“A smart ass, too,” he muttered. “Before I talk, what are you going to do when you find him? There is no way he’s getting out of this.”
“For fifteen, do you really give a damn?”
His eyes narrowed at me. “You might have forgotten your pops has also got a big mouth, always talking about his millionaire son who forked over thousands with a ring. You gonna have to do better than fifteen.”
Goddamn it, Frank.
“And how do I know you aren’t just messin’ with me?” I asked.
“I can call him now,” he said, pulling out his old-ass flip phone.
I couldn’t read him.
“Do it.”
The moment he hit ‘send,’ I forced it closed in his hands. “Twenty.”
“Thirty—” he began to counter.
“I’ll find him another way,” I said, standing up.
“Fine, shit, boy. Twenty-one and that’s my final offer.”
Sitting back down, I reached over when he stretched out his hand.
“Next Monday at 8 a.m., he’s going to be at Illinois International Port District to be outta port by 9 a.m.”
“Wait here. A man will come in and give you a bag. You will not look in it, and you will go somewhere I can’t see your face again,” I instructed, already standing up and heading up outside.
Austin leaned against the side of the car, looking completely out of place. He moved for me to take a seat in the passenger side.
“What are you doing?” he asked when I took out a few stacks.
“We settled on twenty-one.” I told him, handing him the bag. “It’s the Santa Claus-looking guy on the left side.”
“You bargained? You do know you’re a millionaire, right?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“And I’d like to fucking stay that way, thank you,” I snapped, throwing the bag at him. He caught it, shaking his head at me.
“In a strange way, I’m kind of proud,” he chuckled.
“Wait.” I got out, pulling out a few bills to put in his hands. “For the bartender.”
He stared at me for a moment and then didn’t say a word. As he headed back in, I sat back in the car and pulled out a cigarette.
He was only gone for a minute, if that, when I saw them— two of the three stooges I thought I’d dealt with earlier. They came back with friends.
You gotta be fucking
kidding me.
Shifting over the center divider, I sat in the driver’s seat. I leaned back as they walked past the car and into the bar. As Austin was coming out, he moved toward the driver’s side door, not seeing me, just as one them ran back out after not seeing me inside.
“Noah—” Austin started.
“Get in!” I yelled, starting the car. I locked eyes with the man across from me. He pulled out a gun as Austin pulled open the back door.
The tires skidded as I reversed quickly, the bullets bouncing off the front hood. However, one broke the through the windshield before I could get away.