Wolf went still.He didn’t know who that was, probably a small fry since he was stupid enough to cross the MC.
“What changed?”Wolf patiently asked.
“He said it was an emergency.Said he needed it now,” Smith admitted.
“And you just sent it?”Wolf asked drily.
“I didn’t have a choice,” Smith snapped, panic breaking through.“He threatened me.Said if I didn’t move it, he’d come after me.”
Wolf watched him for a long second.
“You always have a choice,” he said calmly.
Smith looked away.
“But before this,” Wolf added, “you and Callahan were skimming small amounts.”
Smith nodded again, slower this time.“Yeah.Just small cuts.Nothing big.Nothing like this.”
Wolf absorbed that.
Small, controlled theft before.Then a sudden grab for ten thousand.This Callahan must’ve gotten desperate all of a sudden.Well, he was going to pay for his mistake soon.Wolf straightened slightly, decision already made.
“I can get it back,” Smith said.“I swear, I can fix it.Just give me another chance, Wolf.”
“No,” Wolf answered immediately.
He stood, unfolding to his full height with an ease that came from long practice.The shift in position changed the room again.
“You’re not fixing anything,” Wolf said coldly.“You’ve done enough.”
Smith pushed to his feet too quickly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor.
“Please, Wolf,” Smith said, hands coming up.He held his palms open.“I’ll go to him.I’ll make him pay it back, I swear.”
“You’ll do nothing,” Wolf told him.Smith was probably going to run if Wolf was foolish enough to let him leave.These scum always did.
Wolf brushed away a speck of dust that didn’t exist on his leather jacket.It was a small, almost absent gesture.Besides, he already had his answers.Well, most of them.
“Where is he?”Wolf asked.
“Callahan?”the man said, blinking.“I don’t know.He moves around.Last I heard he was...”
“Don’t guess,” Wolf reminded him, gaze intent.“Think.”
Smith swallowed.Then he closed his eyes for a second like he could dig the answer out of whatever scraps of information he had left.
“He mentioned a place,” Smith finally said slowly.“Apartment.South side.”
“Address,” Wolf prompted.
“I don’t know,” Smith began.Sweat dribbled down his forehead, then he continued, “Wait.I might have it in my phone.”
“Get it,” Wolf ordered.
Smith fumbled for his pocket, hands shaking as he pulled out his phone.It took him three tries to unlock it.Wolf watched him, patient and unmoving.Ten years of doing this job, he understood something most men in this line of work didn’t.
Control wasn’t about volume, or violence, it was about inevitability.Smith eventually found what he was looking for with a small, strangled sound of relief.
