He had work to do.
Sullivan tookthe chair across from Eli and set the recorder on the table. Luke stayed leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, presence quiet but unmistakable.
Eli talked.
He’d worked for a group out of the city. Low-level. Driving, deliveries, being where he was told to be. He hadn’t asked too many questions. Hadn’t wanted to know the answers.
“I was useful,” Eli said. “That’s about it.”
“And you decided to quit,” Sullivan prompted.
Eli nodded once. “Yeah.”
“You tell them where you were headed?”
“No,” Eli said. “Just that I was done.”
Sullivan scribbled something down, then looked up. “And they didn’t take that well.”
Eli gave a humorless snort. “No.”
Luke pushed off the wall then and stepped closer to the table.
“There’s some old stuff on you here,” he said. “Crystal Lake. Years back.”
Eli’s jaw tightened. “Figures.”
“Petty,” Luke went on. “Trespassing. A theft charge that never got resolved. Some unpaid fines.”
Eli winced. “Yeah. I figured that’d catch up with me eventually.”
“It is,” Luke said evenly. “But not the way you think.”
He let that hang for a moment.
"We can put you under probation for the old charges," Luke continued. "Local. You stay in Crystal Lake. Mandatory check-ins. You follow the rules, keep your head down."
Silence settled over the room.
“This keeps you here,” Luke added. “Under our jurisdiction.”
Officially, accountability. Unofficially, it meant protection.
“They don’t come here,” Luke said. “If they do, they get arrested.”
Eli stared at him for a long moment, searching his face like he was trying to figure out the angle.
Luke held his gaze. “This keeps Grace safe.”
That did it.
Eli swallowed and nodded. “Then yeah. I’m in.”
Luke straightened. “Good.”
He stepped back toward the door. He wasn’t done yet.
He’d make the call. He’d have a quiet word with Rourke. Make sure the message landed exactly where it needed to.
