“And it’s not a good sign that he wants your best men. That means this man is already in some deep shit as it is.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
He held up his hands. “Just making sure you do. I’d rather talk your ear off about it than you go in blind.”
“I never go in blind.”
He grinned. “Excep
t when it comes to your women.”
I rolled my eyes. “So what else is new?”
He chuckled. “I’m serious, though. The way I’ve heard Dad talk about this ‘Dean’ guy? If that’s even his name? It’s big. He’s big, and he’s bad. Much bigger fish than the Red Thorns have ever gotten tied up with.”
“What have you heard Dad say about this character?”
“It’s not what I’ve heard him say, it’s when I’ve heard him say his name. Remember the first job I ever took as president?”
I blinked. “The Whitecast job.”
“The one that went bad. During the cleanup of that job, he kept talking about how ‘Dean’ would take care of the back end of things.”
“Uh huh.”
“And that Grouper setup?”
I paused. “Are you kidding me?”
He shook his head. “Nope. Again, one of those instances where he supposedly cashed in a favor with this guy to clean up the back end. Whatever the fuck that means.”
“Anything else?”
“Not really. Just a few mentions here and there. Offhanded things.”
“Like…?”
He sighed. “Remember when I was in the hospital?”
I bristled. “I’ll never forget it.”
“I’m pretty sure that Dean guy was in the room with me and Dad at one point.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And…?”
“And nothing. I came out of my pain medication stupor long enough to hear Dad say, ‘I appreciate it, Dean,’ then I was right back out.”
“So this guy is really entangled with Dad.”
“I’d say he’s the closest thing to a friend Dad’s got. Which is why I’m wondering why he doesn’t travel with his own damn security detail. Because anyone with ties to Dad is always gonna be in some deep-ass shit.”
I shrugged. “Beats me. All I know is the money’s good, and our boys are overdue for a damn good payday.”
“You promise me you’ll stay safe.”
I nodded. “You know me. I always play it smart. It’s why Dad hates the fact that I’m head of this crew now.”
He sighed. “Just--don’t do anything stupid. We don’t need both of us crippled for life.”