Chapter TWENTY-SIX
“DO YOUwant another beer?”
“Sure,” Mitch replied, leaning forward and taking the cold bottle from Rocky.
Rocky dropped in the chair opposite and studied Mitch closely.
Mitch drank from the bottle and focused on maintaining a casual posture. He glanced around Rocky’s living room, with its evidence of last night’s partying, then through the floor-to-ceiling windowto the garden outside. It was a spectacular Sydney summer day, and the backyard and pool looked like a resort: the sparkling blue of the pool, the brilliant unbroken azure of the sky, and the deep green of the lawn and hedges all contrasted with the cream travertine paving. Inside was a different story, with the chill of the air-conditioning, the debris of empty bottles, and tension in the air.
Mitch finally turned his attention back to Rocky in front of him. Rocky stared, unblinking, arms folded across his broad chest.What the fuck is he thinking?Mitch gulped at his beer again.
“Shame about Peter,” Rocky finally said.
“Uh-huh.” Mitch swallowed the mouthful of beer, along with the pang of regret that hit hard. Just the thought of Pete lying in a hospital bed, waiting to see if he’dsurvive a brain injury, was horrific. “Have you heard anything about how he’s doing?” he asked, keeping his voice steady.
Rocky shook his head. “It’s hard to get any info from the damn hospital. They do every fucking thing by the bloody book. Stack went over there earlier today but didn’t want to make a scene. Regardless, it doesn’t look like Peter will be up and around anytime soon. Puts a fuckingspanner in the works.” It was clear Rocky’s care factor was nonexistent, at least where Pete was concerned.
“Where is Stack?”
“He’ll be here soon.” Rocky took a cigarette from the deck on the table and held out the pack to Mitch.
The first drag was bliss, sending a hit of nicotine through his bloodstream. No guilt this time; he needed that goddamn cigarette.
Rocky snapped the lighter shut.“You did good the other night.”
“Yeah?”
“Dealing with the cops, taking the shit. Things could have gone to fuck, but they didn’t. I appreciate it, man.”
Mitch inhaled another lungful of smoke, holding it before letting it out in a long, thin stream. He already felt a lot calmer, more in control. “Didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done. Didn’t want to fuck up the operation and bring downany more heat on the Soldiers than there already is.”
“Like I said, you did good. Stepped up.” Rocky rested his cigarette in the ashtray and folded his arms again. He leaned across the table, his gaze piercing. “We look after our own too, Mitch, and you’re proving yourself to be a real asset. If things had gone pear-shaped, if the cops had found the gear you took from Pete, you could have beenin real trouble, but if they found the stuff in Pete’s car, then things would have gotten really ugly. Bad for you, for Pete, for all of us.”
Mitch kept a neutral expression, as he knew the cops had waited until they weren’t being observed, then searched the car and rifled through the drug paraphernalia in the ute. They’d found a quantity of heroin that definitely indicated distribution and notpersonal use. They took an inventory but left things where they were—there were bigger fish to fry, and they’d all be brought to justice soon enough.
“What impact does Pete being out of the picture have on the deal?” Mitch introduced the topic as casually as he could.
“We’re a man short. But I have a solution.”
Mitch took a last drag of the cigarette and stubbed it into the ashtray. “What haveyou got in mind?”
“I had a talk with Stack, and we agreed that you’ve proven yourself, and we could trust you to step in.”
“Hell yeah!” Mitch didn’t have to feign his excitement. This was just what he’d been waiting for.
Rocky raised a brow. “You don’t know what we want you to do yet.”
“Doesn’t matter. I just want another chance to prove myself to you, to show my allegiance. This’ll get mecloser to full club membership, right?”
Rocky chuckled. “Let’s see how things go first. But it’s good to see you’re keen. And you’ve got more guts than that piss-weak brother of mine. Although maybe I should get him to come along. Getting his hands dirty might be just the thing to toughen him up.”
The thought of Finn intercepting the shipment, handling the drugs, and putting himself in the directline of the police sting gave Mitch the cold shivers. Much better that Finn stayed in the office dealing with the books, because God only knew what could go down at that warehouse.
“Well, I’m glad you’re leaving him out of this because it’s my chance—”
“Ah, about time,” Rocky said as Stack entered the room, the sliding door slamming behind him. He dropped his large frame into a chair and greetedMitch with a grunt and a nod.
“Stack.” Mitch nodded back.
