“Taken care of?” Julien said, and the girl flinched. Cinn shot him a warning look.
“She was my mate’s mate. Nobody has heard from her in weeks.”
“What did the police say?” asked Julien, and George and the girl burst into laughter.
George grinned. “Where did you find this one, mate?”
“It’s a valid question,” said Elliot.
The girl eyed him with interest. “You American?”
Cinn glared at Julien and Elliot as if to say,I told you not to open your mouths.
“The police arelooking into it,” the girl mumbled through her final mouthful of chips.
“We need a time and place from Richter. We’ll meet him and Tyler with cash. That’s the deal.”
George leaned back, a sly grin on his face. “Time and place, eh? Sounds like this is a rush job. I could head there right now, but I’d lose money if I left this spot.”
Dear George didn’t seem to be teeming with customers, but Julien bit back that retort to say, “We can cover your loss for the evening, I’m sure.”
When Cinn didn’t protest, Julien found his wallet. Luckily, they’d had the sense to exchange some money at the airport. As he handed over a handful of twenty-pound notes, George’s sleeve shuffled far enough up his arm to reveal a line of purple bruises.
George’s eyes widened in surprise at the amount, which he quickly tried to cover. “Thatshoulddo it.”
“That willdefinitelydo it,” said Cinn. “We’ll come back here at noon tomorrow for his response.” He paused. “Roughly how much money are we talking?”
“About thirty I’d say?”
Cinn failed to hide his reaction—he grimaced, then bit his lip.
“Shall I tell Richter that might be a problem?”
Julien brushed up against Cinn’s arm. “No. And don’t tell him anything about us that you don’t need to.”
George nodded, and then he and the girl headed off into the shadows.
Elliot filled their space. “Are they actually going to come back here at noon tomorrow, or will they go on a bender with that hundred pounds?”
“They’ll be back. He’s a good mate of Tyler’s. He’ll want to get him free.”
“Did you see those bruises on his arms?” Julien mused. “They looked nasty.”
Cinn shot him a dejected look. “At least he’s not dead or half-dead like Sally and Hawk.”
“This guy can’t be just walking around killing people! What is George even doing, working for a man like that?”
“Know any ethical kingpins?” Cinn said, then snorted. “In his world, things aren’t that simple.”
As the wind picked up, Elliot wrapped his coat further around him. “So, are we actually going to give that monster a load of cash, or are we going to give him his just deserts? You know which option I’d prefer, Julien.”
A worried frown crossed Cinn’s face. “You guys don’t need to have any more involvement. I can—” He hesitated. “Borrowthe cash from you and meet him by myself. It’s easier if we don’t cause trouble.”
“Not a chance,” said Elliot before Julien could. “We’ll all go, and I’m more than happy to have a nice longconversationwith our friend Richter.”
“What about Auri?” asked Cinn. “Would they be cool with that?”
Elliot shrugged. “How would they find out? Don’t you want to see that fucker punished for what he’s doing?” He looked to Julien for backup.
