I closed his laptop and set it aside before turning my attention to him. We both usually worked in suits, but suits drew too much attention when we were hunting someone down, so we’d opted for jeans, T-shirts, and sneakers. Sneakers, because Matt had run from me once. If he tried that shit again, I’d be ready for the asshole.
Angel looked completely different dressed down, and even if Matt knew who he was, I doubted that he’d recognize him. Angel had kind eyes and a friendly smile, making him look like the type of down-to-earth nice guy you’d invite to bar-b-ques, church potlucks, and community events. Nobody would ever peg him for the son of the Las Vegascapo dei capi, or boss of bosses. He didn’t look rich, powerful, or menacing enough to be Dominico Mariani’s heir, which made it easy for people to trust him.
We put our heads together and came up with a plan to get Matt out of the trailer before climbing out of the Hummer and marching up to the front door. Angel marched up the creaky wooden porch steps as I hid out of sight of the windows and door. Angel had to knock a few times before the door finally opened a crack.
“What do you want?” I heard Matt ask. His voice was raspy, like he’d been smoking two packs a day since the last time I’d seen him.
“You don’t have a cat, do you?” Angel asked.
“Hell no, I don’t have a cat.”
Angel released a breath. “I just hit one in front of your house. Think you could come look at it and let me know if you recognize it? Probably belongs to one of your neighbors.”
Matt snorted. “I told you, it’s not mine. Think I give a shit about some random pussy? Or any of the assholes on this street?”
The disrespectful way Matt was talking to Angel made me want to light him up.Soon, I promised myself.
Angel frowned, “Look, man, my daughter’s with me, and if I don’t figure out who that cat belongs to, I’m never gonna hear the end of it.”
“Again,man, I don’t give a fuck.”
The door started to close, but Angel shoved his shoe in it. “Wait. I have an idea to help us both out. Just come look at the damn cat and point to the next-door neighbor’s house. I went there first, but nobody’s home so my daughter refuses to accept that it’s theirs.” He pulled out his wallet. “I’ll make it worth your time. Help me out and I’ll give you twenty bucks.”
“I don’t do shit for less than a hundred,” Matt countered.
Ariana had a gift for seeing the best in people, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out how she’d been with this greedy son-of-a-bitch. He must have kept her high the entire time they were together.
“We’re talking about two seconds out of your day to look at a dead cat,” Angel replied. “I’ll give you thirty.”
“Fifty. Cash only, upfront. You don’t want your kid crying all day, do you?”
Angel shook his head. “Twenty now, twenty after.”
“Fine. Let me grab my shoes.”
The door closed, and Angel stepped down from the porch, tugging a twenty out of his wallet. He held it in front of him as soon as the door reopened. Matt was so busy trying to get to the money, he didn’t see me hop up on the porch behind him. The whole thing buckled and shook under my added weight, and he reached out for the railing to steady himself.
“What the fuck?” he asked, turning around.
I grabbed him, slapping my hand over his mouth and shoving my Glock into his side. “Surprise, motherfucker.”
His entire body tensed as his eyes darted toward me. The surprise in his expression was priceless.
“Is there anyone else here?” I asked as I patted him down, relieving him of his cell phone and a switchblade.
He clamped his mouth shut, refusing to answer like he was some sort of badass.
I pistol-whipped the back of his head. “Answer the fucking question.”
“Ouch! Fuck!” He rubbed at the back of his head. “Goddammit, Bones, that hurts. No one’s here but me.”
I backed up into the trailer, taking Matt with me. The living room was a junkie’s haven, littered with takeout food containers, pipes, beer bottles. A small mirror dusted with white powder served as a centerpiece on the coffee table.
“Looks like a party,” Angel said, drawing his gun. “I’m gonna check it out.”
I didn’t like the idea of him searching the trailer alone, but he knew what he was doing, and we needed to make sure nobody else was home. We’d been taught better than to leave witnesses behind who could ID us.
“This why you could never find the money to pay me?” I asked, gesturing around the room. “Too busy sampling the shit to sell it?”
