I nodded, impressed. “Except you won’t. Live comfortably, that is. Sure, you’ll invest it, live off the interest, watch your money grow, skip American taxes. And use it to run. Then run again. Unless you’re killed the first time out.”
Jade narrowed her eyes. “Bite me.”
“Yes, I’d love nothing better. I can bring my father down, but I can’t do it alone.”
“Just exactly how do you propose to do that?” she demanded.
I fished the new keys from my pocket and set them on the table. “With these.”
“What do those unlock?” Alix asked, breathless.
“My father’s front door,” I replied, my eyes on Jade, “and his secrets.”
“As in?” Jade prompted.
“Look,” I said, leaning forward again. “He has to keep records, right? Payments to judges, prosecutors, cops. We get those records, take them to the feds, expose all this city’s corruption with my pa at the heart of it. Bring down his empire in a swift explosion. His goons will be too busy running for their lives and freedom to track us down.”
“You make it sound easy,” Jade commented, her eyes narrowed.
“It won’t be. He’s suspicious, controlling, OCD. He knows where he put a speck of dust. And if that speck ain’t where he put it, dying and going to hell will be the least of anyone’s problems.”
Jade studied her cup again, her brows furrowed. Alix watched her closely, hardly breathing it seemed, while I, too, waited with my breath bated. I willed her to say yes, to agree to help me, to become my partner in bringing Arnaud down. I needed her smarts, her fearlessness, her tough strength.
I had no one else I’d count on.
“All right,” she said at last, looking up. “I’ll help you. Once Alix is clear of any danger.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Alix said with a half-laugh. “I’ll leave in the morning. I need some alone time anyway.”
“I don’t want to know where you’re going,” Jade said slowly. “But, please, tell me how you’ll be safe. Please.”
“Just know it’s far from here, a remote cabin my grandparents owned and passed to my parents. No one has been there in years, it’s probably dustier than hell, and I never got around to telling you about it. I’ll leave the city, stop along the way for supplies. And since its not even in my folks’ name, no one can trace it to my family.”
Jade breathed deeply. “It sounds perfect. Stay there for a long time. Promise me.”
“I need a vacation, sure, but I also need to work. I’ll have to come back soon.”
“I’ll give you rent money. I can afford it.”
Alix grinned. “Okay.”
While she left us to go pack for her trip, I gazed at Jade over the table. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me, GQ. You got me into this mess.”
I smiled. “I know. I still appreciate you and what you’re doing.”
“I’m doing it for my safety, and Alix’s. Not you.” She sniffed.
“That’s all right. Together, we’ll bring Arnaud and his evil works down. That’s all that matters.”
“And then, I’ll be rid of you. Forever.”
I chuckled. “So why does it feel as though we’re fated to be together?”
***
“She’ll be safe,” Jade murmured as we watched Alix wave from the window while driving away. “Right?”
