an indefinite leave of absence. I don’t expect to be paid.”
