Page 19 of He's All In
“Do you mean that?” There’s so much hope in her eyes, and I’m reminded for the thousandth time that she’s never had someone protecting her.
“I do.” I kiss her once more and then force myself to take a step back. “I’ll be back before you know it.”
“Will you at least tell me what you’re doing?”
Grabbing the keys to my car, I turn around one last time. “The less you know the better. But I’ve got people on standby in case anything goes wrong. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Until then, you and Marco can hang out.”
She hops off her stool and hurries over to give me a hug. “Come back safe, okay?”
“I’ll always come back to you,” I tell her and kiss the top of her head.
She lets me go, and I have a moment of hesitation where I want to throw her over my shoulder and go back to bed, but I can’t. After talking with Maxim yesterday, I knew that I didn’t have much time before they figured out the transfer was fake. It gave us enough time that Kelly and Marco could be anywhere in the world even though they’re not too far away. It’s risky for me to leave and meet with her father, but it’s important to put him away.
Maxim works underground and has contacts with the feds. Sometimes they contract him out for intel or to help them crack a case, but mostly he stays underground. He’s agreed to meet with me and pay a visit to Vince Sledge. Theoretically we’ve got enough evidence on him to get a warrant to search his place. But Sledge is a slippery fucker, and he’s got enough cops that could mishandle evidence. We need something concrete, and I think getting a confession on tape is our best bet.
Once I leave the house, I take the long way out of town and then come back in on another route. I’m cautious because I’m not willing to risk the safety of Kelly and Marco.
Maxim is waiting for me on the corner when I pull up. He gets in, and we go over the plan while he puts a hidden microphone in my jacket. Then we drive across the city and call Vince. He answers on the first ring but doesn’t speak right away.
“Meet me at the Daily Diner on Lennox,” I say and I hear someone mumble on the other end like he’s covered his phone.
“If you don’t have my kids with you then you know what that means for you, right?” Vince’s cool voice leaves no room for misinterpretation.
“I’ll go ahead and save you the suspense. They’re not with me and they won’t be joining us.” Maxim gives me a look from the passenger seat, but I ignore him. “I’ll see you in ten.” Without waiting for a response, I hang up.
“There’s no need to piss the lion off before you get in the cage with him,” Maxim says.
“If he’s pissed off, he’s not paying attention to what’s going on around him. Pissed off is good.”
“In my line of work, pissed off gets you shot.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take,” I admit.
“She must be something special.” Maxim is looking at me with new eyes, and I grin at him and nod. “Damn, I never thought I’d see the day.”
“What? I had to settle down at some point.” Maxim is already shaking his head.
“Not me, brother. This life isn’t built for two.”
“Hmm,” I say as I turn on Lennox. I think about the difference between Maxim and me, and we’re not that far apart. Only the security work I do is all above board and out in the open. What he does is in secret and with the worst of the worst. I can see why he wouldn’t want to bring someone into that. But at the same time, I think about all the ways it makes taking care of Kelly and Marco so much better. I can keep them safer than anyone else, and they’ll be able to live their best lives. I open my mouth to tell Maxim all of that, but he stops me as he points to the diner.
“Looks like they’re here.”
“Shit.” I was hoping to get there before them, but as I pull up to the curb, I see Vince and his righthand goon Jackson.
This is the thing about Vince’s style of organized crime. He keeps it local, but there’s no loyalty like the bigger mafias in other cities. Vince has one person in line behind him to take over, so if you cut off the head of the snake, there’s only a spider left to get rid of. If the two of them were taken out, the whole operation would dissolve. The only reason it’s gone on for so long is because Vince is a man without scruples. He’ll do anything, even sell his own daughter, to get ahead. People fear that level of greed and stay far away. That’s why he’s got to go down, and quickly.
“What the fuck did you talk me into?” Maxim says under his breath as we enter the diner.
“Just some pancakes with a side of entrapment. You hungry?”
Chapter Thirteen
KELLY
I stare at the door, hating that Luke has to put himself in danger for us. I wish there was something I could do, but my only plan has ever been to run. There’s no way I would ever be a match against my father. I’m also aware that the older Marco gets, the more he might push back against him on my behalf. That would be just as bad as our father taking him under his wing. The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
It might be selfish, but I want Luke so badly that now I don’t want to run. I’m not sure what this means to him and if it’s him being a good man and helping us. When I peeked in on him playing video games with Marco last night, my heart melted. Then this morning I witnessed the banter and easiness of all of us simply being in the kitchen together. It made me long for a normal life.