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“Well, Sir, he is a very difficult man to track down. I…”
“You are fucking fired, you fucking cunt!” With a roar of frustration, I throw the phone against the wall opposite my bed. It smacks into the wood panelling with a loud crack and drops to the floor, no doubt broken and useless.
It’s not the first time. It won’t be the last. I’m aware of my anger issues, but I’m not interested in fixing them right now.
Shaking my head, I get out of bed stark naked and cross over to the balcony of my townhouse in London. It’s fucking freezing, snowing even this morning. Glaring over the dim light of the bare dawn, I sigh and run a hand through my hair.
“I will find you, you prick. This is too fucking serious for you to evade me for one moment longer.”
Grimacing as talking to myself is the first sign I’m losing my mind over this, I turn and stalk into the bathroom, not switching the light on because my eyes can’t take the harsh glare right now. Turning on the shower, I step in and let the arctic blast get rid of the lingering hangover before I allow myself the luxury of warm water. Growing up, we barely had any. Hell, we barely had running water most of the time in the dumpy flat we lived in, in one of the most deprived areas of London in the eighties. I knew from a very young age that I wasn’t spending the rest of my life grifting like my dad or making pennies at any old job that would have me like my mum. I was going to make something of myself and do whatever it took to make it happen.
Shady deals, running drugs, beating people up to prove my worth, I was willing and able. My past is something I’m not fond of rehashing, but it got me exactly what I wanted. Somehow, luck was on my side, and I ran with a guy who had it made. We were too much alike not to be friends. We got into scraps and had the time of our fucking lives, and then it all went to shit, and we parted ways.
And now that shit is back.
I’d say to haunt me, but I don’t believe in ghosts.
Or maybe I should.
“Damn you, Gideon.” The words are a curse that has tumbled from my lips more times than I can count over the last decade.
Ending the shower, I dry and get dressed, catching sight of my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are bloodshot, not the usual green sparkle that can charm the pants off anyone. My skin has a grey pallor, which is made starker by my jet-black hair, and I look tired.
Grabbing the eye drops from the dresser, I tilt my head back and splash a few drops in each eye before blinking rapidly and chucking it back in the drawer.
“Coffee. Lots of it.”
Making my way downstairs, the pot is already full, and I pour out a scalding cup to drink black, no sugar, before pouring out another.
The knock at the door is expected and bang on time.
Opening it, I glare at the visitor and hold my hand out.
“Again?” she complains. “Jesus, Dante. What this time?”
“Threw it at the wall. Oh, and that reminds me. I fired Wilson. Find me someone to replace him A-SAP.”
“Fucking hell. We’ve been through every single investigator in the city worth their salt,” Jemima, my assistant, complains.
“Then look further afield. Or maybe someone who isn’t worth their salt. Find me someone who will do whatever it fucking takes to get me what I want.”
We lock gazes, and she understands. She knows how I operate. We go way back. All the way back. We grew up together on the streets. There is no one I trust more than the woman in front of me. This is made even more secure by the fact that I think of her like a sister, and she finds me revolting to look at. Her words. It has cemented our deep friendship in a way that if we were avoiding any ‘feelings’, it wouldn’t have happened.
“You sure?”
“I’m done fucking about. I want that arsehole found, and I want him found now.”
“You know you are looking for a ghost.”
“Even ghosts can be found.”
“You seem quite sure about that.”
“Do it or find yourself at the job centre tomorrow with Wilson.”
“Please,” she scoffs. “You wouldn’t fire me in a million years. I know too much.”
Shooting her a smirk, I pick up my briefcase to head out. “Well, I can’t deny that as fact. But you know what I do to people who betray me.”
