Page 6 of Filthy Little Games
“You got an old lady we don’t know about?” Tristan jokes, but Lorenzo ignores him and answers the call.
“Hello? Jasper? I’m with him now. Here, you can tell him yourself.” Lorenzo offers the phone to me. “It’s Jasper Burch. He says it’s important.”
“The manager of The Vault?” I ask as I take the device and Lorenzo nods. “What do you need, Jasper?” I assume it’s important if he’s calling so late.
“Hey, boss. S-sorry to bother you, but, uh, I just got a message I think you need to hear.”
“Great. What’s the message?”
“Some girl showed up and said, and I quote: ‘Ferraro has a bullseye on his head, and there’s a sniper coming for him who won’t miss.’ It might be nothing, but I wanted to give you a heads up, you know, in case it’s legit.”
I sigh. “Is this girl still there?”
“Yeah. I think so.”
“Have your employees keep an eye on her but keep your distance. We don’t want to spook her. I’m on my way over to talk to her myself.”
“Thanks, boss,” he says in relief.
Handing the phone back to Lorenzo, I stand up and tug my suit jacket off the back of my chair to slip it on.
“What’s up?” Dre asks.
“Jasper sounded spooked. He said he’s got some girl in the club who had a message for me.”
“What kind of message?” Lorenzo asks as he grabs his own jacket and throws it over his arm, ready to tag along.
“Something about how there’s a bullseye on my head and a sniper coming for me who supposedly won’t miss.”
“Fuck. I’m coming with you,” Carmine says.
“Me too,” Dre agrees as he and Tristan get to their feet. “Why didn’t this person just call or text you instead of going to Jasper?”
“I don’t know. That’s a question we can ask her.”
“We should consider bringing in more men, increase yoursecurity,” Lorenzo suggests as we all head down the hall toward the elevator.
“It’s probably nothing.”
“You aren’t worried?” Tristan asks.
“Not particularly. She’s probably going to ask for some exorbitant reward for providing me with this vital message, and that will be the end of it.”
“Well, if nothing else, we can all get drunk and try to get laid tonight,” Tristan suggests.
“This shit could be serious, and you’re thinking about getting your dick wet?” Dre mutters.
“It’s probably nothing,” I repeat. “But I’m not paying anyone a dime.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea, Creed?” Lorenzo asks. That’s what my faithful advisor always does, though. Rather than tell me I’m being an idiot, he’ll ask me if I think I’m being an idiot because he knows better than to come right out and say it.
“Jasper’s been a loyal associate of ours for six years, Lor. There’s no reason we shouldn’t trust him, and I don’t consider one girl much of a threat.”
“I’m not sure how much extra muscle I can have here on such short notice,” Lorenzo says while his fingers type away on his phone.
“That’s fine. It’s late. Don’t bother calling anyone in. The five of us can handle this. We go talk to Jasper and the girl, then I’m coming straight home,” I tell him, but he still looks doubtful. His concerned frown doesn’t lessen an inch as he pauses his typing and stares me down for several more seconds. “And we’ll all go strapped just in case,” I add to appease him. I don’t usually feel the need to wear my shoulder holster and Glock into my own nightclubs, but until we learn more about this so-called threat, better safe than sorry.
Finally, Lorenzo gives me a nod of agreement. “I’ll go get a vehicle ready for us while you four strap up.”