Page 30 of Redemption
I hear him pounding on something, and I can only imagine what’s going through his mind.
“If you didn’t send him to kill me, then why did he unload on me in a cemetery and almost kill me and a priest?”
“Because he eavesdrops and his French is shit.”
I pause, no longer having quite so much fun at the Frenchman’s expense. “So, you are trying to kill me. Now, after all these years of peace, you think starting a war is a wise idea?”
“No! That’s not what I said! He eavesdropped on a conversation between me and my father.”
“Old Man Marchand wants me dead?”
“No! Fucking stop saying that, Mount. That’s not what we were talking about. We don’t want war. Not with you. Not with anyone. We just want to run our business in peace. You understand? In peace. Fuck, he’s my late sister’s only kid. I promised her I’d protect him. Please, whatever you want, it’s yours if you spare his life. You want a Van Gogh? Picasso? Renoir? A Degas ballerina? Anything.”
“Your black-market art doesn’t interest me nearly as much as what he overheard with his shit French.”
Leo goes quiet. “I can’t have this conversation over the phone. It’s not safe. Please, Mount. Spare his life. He’s a stupid kid. Still in high school. He plays football. He’s not a killer.”
“And yet his actions say otherwise, especially the suppressed handgun.”
“Fucking hell, Remy!”
“I saw the opportunity, and I took it!” the kid yells.
“Shut up,” Leo and I bark out at the same time.
“Fuck,” Leo continues. “You’re well within your rights to kill him. Clearly. But I am begging you, show mercy. Please. He’s just a kid. A stupid kid.”
I run my tongue over the fronts of my top teeth as I consider his request. I already didn’t feel right about killing the kid, but still … I need answers.
“He said there’s a new king in town. Who is it?”
“I can’t talk about this on the phone. Please, Mount. Bring him to me. I will give you all the information you need. It will save your life—and your family. But if you kill him, I won’t tell you shit, and your family will pay the price as well.”
Cold chills—the likes of which I only get when things are about to get super fucking serious—skitter over my skin, and the hairs on the back of my neck and arms stand tall.
“If you’re lying to me …”
“I’m not an idiot, like my nephew. You know that.”
“You’ll get him back after I get my information. You understand? You tell me everything in person, and then I’ll decide if it’s enough to let him go without teaching him a lesson he’ll never forget.”
“How can I trust that you’ll let him go?”
“I guess we’ll both just have to take this one on faith, Leo.”
He spits something in French, but switches to English. “Fine. But we talk here. Every place you have is compromised, and I’m not getting involved with the nightmare that’s about to explode in your face.”
“You don’t get to make the rules, Leo. I’m calling the shots here.”
“And I’m trying to do this smart. Leave the kid where he is, if he’s not going to die before you return him to me. You can give the word to let him go after you hear what I have to say. I promise, it’ll be worth it to you.”
“You’d better fucking hope so,” I say into the phone. “You’d both better fucking hope so.”
I pause and add, “If you double-cross me?—”
But Leo doesn’t let me finish. “I didn’t get this rich or stay alive this long in my business by being stupid. I respect you, Mount. I always have. The house of Marchand does not want any part of this. I want Remy home safe. That’s it. I have no reason to want you dead. I like the balance of power in New Orleans just as it is. As far as I’m concerned, I wish I’d never heard what I have to tell you.”
The chills I felt return with a vengeance. My gut tells me I need the information he has. Something big is going down.
