Something about him mentioning Willa sent a shiver down my spine. What was his connection to her? He seemed to be close with the family, but obviously not in a way that could be trusted.
“Let’s get on with it,” I said.
He chuckled slightly. “Anyway, you’re about to start two very important jobs. The first is the one for which Jason has hired you. I’ve no doubt you’ll excel.”
“And then there’s the one where I have to lie to his face and stab him in the back.”
“That’s one way to look at it. The other is that it’s a job that’ll have your brother free and alive.”
“I want to see him. I want to know he’s OK.”
Anton regarded me for a long moment. “Normally, I don’t take well to that kind of tone. But since it is part of the agreement…” He slipped his phone out of the inner pocket of his suit jacket and swiped the screen. Then he held it up to my face.
I gasped at what I saw. It was Mike, all right. But he was tied to a chair, a large bruise around his eye.
“What the hell happened?”
Anton’s lips curled into a smile among his silver neatly trimmed beard.
“It appears that you’re not the only member of the Flowers family with a willful attitude. But unfortunately for Michael, he decided to mouth off to the wrong person.”
“You did that?”
He looked annoyed that I’d even ask him such a question. “Of course not. What kind of brute to you take me for? No, he got smart with one of the guards.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “You said he—”
“I said that as long as you fulfill your end of the bargain, he’ll come back alive. And I intend to keep my promise. But I can’t be responsible if he can’t control himself in the meantime.”
My stomach tensed in anger. Knowing Mike was in danger right at that moment—it hurt like hell.
“Just tell me what I need to do,” I said. “You’ve kept me in the dark long enough.”
“Good. Let’s get to the heart of the matter.” He took another sip before leaning back in his chair, crossing his legs, and folding his hands on his lap. “Now, the agreement was that in exchange for Mike’s freedom—both from potential harm and the responsibility of paying back what he stole—you work for Jason and track down some information for me.”
“Right. What information?”
“I need to tie him to the more important portions of his empire—my portions.”
“The illegal parts, you mean.”
He glared at me. “The most important parts.”
“But why?”
“Since taking the reins after his father’s passing, he’s proven himself something of an…unknown element. I need to keep him in check.”
“How am I supposed to get this information?”
“It’s likely on his computer. How you access that is up to you. Like I said before, you have thirty days. After that, whatever happens to Mike is on you.”
“But I don’t know anything about hacking computers.”
“You’re smart. You’ll figure out something. But if you fail to come through—let’s just say Michael will have more than a few bruises to worry about.”
He finished his drink, tossing back the cherry along with a few slivers of ice. “And that’s all. I simply wanted to check in with you and make sure you understood both your job and what’s at stake.”
“I understand.”