CHAPTER 22 - Bryan Trevor #2
“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Will stands up angrily. “You said you were a doctor!”
“Dad, calm down or you’ll make yourself sick and draw attention,” Dominic urges, and reluctantly, the old man sits back down.
“Just like you, I’ll get straight to the point,” I declare, fixing them both with a hard stare. “I’m not lying when I say I can cover all of Dorothy’s treatment.”
“How do you know my wife’s name?”
“Let’s just say I did some research.” I lean back in my chair. “I know she’s in an advanced stage and that you can’t afford to treat her anymore.”
Dominic’s eyes narrow with pure suspicion.
“And what do you want in return?”
Smart and perceptive.
Nothing in this world comes for free, and he knows it.
“What I need isn’t so complicated compared to what you’ll gain,” I begin, and he crosses his arms. “I need you, Will, to get me into DarkMed without anyone knowing.”
“That’s impossible!” he responds, and I see fear written all over his face.
“No, it’s not,” I counter quickly. “To start, I just need you to get into Gavin’s office and find out the password he uses for his personal computer.”
“If he manages that, what comes next?” Dominic asks, and his father stares at him, incredulous. “There’s more, isn’t there?”
“After he gets the password, I’ll need some documents and a copy of the key to get into the distribution center.”
“The place is full of cameras,” Will warns—something I’d already figured.
“I can disable them in seconds, but before that, when you leave, you’ll forget to activate the alarm.”
“He’d fire me the next day for a mistake like that,” he replies quickly.
“Is this job as important as your wife’s life?” I play on his emotions, savoring the pain I manage to provoke. “When she goes to the capital, will she be alone?”
“Will you cover our expenses too?” the son asks cautiously.
“A house, food, and transportation for as long as she needs to stay hospitalized.” The old man’s eyes widen. “Dominic, what do you do for work?” I probe, my instincts already sharp from the research I did on him.
Dominic was a troubled kid.
Expelled from several schools.
Never held a steady job and still has a criminal record.
“At the moment, just as a freelancer.” His tone sharpens my curiosity.
“In what area?”
He stares at me, then looks at his father, and I see doubt clouding his face.
“Hacker,” he answers through gritted teeth, clearly uncomfortable.
“What?” Will shouts, clearly shocked—he had no idea. “Isn’t that illegal? You promised you’d stay out of trouble!” He lowers his voice, though the music is loud enough that no one can hear us at this secluded table.
“Depends on who he works for,” I respond, and Dominic shoots me a murderous look. I just give him a half smile in return. “I can get you a job to help your parents out financially.”
Atlas isn’t going to like this one bit, but I don’t care!
“And where would that be?” he asks, showing interest.
“With me.” A smug smile spreads across my face. “Your services will be put to good use in the coming weeks.”
“Why are you trying to infiltrate the Black family?”
“That’s none of your concern.” My tone comes out hard and threatening. “You do what I say, and we all come out ahead.”
“I feel like if I accept this deal, I’ll be making a pact with the devil,” Will comments, and I notice him swallow hard as he stares at me.
“Call it whatever you want,” I scoff, my eyes sharp as I look at him. “But I want you to understand that I’m not a charitable man, so you’ll need to hold up your end—or I’ll do to you the same thing I intend to do to that worm Gavin.”
“How can I be sure you'll keep your promise? That once I get what you want, you won't stop helping my wife?”
“You have no choice but to trust my word.” I'm blunt, and I notice Dominic clench his jaw. “An opportunity like this doesn't come around twice, and if I walk away without an answer, I'll take it as a no.”
“We need time to think,” Dominic says.
“Does your mother have that time?” I twist the knife with a cruel smile. “Every minute you spend deciding is another bit of her life slipping away.”
“Aren't you afraid we'll go to Gavin and tell him someone's trying to get into his business?” Dominic challenges, trying to put on a tough-guy act when in reality my words have shattered him.
He knows his mother is dying.
He understands he needs to accept.
Still, he's afraid of putting his father's life at risk.
Dominic is caught in a cruel limbo—by accepting, he can save his mother but screw over his father.
I'll do everything to make sure Will isn't discovered—not out of mercy, but so nothing blows back on me before the right time.
This tension between saving one and putting the other at risk is my greatest ally.
Fear moves mountains, and that's what I need for both of them to do what I demand—and do it flawlessly.
With Will's life on the line, I know he'll do everything to avoid getting caught. But if he's certain everything will be fine even if he fails, his efforts will slack off.
That's how he'd easily trash everything I'm planning and still put my girls' lives at risk.
“No,” I respond calmly. “You'd be dead the instant you left his office.”
“I don't like being threatened,” Dominic retorts firmly.
“Then we agree on that, because I don't like it and I don't allow anyone to try intimidating me,” I say firmly, holding his gaze. “So? Are you in or in the cemetery?”
They both feel the venom dripping from my words.
They exchange glances, and I feel my patience starting to wear thin.
Just as I'm about to stand, Dominic looks at me, and satisfaction washes over me—I know I've won.
“We need to calculate every move so we don't fail and cost my father his life,” he says, and I stand.
“I'll head out and wait for you in the parking lot—this isn't the place to discuss the details.”
“And where are we going?”
“Your place,” I answer Will, and before they can object, I turn and walk toward the exit.