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“Oh, trust me, Nate. If we’d wanted to kill someone, this wouldn’t be the conversation we’d be having. It’s a good thing for all of us that nobody here was involved, right?”
He laughs. Straight up laughs. “Exactly. And you just happened to run into Mesner’s daughter after she was publicly kidnapped from her own wedding.”
“Enough bullshitting. What the fuck do you want?”
Carnell nods. “You’re right. Let’s get to the point. You and your friends here are nothing to me. It’s Mesner I’m interested in.” He looks around the room. “If I had to guess, she was just a convenient way out, and you had no intention of hurting her or holding her any longer than necessary, but good luck convincing a judge of that.”
“She’s fine. We didn’t fucking touch her,” says Thunder.
“I’m not the one you’d have to convince.” He holds up a hand just as Lightning's about to argue. “She told me the same, and for what it’s worth I believe her, which is why I had you picked up and brought here instead of brought in. If she'd given me a different story, this would all have played out very differently. So no, I'm not looking to pin kidnapping on you.”
“So what do you want?” snarls Outlaw.
“You’re going to help me nail Mesner’s ass to the wall. The Screaming Eagles seem to have a bone to pick with him, and so do I, so think of it as a cooperative effort that will benefit us both.”
I look at the others, and a whole conversation passes without saying a word. This guy has us over a barrel, so we’re at least going to have to hear him out. “What do you want us to do? Kill him?” Wouldn’t be the first time a law abiding citizen used us to do their dirty work. Or at least tried.
Harper gasps, but Carnell lets just the hint of a smirk touch his lips. “Nothing nearly that violent. Give us a minute, will you?” he asks his flunkies.
“You sure, sir?” the one that was in charge when they picked us up asks. He doesn't look thrilled at the idea.
“I'll be fine.”
“Yes, Sir. We’ll be right outside.”
And then it’s just the six of us. “Taking a chance aren’t you? We’ve already taken one hostage,” I note, working my shoulders to loosen them.
“I've gotten to be a pretty good judge of character over the years. Are you going to give me trouble?” He raises a questioning eyebrow. Fuck, this guy is annoying.
“Nah.” Thunder shakes his head. “Too much to lose, and you know it. If you don’t want him dead, what do you want us to do?”
“Wait.” Harper swallows nervously when we all turn to look at her, but she puts on a determined expression.
I don’t like that she’s here, listening to us ask if this cop wants us to ice her fucking father. She’s gotta be in her early twenties, but she looks so fucking young and vulnerable right now. I'm not sure why I feel so damn protective. Probably because she's gotten a raw fucking deal growing up, and fuck, I can appreciate that. And now she's right into the middle of this shitstorm when all she wanted was someone to talk to about her mother.
“You’re all talking like I’m not even here. I know he isn’t the nicest guy in the world, but what has my father done to deserve all this? Maybe he’s just misunderstood. I mean, he did step up and help make sure my mother was taken care of.”
“Harper,” I say, trying to keep my tone gentle. “Do you know how your dad makes his money?”
“Real estate? He owns the casino, right? I did some searching before I came out here to meet him. It seemed like pretty normal business stuff.”
Thunder nods. “Oh, he does all that, but that’s not how he got started, and it’s not what keeps the money flowing. Your daddy’s behind about a fifth of all the drugs distributed on this side of the country. His network is huge.”
Her eyes widen and her face goes pale. “Drugs? But… why would he need to… No. That doesn’t make sense. I thought he might be doing some funny tax stuff, but he’s not some kind of crime boss.”
“It’s true.” Outlaw snaps. “Didn’t you wonder why guys like us were here to send him a message? Your daddy got greedy, even for a drug lord. We usually ignore it, but his quality control has been slipping lately. People are fucking dying. He didn’t listen when we warned him, so someone had to come make sure he knew we weren’t going to let it slide.”
“Outlaw…” Lightning warns.
“Doesn't matter. I'm done.”
I shake my head. “He’s right. Your father has a lot of lives on his conscience. He's not a good man, Harper.”
