Piper had done a few days earlier. Bobby reached for Piper’s hand. It felt so comforting to have him here with her as a moment she had long anticipated had finally arrived.
Christian’s phone began ringing in his pocket before he could pull himself up onto the chair. He fished it out and read the caller ID. “Judge,” he said with a devilish smile as he answered the phone, “you have incredible timing. I was just thinking about you.”
“Holy shit, it’s the judge,” Michael said, slapping his hand to his forehead. “What if he tells him about the call? He could blow this whole thing up right now.”
“He’s not that stupid,” said Piper. “If he genuinely thinks his son is in danger he’s not going to show his hand to the judge. Sit down.” She pointed to the couch and Michael obeyed.
Christian stood listening to the judge talk for a minute then finally cut in. “I’m not sure how many times I have to tell you, Judge. I’m not my father. I’m a businessman, not some hired gun to go cleaning up your messes. I’ve made you a lot of money, and you’ve gotten me and my crew out of countless jams, but I’m not your hitman. I don’t go after innocent women because you’re catching some heat from some rookie cop. Isn’t this what your little puppy dog, Rylie, does for you?”
Christian used his shoulder to hold his phone pressed against his ear and hoisted himself up onto the chair. He felt around at the top of the bookshelf and finally found the loose board and lifted it free. “Holy shit,” he said, pulling the photographs out of the hidden space and flipping through them, finally recognizing one as his son standing outside of his school.
“You know what, maybe you’re right,” Christian said, clearly trying to compose himself in the face of massive rage. “Maybe I am being shortsighted. Why don’t we meet tonight at the mill and we can talk about some options. Say… seven o’clock?” Christian waited for the judge to reply then abruptly hung up the phone. He dismounted the chair and left the office.
“Where is he going?” asked Bobby, still in shock over what had just transpired. “He’s not going to leave everything all messed up is he?”
Before full out panic could overtake the room, Christian reappeared holding a shoebox he had presumably gotten from the judge’s closet. He climbed back onto the chair and filled the shoebox with the contents of the hidden space. When he was done he returned the loose board and the chair to their original positions. He reached in his pocket once more for his phone and dialed a number.
“Sean,” he said his voice shaking with anger, “go pick up Chris at school, and take him back to your place. Don’t stop anywhere, and don’t screw around. Have a couple of the guys come by and watch the door. I don’t want anyone coming or going besides me. Do you understand?” He waited as Sean replied and then punched his fist into the wall. “Sean, do what I tell you. Call me when you’re back at your place. I’m going to be late tonight.” He hung up his phone and returned it angrily to his pocket. He let out a long line of expletives that made even Michael blush slightly. He left the office and a minute later they heard the front door shut.
“I’m going to head over that way,” said Bobby. “I think it’s safe to say nothing is going to go down until the meeting tonight, but I’d like to have eyes on Christian until then. Can you track his cell phone and send me the information?” he asked, grabbing his coat and keys and heading for the door.
“Wait,” Piper shouted. “I want to come with you.” She had started this entire thing. She certainly wasn’t ready to take a back seat now that it was getting serious.
“You’ll meet me later. I’m going to hang back and watch to make sure nothing unexpected happens. Get in touch with me if anything comes up.” Bobby hopped down the front steps and jogged to his truck, leaving no time for her to argue. In reality, he had some ideas rolling around in his mind about how to keep Christian from killing the judge while still being able to execute the important parts of the plan. Listening to Christian shirk the judge’s requests to harm Betty and Jules had struck something inside