Chapter 27 Wesley #2
Until he sits back with a smile. “What, you didn’t like my little Russian present? I figured the big guy would be thrilled to take out another Volkevich after him and his nurse. Heard it didn’t go so well for him, though.”
My scowl snaps down harder. He really does have ears and eyes everywhere.
He cuts me an unimpressed look. “SpyderMan,” he repeats, rolling the word around. His stare is a challenge. “Some kind of comic book hero kid, right? This is the mierda de hombre you want taking care of you, enana?”
“Be nice,” she warns.
Felix snorts. “You should stay here. We’ll keep you safe.”
The implication that he thinks he can take care of her better than me makes me gnash my teeth. But to my immense satisfaction, her laugh is derisive. “No thanks. Now, quit avoiding the question. How did you know Wesley took the job from the General? It might help in our search.”
He flashes her a grin, and the gold capping one of his back molars briefly gleams in the light. “Same way I know anything. I’ve got a man on the inside.”
He refuses to elaborate further, but that doesn’t surprise me. A man on the inside? Interesting. That must be how he knew there was a hit out on him, too. “Do you have access to the platform?”
“Maybe.”
“We need access. We need to know why another assassin attacked her yesterday.”
“Because there’s still an open job for her,” Felix answers easily.
My jaw falls. “Even though I took it?”
“It’s a fucking free-for-all.”
Madison grabs my arm to steady herself, gripping me tightly with cold fingers. “What?” she croaks, eyes wide.
Felix nods, all traces of humor gone. He pulls his phone from his pocket, unlocks it, calls something to the screen, and slides the phone across the table to her. “This went out yesterday to anyone registered as US-based.”
She leans forward, and I tilt my head to read over her shoulder.
It’s a screenshot of an email. All identifying information has been erased, but the words are clear enough.
Madison Cooper Ulysses 27 5’2 brwn/brwn. 10MM for proof.
“This went out to everyone?” I breathe, fear coiling in my gut. At Felix’s nod, I feel the blood drain from my face. “This is… unprecedented. I’ve never seen a hit go out wide like this. The names only ever went out to one of us at a time.”
“Ten million?” Madison says softly, rereading the short note. “Damn. I’d kill myself for that much. Is it weird that I’m kind of… proud?”
“Yeah, Madison. It is,” Felix says, shooting her a look. “This cabrón is right—this isn’t how El General usually does things.”
“A broken pattern always means something,” I mutter. “In this case, it implies urgency. I’d wager it means that whoever is running this operation is really threatened by you.”
Madison gestures to me with a pointed expression directed at her uncle. “See? They’re that threatened by me. Tell me you’re not just a little impressed.” At Felix’s head shake, she grins. “10 mil. I bet you’re only saying that because my death was worth more than yours.”
Felix rolls his eyes. I can’t recall the figure, but I’m fairly certain Madison’s right. And that’s another data point proving how badly the General wants her dead.
“We really need to fake your death,” I tell her. I appreciate the efforts to cut through the tension, but I’m not interested in making light of the situation.
“On that at least we can agree, cabrón,” Felix echoes darkly. “I’ll take care of it. Me deberás un favor, enana.”
I inhale sharply, a warning on the tip of my tongue—Felix knows what he’s doing, but he isn’t known for his generosity. Owing him a favor has proved to be a terrible idea in the past. But I needn’t worry. Madison apparently knows just how to handle him.
“Oh? You want a favor? After it was you who put me in danger in the first place?”
I watch Felix realize his own mistake, arrogance faltering as his smirk freezes.
“How about I don’t tell Mama B that you gave me a job that almost got me killed?” she drawls, lifting a brow and crossing her arms. “Or that you apparently kidnapped a nurse.”
“I didn’t!” he protests, but cuts himself off with a sigh. Felix glances between us, like he still wants to fight. “Fine. Deal.”
I can’t help but gloat a little. Trust Madison to understand how powerful the right information can be, wielded like a weapon at just the right time.
“Abuela can’t think I’m dead,” she warns him. “I won’t put her through that.”
“Claro. I’ll handle it. I’ll manufacture the proof the General will want, but you won’t officially be dead to the police. You’ll be missing. They don’t immediately assume you’re dead when there’s no body.”
“All right. It’s settled, then,” Madison beams. “Just give me my panda back and we’ll be on our way. You know how it is—assassins to evade, criminal masterminds to track down…”
With a final glare directed at me, Felix gets up from the table and disappears back down the hallway.
While he’s gone, Mama B drops off a large tied plastic bag with several styrofoam containers, taking a moment to kiss Madison on the forehead and pat me on the cheek again.
He returns a few minutes later with a silly purple panda keychain that I now know to be a USB drive—the “panda’s ass” she referred to.
But Felix doesn’t hand it over. Instead, he closes it in his fist, crosses his arms, and regards me. “The General dies?”
I nod.
He narrows his eyes. “Can I trust you, Wesley?”
It’s an interesting conundrum of a question. A smart man never asks something when he won’t trust the answer, and I do believe Felix is a smart man. In fact, he’d be smarter not to trust me.
But I can recognize the potential here. We might need him yet, and if he’s on Madison’s side, then he’s on my side, as far as I’m concerned. I’d wager he feels the same.
“I would do anything to keep her safe. Whatever it takes,” I promise.
“Oh yeah? You’d die for her?” he challenges.
But I don’t hesitate. I don’t need to. “She’s mine to protect. I would give my life for hers.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see her turn to look at me, but it’s the wide grin on Felix’s face that grabs my attention. “Yours, huh?” He flicks his eyes back and forth between us a few times, then shakes his head, chuckling. “Good fuckin’ luck with that.”
“Be nice,” she hisses, reaching across me and punching him in the arm.
He laughs, rubbing the spot. Just before we leave, Felix lays a heavy hand on my shoulder. “If you hurt her, I’ll feed you your own cajones, sabes?”
The implication makes me see red. I take a step towards him, fists clenching, but Madison effortlessly dispels the tension once again. “Oh, stop. If he hurts me, not only can I feed him his balls myself, but I’ll be genuinely pissed at you if you deprive me of the right.”