I brushed the lint from my pant leg, had to control the urge to slam the fucker’s face into his plate. “You didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know during that first meeting.”
“And I ain’t telling you now.”
“We know you’ve got Miguel Dobbs by the short hairs, but there’s someone else. We want to know who?”
“I want that bitch over there to come over here and suck my cock. It’s nice to want, don’t mean you’re going to get it.”
I glanced over at the woman, all curves and blonde hair. It’d be a cold day in hell before she voluntarily sucked him off.
Lucien reached for his whiskey, the ice rattling in the glass. “Who’s your bed partner?”
“Are you hard of hearing? I’ve already answered that.” Federico reached for his wine and drank the entire contents in one swallow before he signaled for his man to refill it.
“There are seven,” I said to Lucien.
“Eight, one in the back.”
“I like those odds.”
Lucien lifted his glass. “Let me just finish this. It’s exceptional.” He finished off the amber-colored liquid before placing his glass down and looking over at me. “Let’s not kill them. I promised my wife I would play nicely with others.”
“It’s too much work getting rid of bodies anyway.”
“What the fuck are you two talking about?” Remnants of crab shot from Federico’s mouth when he asked that.
Lucien and I moved at the same time, the element of surprise worked in our favor. Five were down before they knew what was happening. The man standing just at Federico’s right took a gunshot to the thigh and dropped. Federico’s fat hand went for his gun, but I grabbed the steak knife and pinned his palm to the table as the man bellowed in pain. Lucien disabled the last two thugs before he returned to the table, reached for the decanter of Chianti and poured us each a glass. We both settled back in our chairs.
“My hand, you motherfuckers.”
“It’s just your hand. You have two,” I said before I leaned back in my chair and swirled the Chianti in the glass. “I’ll ask again. Who are you working with?”
“Fuck you.”
I was out of my chair, yanking the knife from his hand. He howled in pain, but went silent when I pressed the tip to his throat.
“Make no mistake. One swipe and you’re a memory. I’m going to ask you one last time who you’re working with before I make you a casualty.”
His eyes bugged out of his head and I smelled his fear, a scent I was very familiar with as the memories I buried deep itched to break free. I pressed the knife harder against his throat. His voice broke. “Guy Hartnett.”
It was only because I had years of discipline that I managed to control my reaction to that. Guy Hartnett was dirty? He was working with Federico? And yet it all made sense, he was the point where it all intersected. Fucking Guy Hartnett. This was going to kill Thea and Cam.
I lowered the knife. Lucien studied me before his eyes moved to Federico. “If you think to retaliate, think again.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Federico hissed.
“We already have. Hartnett contacts you, I want to know,” I said blandly as I dropped the knife on the table.
“Why the fuck would I tell you?” Federico hissed.
Lucien moved swiftly, grabbing the older man around the throat and squeezing. “Because deep down you’re scared. And you have every reason to be. One of us coming at you, you might survive, the two of us coming at you and you don’t stand a chance. You cooperate and we’ll leave you out of it, you don’t cooperate and we’ll bury you. Understood.”
Federico’s face turned purple from rage, but he nodded his head. The man wasn’t as stupid as he looked.
“And those crack houses. You close that shit down or I’ll fucking burn them to the ground.”
“That’s my livelihood.”
“Find another livelihood.”
Lucien stepped back. “Are we done here?”
I drained the last of the wine from my glass. “Yeah.”
On the curb, Lucien looked back at where we’d just come from before he turned his attention on me. “We just made an enemy. I’ll put some guys on him and tap his phone. Just in case the man grows a set and tries to strike back.”
“Good idea.”
“Who’s this Hartnett guy?”
“Former partner and best friend of the cop that was killed.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, that about sums it up.”
I waited until I was back in my office before I called Damian. I didn’t even wait for a greeting before I said, “It’s Hartnett.”