“I’m listening,” Ren said finally.
“Vincent doesn’t give a fuck about you,” Felix said. “You know that’s true. He cares about his people, and his wife, and you’re neither of those things. But you have access, and I want a piece of that access.”
“To the mansion,” Ren said. “I heard you were making a move on it.”
“Did you?” Felix looked a little coy. “Well, I won’t lie to you, Ren. I sent that message on purpose.”
Ren leaned forward, and I felt my toes start to tingle.
“You told Joey to tell me that little story.” Ren sounded livid.
“Don’t be mad at him. He’s just a shitty spy, you know? Blundering around, dropping your name everywhere. It was easy to figure out what he was doing, and from there I had an idea.”
“You used him to flush me out.”
“Exactly. I figured if it was going to work, it’d work today. And here we are.” Felix clapped and I jumped, unable to keep calm.
That made Lukas smile.
“All right, you got me out. Congratulations. Now what do you want?”
“It’s simple, really. Like I said, you have access, but you also have a set of skills that are very much highly regarded.”
“You want me to steal something.” Ren’s anger abated slightly, and I got the feeling that he was back on familiar ground now. “You want me to rob Vincent.”
“I want codes.” Felix shifted in his chair and leaned closer. “There are a handful of warehouses all over the city, and half of them are protected by some serious security. If I could get my hands on the security codes, we could break in and kneecap Vincent, really hit him where it hurts. But I can’t do that without getting someone in the mansion.”
“You seem resourceful. I think you could pull it off without my help.”
“Oh, no, Ren, believe me. You’re the only man in this city that could make this happen for me right now.”
“I’m not interested.”
“You haven’t heard my payment.”
“Still not interested.”
Felix chuckled. “Here’s my offer. Fifty thousand cash, plus a ride out of the city. I’ll let you and your girl here escape, no strings attached.”
“Vincent wouldn’t let me leave, even if he didn’t know it was me that pulled the job.”
“Vincent won’t matter if you pull the job.” Felix shook his head. “You don’t get it, Ren. If I can break his warehouses, I can break his whole business.”
Another silence then. Ren seemed to be considering it, and I wanted to scream. It was so obviously a trap. Felix was a snake, a two-faced monster, and the second Ren stole those codes he’d turn around and stab Ren in the throat. There was no way they’d let either of us leave, not if we were worth anything, and I had a feeling Ren was very much worth something—and me, too, if my father was willing to pay.
But I couldn’t speak. I was paralyzed by fear and I felt as though my bullet wounds throbbed a deadly poison. I wanted to groan in pain, or scream in fear, but instead kept as still as I could, avoiding Lukas’s creepy sideways glances.
“I’ll consider it,” Ren said finally.
“Do more than consider,” Felix said. “I need you to make this happen for me.”
“Then you need to offer me more.”
He laughed. “Eighty thousand. I knew you’d negotiate.”
Ren shrugged. “Nothing’s free in this world.”
“I know it.” Felix leaned back. “We have a deal?”
“I’ll think about it,” Ren said again. “That’s the best you’ll get from me right now.”
Felix nodded and let out a grunt before standing up. “All right then. Don’t make me wait long, Ren. I’m not patient.”
“I’m sure you’re not.”
Felix lingered at the head of the table before walking to the door. Lukas got up and followed, running a hand through his greasy hair. Felix stepped out, but before he left, he turned back and looked at Ren.
“Do the right thing,” he said. “For the girl, if not for you.”
Lukas hopped down onto the sidewalk, followed by Felix. Ren walked over and slammed the door shut behind them.
“Fuck,” he growled, storming across the living room and into the kitchen. “Fucking fuck.”
I sat there, heart hammering, before getting up and following him. He poured a glass of whiskey and threw it back in one go before pouring another. He seethed, breathing hard, jaw clenched, eyes locked on the floor. I could only guess what ran through his mind.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you going to steal it?”
“I don’t know,” he said again, and threw back a second drink. “If we don’t, the Dusters will come after us again, sooner or later. That Felix bastard has some serious muscle, if he was able to sneak up on me like that.”
“They won’t pay you. There’s no way.”
“I think you’re right. They’ll sell us out to the Leone family the first chance they get, simply because they can.” He laughed, harsh and disgusted. “We’re stuck between a rock and a fucking piece-of-shit gangster.”