“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I hop into the truck and speed away, leaving Baz, and any chance we had, behind.
SHIT UP TOmy eyeballs does not even begin to describe the situation I’m in.
I stand in front of Regina’s office door rocking back and forth on my heels. I’m procrastinating.
She verbally castrated me when I told her the job was a fail. I knew this moment was coming. The minute I decided I wasn’t going to kill Baz, I knew I was going to have to face the music eventually. And I knew the tune was going to be the death march.
I finally knock on the door. Like Baz said, you can’t avoid talking about the inevitable.
“Come in.” Her displeasure is palpable.
I walk inside to find her sitting behind her desk. It’s funny, before Benny died, Regina couldn’t care less about family business, and now here she is, running her part like a pro.
“Well, she returns,” Regina sneers.
I stroll right up to the edge of the antique cherrywood desk and cross my arms. “What? No late afternoon snack?” I allude to the fact there’s no boy toy in the room.
“Don’t get smart, Stevie. I’m in a world of shit, which means so are you.”
“I’ll find him—”
Regina slams her hands on her desk.
“No, you won’t! He’s in the goddamn wind! It took us six months to find him last time. God knows how long it will take now!”
I’m totally taken aback. I’ve never seen Regina so upset about anything except shoes before.
“Who is he? Why is he so important?” I try to pry some information out of her.
“Why do you keep asking that?” she snaps. “Did something happen out there I should know about?” She’s suspicious.
“No,” I scoff, trying desperately not to look guilty. “But maybe if I know something about him, I could figure out how to get close to him again.”
“You had your chance, Stevie. You failed.” She clears her throat uncomfortably, light beads of sweat appearing like dewdrops on her forehead.
“G, are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Her demeanor suddenly changes. “I wish things could be different, Stevie, I really do.” She stands with a strange look in her eyes.
“Different?” I glance behind me just in case Kruger is trying to sneak up behind me. When I look back at Regina, she’s pointing a gun at me. Sneaky bitch. I didn’t think she even knew what a firearm was. I smile. Does she think she’s scaring me right now?
“You gonna shoot me yourself, G?” I mock her. “You’ll get all dirty from the blood spatter.” The gun trembles in her hand, and before she can even think, I reach out and swipe it, turning the barrel on her.
The first time Benny introduced me to a gun, he held it up to my head and pulled the trigger. I won’t lie. I peed in my pants like a little bitch. It wasn’t loaded, of course, but I didn’t know that.Fear is a weakness, Stevie. Don’t let it control you, don’t be afraid of pain, and don’t be afraid to die. Fear will ruin you.
I’m not afraid to die. Not at Regina’s hand or anyone else’s. What I am afraid of? Someone else killing Baz and not being merciful about it.
“Tell me who he is, G.”
Regina stands before me in her pretty pink, ruffly suit, clearly terrified. Her bark has always been worse than her bite.
“He’s a witness who needs to go away.”
“There. Was that so hard? Who wants him dead?” I go on.
She shakes her head immediately. “I can’t tell you that, Stevie, I’m sorry. All I can say is it’s someoneveryimportant.”
Jesus, that could be anyone. Crime boss, politician, celebrity. We cater to all kinds.
