Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
HAYES
Tucked in the back corner of the small coffee shop of an equally small town, I watched the door and waited impatiently for Mason to arrive.
I didn't like being summoned. I liked it even less when I was summoned by a man who was warned from the beginning to stay away from me at all costs.
The risk was too great.
Being seen together in public could blow years’ worth of work into smithereens.
When I got the encrypted message, I considered the ramifications of meeting somewhere private. I weighed that against the knowledge that if seen together, I could play it off as a coincidence. That was the only reason I agreed to meet at the coffee shop at the height of their morning rush.
I saw Mason enter the shop. Mason looked nothing like the man I originally met nearly a decade ago.
Back then, he was a puny man who couldn't survive in the mafia world.
He was the typical spare of a don who didn't have a care in the world.
Time had changed him. This new version of Mason I could respect.
That was if he hadn't summoned me when he knew damn well not to.
It took Mason less than thirty seconds to spot me. The coffee shop was crowded. Therefore, he had no choice but to join me at the small table. I could tell by his walk that I wasn't going to like the reason for this meeting.
An irritated Mason dropped into the seat across from me. "Thanks for meeting me."
"Don't thank me yet. I'm not happy to be here. So, how about you tell me what you want?" I didn't bother to keep the impatience out of my tone. I wanted Mason to know I was pissed about the situation.
"We've got a problem."
"Uh, maybe you have one, but I'm currently problem-free." The last thing I wanted was to inherit someone else's malfunctions.
"Banger is singing like a canary."
I let out a long string of obscenities under my breath. The former deputy director of the FBI was a pain in the ass.
"What the hell is he saying?"
"He claims he has information on the Dunkin family's infamous fixer."
I hated that term even if it was an accurate representation of my job. I fixed problems. I cleaned up messes, and for the longest time, I did that for the Dunkin family.
"There's no way he could have that information. I doubt your father would share something so personal with a man who could ruin him."
"I didn't say he actually had the information. I just wanted you to know what's being said."
I scrubbed my palm along my stubbled jaw.
There were less than a handful of people who knew what I did when I worked for the Dunkin family.
Not even Mason had known at the time. I only worked directly with Mason's father, Alexander, and his older brother, Lex.
Alexander preferred it that way, and I liked knowing very few people knew what I did.
Mason only found out after he left his family behind, and I was sent to kill him.
Clearly, I never followed through with the task, and after that, I never worked for the Dunkin family again.
"I need to know who he's blabbing his mouth to."
"Anyone and everyone who's willing to listen. He's desperate to make a deal that will save his ass," Mason confirmed my biggest worry.
I debated my options. I could take him out, but then someone might link it to the information he was spewing. Even if they didn't know my name, a prosecutor would dig in their heels to try to see what they could find. Or I could let it go and see how things played out.
I wasn't particularly fond of either option, but the latter was probably my best bet. I didn't need to draw attention to myself. Not now that I could've been seen with Mason.
"Keep me in the loop."
Mason dipped his chin, then pushed up from his seat to leave.
"Oh, and, Mason." He glanced down at me. "Don't ever ask to meet with me again. Moving forward, keep all communications to the encrypted servers."
Mason simply nodded. Then he left the coffee shop without a single glance back.
I waited a full fifteen minutes after Mason left before I got up to leave the cafe myself.
There wasn't much to do in this Podunk town, but I had a couple hours to kill.
I glanced across the street and noticed a library a few doors down.
A flashback to my teenage years had me stumbling.
Public libraries used to hold a special place in my heart, but now, they caused nothing but pain.
Yet, for some strange reason, I found myself headed that way. I always did.
It can't hurt me.
I lied to myself yet again. It always hurt, but one day I would tell myself that, and it would be true.