Chapter 12 #2
They were always sorry, the contrition completely foreign to me, but those who’d betrayed me felt the need. Maybe in hopes their souls would be redeemed. That wasn’t anything I needed to worry about.
“What exactly are you sorry for, Jimmy? That you disappointed me? Or that eventually you knew you got caught. Did your conscience suddenly awaken you in the middle of the night telling you that you’d been a very bad boy?
” My voice dripped of contempt as I was already growing weary of whatever game was being played.
“Yes, sir. Very much, sir.”
Hmm… I glanced at Jarvis who shrugged. Even my Capo was adjusting his tie, as uncomfortable as the thief.
“I’m not in the habit of wasting time, Jimmy.
If there’s one thing that troubles me more than theft of my property, it is a liar.
That’s exactly what you’re doing.” When I held the gris-gris under his nose, not only did he recoil as much as allowed given the stronghold my men had on him, he also began to panic.
Jarvis’ heavy sigh was yet another indication he didn’t approve of my tactics. Jimmy wasn’t some master criminal. He was simply a low man in an organization someone wanted to infiltrate.
“I’m not lying. I mean I’m not trying to. I just…” He was terrified more of the curse I’d place on him than a fist or a bullet. “Please. I have a family.”
“Then you’re going to tell me exactly why you stole the money and why you felt it necessary to confess.” With the mystery kid Bobby suddenly losing his life, there was a glitch in my brain reminding me that Jimmy could prove useful. If he didn’t continually shit all over himself.
He lowered his head, the strangled gasp having nothing to do with what he was facing. “I had to take it.”
“Had to. Fascinating. Why? Another woman? A gambling habit I don’t know about? Maybe your guilt is based on your wife finding out.”
“Oh, God, no.” The way he snapped his head up, now able to look me directly in the eyes meant he was appalled at what I’d said and willing to fight for his beliefs.
Even more interesting.
“What then? I’m growing weary of the bullshit, Jimmy, and that doesn’t bode well for your continued employment or ability to breathe.” I didn’t know much about the people I hired. I wasn’t in the business of making friends. If they were loyal and did their jobs, then that’s all I cared about.
“I’m a happily married man and would never stray. And money isn’t meant to be burned with frivolous activities.”
Jarvis was slowly shaking his head, but not out of disbelief. He was also thinking the same thing. This kid wasn’t lying about his circumstances or beliefs.
“Then talk to me.” I rolled the small bag between my fingers again, even bringing it to my nose and taking a deep whiff.
“Please, Mr. Prince. I’m a God-fearing man. The spirits are nothing to mess with.”
“Then tell me what I need to know.”
Now he tried to struggle, finally understanding what he could be facing.
His deep sob didn’t catch me off guard. Nothing a man could do would faze me.
Some begged for their lives. Others tried to laugh it off as if they were big and bad.
Both disgusted me. Jimmy was expressing a genuine reaction.
Not that I had a conscience and should care, but something told me his actions had been forced, not driven by greed or a vice.
“Let him go,” I told my men, who did so without question.
Maybe I just wasn’t as much in the mood for playing games as I’d believed.
“Jimmy, I’m not a patient man. Anyone who knows me will be happy to tell you that.
I will give you one more opportunity, which is far too generous.
I’m not in the habit of giving a third. Do you understand me? ”
“Yes. Yes, sir.” He took a few deep gasps and where there was no wind before, suddenly a breeze floated across my skin, a slight howl emitted from somewhere deep in the surrounding trees.
It nearly scared him to death. His entire body was shaking and he was finding it difficult to remain standing.
Every few seconds, he scanned the dark crypts.
Did he really believe demons were hiding behind the concrete blocks? Maybe so, although he should fear what was standing in front of him before any evil spirit.
“Talk!” Jarvis snarled.
“Okay. Okay,” Jimmy yelped. “My daughter. She’s only five. She has cancer.”
Cancer.
If the bastard was playing a game based on the pain I’d suffered, he would wish the spirits had dragged him to hell. Bristling, I took a deep breath before continuing.
At least now, we were getting somewhere, although nothing that I’d expected. “And you needed the money for her treatment.” Again. Why hadn’t he come to me? Because I wasn’t known for my generosity. My father hadn’t been either.
“Yes. No.”
“Which is it, Jimmy?” The man was getting on my last nerve and that wasn’t a good position for anyone to be in. Memories plagued me at a time they weren’t allowed, yet shoving them aside was difficult.
“You don’t understand. I pay for my expenses. I’ve never taken any handouts.”
What did he want, a medal? The man had fucking stolen from me.
Jimmy licked his lips and Jarvis muttered under his breath. “I always pay for what I owe. I’m a proud man. But Jenny, that’s my wife. She works two jobs now to try and make ends meet and both were threatened. They were going to take her jobs away and blacklist her.”
“By whom?” If what he was telling me was accurate, even in my soulless world the party responsible was reprehensible.
“I don’t know. Trust me, I tried to find out and I didn’t believe them at first. But when I told them no, she had a warning on both jobs.
Just to prove they could do anything. And my daughter.
They were going to remove the doctor she’s been working with.
I found out that was true as well. You don’t know the strides he’s made.
He got my baby girl into a drug trial. But that was going away. ”
While he rambled, I could tell he was providing me with the truth.
The theft of one hundred k wasn’t a dent in my operation, which meant the theft hadn’t really been about money.
The responsible party had simply bullied him, finding a weak enough link in my organization and determined if the man would comply using a threat that any good family man would take to heart.
Whoever it was must have ordered him to come clean about the betrayal.
They were telling me I was being watched.
Have the man steal my money, then what? “How did they make contact with you?”
“A phone call. My cellphone. A blocked number. They knew everything about me. It started small. A hundred dollars. They matched the money. It was easy. Too easy.”
“So they required you to do it again with a larger increment.”
“Yes.”
“This unknown party told you to skim money off the top.” I was confirming what I’d already been told. The situation had been going on for almost a month. That wasn’t a coincidence. The timing was significant, but an informant like Jimmy would have no clue. “What else did they require you to do?”
“Nothing. They said to take the money for myself and there would be additional instructions.”
“Vitelli Russo?” I threw it out for the hell of it.
His look of confusion was a clear indication he had no idea. “I really don’t know.”
Yet I sensed he was holding back. Fury from deep within had already built to an uncontrollable point. With a brutal backhand, I pitched him against the tree. Jarvis was right about my unfathomable level of anger.
What Jimmy had just told me wasn’t the mark of the Russo Cosa Nostra or any crime syndicate I’d come against in my life.
If my father were here, he could share some sage advice, but I had no doubt in all his years he’d ever encountered such a childish game.
But his words and his betrayal reminded me someone wanted to destroy my family’s world.
Jimmy was shaking so badly I knew he was about to piss in his pants.
Jarvis tugged on my arm, pulling me aside. “That doesn’t sound like some lie.”
“That’s because it isn’t. Someone is fucking with us and we need to turn the tables.”
“What do these people want?”
I thought about his question. “To discover just how powerful we are and our weaknesses. They want to use him as a plant.”
“Fascinating choice. If you’re thinking about the unknown person dropping off the package, remember that whoever it was had innate knowledge of the security system. No one in the financial office does.”
He was right. It was a protocol established by my grandfather. Almost like a separation of church and state. A precaution to prevent any possibility of an overthrow. “Then perhaps our unknown game-playing enemy is developing themselves a group of traitors.”
“Then I guess we need to do a clean sweep.”
Very slowly, I turned my head. “You have your next assignment. Find out who else is betraying me.”
“Why, yes, sir,” he snarked. “Then what do you want to do with Jimmy?”
Not punishing him would send a message. I scrubbed my jaw.
There was never a time I could remember being hesitant about doing anything.
While his circumstances were horrific, I wasn’t in a generous mood.
“What’s necessary.” I returned to where I’d been standing before, allowing the moment to linger, Jimmy’s fear increasing.
Often the anticipation and uncertainty of the fate I’d decide for a prisoner assisted in providing me with needed answers. He was hiding something from me.
“When was the last time you were contacted by this unknown party?”
“The day you were arrested.”
“And?”
“They just told me that I’d done a good job. I’m sorry,” he said again, as if repeating himself would matter in the least.
One more sorry and I would lose my shit.
“What you’ve told me isn’t good enough, Jimmy. And I’m not in the business of providing second chances.”
“What can I do? I’ll do anything. I swear to God. Let me prove my loyalty.”
“Did they tell you to confess?”
His eyes opened wide. “No, sir. Both you and your father have been good to me. I couldn’t do it any longer.”
Maybe spending time with the lovely Catherine had already made me go soft. Just thinking about her pushed me to the point of insatiable need instead of acting on necessary business. I’d fucked her long and hard, indulging and feasting in a frenzied state. Yet it obviously hadn’t been enough.
I’d captured a glimpse of the same darkness inside of her that I’d known in myself and that had fueled the intense need. Yet she remained an enigma.
Decisions. Decisions.
“If you don’t know who ordered you to blindly steal from me, then you can’t help me.” I turned away, accepting a lesson that needed to be learned.
“I’ll find out for you. I’ll do what it takes.”
Just before reaching for my weapon, I took a deep breath. “And how do you propose to do that?”
“I’ll find a way.”
He meant what he said. I fingered the gris-gris once again before opening the package.
Very slowly, I poured it onto the ground while Jimmy watched in horror and Jarvis continued to be amused.
“Then that’s what you’re going to do, Jimmy.
For now, you do nothing more than follow their instructions and provide me with the date, the time, and their demands. ”
His breathing remained labored. “Yes, sir. You won’t regret this, sir.”
“I hope I won’t, Jimmy, because if I do, the next bag of gris-gris will be shared with a family curse. That’s when you will learn what true black magic is all about. Take him back to his house and ensure that you aren’t followed.”
“Yes, sir,” one of my men answered, immediately grabbing Jimmy before the kid fell to the ground. Jesus. Why did they always sob?
My hesitation brought a look of confusion on Jarvis’ face. “May your daughter recover, Jimmy. No one and no family deserves the wrath that cancer brings.” Hell, I surprised even myself.
I was finished with him. Any further act of punishment would render him useless. As soon as I walked away, Jarvis was immediately in step.
“Showing mercy. Something new.”
“Don’t fuck with me,” I hissed. “Make a few phone calls. Find out about where his wife works and the hospital where the kid is staying. Find out everything you can about the owners of the companies and this cancer trial.”
“Are you asking me to keep his family safe?”
I’d reached the driver’s door before I bothered answering. “I’m suggesting we ensure our game piece has everything necessary to fulfill his task. Nothing more. Nothing less. And more than before, I need to learn everything I can about Catherine. She’s hiding something and I don’t like it.”
“You’re determined to keep her. Is that wise?”
When I looked at him, he threw up his hands. “Fine. I’m sorry I asked.”
“She is by far the most infuriating woman I’ve ever met.”
He chuckled. “Maybe that’s good for you.”
“Fuck you.” As soon as I said the two words, once again I was taken back to thoughts of her.
I fisted my hand and glared at the cemetery as if maybe there was something to the art of black magic.
I certainly needed to understand why I was risking so much over a woman.
One woman who’d already driven me crazy.
All I could think about was fucking her.
Even now, my cock was hard as a rock. Fuck.
I was losing control, something that hadn’t occurred in years.
“I’ve changed my mind about Ms. Devereaux.”
Before I climbed into the car, I threw him a look. “Careful, my friend. I’m in a shitty mood.”
“What? I was simply going to say she’s having a positive effect on you. Maybe not your mood, but certainly your humanitarianism.”
“If you’re suggesting I suddenly have a heart, you’re wrong.”
“I wasn’t talking about your heart, Alex. I was talking about your soul.”
He should know better than anyone that I had no soul and there was nothing anyone could do, including a beautiful woman, to change me.
For better or for worse.