Chapter Forty-two
Goddamn fucking Tito. He’d really screwed him. He’d paid him good money, real good money to do one thing. Find Natalie. And did he do it? No. Or at least he wouldn’t know if he had because the asshole wouldn’t answer his phone. So he’d said good riddance to him, just like he had that little fucker Tom. Christ, was everyone out to screw him over? Did he have sucker written on his forehead?
He pressed on the gas pedal and cursed at the weak horsepower the little car had. No good fucking car. Couldn’t Nico do better than this? Better than a fucking used little piece of shit? He’d said it would keep him incognito. Ha. That might be the only thing it was good for.
He drove faster, gripping the worn steering wheel tightly, and squinted ahead. Even the headlights seemed to be weak. Christ, it was dark. He took his foot off the pedal and coasted, uncomfortable with the unfamiliar terrain. But that had been his life lately. Uncomfortable. Nico had put him up in some Godforsaken house in the west valley, out near Surprise. A small tract home with weeds growing in the backyard and scorpions around every damn corner. This morning he’d gotten out of the shower to find one crawling up the bedroom curtain like it owned the damn place. He’d called Nico furious and he’d promised to send someone out, but he’d yet to follow through. And of course Allen couldn’t be there when the guy came, because it would blow his cover, so he’d gone for a drive. The drive had continued though once he’d received the phone call. The phone call he’d been waiting for from his contact at the police department.
“Fuck you, Tito, you giant bastard.” He pressed on the gas again and sped onward, thinking things over. “Fuck you, Tito, and fuck you, Detectives. None of you will get the best of me.” He laughed.
He’d heard the cops had come looking for him after the search warrant had been executed. Maybe they’d found something after all. Maybe it had something to do with his business dealings. Or maybe it was all the info on Natalie he had stored on his home computer, something he’d forgotten he’d had. He wasn’t sure, he just knew they were after him. That’s where Nico Fitz came in. The two of them went way back. In fact, Nico had been the one to give him his start at a real business venture. He’d believed in him and given him the capital needed to get things rolling. He’d trusted Allen after Allen worked for him for a couple years making deliveries and collecting fees. Allen had been good at his job. He’d been a real ball buster and he always got results. He’d gained respect for that.
So now Nico was helping him once again. Hiding him, supporting him, funneling him news. The cops, they’d never catch on. Nico was too good and had too many connections. Allen was home free if he wanted it. He was being offered a safe place in South America, all the women he wanted, and a new business to boot. All he had to do was say yes and Nico would send over the new passports and wire him the cash he needed. But there was one thing he needed to do first.
One thing he had to do. The one thing that was a long time coming.