come back in the morning after we’ve calmed down a bit?” He tilted his head in the direction of the elevators and gave me angry eyes. “You’re going to get yourself killed,” he mouthed silently at me.
“I’m never stepping foot back into this cursed apartment,” I said.
Mr. Pruitt sighed. “Matthew…”
“Stop texting me! Don’t send crazy people to my office with letters and threats. Don’t contact me in any way. We’re done.”
“We are not done. I’ve been asking you for years to come speak to me and the best you can do is show up in the middle of the night half lucid. This isn’t a game. You’re in danger, Matthew. I’m trying to protect you. Just like I have been for years. This is a life and death…”
“You expect me to believe that you’re worried about me? Where were you after Brooklyn died? You never came to her grave. You never stopped by my parents’ house to talk to me. You never gave a shit about everything you took from me. So don’t stand there and pretend you care now. You don’t care about me. And I don’t give a shit about you. So get it through your thick skull. Leave me and my friends the hell alone. “
Mr. Pruitt looked so calm. “You can’t keep blaming me for Brooklyn’s death. It wasn’t my…”
“It wasn’t your fault? You tricked her into loving you. Into trusting you. And then you murdered her.”
“Murder is such a strong word,” Tanner said with a grimace as he elbowed me in the ribcage.
“She agreed to the surgery,” Mr. Pruitt said. “She knew the risks. It was a misunderstanding at best.”
Misunderstanding? He’d murdered his daughter. “Is that how you sleep at night? Watch your back, Mr. Pruitt. Because I have resources too.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Damn right. “Enjoy one of your last nights in your own bed.”
Tanner was staring at me like I was insane. He turned to Mr. Pruitt. “He doesn’t mean that,” Tanner said. “He hasn’t been getting much sleep. If you would just call off your hitmen, maybe...”
“Come at me with whatever you have,” I added. “I’m going to fucking destroy you.”
“Watch your own back, Matthew,” Mr. Pruitt said. “I’m not having you tailed. And you’re not in danger because of me. Despite what you think, I’ve been protecting you for years. And if you refuse to thank me, consider my protection revoked. Come back to me once you’ve learned reason and an ounce of respect.” Mr. Pruitt slammed the door in our faces.
“I know you cry during the Titanic!” I yelled at the door. “Wait until everyone finds out about that!” I laughed.
“Why are you laughing?” Tanner said. “He’s so fucking pissed. He’s definitely going to off you.”
“Good. Let him try.”
“What?”
I grabbed Tanner’s arm and pulled him away from the Pruitt’s door. “I want him to try to kill me. You said you got the information about the hitmen illegally so it can’t be used in court. So I’ll catch him in the act and get him sent to prison where he belongs. Attempted murder isn’t as bad as actual murder, but he’s old. Hopefully he’ll just rot in prison for the rest of his miserable life.”
“Oh. Oooh. Well, that’s a good idea. Minus the fact that you might die in the process.”
“I’m not going to die. I have a plan.”
“Well…are you going to fill me in?”
It was fitting to make Tanner wait for something for once. The only problem was that I didn’t actually have more of a plan than what I’d told him. Seeing how angry Mr. Pruitt had gotten was what had given me the idea. I’d dug my heels in and gone all in by throwing more insults his way. There was no going back now. Surely Mr. Pruitt had murdered people for less. And I needed to think of something fast or else I was an idiot. I’d just threatened a mobster. Maybe I was an idiot. An idea finally popped into my head. “James has prototypes of these little undetectable cameras…”
“You’re fighting with James. I doubt he’ll loan expensive prototype cameras to you right now.”
Damn, that was a good point. I’d basically told James to fuck off. “Well, Penny will let me borrow them.”
“You really think James is going to let Penny hang out with you while you guys are in a fight? He knows you have feelings for Penny. That was part of your argument.”
“Penny’s her own woman. She doesn’t need James’ permission to hang out