“C, what about the punishment? For ditching my bodyguard? Don’t make it something harsh, okay?”
“No punishment.”
“Really?”
“Really. Go take a bath and relax, baby. I’ll be up there soon.”
Chapter
Four
CONNOR
Ihave calls to make, but I keep one eye on the clock. Zoe needs me with her, and delays are not welcome.
I set up a meeting with Joe Sullivan who heads the biggest Irish Mafia organization in Boston. We’ve partnered with him in some ventures, so I know some of what’s happening around his territory. The Sullivans want to rid Boston of Jose Sosa’s operation. As of now, C Crue is going to help them do it.
I call Anvil on a burn phone. There’s maybe a five-second delay before he picks up. He must be carrying it on him, which is good.
“I’m here,” he says.
“We almost had a problem in Boston today. Get with Miller for a debrief. He’s in your old place. And encourage him to editorialize, ‘Vil. If you can find a way to work in a phrase or two about remembering what a pain in the ass it is to guard spoiled women, do it. Bait him.”
Anvil clears his throat. “Not my style of questioning.”
“I know. He’ll probably see through it, but try anyway.”
“Or I could get the truth another way.”
“No. He stepped up today and earned a bonus. I don’t think he’ll appreciate the money as much if we beat him to a pulp first.”
“Hmm.”
“I just want to get in his head a little. Even before you debrief Miller though, I need you to figure out who we can pull from normal operations to sit on Trick’s family in Boston. I want three C Crue guys guarding them. Not Miller or Hornsby. Seasoned guys. And tell them they’re to disrupt things as little as possible. They are there as security and nothing else, so they better conduct themselves accordingly.”
“Hmm.” There’s a whole world of questions in that one sound.
“Yeah, we’ve got two different types of problems. An outside threat and an internal weak link. Zoe says Hornsby overstepped and was disrespectful, and then buckled under pressure like he was made of tin foil rather than C Crue steel. From what I can tell, he was a fucking disgrace today.”
“Trick suspected a problem.”
“Did he? He never said a word to me.”
“We weren’t sure. The guy picked things up fast, learned every drill right off. And he seemed tough enough under fire. But Trick pegged him as distractible and too prone to talk in tense situations. Trick started to ride him and told me to as well, which I did. Hornsby didn’t break down, so we figured we could train the hardness into him. I’ve done it with others.”
“He’s out.”
“Sure. You want me to take care of it?”
“No, I wanna do it.” I frown. “Trick mentoring the younger guys may be a problem. Some of them are trying to emulate his style, without understanding that what they see as cool—the wisecracking dialogue and all that—is not the substance of whatput him where he is. Trick turns on a dime. When it’s time to staredown the enemy, there are no jokes and hedoes notblink.”
“I’ll take over the new guys.”
“Let him keep Miller for now, but take over everyone else.”
After a beat, he asks, “Did you call Trick about whatever’s causing us to put a detail on his family?”
“No. We’re going to handle it.”
