“No.”
“You don’t come to chat as a friend?”
“Don’t be soft.”
He laughs loudly, knowing me too well but still enjoying trying to tease me. It’s one of his worst traits.
“That means this is about something you want buried or something you want to steal? A building? Art? Land?”
I allow a thin smile before responding.
“A person,” I say and his eyebrows lift.
“Ah, now I understand. Is this about that couple I looked into for you?” he says as he leans back in his chair and waits for me to speak.
“Yes. I need to complete ownership. The wife is a problem.”
“That bad, huh? You do know you can’t own people, right?”
I ignore him and walk to the window and look down at the yard, watching the men interacting. Some working on their bikes, others chatting. An aura of violence simmering under everything around them.
“I need information,” I say.
“About the wife?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of information?”
“Everything. Where she goes when she isn’t at work. Who she talks to. Who she trusts. What she wants. What she hides. I want her followed and I need every last piece of detail about her.”
Marcus whistles softly. “That’s thorough, you really got it bad for the guy, huh?”
“She’s in my way.”
“Why does she bother you so much?”
“She contaminates him. I need her gone,” I say as myjaw clenches. Just talking about her causes my body to physically protest. Marcus tilts his head, his face lights up with a smugness.
“I can’t believe the day has arrived that you’ve found your person.”
“I need to know he’s fully mine,” I say ignoring his comment. He chuckles under his breath, shaking his head slowly like he can’t believe what I’m saying.
“You really are gone in the head.”
“I’m impatient.”
“You’re obsessed.”
I turn slowly to face him, eager to leave.
“We are way beyond that point. Obsessed doesn’t cover it,” I say. Marcus studies me for a long moment.
“You want her gone.”
“Yes.”
“Gone how?”
