Chapter 13 #3
The Prez’s smile was wolfish, but there was something guarded in his gaze.
“I’m afraid you have me at a bit of a loss today, Boost.” He dropped the bloody man unceremoniously to the floor.
“As happy as I am to see you, Bucky assured me that you were out. I let you go out of the kindness of my heart, and now you’re back?
” He walked over to Cayden, his eyes never leaving his.
“It makes me suspicious, Boost. It makes me wonder why.”
“To be honest, I’m wondering the same thing.”
Carver raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”
“I was out,” Cayden emphasized. “I wasn’t even running anything at Romero’s, but since Bucky’s little visit, I’ve been under scrutiny for every little fucking thing that went wrong there. A damn paperclip goes missing, blame the convict!”
Carver’s expression showed his distaste for Cayden’s attempt at going straight. “Sounds dreadful. Really, you should have taken your complaints up with management.”
“I did, when I stole her precious car.”
Carver let out a sardonic snort. “Well, I suppose that’s one way to make your feelings known. Are you back then?”
Cayden shrugged, not wanting to seem too eager. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“Explains your lack of armor.”
“All I know is, I’m not going back. Might just need a place to lay low until the heat dies down.”
Carver waited a moment, and then nodded. “I’m sure I can come up with some place safe for you. Who’s your friend?”
“You don’t recognize him?” Cayden raised an eyebrow.
Carver’s eyes narrowed at the challenge. “Should I?”
“He’s one of Massey’s,” Cayden answered instead. “I met him in the joint.”
Lee had already established his role as one of Massey’s men during his off the books crusade to take down the man who had murdered his brother.
That was why Cayden had no issue introducing him as such to Tex or Carver.
Once Cayden was back in, Lee would be taking more of a backseat role in the case.
But Lee’s scary presence would give Cayden’s story a little extra incentive in Carver’s eyes.
Why wouldn’t Carver want to impress Massey, even if it was an action that was removed and only witnessed by one of his men?
“I have some jobs coming up that are right up your alley.”
“Well you always did say to dive in feet first or not at all. Look, can you give me a few days to get settled? Cops know I used to run with you. They might be keeping an eye on you. I just came here to tell you to watch your back and ask if you had a place for me to crash for a bit.”
“I appreciate your concern for my back.” Carver crossed his arms over his chest, not caring in the least that he was smearing the blood on himself more. “We’ve missed your flair around here, Boost. It hasn’t been the same. I have a score coming up I will need you for.”
Cayden made sure to hesitate long enough to feign surprise that the offer had come so soon after his return. He nodded stiffly, as if he actually had a choice. “Fine. Send Bucky to me with the details.”
“I’ll get a safehouse set up for you and leave the keys at the usual drop. If you run into trouble with the cops—”
“I know who to ask,” Cayden finished for him. “You’ve always had my back, Carver. That’s not something I easily forget.”
Carver studied him for a long moment. “I owe you and I repay my debts, Boost. This makes us even, but don’t think this is anything more than a debt being repaid.”
Cayden’s back stiffening was a true reaction. “Of course. Why would it be anything else?”
“Just making sure we still understand each other. You’ve been gone for some time.
” Turning slightly, Carver looked down to see the man he’d been beating up trying to army crawl away from Carver’s feet.
Swiftly and without hesitation, Carver kicked the man in the guts, sending him flying on to his back feet away.
Carver turned his attention back to Cayden without missing a beat.
“And thank you for my gift of the Spyder.”
Cayden raised an eyebrow. “It wasn’t a gift. I giftwrap my presents to you, you know that.”
“I do, and I’ve truly missed those.” Carver gave him a pretentious look.
“But you took my protection while inside, yet you didn’t have the courtesy to come see me once you were released to thank me?
” He tutted like Cayden was a small child he was scolding.
“Might take a few more gifts like the Spyder to get back on my good side. The safehouse makes us even for Bucky, but you still owe me for my protection.”
Cayden felt his fists tighten at his sides. Fuck, he’d wanted to give that money to Trixie. “What do you want?”
Carver reached into his cut, pulling out a printed photo. He handed it over to Cayden, who caught sight of the handwritten name and address on the back. “Get me this and I might be inclined to forgive your rudeness.”
Cayden snatched the picture without even looking at it. “Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “Thank you for the safehouse.”
“I’ll send Bucky over with the details for next week!”
Cayden waved behind him, too angry to pretend decent manners.
As soon as they were outside, Lee whispered to Cayden, “What was the point to all of that in there? You are supposed to get back in his good graces and work your way back up the ranks with Carver so he could take us to the drugs.”
“Carver is never going to just take us on a field trip to see where he stashes Massey’s product,” Cayden snapped at him, the picture crumpling in his hand. “What we need is someplace to lay low where Carver can’t readily find us.”
“Then why would we stay at a safehouse Carver is setting up for you? It’ll be the first place he’ll look for you.”
Cayden gave him a wayward glance. “Exactly. Which is why we aren’t staying there either, but it makes Carver think I’m grateful to him. The more grateful he thinks I am, the more jobs he’ll pass my way. The more jobs I take means the more I’m around him and the more I can overhear.”
Lee was silent for a moment. “Have you ever considered playing chess? I have a feeling you’d make a terrifying grandmaster.”
Cayden cracked him a smile. “Just make sure you’re watching our backs. I can think all these steps ahead as long as I know the endgame.”
Lee nodded once. “I have your back.”
“I’ll need a reason to want to get more involved in Carver’s day to day business too.”
“You and Carver go way back, you should be able to use that. Find his motives, what he wants.”
Cayden snorted. He looked up and down the street, spotting a Mazda a teen who needed parking lessons just exited.
“There’s always something a man like Carver wants.
There’s always a job to be had.” No wonder Lee had been suspected of being a cop.
He thought like one. “What have you learned during your investigation into Carver? Have you heard anything while working on Massey’s crew?
What’s something he’s been after since I went in? ”
Lee watched wordlessly as Cayden got them into the Mazda and then unlocked the passenger door for Lee.
Cayden disabled the car’s GPS by shorting out the circuit.
There were other ways to do that, but not ones as fast. He wasn’t planning on keeping the car, so he didn’t have to worry about falsifying the signal readings.
He pulled out towards the highway. While he didn’t know exactly where the safehouse Carver was giving him was, he knew the general location.
“There’s this motorcycle,” Lee finally said.
His voice was bland, no excitement whatsoever that he was able to answer Cayden’s question.
“I don’t know what it is or where it is or why he wants it.
I’ve only overheard Massey’s people talking about the motorcycle, like it’s special.
Carver’s name’s been linked to it more than once. ”
A little more information would have been helpful but at least Cayden knew the score Carver was after. He also now knew why Lee was so emphatic that it had to be Cayden who helped him. “Any idea how long he’s been after her?”
Lee didn’t comment on Cayden’s choice of pronoun. “For as long as I’ve been with Massey.”
Cayden frowned. “Means she’s new then, likely hasn’t hit the market yet. Might be the only reason he doesn’t have her yet is because she wasn’t manufactured yet.”
Lee’s eyes narrowed as Cayden made an illegal U-turn and headed back east. “Where are you going?”
Cayden’s sigh was forlorn. “To get my armor.”