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“Gotta pay the bills, son. And when it all comes down to it, I had to choose between my family or yours.”
“I don’t…” I crush my eyes shut and picture Gordon fucking Fuller. But from five years ago. Youthful. Stressed. My best friend. Buried. “I was at your funeral.”
He barks out a laugh so loud, even Fletch can hear it from across the table. “You do know it’s me! I’m honored.”
“I’m confused,” I bite back. “What the fuck, Gord? You work for Vallejo? Why?”
“Not for Vallejo,” he tsks. While in the background, Rory’s struggling grunts continue to play out. Because she won’t sit down and shut up. She won’t give up, even when the world is stacked against her. “I took over, Banks. I saw an opening, enough money to put my daughter through college, and a way to make it all work.” He coughs out a laugh, almost pitying. “I’m surprised you didn’t do the same.”
“Do what? Workwiththe men who shot me on the way out? Workwiththe men who murdered my best friend?”
“You’re not listening to me,” he sighs. Though the sound is happy. Content. “I don’t workwiththem, Drake. I control them. I control it all. And now you’re running out of time. Come find me at—”
“I’ve been raising your daughter,” I explode, red-hot, vicious rage firing in my veins. “I’ve held Violet while she grieved you. I’ve been to every single birthday party for Tilly. Every single barbecue. Every single dance recital. I was there for you, Gord! And you’ve been—”
“Setting things up. For us both.” I see in my mind his wolfish grin. His pleased smirk. “Come to me down at the harbor. There’s a warehouse at the end of Dock Street. It’s three stories, and usually houses storage containers.”
I look to Archer, to make sure he knows where we’re going. He nods, so I bring my focus back to Gord. “You’ve got the girl?”
He snickers. “You like her? She’s completely your fucking type, Banks. Why am I not surprised you’re in your feelings about your witness?”
“I’m in my feelings about my dead best friend,” I growl. “And the nights I spent reading books to your little girl when she cried and begged for you.”
“Come to me,” he bites out, angry at my words. “Bring Malone if you want.”
I hold Archer’s eyes, mine widening in surprise. “You want the cops to come? You know I’m with them, right?”
“Yeah, but does he really count as a cop?” He chuckles. “He’s a Malone. You and I both know why he has a badge. Bring him,” he quips. “Let’s talk business.”
“This isn’t my first day on the job, Fuller.” I push away from Archer and charge through the war room door with the other two close on my heels. “We come there, you shoot us when we breach the door.”
“Not you. I could have killed the girl and left you wondering. I could pin it on Vallejo and go back into the wind.”
“So why’d you call?” I bound onto the escalator that cuts through the station and heads toward the basement parking lot. “Why not disappear again?”
“Because I miss you,” he murmurs. Almost…genuinely. “I already said, I’m setting things up forus. Malone is Malone, which means he comes with his own slice of the city and contacts that stretch a long way. Bring him in, and he brings Felix Malone. Together, we can topple Cordoza.”
“Cordoza?” Stunned, I look back to Archer’s wide eyes. “You want to topple the most powerful crime boss in the country? What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“He’s getting on in age,” he chuckles. “Just like Vallejo was. It’s time for a new world order, and right now, I control the biggest share of the country after Felix and Cordoza.”
“This is why you killed Lombardo in Copeland?” I step off the escalator and charge toward the parking garage. “Copeland City—on the very fucking street Malone works and lives on—ensures he’d be assigned the case. Speak Vallejo’s name, and you ensure I’d be pulled in.”
“You make friends with Malone,” he drawls. “You test him to make sure he’s legit. You bring him to me. Yeah,” he chatters, “that’s about the size of it. Felix was already in the city, proving he and his little brother are still tight. Cordoza runs the country because he controls too many ports. We bring Malone into our fold, and we control Vallejo’s share. Cordoza isn’t gonna live to see tomorrow.”
“All for what?” I spot the car and turn my walk to a run, my run to a sprint. Grabbing the handle and attempting to yank the door open, I bounce back again when it doesn’t give. Desperately, I look to Archer, who beeps the cruiser open and shoves me in. “You traded your family for money, Gord?”
“Nah. I traded my family’s suffering for money. They grieve me, but they’ll never go hungry again.”
“So you’re funneling money to Violet?” I pull my door shut and wait for Malone and Fletcher to pile in after me. “You’re sending her funds? Is she in on this too?”
“She doesn’t know. She’ll never know. But she got a mortgage-free home after I was buried, Banks. A life insurance payout that never existed. Tilly will go to college and never get a bill for it. We were ready to lose the house before I made my move.”
Gord—” I exhale. “This wasn’t the right thing to do.”
“We’re paid peanuts for what we do, Drake. Putting our lives on the line for ungrateful assholes. Kingpins like Vallejo and Cordoza eat like royalty while guys like you and me struggle. Not anymore,” he declares, resolute. “No fucking more.”
“Gord. I can help you—”
