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“I hope so.”
39
Hunter
* * *
The blood runs down the plughole, vanishing from sight. If only it was that easy to get rid of the body.
I rub soap into my hands, scrubbing hard to ensure all traces of the fight are gone. My shirt is ruined, ripped, and stained. Once my hands are clean, I remove every item of clothing, bagging them up and leaving them in the corner of the bathroom. Then I climb into the shower, ensuring no signs of anything left on me.
I climb out, drying myself before dressing in a new suit. I carry the bag out of the bathroom and take it out back. I dump the contents in the firepit and set them alight, sitting and watching them burn.
I feel my face. The swelling by my eye has gone down, but my jaw still stings. At least the cut on my cheek has stopped bleeding. They can be a pain in the ass when they refuse to quit.
I hear feet on the gravel, and I can tell at once it’s Toby. “How’s it going?” he asks, passing me an ice-cold beer.
I press it to the swollen point by my eye. “I’m just peachy. Alicia, all right?”
“Upstairs doing homework. She wanted to come to see you, but I put her off, told her you were napping.”
“I almost was. A very fucking long nap.”
“Permanent from what I heard. Shit, man. I’m sorry it went down that way.”
“My father still pissed?”
“He thought you’d left because of the argument with Ernesto.”
“It’s hardly an argument having him spend ten minutes trying to get me to back down.”
“Why not tell the Don that?”
“Because he’s dying, Toby. I don’t want him to have to weigh in. He’s supposed to be winding down to retirement, not sorting out all my problems.”
“So you’re going to leave him thinking you’re an asshole who walks out on a wedding instead?”
“Better that than the truth. It’ll kill him if I tell him that Ernesto hired a fake cop to execute me. I won’t do it.”
“So Ernesto gets away with it?”
“I didn’t say that. When the guy wakes up, he and I will have a little talk.”
“A talk? Is that all?”
“He’s going to give me the details so I can take them to the commission. They won’t take kindly to a family member trying to kill a sibling.”
“I’m impressed you were able to hold off killing him.”
“Yeah, my father told me I must plan for the future. I’m just glad he came for me, not Bex.”
“Shit, yeah, she could have gotten killed.”
“He’s played all his cards now. He knows I’ll be on my guard from now on. I’ve got a meeting with the commission set up for next week. It strengthens my hand to go in with the son of a bitch who did this to me.”
“What will you tell them?”
“That I’m married and I have a child. The terms are met. I should get to inherit.”
