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“Right on time,” I say. “Come on in.”
As I greet him, I do a quick count of how many men he’s brought with him. Four. Standard stuff, since he’d have to be stupid to come onto our turf alone. We’ll be outnumbered if something breaks bad, but itisour turf, so that gives us a bit of an advantage. And nothing should go wrong. This is just a simple negotiation, and as far as I know, we’re all interested in making sure this deal happens. Like Mal said, they’d be lucky to have us working for them.
I lead them into the living room, and they all settle in.
“Thanks for meeting with us,” I say, falling into my usual role as the one who does most of the talking in situations like these. “We’ve been interested in cutting a deal with you for a while.”
“We’ve been interested too,” Ethan answers. “Just had to make sure you were serious about working with us.”
Malice snorts. “We’re serious about everything we do.”
There’s half a threat in there somewhere, because it’s Malice, and I just grin, smoothing that over a little bit to keep things comfortable and low stress.
“Our track record speaks for itself,” I say. “We work quickly, but it’s never sloppy.”
Ethan nods. He’s the brains here. The other four guys with him are just here for muscle. To make it clear he’s got back-up, in case we decide to try something. And also for the intimidation factor of it all.
“I’ve heard,” he says. “How much do you think you can handle?”
“Four a week,” I say smoothly. “Probably more in time, once we get a rhythm going.”
His eyebrows go up, an impressed look flitting across his face. “Reliably?”
“Yeah, reliably,” Malice replies. “We don’t do cut rate shit.”
As our negotiations continue, Ethan glances toward the stairs, his eyebrows rising as he catches sight of Willow coming down them. Keeping her head down and her gaze averted, she quickly pads down the steps and toward the kitchen.
“That a friend of yours?” Ethan asks, craning his neck a little to check her out as she disappears into the kitchen.
“She’s no one,” Malice replies sharply. “She’s just some chick I brought home. Don’t worry about her.”
A couple of Ethan’s men share a look, but none of them say anything more about Willow. They don’t ask any more questions, and it seems like they’re going to let Malice’s answer stand.Good. Negotiations can be tense, but if we’re cool with Ethan bringing four of his guys, none of whom have been vetted by us, he’d damn well better be okay with us having Willow here.
“So,” Ethan says, leaning back on the couch where he’s sitting. “Four a week. How much are you looking to make for that?”
He wants us to name a number first, but I deflect that, putting the ball back in his court. “We know the going rates around here,” I tell him. “For the parts and what other shops are charging. But they don’t work as fast as we do.”
“So short changing us is a stupid idea,” Malice adds.
Ethan and Malice face off for a second, and then Ethan nods. “You’re right. Two grand per.”
“Bullshit,” Malice grunts. “Didn’t you hear what Ransom said? We know how much parts are worth. You’re getting two grand just for the wheels alone. More if they’ve got rims. Add in everything else, and that’s just a fucking insult.”
When Ethan laughs, I breathe a little sigh of relief. Maybe he was just testing to see if we actually know what we’re talking about.
“Four grand,” he says. “If you can salvage everything.”
The three of us look at each other and Vic nods, his one contribution to the meeting. It’s a good price, and he’s the one who’s done all the math on it.
“Deal,” I say, holding out my hand for Ethan to shake.
He does, and Malice gets up and comes back with a bottle of whiskey and several glasses for us to seal the deal.
He pours, and we drink, toasting to the new partnership.
It’s a good thing too. We need the work and the money—plus, working with a gang that’s getting its name out there will give us a leg up in the underworld of Detroit. It’s a win-win, and I’m pretty pleased with the fact that it went through.
Malice, Vic, and I chat with Ethan for a few minutes as the meeting winds down, hammering out a few specifics and asking some questions about their preferred method of chopping. I’m about to respond to something Ethan said when movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention.
