malls.
‘All ninety thousand?’
‘I haven’t spent it. It was a loan I was gonna pay back in a few months. With interest.’
Paul shook his head. ‘Loan? Do I look like an ATM, Frank? You see any fucking buttons on my front?’
‘No.’
‘Why did you want a loan?’
Frank worked his mouth. ‘I wanted to cut a new record …’
Bucks laughed, short and sharp.
‘I’m gonna cut you a new record,’ Paul said. ‘Right after I cut off your fingers and your balls and your ears.’
‘Please, Paul …’ Frank’s voice broke. ‘I’ll do whatever you want to make it right …’
Paul let go of Frank’s shirt, took a step back. ‘That ninety thousand, it’s not so bad. Not nearly as bad as what Eve did
to me. I tell you what. You get her and the five mil for me, you can keep the ninety thou.’
‘Paul, you’re gonna let him get away with that?’ Bucks said.
‘You shut up,’ Paul said. ‘You find Eve, Bucks, you can have the ninety thou.’
Bucks shut up.
‘I’m not trusting either of you too much at the moment,’ Paul said. ‘That’s why you both got to prove your loyalty. Bring
her to me. Think of it as a modified contract. You two boys are the only bidders.’ He glared at Frank. ‘You give me your Katy
account info and I’m moving that money back where it belongs.’
‘Sure, Paul,’ Frank said.
‘You steal one more cent from this club, and I’m going to kill you. With this broken record. An inch at a time.’
‘I understand, Paul.’
‘Not an inch. I’m going fucking metric. A centimeter at a time.’
‘I understand, Paul.’
‘I don’t think you do, Frank,’ Paul said, and he reached out, grabbed Frank’s hand, turned the palm skyward, and with one
swipe of the shard laid the flesh open. Blood spurted. Frank screamed. Paul shoved him to the floor. Frank clutched the torn
hand to his chest.
‘Next time, I’m slicing your dick,’ Paul said. ‘Now call Doc Brewer and get yourself sewed up.’
Frank staggered toward the phone. ‘You go downstairs and call the doctor. Get out of my sight. You get blood on the carpet
I’m cutting the other hand,’ Paul said.
Frank tucked his hand inside his suit jacket and fled from the room.
‘He’s lying,’ Bucks said. ‘He knows where she is.’
‘Nah,’ Paul said. ‘No way he’d come back here if he knew.’ Paul gave him a smirk. ‘He’s an old guy and a has-been. He was
stupid. You’re not stupid, are you, Bucks?’
‘No.’
‘Good. Because I got a couple of soldiers searchingyour crib right now. They’re not going to find five mil in cash there, are they?’
‘No. I told you I don’t have it. Thanks for the vote of confidence, man.’ Bucks stood, squared his shoulders. ‘You brought
me into this business, Paul. I owe you everything. I’m not going to betray you. We both know that.’
‘You had the same opportunity as Eve.’
‘You hired me,’ Bucks said. ‘But you inherited her.’
‘Tell me again what you saw.’
Bucks took a breath. ‘I was running late getting to the exchange …’
‘Why?’
‘Fender bender on 1-10. Two lanes closed for about fifteen minutes, traffic sucked.’ Bucks shrugged.
‘Then what?’
‘I get to Alvarez. Door’s open. I go in, find Doyle and this guy dead. Bodies still warm. No sign of the money.’ He paused.
‘I check Doyle’s pockets. His wallet, his ID’s gone. The man doesn’t have ID on him. The smell of gunfire is still fresh.
There’s even a casing on the floor. I pick it up, pocket it. Then I get the hell out, being sure I’m not leaving prints.’
He tented his fingers. ‘I pull the Jag across the street, start to call you, and then here I see Eve tearing back into the
lot. She goes inside. I wait to see what happens, then she comes tearing out before the cops show.’
‘If she had killed them and taken the money while you were stuck in traffic, why the hell would she come back?’
Bucks held up the casing.
‘All ninety thousand?’
‘I haven’t spent it. It was a loan I was gonna pay back in a few months. With interest.’
Paul shook his head. ‘Loan? Do I look like an ATM, Frank? You see any fucking buttons on my front?’
‘No.’
‘Why did you want a loan?’
Frank worked his mouth. ‘I wanted to cut a new record …’
Bucks laughed, short and sharp.
‘I’m gonna cut you a new record,’ Paul said. ‘Right after I cut off your fingers and your balls and your ears.’
‘Please, Paul …’ Frank’s voice broke. ‘I’ll do whatever you want to make it right …’
Paul let go of Frank’s shirt, took a step back. ‘That ninety thousand, it’s not so bad. Not nearly as bad as what Eve did
to me. I tell you what. You get her and the five mil for me, you can keep the ninety thou.’
‘Paul, you’re gonna let him get away with that?’ Bucks said.
‘You shut up,’ Paul said. ‘You find Eve, Bucks, you can have the ninety thou.’
Bucks shut up.
‘I’m not trusting either of you too much at the moment,’ Paul said. ‘That’s why you both got to prove your loyalty. Bring
her to me. Think of it as a modified contract. You two boys are the only bidders.’ He glared at Frank. ‘You give me your Katy
account info and I’m moving that money back where it belongs.’
‘Sure, Paul,’ Frank said.
‘You steal one more cent from this club, and I’m going to kill you. With this broken record. An inch at a time.’
‘I understand, Paul.’
‘Not an inch. I’m going fucking metric. A centimeter at a time.’
‘I understand, Paul.’
‘I don’t think you do, Frank,’ Paul said, and he reached out, grabbed Frank’s hand, turned the palm skyward, and with one
swipe of the shard laid the flesh open. Blood spurted. Frank screamed. Paul shoved him to the floor. Frank clutched the torn
hand to his chest.
‘Next time, I’m slicing your dick,’ Paul said. ‘Now call Doc Brewer and get yourself sewed up.’
Frank staggered toward the phone. ‘You go downstairs and call the doctor. Get out of my sight. You get blood on the carpet
I’m cutting the other hand,’ Paul said.
Frank tucked his hand inside his suit jacket and fled from the room.
‘He’s lying,’ Bucks said. ‘He knows where she is.’
‘Nah,’ Paul said. ‘No way he’d come back here if he knew.’ Paul gave him a smirk. ‘He’s an old guy and a has-been. He was
stupid. You’re not stupid, are you, Bucks?’
‘No.’
‘Good. Because I got a couple of soldiers searchingyour crib right now. They’re not going to find five mil in cash there, are they?’
‘No. I told you I don’t have it. Thanks for the vote of confidence, man.’ Bucks stood, squared his shoulders. ‘You brought
me into this business, Paul. I owe you everything. I’m not going to betray you. We both know that.’
‘You had the same opportunity as Eve.’
‘You hired me,’ Bucks said. ‘But you inherited her.’
‘Tell me again what you saw.’
Bucks took a breath. ‘I was running late getting to the exchange …’
‘Why?’
‘Fender bender on 1-10. Two lanes closed for about fifteen minutes, traffic sucked.’ Bucks shrugged.
‘Then what?’
‘I get to Alvarez. Door’s open. I go in, find Doyle and this guy dead. Bodies still warm. No sign of the money.’ He paused.
‘I check Doyle’s pockets. His wallet, his ID’s gone. The man doesn’t have ID on him. The smell of gunfire is still fresh.
There’s even a casing on the floor. I pick it up, pocket it. Then I get the hell out, being sure I’m not leaving prints.’
He tented his fingers. ‘I pull the Jag across the street, start to call you, and then here I see Eve tearing back into the
lot. She goes inside. I wait to see what happens, then she comes tearing out before the cops show.’
‘If she had killed them and taken the money while you were stuck in traffic, why the hell would she come back?’
Bucks held up the casing.
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