Page 65 of Tango

“Be glad Frank chose not to hear some of the details,” Cole huffed. “He may have to claim selective memory later.”

“Dark Water and Blackstone mesh surprisingly well when you consider they haven’t had a lot of time to prepare.” I’d been impressed with that, and Cole nodded his agreement.

“You took your kid’s gum?” Ty’s voice drew our attention.

“No. Well, it was mine to start with.” Mark held out a piece toward him, but Ty shook his head with disgust. I smirked at the ridiculous wig Mark had on, and Cole chuckled.

“Some things never change.”

“Nope.” Cole sighed.

“So, I guess you got to work with Elio after all,” Ty said to Keith as they walked toward us.

“At least I’m not crossin’ any lines this time.” Keith glanced up at Cole and I could see there was more to that story.

“Keith.” Trigger suddenly appeared. For someone so large, he was quick on his feet. “I got ya somethin’.”

“A gift?” Keith eyed the black box tied with a red ribbon. Trigger held it out in his tattooed hand and waited for Keith to take it.

“Yeah, figured a shot to the head or nuts would be too simple.” He shrugged as Keith took it from him. “You do you, man, but consider it a gift from my playground.” I chose not to ask any questions. “However, you decide.” He flipped his floppy Mohawk out of his face. “DR has your back.”

“Thanks, Trig.”

“No sweat, man.” Trigger turned and walked back toward his guys.

Keith watched him go then opened the box and let out sharp laugh and held it out to us. “It’s a ball buster.” He held up what looked like a small bear trap with razor sharp teeth. It looked like when released it could easily tear away your manhood in its jaws. “Thoughtful of him,” he glanced over to where Trigger stood with his men, “but it’s not who I am.” He tucked it away in his jacket, and I felt Cole relax a little.

“Hey, Mike,” I moved to his side and kept my voice low, “how much did Trigger tell Grim about me?” That moment at the bar when he gave me his car still played with my head.

“Trig?” Mike nodded him over.

“Yeah?” He eyed me.

“How do you know Grim?”

“Well,” was all he offered.

“You have history?” Mike folded his arms.

“A long one, yes.” He studied me then and decided to add a bit more. “His family has a few hotels on the Vegas Strip. I have my business just off the Strip. Our paths cross frequently when he’s in town.”

“How much did you tell him about Eric?”

“What you said to.” He spat to show his dislike of being questioned. “That Blackstone needed Lexi out by whatever means necessary.” He looked at me. “Though he has his suspicions.”

“Meaning?” I questioned, and he squinted at me and looked pissed. “Look, I’m just concerned that I need to worry about Grim. I don’t want anything to mess up the operation.”

“He suspects you maybe flipped sides because of the girl.” He stroked his beard as he looked at me. “It happens.” He looked around the room. “He saw you carryin’ her. He’s just tryin’ to figure you out.”

“Fair enough.” It made sense. Trigger lit a joint and inhaled as he pocketed his lighter. Then he scrunched up his face and looked at me again.

“Grim’s not someone to fuck with, but he wouldn’t cause you shit unless he figured you deserved it.”

“Thanks, man.” Mike was satisfied and eyed me to make sure I was good. I nodded.

“You boys ready?” Rail, one of Trigger’s crew, came up to us. He reminded me of a happy feral cat. His eyes danced with excitement as he held up a notebook. “Got my flipbook of kills.” He held up the book where he’d glued in the mugshot pics of who our targets were and flipped through them with his thumb. He must have swiped the pictures from Cole’s board at the meeting earlier.

Mike chuckled. “Inventive. I hope you took the right ones.”

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