“A friend of a friend,” he states and lets his gaze trail in the direction of the bathroom when he hears the toilet flush.
Yeah, right.Sketchy as fuck, and it’s why I flip the safety off the gun.
“Mind giving us some privacy, friend of a friend?”I grunt while Lu opens the bathroom door.
“Friend of a friend is my enemy,” Lu’s voice slices through the room.
The man with the roses grins and in one move the flowers tumble to the floor, revealing a gun.Behind him is Gideon who enters the room and closes the door behind him.
“Luella, Luella, Luella, you have been a very naughty woman.”Gideon tsk tsks.
I notice the ninja star in Lu’s hand that’s hidden behind her back, and I wonder where she pulled it from.
“Didn’t you get the memo, Gideon?”Lu taunts.“Your two identical brothers, and your father are dead...meaning you’re the only one left.So, there’s no need to recite my name three times, once is enough since the rest are echoes of the past.”
Gideon winces and nods as he releases a deep sigh.“I thought so, with the lack in communication, and the order I received.It’s actually why I’m here...I came to negotiate.”
“Negotiate?”Lu and I grunt in sync.
Gideon places a hand on the other man’s arms and forces him to lower the gun.“Someone wants you dead.We could pretend and make a trade instead.I report back that the order was successful, you lay low or disappear, and it will give me time to do the same.”
“You’ll do the same?As in disappear?Why?”Lu questions.“And why should I believe you?”
“You saw what happened in the basement, before you killed my brother.”Gideon holds Lu’s stare and waits for her to nod before he adds, “A few years ago we were at rock bottom.My father made a bad business decision, leaving us without a dime.That’s when I suggested the fantasy auctions.”
His gaze goes to the man next to him.
“Derek was actually the first victim.The fantasy auction was won by Derek’s ex-husband who was a billionaire.He gave explicit instructions and I was the one who completed it by myself from start to finish, earning my first million.”Gideon gives Derek a tender smile.“Only I faked Derek’s death and after the money was transferred, I killed his ex.”
Lu takes a step forward and points the ninja star she’s holding in Gideon’s direction.“Let me get this straight.You’re the one who kickstarted the killing for fun, sport, and hard cash, and now that your family is dead and we’re about to end you too you want out?Sorry, fucker, this life ain’t a damn fantasy auction where you can buy your own ending.”
“Unless,” I mutter, gaining all eyes on me.“Tell me, Gideon, and be honest here, who gave you the order to kill Lu?”
“Bosco,” Gideon states without blinking.“He wants her dead to strike a deal with her father.To be honest?I think Bosco reached out to Holland to get him to spy on us because we’ve been keeping him out of our business.Somehow, he must have known about the millions we made without giving him his cut.I never wanted everything to spiral out of control.The first time I was ready to call it quits.My family wanted...needed more.I agreed to help set things up, but they had to accept my relationship, and the fact that I only helped in the background, the technical side.”
“You were in the room ending the video stream,” Lu muses.“So, you don’t participate?”
Gideon glances at Derek and the look they give one another?It’s clear these two are more than friends.
“You’re still responsible for the deaths of innocent people,” Lu states.
“Like I said, let’s make a trade,” Gideon offers again.
I wave Lu over and she leans in while I keep my eyes on Gideon and whisper, “Let me make a call, see if we can give them a deal.”
“Like witness protection or some shit?”she whispers back.
“Who knows?Dealing with this makes faking your death easier.Let’s see what our government contact says.”
Lu bobs her head and turns to Gideon and Derek.“Give me all your weapons and go sit against the wall.My old man is going to make a call and then we’re going to decide.”
Gideon steps forward and places his weapons on the bed in front of us.“Old man?”He eyes the patches on my leather cut.“With my brothers gone I guess the engagement is over.”
“You guessed right,” I grunt.“She’s my old lady and won’t ever be yours, or anyone else’s for that matter.”
Gideon holds his hands palms up.“I wasn’t engaged to her, my arrangement with my family allowed me to cut all business ties with them.Besides, my father still had two brothers to carry the load, and I restarted the cash flow.Like I said, I only manage the technical side of it and never participate.It’s also why I don’t live there anymore.”
I hand my gun to Lu and she aims it in their direction as I grab my phone and call Thorsten.He picks up on the second ring and I explain the situation at hand.After a long silence Thorsten tells me to sit tight until he calls back.
