“Bullshit. He’s told that Rufus fucker more than us! And that guy used to work for the fuckin’ Luchesis, like top level shit!”
“It doesn’t matter.” Mickey squeezed the steering wheel. “Cold’s always done right by us.”
“You mean by lying to us? Keepin’ shit from us? Can’t you see what he’s doing?”
“What?”
“It’s like Alistair said!” Duncan snapped. “Cold will do anything to get what he wants and fuck the rest of us! He’s just using us!”
“That’s not true.”
“Mickey. Please! You can’t possibly be this fuckin’ naive.”
“It’s bullshit. You’re bullshit.”
“You’re not listening to me!” Duncan groaned, wringing his hands. “You never fuckin’ listen to me anymore! You used to trust me!”
“I still trust you!” Mickey argued. “You’re just not making any damn sense. Cold has given me zero reason not to trust him. He’s delivered on every promise he’s ever made me.”
“I want to help you,” Duncan said urgently, “but if you’re not willing to listen to fuckin’ reason, I can’t!”
“Help me what?” Mickey felt an odd lurch of suspicion rise up in his gut.
Duncan had always been nervous,always. But there was something not right about the way he was acting. More troubling was the fact this wasn’t the first time Mickey had found himself questioning his behavior…
Cold said there was a rat.
No way.
Duncan was many things—a pain in the ass, a bit of a coward—but there was no fuckin’ way he was a traitor. He couldn’t be the rat that had been eating away at their operations all of this time.
Mickey knew Duncan had beef with Cold, but turning on Cold meant turning on Mickey too. He refused to believe his friend would do that to him, and he squashed down the weird feeling in his stomach.
“I don’t want you, uh, you know, to get hurt,” Duncan stammered. “I know, uh, you, you just look up to the guy a lot. I’m just, you know, I’m worried about you.”
“About me?”
“I mean, you’re fucking Roger, for one.” Duncan smiled weakly. “You’ve clearly lost your fuckin’ mind.”
Mickey snorted, but he smiled. “I think I’m in love with him.”
“Holy shit, you really have gone fuckin’ nuts.”
Mickey glared.
Duncan grinned.
They both started laughing, and the distrust that had been brewing evaporated.
“Fuck you.” Mickey punched Duncan in his shoulder.
“Ow!” Duncan was still laughing. “Come on! You fell for the crazy guy from the gas station. Fuck it. You’re both nuts. It’s fuckin’ perfect.”
Mickey smirked.
The rest of the drive was easier after that, and Mickey relaxed. The only thing he had to worry about today was whether or not the Luchesi mob was going to set up an ambush.
The parking garage had been neglected for some time, but there was still power. Yellow lamps hung overhead, creating a strange amber glow over the concrete. A quick perimeter check revealed nothing amiss, and Mickey searched behind pillars and around the broken vending machines to make sure it was truly clear.
