That came close to sounding like a declaration of war.
“Did this kid have a name?”
“Bobby. I don’t know his last name.”
I backhanded him again for added incentive.
“I swear to God. I never saw him before. My brother came to me and said he had a good buddy who wanted some blow. I just… It was my brother. You know?”
While I wasn’t the kind of man to believe in conspiracy theories, if what Randy had just said was true, the kid had sought him out on purpose. Possibly to issue a warning that would eventually get to me. Or possibly the kid was bragging. Either way, nurturing the ‘relationship’ could prove useful.
Exhaling, I pulled out a cloth from my jacket, wiping the blood from my hand, watching as he slowly crawled up from the floor. At least the fucker hadn’t had the nerve to beg for his life.
Yet.
Without hesitation, I whipped out my weapon, one single step and I had the hard, cold steel of the barrel placed against the center point of his eyes.
“You’re a disappointment, Randy. To yourself and to the organization who employs you, but today is your lucky day. I have other business to attend to. I’ll allow my associates tofinish cleaning up the mess you created. You’re going to find this Bobby for me. And you’re going to bring him to me. If you do, this incident will be put behind us. Understood?”
I allowed the words to hang in the air and I applied pressure with the gun.
“Yes, sir. Oh, yes, sir.”
When he started to apologize again, all I had to do was cock my head to once again silence him.
As I backed away, I nodded to the two men standing in the shadows. They were part of my cleanup crew, men highly skilled in the removal of evidence. When they were finished, there wasn’t a forensics team in the entire state of Louisiana who would be able to dredge up a single scrap of DNA. Jarvis had called them in ahead of time, uncertain what to expect.
No one did when it came to decisions I made. Maybe I liked to keep my men guessing. Or maybe I wasn’t wired to chart things out when it came to handling traitors.
Repulsion pooled in my stomach like a venomous snake, keeping me on edge while never quite satisfying the fury lurking just below the surface.
When I walked from the building, I took several deep breaths of the late afternoon air as Jarvis flanked my side.
“What punishment would you like me to inflict?”
Sadly, I’d need to be careful. The asshole had run as soon as he’d seen me heading in his direction. I’d been forced to drag him into one of our warehouse spaces located conveniently close to a string of our family businesses, but far too close for the levels of interrogation that were sometimes necessary. The FrenchQuarter was crowded with tourists, discovery a chance I couldn’t take.
At some point the police would become wise to the battle shared with the Russos. While we controlled a significant number of members of law enforcement, it wasn’t enough to keep an indictment from being issued.
I thought about his question, debating ending Randy’s miserable life. In some ways, it would make the world a better place. It was obvious he wasn’t a good role model for his kid brother, but was it fair to remove the only breadwinner in a family? At least that’s what he’d blabbed on about even before the promotion.
However, being fair had been challenging. With my teeth gritted, I spit out orders. “Take a finger. Wrap the wound and send him home.”
“Understood. Anything else?”
“Not today. I’m hoping to meet my father for a discussion on how to handle the Russos.” What troubled me was that I’d left a message with my father and had yet to hear back. That wasn’t like him. I was at the point of tracking him down through his second in command. “We’ll meet tomorrow morning and discuss the new shipment and laying down plans for additional security methods.”
“You got it. What do you make of what Randy just said?”
“I don’t know what to think at this point. Kids boast, but I want this Bobby tracked down. He could prove useful.”
“Yeah, they do, but you’re right. I smell something off about the interaction myself. I guess we’ll see if Randy comes through.”
“For his sake he damn well better.”
Jarvis chuckled, given he knew me so well.
While there was always music blaring from open bars and coming from street vendors, I wasn’t immune to the need of taking extra precautions. “By the way. Put a rag in his mouth. The last we need is attention drawn to the area.” I handed him the rag I’d used before.
