A sharp laugh escapes me. Good one. “What. The fuck. Did you do?”
Don’t let him rattle you. He’s good at this. But so are you.
“Had my secretary inform yours that an important meeting out of town came up. They won’t look for you for a couple days more. Plenty of time for a chat.”
My secretary has been instructed to expect a code word to confirm changes in plans that cause my absence. Ergo she must have informed my head of security that something’s wrong.
I draw in air, let it out slowly. “I see.”
“Do you, Mr. Fleming? Jamie. How many names do you have? How many games are you playing?”
I’d shrug, but my arms are almost wrenched out of their sockets.
“You know why you’re here,” he goes on.
“Do I?”
A pause. “You put your parents in prison, Hawk.”
“So they’re friends of yours?”
“Friends. Colleagues.”
“And you want revenge?”
“Revenge?” He laughs, his laughter as deep as his voice. “I don’t want revenge. I told you. I want to do business.”
My heart booms. “Go on.”
“The Organization, Hawk. Your parents were important assets. You took them out of the picture. You lost me good money.”
Holy shit. Yeah, baby. Yeah!
I ch
uckle, and I bet he can’t understand why I’m grinning like an idiot, my split lip opening and dripping hot blood down my chin and into my beard.
It’s because I’m right where I should be.
“I fail to see what’s funny in this situation,” the man growls.
Of course he does. And I need to calm down before I blow this. He’s right, anyway. It’s not funny.
“What’s your name?” I ask, licking the salty-sweet blood off my lips.
“You don’t need my name, boy. Not until you’ve committed yourself. Proven yourself.”
“What makes you think I’ll ever do that? I turned in my parents, remember?”
“I know what you did. And why.”
Yeah. He thinks he knows why. He thinks he’s got me figured out.
“The Organization is everything in this city, on this coast. In this country.” He pauses. “We’re on the same page, right? You know all about this, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“I don’t care if the Organization crashes and burns.”
It’s the truth, and this is the role I’ve chosen in this story. Keep in character, Hawk.