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“You find the house. I’ll take care of the sister.”
I don’t know why his asking about Suzanne made me mad, but it did. I didn’t need an excuse to get pissed. I was down a droid. I had incompetent intel.
And all I could focus on was the sound of light snoring coming from the bedroom.
I should have packed my bag and left. So far, finding out St. Valentine had an undisclosed home in the Adirondacks was worth the lies.
But so was she. Twenty-four more hours was all I needed. I was convinced Suzanne didn’t know her brother led a double life. She wasn’t brought up in this world the way Lilly was. Lilly knew who she was and where she came from...she just wasn’t included in specifics.
Suzanne was clueless about her family’s past, but there could be more information she would inadvertently reveal, which made what I was doing all the more dangerous for me. The moment of clarity I reached after just one phone call of re-immersing into the role I was born to play helped me refocus.
At least, that’s what I told myself.
And kept repeating in my mind as I picked up the phone. He was used to skipping the pleasantries when I called.
“You’ve heard.”
“Doing damage control as we speak.”
“I gave him a pass. Who would have done it?”
Stefan was a cold-hearted bastard. He barely acknowledged that these people were human and not actual machines created to do his bidding.
“I don’t know. I can look into his records - see who else he’s worked for. For the last two years, he’s been dedicated to the crypto line and you.”
“Who’s part of the crypto line?”
He hesitated.
I spoke very distinctly. “I gave him a pass. Someone didn’t give a fuck that I wanted this man to live. Who else, Stefan?”
“You don’t understand. My crypto clients don’t like their names mentioned. To anyone.”
“I respect your confidentiality, but you need to understand this: someone had the balls to countermand my directive. It was either you or someone you know because I don’t believe for one goddamn minute that this was a coincidence and he got taken out by a desperate meth head two freakin’ blocks down the street from the cops. Talk to your crypto friends. If they’re in the clear, I need to know. If one of them has it in for me, I need to know that, too. Call me when you know, but not at this number. I’ll send you a new one.”
Stefan didn’t like it when I strongarmed him. Unfortunately, for my plans for the future to work, I needed him more than he needed me, but his very life depended on his discretion - and mine.
“I think you’re looking in the wrong place, but I’ll ask. You’re putting me in an awkward position, Gabriel.”
“You mean like the one I’m in now? I won’t apologize for that.”
“You could make it up to me.”
Why the hell would I want to do that? But he piqued my interest. Stefan wanted something and he was willing to call in a favor, which meant he wanted something very badly.
“A meeting. You, Peter, me, and St. Valentine. The software will be ready for testing soon. We have things we need to discuss.”
“So? Set up a meeting. Why do you need me to do it?” I know when I’m being played, but curiosity among professionals was usually a weak spot for me.
“Because I’m on the other side of the world right now. It’s not easy for me to get out of the country. I’m still wanted for that incident in Serbia. Peter’s jumpy. He respects you. If you organize the meeting, he’ll agree to it. St. Valentine doesn’t care one way or the other - he just wants his cut.”
The fuck he did. He had an angle; I just hadn’t figured out what it was yet.
“Fine. What’s your timeline?”
“December? I’m stuck here at least until then.”
“I’ll work on it.”
