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"Crash, thank you for agreeing to meet with us. I take it you know who my cousin is?" Nicco asked, taking the reins for the moment as I assessed him.
The man gave very little away, and I was impressed with his level of control. Not a lot of people could shield their emotions enough to hide what they felt. Taking in his background, though, growing up in foster care and group homes, I could guess it had been a skill honed as a need of survival.
"I do," Crash responded flatly.
He let go of the dog, who sat back on his haunches, quietly observing us. The dog watched calmly, with no sign of aggression. I felt reassured at the sight but had to assume it was a tactic. Why else would he bring out a scary-ass dog if not to intimidate us a little?
"Crash, or might I call you by your given name, Mr. Young?"
"Whatever you want to call me is your choice."
Attitude rolled off the man in waves, and I had to swallow the urge to put him in his place. He wasn't a made man, he wasn't bound to the hierarchy, and I needed him on our side. Squelching the urge to put him on his knees at his obstinance, I gritted my teeth and swallowed.
"Mr. Young, it's come to my attention you have an issue with the Delgados. Particularly that you owe them a sum of money. Would you say that's correct, Mr. Young?"
"That's one way to look at it."
"How would you phrase it then?"
"For starters, I don't owe them anything. They set me up to take the fall for some Ponzi scheme they had going on. I didn't realize it until too late. I lost everything because of those assholes and my stupid pride for thinking I could outsmart them. So yeah, they say I ‘owe them money' because they lost it in the stock markets, but it wasn't their money to begin with. So, I'd say we disagree on the definition of 'owing' a person," he seethed.
The anger rolling off him now was palpable, and the change from the cold, emotionless man a moment ago was astounding. Nicco was right. He was perfect for what we needed.
"So you wouldn't say you have any loyalty to them?"
"Fuck no. I'm doing everything I can to stay above water and pay them off. They still want it faster than I get it and decided to beat me up to send a message. There are no good feelings between us."
"Then I think I might have a solution for you, Mr. Young. In agreement with this, we would pay off all your debts and set you up with whatever you need to get back on your feet. You wouldn't owe us anything outside the job. That I can promise."
"Yeah, right, you guys are all the same, or you'll have me doing something worse. I barely escaped prison. I'm not falling into this trap. You can leave now." He rolled his eyes, turning to leave us, done with this conversation.
"I think you might want to hear him out, Crash," Nicco interjected. "It involves the bombing and a certain brunette that likes to punch you in the balls."
Internally, I chuckled at Nicco's statement, making me like Mrs. Carter a little more. Mr. Young stopped in his tracks, his body going rigid at Nicco's claim. Slowly, he turned, an odd look of determination on his face now.
"What is it you want me to do?"
It seems Mrs. Carter was turning out to be the best persuading chip I had. Whatever strange pull she managed to have over all of us was going to save her life. Because as beautiful as she was, as helpful to Immy as she'd been, as enchanted as I'd become by her… in the end, she was a liability.
And liabilities left you dead in our world.
For her sake, I hoped her power to persuade men to fight in her name lasted longer than her lipstick.
A war was brewing in Chicago, and we were all pieces on the board. The dangerous truth was, I didn't know who was behind it all, the true grandmaster of the game. Worse, I wasn't even confident I knew all the players, yet.
I'd like to think I was the king in this scenario, but the truth I was too scared to admit to myself, the lie I was willing to swallow down whole, my dark confession I hid from everyone… I was only a pawn.
The truth might set you free, but it could also condemn you to a fate worse than death. When no one respected you, a gentle breeze would blow over your kingdom, crumbling it to the ground.
As we walked into a house that was falling apart, I lied to myself that I had everything under control. I lied to myself that this would work. I lied to myself that I didn't care what happened to Loren. But mostly, I lied to myself that I wasn't scared of losing everything and everyone.
I'd been told my whole life the only thing that mattered was the family. That might've been the biggest lie of all.
The danger with lies was, if you told them well enough, you started to believe them.
