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And if the good judge ignored my… recommendation? Then he would suffer the consequences.
I’d taken it upon myself to become a member of the Keystone Club, a popular watering hole only for the upper echelon of the male population in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. This was the safe zone where they could bring their wives or mistresses on rare occasions without receiving flak from anyone. I’d been here twice up to this point, unimpressed either time. The term stodgy came to mind.
I took long strides in through the club doors, already learning from the judge’s secretary that he had lunch plans with a colleague.
The man was easy to find, his booming voice boasting about whatever poor soul who’d landed in his courtroom. Neither man saw my approach, barely acknowledging me until I’d pulled out the third chair, sitting down without being asked.
The judge stopped talking immediately, his face reddening and I hadn’t even opened my mouth.
Yet.
I offered a lazy grin as I sat back in the chair, not bothering to acknowledge the other judge, who currently wasn’t a member of Carnal Sins.
Judge Garber sucked in his breath and likely his rage, realizing making a scene wasn’t in his best interest. “I hope, Mr. Stark, that you have come here to have a discussion about my son.”
Maybe I was an evil man, taking my time before answering. “Not at all. That’s a police matter now.”
“Then why the fuck are you here?”
The other judge was almost instantly uncomfortable. “I thought I’d drop by and mention I had the liberty of seeing a good friend of yours while in Paris handling business. Louis Visage?”
For a man who was forced to mask his feelings on a daily basis, he was doing a piss-poor job of hiding them now. “What. Do. You. Want?”
“It’s not what I want any longer, Judge Garber. It’s what I am willing to do for you.” I placed the envelope full of similar pictures given to Visage in front of him, keeping a grin on my face.
He glanced down twice then scowled as he lifted it into his fingers, keeping the brown envelope close to him. At first, he had no reaction, the photographs of his meeting with Santiago positioned on top. However, the pictures certainly became more risqué the further down he went. By the time he’d reached the fifth very vivid image of his time spent with a young man in Spain, I could tell his blood pressure had gone through the roof.
“This is…” The judge reached for his whiskey, almost knocking the glass over.
“Is something wrong, Dan?” the other judge asked.
“Nothing I can’t handle. What do you want?”
I shifted my gaze to the other judge and Daniel huffed.
“Take a hike, Joe. Let me handle this… gentleman on my own.” Daniel tossed his napkin onto the table, guzzling down his drink and immediately searching for the waiter.
“You sure?”
“Just go. This fucker I can deal with.”
While Dan sounded reassuring, the way his other hand was clutching the envelope meant he knew I was deadly serious.
Joe gave me a nasty look before storming off. Then Dan leaned in. “I don’t know what the fuck you think you’re doing but you won’t get away with it.”
“I’m going to make this very easy for you. I’m finished with playing games. I had a nice discussion with Mr. Visage. All accusations leveled against Philip Dumas have been shoved under a fat rock. I am totally aware that both you and Senator Collins are responsible for making several phone calls to the French Parliament and members of law enforcement. Your plans to shut me down have been derailed. Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to cease all communications with Santiago. You’re going to make certain that Welsh Pharmaceuticals isn’t pushed out of business and you’re going to help our police chief with criminal investigations against the cartel and the Bratva. Given your influence, that shouldn’t be a stretch for you.”
“I can’t do that. You’re out of your mind if you think I can.” He huffed and looked away. “They’ll kill me.”
“That’s not my problem. You got into bed with criminal elements. That’s entirely on you. Besides, you’re more powerful than you give yourself credit for. I’ll be happy to give you twenty-four hours to think over my proposal.” I rose to my feet without providing the consequences should he not follow through with my request. He snapped his hand around my arm, hissing under his breath.
“What about my son? You can’t ruin his entire life.”
I gazed down at him, almost feeling pity. Almost. “Maybe it’s time you deal with your son’s punishment. If you do so, charges will be dropped.”
“You’ll pay for threatening me.”
“I have no problem with watching you try, Judge.”
