I clear my throat. “What do you want me to ask?” I tilt my head to the side. “Or, what do you want me to keep an eye out for, boss?”
“You’ll know what to look out for, but make sure they’ve got these arms they’re claiming to have. Make them show you.” Stephan smiles softly. “Even if you have to use some force. They’re the little guys, if you have to wipe them out…so be it.”
“I’ll go with him,” Butch insists.
Damnit.
I was hoping to go alone andwipe them out, whether or not they actually have the arms.
“I think one man is enough for this job,” I insist, but I try not to sound too objecting.
Stephan shakes his head. “I think it’s a good idea that Butch goes with you. He’s handled the Carvels before.”
I nod my head. “Got it.” I know better than to argue with the man. “We’ll go first thing tomorrow morning.”
I’m not kidding. The second the sun comes up I’m showering and getting dressed to go see what the Calver’s really want and if they have all these guns they claim to have. There’s a large part of me hoping that they’re just playing the Bianchi, but…if they are, then I’m part of who they’re playing. I’m not interested in walking into a trap.
I’ve got bigger fish to fry than the Calvers.
Butch is waiting for me downstairs holding two mugs of coffee, one black and one with cream and sugar, he hands me the one with cream and sugar.
“Thanks,” I mutter.
The two of us head to Butch’s car instead of mine and I slide into the passenger seat. I’m letting him drive and feel like the leader in all this, thinking it might cloud his judgement. The more he thinks I’m cool letting him boss me around, the more I can slide past him.
“It might be a set up,” I warn him.
Butch grins at me. “Good, I could use some target practice.”
I grin back at him and sip at my coffee. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Especially if that target practice includes him.
Killing him would get Stephan where it hurts, but he’s still not my target. Not even close.
The drive across town, through two neighborhoods, and into the rundown area where the Calvers have set up base isn’t long, but it’s just long enough that I’m forced to keep some kind of conversation with Butch.
“So, who did you hook up with last night?” he asks me.
I shrug. “Didn’t get a name,” I reply.
He chuckles. “I’d think you’d want to keep a trophy or somethin’.”
I squeeze my coffee cup tighter but keep composed and sip at it.
“Nah. Some things are better forgotten. Especially when you’re drunk,” I tell him.
He taps on the steering wheel. “Damn, must’ve been one ugly broad then.”
My jaw shifts. “Don’t know. Don’t plan on remembering.”
We pull into the makeshift driveway of dirt and pebbles, and two men with large guns step out of the front doorway before I’ve even gotten the car door open and a leg out.
“What’s your business here?” one of the men with the guns asks as I stand up and straighten my collar.
I close the door behind me and look to Butch for a second before we both start walking forward. I put both of my hands up at chest level, trying to show that I’m not here to start anything. Butch is far more intimidating by appearance. He goes barreling forward and makes them nervous.
“I said, what the fuck is your business here?” he asks again.
