Page 67 of After the Chase

Chase, of course, is friendly, greeting everyone, while I sit on one of the empty sofas and wait for Dima to finally start talking.

"Marcus is impressed with you,” Dima says. My eyes shift from him to Marcus, who is staring at me with a small smile.

"I’m not interested in an appraisal."

“Yes, I know, because you don’t work for us. Save it, Noah. We all know,” Dima says, rolling his eyes. Lev takes a seat next to him and tries to murder me on the spot with his stare. He’s like an angry puppy.

"I always knew you were special, Noah,” Ivan says across from me and I want to snarl at him. But I’ve learned the more attention you give him, the more he believes we are friends. I get called a freak, but I would consider myself more normal than this array of weirdos.

"Ivan, shut up," Lev says, and Ivan just waves him off, crossing his left leg over his right.

"I’ll get to the point, I have a problem that needs eliminating, but it will need to be out in the open, which I know you have done before. We need to recruit because the expansion is overwhelming, but as you know, loyalty is hard to find and I don’t have anyone else in my crew who could do this cleanly. You interested?"

"Who's the target?"

"A man named Stephan Sharpe. He's been skimming from our operations, and thinks we haven't noticed. He’s an outside employee and isn’t part of our crews so it has to be done outside."

"When?"

“This week, if possible."

I consider this and it sounds like it could be fun. I do miss the excitement of sudden deaths in the street and problem solving. I look to Chase at my side, who has his hand on my knee.

"As long as you have his details and routine, I suppose I could do it.”

“It’s either a yes or a no,” Lev says, and I ignore him.

Dima reaches the table and slides a folder across it. "Everything you need is in there, and we will owe you for pulling this off for us."

I take the folder without opening it.

“I’ll do it.”

“Can I just ask out of interest, Noah, do you find this relaxing, like a hobby or something?” Ivan asks and I grind my teeth.

“You could say that.”

“Do you ever listen to music as you do shit?” I look over and see it’s Jules that has asked that question. Why the fuck would I listen to music?

“No. I don’t like music.”

“What? How can you not like music! Like, what do you listen to to de-stress?” Ivan says, his face all wrinkled up in confusion. This is fucking hell and Chase is sitting beside me trying not to laugh.

“Simple…I replay the sound of my father’s cries as I burned him alive if I need to de-stress. Or I fuck.”

You could hear a pin drop as everyone stares at me. I’m not sure what their problem is, but I’m tired of their staring.

“I fucking love you, Noah. Sorry Chase, but he is a fucking king!” Ivan says as he slaps his thigh, laughing like I’ve just told a joke.

“I’m leaving,” I say as I stand and grab Chase’s hand, pulling him out of the room with the folder in my hand.

“Can you text me when it’s done, please?” Dima says, shouting after me as we leave. I grunt in response. Fucking idiots.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHASE

Noah spends two days planning Stephan Sharpe’s elimination. The contents of the folder spread across the desk, everything from surveillance photos, daily routines, security details and family information. Dima gave him a thorough run down.