woman who liked to fuck with cops for kicks, he didn’t even want to know. But what would be the harm? This was club business, but not business business, it couldn’t hurt to let her loose. Maybe she’d save them some time with that computer magic she was so good at.
“Okay, baby,” he agreed. “But just information, don’t do anything crazy.”
“Why would I do anything crazy?
“Is that a trick question?”
She grinned. “Point taken. Don’t worry, I’ll be discrete.”
“Alright, go get ‘em.” He smacked her ass and watched it stroll away before turning back to see Largo Scully—head of a Denver gang called the Silent Posse—stepping out of his car.
Scully whistled as he approached. “That’s some piece… Nice work, Torch.”
Buddha intercepted him before shit got heated from the get-go. “What are you doing here, Scully? Eighty miles is kinda far for an oil change.”
“I’m not here for a lube job, I was hoping we could talk business.”
“We haven’t had any in three years,” Torch pointed out. “And I can’t say we miss you or your way of doing business.”
Scully smirked. “Let’s not forget we made a lot of money from our partnership. That’s why I’m coming to you first, I need guns.”
Buddha shook his head. “Nope. We’re out of gun-running, man, there’s too much heat right now. And last I checked, you’re the one who got us caught up in the middle of a fucking turf war we had no stake in. If you need guns and you’re coming to us of all people, you’re probably up to the same kind of shit. We’re not interested.”
“You won’t get dragged into the Posse’s beef again,” Scully argued. “I give you my word.”
“A lot of good it did us last time,” Mace cut in. “Your word doesn’t mean dick around here.”
“What are you looking for?” Torch asked, to Buddha’s clear dismay. He wasn’t interested in shaking hands with Largo Scully either, but there was information to be gleaned from knowing just how desperate the guy was.
“Anything you can get me, full-auto preferably. Fifty percent over street value on all hardware.”
Yeah, pretty fucking desperate. “What happened to your guy?”
“I lost my source,” Scully replied with a shrug. “Like I said, I’m not trying to pull you into our shit, but I know the club still has plenty of connections. I’ve got money to spend, take it or leave it.”
“We’ll leave it,” Buddha answered. “You can see yourself out.”
Scully gave them a tight-lipped smile and raised his hands. “On my way. The offer stands, think about it.”
: 4 :
| LIVIA |
“Good morning, Mike Gellar’s office,” a cheerful voice on the other end of the line greeted me.
“Hi there, I’m looking for Mike. Is he in today?” I asked.
“He’s at lunch right now. Can I take a message?”
“Do you know where he’s having lunch by any chance?” I pressed.
“I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty to say. May I help you with something?”
“No,” I sighed, playing it up. “Ma’am, I know it’s against policy, but I’m his cousin and here in Colorado on a layover. I drove an hour from the airport hoping to surprise him, but only have about another hour before I need to get back. We haven’t seen each other in years. Do you think you might be able to make a teeny-tiny exception just this once? I’d just like to say ‘hi’ and give him a hug. I promise I won’t tell him you were the one who told me.”
His secretary didn’t say anything, leaving me to think she’d hung up. “Okay,” she finally piped up. “He’s at Aspen Grille on 9th Street. But it’s a business meeting so I really would appreciate if you don’t tell him.”
Perfect, he’d probably have his laptop. “I won’t. Thank you, it’ll be wonderful to see him again.”
“Do you need the address?” she asked.
“No, thanks, I can look it up. Have a nice day.”
I hung up, opened the car door, and threw my backpack on the passenger seat. Figuring it would be easier to hide in a vehicle than on a bike in this town if I had to do some recon, I’d stopped by the house to grab my computer gear and trade rides.
After pulling up the cross streets on my phone, it only took ten minutes to get to the restaurant.
Walking in, I was pleased to see that it was busy enough to blend in but not full of business people. I only counted a handful of laptops, including the one in front of Mike