Gavin shakes his head. “Nah. He said it wasn’t his and he ain’t a thief.”
“What happened out there?” Kai asks as he looks through the duffle bags. He whistles. “Fuck, how much is it?”
“Three mil,” Gavin says. “Declan threw him into the ocean off the side of a speedboat.”
I chuckle. “Really?”
“Yeah, really.” Gavin joins in with a chuckle of his own. “Said he wanted to live out his Godfather dreams. He was…fuck. Declan is a fucking artist when it comes to getting rid of people. The way he sliced those fuckers in the warehouse…it was like he knew what would cause the most pain with the smallest amount of effort. I could probably learn a thing or two in the torture department from him. He got all of ‘em to give up their plans in less than an hour.”
I whistle under my breath. I’ve heard that Declan was a hothead, that he thinks with his gun more often than not and I’ve seen that for myself. But maybe there’s something to be said about hotheads.
Or maybe it’s just Declan.
There’s something about the younger Whitlock I can’t put a finger on. He’s…more than his brother and father make him out to be.
Of course, the rumors about him are true—he’s impulsive, he thinks with his gun, and he flies off the handle at the drop of a hat. But maybe that’s how he is because that’s all everyone expects from him.
Or maybe I’m trying to make him someone he’s not, just so I can rationalize this attraction I have for a man that wouldn’t piss on me if I were on fire.
“So, he gave someone cement shoes?” I ask, then look at Kai. “Why haven’t we done that?”
Kai smiles and shrugs. “It’s old school, but effective. We might have to.” I bump fists with him as we laugh.
“Bodies float,” Carter sneers, shaking his head at us. “Just like Declan not to think about that.” He grunts, shoving his hands through his hair. “He never thinks. Just does shit because he wants to see what it’s like.”
I tick up an eyebrow. “You think there’s a better place to dump a body than the middle of the Atlantic? You think someone is going to canvas a big ass body of water, looking for a thieving asshole?”
“Not everybody can be dissolved in acid,” Kai adds. “I think the Atlantic is a good resting place for a piece of shit that doesn’t deserve a proper burial.”
Other than finding him attractive, I don’t like Declan. I probably never will, but it grates on my nerves how hard Carter is on him. Especially because Carter gave him a job in security and disposal. What does he expect Declan to do every time he has to drop a body?
Carter grinds his teeth but doesn’t say anything further.
Kai hides a smile behind his hand and yells for his assistant. “Percy. Come here.”
The smaller man hurries into the room, pushing his glasses up with a shaky index finger. Percy glances at Gavin and flushes a deep red, his pale skin giving him away. “Yes?” he squeaks, then clears his throat. “Yes?” he repeats in a more even tone.
Kai grins at him. “Check our accounts and see which one can be used to wash this cash. Then I want you to count it and take care of it. Got that?”
Percy nods and tries to pick up two bags from the desk but has a hard time carting it out. Face red, he takes one bag, then makes three more trips. I ask if he needs help, but he just shakes his head and hurries out.
After they talk for another few minutes about the casino plans, Gavin and Carter leave.
When they’re gone, I scoff, and say, “He’s too hard on Declan.”
Kai looks up at me slowly, ticking up an eyebrow. “You care how he treats Declan?”
“No,” I say, “youshould.” Kai looks at me, confused. “He treats Declan how Charlie treated you.”
Kai’s face hardens. “Watch it, Nico.”
“Am I wrong? Every conversation I hear between the two of them, he’s telling Declan how he doesn’t use his head or that he needs to think more. Always a critique.”
“He cares about his brother,” Kai defends his husband.
“I’m sure he does. I think it’s hypocritical that he tells Declan he’s a hothead when the two of you used to go at it whenever you were in each other’s presence, no matter who was around.”
Even though I can tell he’s pissed that I’m criticizing Carter, he grins. “Yeah, we had some good scraps. Still got some scars from them.” He sighs and runs his hand through his long hair. “I’ll talk to him about it. I didn’t see it until youput it that way. I don’t like Deck, but I don’t want him to feel how I felt with Pop.”
