didn’t mention it because I thought the matter was settled. I’d assumed that you’d heard. The way they talk about you, it’s like they’ve got you on speed dial. The point is, they’re back and they’ve got something that belongs to me, something very, very important, and they’re demanding that I pay up. They say they’re doing all this for you. Now, you wouldn’t happen to know what this is all about, would you Mickey?”
“Fucking HELL!” Mickey lets out a bellow so loud, I have to momentarily hold the phone away from my ear. “They there right now?”
“Yeah, they’re standing right here. I’ll put you on speaker.” As I say the words, I see Bobby’s face turn grey and even Tony loses any hint of a smirk.
I give them a smile as I hold the phone out and turn up the speaker volume so everyone can hear. “You’re on, Mickey.”
His voice comes crackling through the phone, reverberating across the concrete floors. “I would never knowingly do anything to disrespect you, or your business, David. I’ve never heard of these two buchiachs in my life. And you two!” The bodiless voice directs its rage at Tony and Bobby, who flinch in response.
“When you use my name in bullshit like this, you are disrespecting ME, ya hear? Who the fuck do you think you are?”
The pair stare at one another and then at the phone.
“I ASKED YOU A FUCKING QUESTION!” The voice booms from the speaker.
“We, uh, we done some deals with Lorenzo back in Chicago, sir, back in the day,” Tony says.
“For fuck’s sake,” Mickey mutters to himself. “What? So you run a few low level deals through a business associate of mine and then you presume to drag my name into your fucking bullshit out west? David, I gotta apologize. This is a huge misunderstanding. It’s embarrassing…is what it is. These two ain’t shit to me. You do what ya want with ‘em. ”
“Nah, please sir,” Bobby is already blubbering from the corner. “Mickey, sir, ya can’t do that, we was gonna send a piece to ya.”
“SHADDUP! Whatever Mr. Milner is about to do to you ain’t half as bad as what I’d do to you with my own bare hands if I was there. David, you’d be doing me a damned favor to get them off the street for good.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Thank you.”
I end the call. Tony and Bobby are staring at me. They’re clearly about to shit themselves. I nod towards Lilly. “If I find that you’ve hurt one hair on head, I am not going to make this quick.”
“Nah, please Mr. Milner.” Bobby immediately drops to his knees. “It’s not what you think. See, we wasn’t gonna touch Lilly here, it was just jokes.” He drops his gun to the floor.
“Yeah, the girl was never in any danger,” Tony adds. “Look, please, there’s a lotta ways we can make this right.” His voice is choked up. “Look, show a good faith.” He likewise drops his gun to the floor as he’s talking and falls to his knees.
I turn to the men behind me, all of them tensed and ready. “Mike, with me please. The rest of you.” All I have to do is nod.
“Nah, nah, please Mr. Milner!” They start shouting but my guys have already advanced on them…and there’s nowhere to run. Without a word, I go to untie Lilly, who is cringing in the chair, averting her eyes. The rope they used has chafed her skin. I decide immediately—It won’t be quick.
I offer her my hand to help her stand but she just looks at me and shakes her head. “My legs…” she manages to get out. For a moment my heart stops. Did they do something to her after all? No, I realize. She’s shaking so hard with terror that she can’t stand.
I scoop her up into my arms, feeling the warmth of her body against my chest, and walk towards Mike. “Let’s go. Back to Fortuna.”
Terry is watching, staying behind to deal with Tony and Bobby. He gestures with his head ever so slightly in their direction, asking permission. The look I send him says everything. He gets the message. Nobody will be seeing Tony and Bobby again.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lilly
From the moment that I’d had a gun pointed in my face in the car, everything became a blur. The only hope I held out was David. When he first arrived, with his men in tow, I felt a momentary sense of relief.