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He pulled out the chair in the breakfast nook with force and sat on it hard. “Talk.”
Reaching over, I put my hand on his thigh because I knew once I said what I was about to, he was going to get out of the chair. “Malik was the one who broke in.” Just as I predicted, Dexen tried to stand. I held firm while Greer gripped his other thigh. “He was after something Greer had. I’m the one who convinced Greer not to tell the cops.”
“What?” he yelled. “Have his ass arrested! Or better yet, you should have put a bullet in his head! Fuck’s sake, JJ!”
“Really? You know my dad. Killing Malik would have brought the whole Altair mafia to our door. To your family’s. To Greer’s.”
He balled his hands into fists. “Goddammit.” He knew I was right. It wasn’t like Malik was some low level no one who worked for my dad. “Why was he here?”
“He wanted a flash drive.”
“Why?”
I looked at Greer. It was his turn to talk. He had his head down and at some point had found a tennis ball he was bouncing with his free, busted-up hand. Anxiety rolled off him which wasn’t normal. Greer was usually calm. He saw everything. Looked at it objectively. Not now.
Dexen reached over to thread his fingers with Greer’s. “Hey, talk to us. Whatever it is, we’re not going anywhere.”
“Even if I kept something from you?”
“Did you do it intentionally?”
“I forgot about it, the drive. It isn’t mine anyway. I don’t think about it so when Malik brought it up, I was surprised and shocked he knew it existed.”
“Whose is it?”
“Perry’s. His dad gave it to him.”
“What’s on it?”
Greer lifted his head, his gaze colliding with mine. “Everything and anything to do with JJ’s dad.”
30
DEXEN
Greer thought we were going to be mad that he hadn’t told us about the flash drive. I wasn’t and was certain neither was JJ. Greer kept bouncing the tennis ball, his way to bleed out his frustration and worries.
And his face, fuck, Greer had a swollen eye, which was going to be ugly come morning. There was a shallow cut over his eyebrow and another on his opposite cheek. I wanted to get him in the shower and tend to him. Show him the care he always gave JJ and me. We had to get all this out in the open first, so we knew what we were dealing with.
“Start from the beginning,” I said.
“When Perry’s dad was still alive, not long before the stroke that took him, he gave Perry a flash drive. He told him on it were the names, addresses, whatever of Jordan Sr.’s contacts, including why he did business with them. It also has bank account numbers for every one of them. There are two of them with the same data on each. One is in the penthouse in a safe only Perry, Pey, and me know about. The other is here, in the fortress. Perry didn’t want both copies in the same location. It’s a safeguard in case something happens between Perry and his uncle. One he’s never used and never told anyone about but Pey and me.”
“And you’re telling us.” It was a big secret to let us in on.
Greer nodded. “I’m trusting you with it because I trust you with everything else, including my life and the lives of my family.”
JJ sat back in his chair. “Is there anything about me on it?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t looked at it. Perry’s dad didn’t mention you so maybe not. The drive is in the safe and hasn’t left since the day we put it in there.”
“Why not store it in a cloud or some shit so there’s no physical copy?” JJ asked.
“It’s hackable. You hire the right person who can breach systems and they can find anything. I didn’t think your dad knew about it, but he obviously does if Malik is after it.”
“Why not tell Peyton so he could tell Dom and Junior?” I asked. “I could understand not telling the police, but the others are family. This involves them.”
“If I tell my brother, he’ll go charging into the lion’s den and make a huge mess. Pey will think with his heart and want to protect everyone he loves. It’s not a bad thing. Normally Pey is methodical but in this, where Perry and Dom are concerned, I worry he wouldn’t be. I’d rather keep them out of it. I don’t want them getting hurt.”
