TWENTY-ONE - ROMAN
Reluctantly, I left James under the care of Jordan and not even with him initially.
I’d trusted her to get to her office unattended, where he’d meet her there and watch over her until I made it down.
Not ideal, but I needed to get away from her for a little bit without making it obvious that was what I was doing, which was exactly why I didn’t put up too much of a fight when she’d suggested leaving me to get ready for the day.
It was time for me and Ivan to have a little chat.
Someone somewhere knew something, and if anyone had insider information, it would be him.
I took the quickest shower I’d ever taken in my life, opting not to shave ’cause fuck it at this point. I dressed in my typical black attire, threw on my watch, tucked my Glock safely into place, and headed out. My first stop: Ivan’s office.
The lights were out, so I went out to the docks, his home away from home. Ivan was the most predictable fuck I’d ever known.
Unlike last night, when the temps had actually cooled down to a tolerable number, today was a new day and felt like Satan’s asshole outside.
Tater was sitting on the rickety metal railing, swinging his twiggy legs over the edge.
“Thinking about jumping?” I asked as I walked up beside him.
Makes one of us.
“Not a chance.” He tipped his head to face me. “I heard you was back. Guess the rumors were true. Welcome.”
“Thanks. I wouldn’t say it’s been welcoming, but I’m here.”
“I heard that.”
He wasn’t a big guy by any stretch, probably a third less my weight and an inch or so taller. He probably showered once a week and combed his hair even less. But he was reliable when it came to questionable favors. No questions asked.
“You see Ivan lately?”
“Not in about ten, maybe fifteen minutes. I been coming and going, but last I saw, he walked around over there.” He nodded toward the part of the dock that was wrapped around the side of the building going toward the front.
The area was semi-secluded, still covered by the metal overhang and shielded by overgrown brush from the riverbank. There was a grated metal stairway that led to a second-floor mechanical room just above the kitchen. It was a good place to go when you wanted to be out of sight.
“Well,” he said, jumping down off the railing, “things to do.” He patted me on the shoulder as he walked by. “Good seeing you, man.”
“Yeah, you too.”
A wispy billow of smoke floated from the side of the building on what little breeze Mississippi had to offer at the moment. “Bingo.”
I took one last glance around. Unless someone was over there with him, he and I were alone.
I grabbed a steel rod leaning against the side of the building by the back door, one that had either been used to prop the door open or bash in someone’s skull.
Sometimes both. I wedged one end of the pole under the back door handle, kicking the bottom against the concrete ground, making sure it was secure enough that if anyone tried to get out here, they’d at least struggle, and I’d buy myself a few more seconds.
I’d studied the camera feeds. There were only two cameras out here—both facing the back door. Neither of them pointed toward the side where I needed to go.
I quietly walked to where Ivan was hiding. Before I rounded the corner to confront him, I stopped when I realized he was talking to someone.
“Tell me about it. I know.” Silent pause. “I don’t know what the fuck else to do. I got him here.” Silent pause.
He was on the phone.
I pressed my back to the building and listened, being cautious to stay out of sight.
“He wasn’t supposed to go poking and prodding around. Now, his feelings are getting in the way.” Another silent pause. “How was I supposed to stop him?” Pause. “Well, far as I know, everything is still going as planned. We’ll just roll with it for now. Yeah, she’s fine. Falling right into place.”
“The fuck,” I cursed quietly under my breath. I didn’t know what was going on, but I’d heard enough.
I pulled my gun out from my waistband, jerked the slide back, cocking it into place, and closed the space between us. I tapped Ivan on the shoulder as I approached him from behind.
“Listen, I gotta g—” As he turned around, I snatched the phone out of his grip and tossed it into the murky water below.
He watched in horror as it started to sink, then looked back at me. “The fuck is wrong with you?”
“You’re about to find out.” With a death grip on my Glock and a finger on the trigger, I shoved the barrel into his fat neck underneath his chin.
His hands went into the air in surrender as he stumbled back into the guardrail. “Woah. Wha—what’s going on.”
“I ask the questions. Not you. Who the fuck was that? Who were you talking to just now?”
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face turned beet red. “That was, uh, just an old friend.”
I turned the safety off with the flick of my thumb. Green means go. “Try again.”
He squeezed his eyes shut tight for a brief moment, either praying to his god for this to be quick and painless or debating on what to tell me based on how much he thought I’d heard. “Fuck,” he huffed.
“Three. Start talking, or I’ll blow your fucking brains out right here, right now. Zero regrets.” Something I’d thought about doing many times before.
“Rom—it’s not like that.”
“Two. If I get to one, you’re fish bait.”
His eyes darted toward the dock, probably hoping someone would round the corner right about now, find us, and save his ass. “Don’t worry. Nobody’s getting out that door easily.” I gave the gun a strong shove further up into his neck fat. “On—”
“Fine. Fine.” He heaved. “I’ll talk. Just not—not here. Not now. Okay?”
“Now seems like an alright time to me.”
He swallowed. My gun jumped as his throat bobbed against the tip. “W—where’s James?”
“With Jordan. Is she safe with him?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“You sure?”
“Ye—yeah, I’m sure.” The sweat that had collected on his forehead now trickled down his temples. “Fuck, it’s hot. We need to go somewhere else.”
I heard the back door rattle. Someone was trying to get out. “If anything happens to her, you’re as good as dead,” I assured.
“I swear it won’t. How much time you got?”
“As long as I need for you to tell me the truth.”
Ivan and I spent the next hour driving around the property on a maintenance golf cart that we’d jacked from their garage.
I’d learned more about Emerald Haze in the last fifty-two minutes than I had in the sixteen years I’d done work there.
Now I knew everything. Well, Ivan had at least reassured me he’d told me everything.
I didn’t get the feeling he was in a position to lie to me now.
I drove back to the maintenance garage and parked the golf cart. “That’s it? Nothing else?” I asked him.
“Listen, I’ve told you more than you were ever supposed to know.
If anyone finds out, and I mean anyone, I’m shit outta luck.
I mean, we coulda killed each other at any point, had us a real western shootout, and nobody woulda been none the wiser, but I got nothing left to hide.
” He lit probably his tenth cigarette and took a long, relieving drag.
“I told you because I trust you to not tell anyone else. I’m risking a lotta lives and our entire operation unraveling. ”
“I need to go.” I hung the keys back up in their place on the wall. “Keep me updated,” I told him as I started making my way back inside.
But not before making a quick phone call.
He picked up on the fourth ring without greeting.
“River,” I said into the receiver. “It’s me.”
“The empire must be falling if you’re calling me,” he replied.
I palmed the back of my neck and squeezed in a lame attempt to rub out some of the tension. My brother was only one of two people I trusted more than myself. “It will if I don’t get some help.