Page 87 of Caught Up

This was probably the dumbest thing I’d done in months, but poker games like this one were prided for their discretion, and nothing would draw the cops like gunfire ringing out through the night. I was banking on that to keep them from shooting me.

As I got closer to the ship, I noticed something that had been hidden by my vantage point: a ladder strung from the deck to the pier. It was made of rope and wood, and from the way it swayed in the breeze, I knew it couldn’t have been easy to traverse. Beneath it, black water waited to swallow up anyone who fell. The people playing poker in the belly of this beast must have been deadly serious about the game.

“Stop right there,” someone called.

I did as they said, craning my head back to see three men looming over the side of the railings high above.

“Tell the blond guy up there with you that Junior Trocci is here to see him,” I yelled, withholding Tyler’s name because I wasn’t sure if he was using an alias and I didn’t want to immediately get on his bad side by doxing him.

A fourth head popped into view. “What the fuck are you doing here?” Tyler demanded.

I hated putting my business out in the open, but I doubted they’d let me up unless I gave them something. “I want to talk to you about buying a man’s debt.”

“And you couldn’t have done it earlier?” Tyler asked in a pissy tone that had me clenching my jaw.

Be nice,I told myself for the second time today. I needed something from him, and there were weapons trained on me.

“I didn’t know you were the guy I was looking for,” I said with a shrug.

“How’d you find me?” he asked, a note of suspicion joining the pissiness.

“A contact,” I called, getting impatient. “You gonna let me up, or what?”

“Fine.” He disappeared from sight.

I dropped my arms and paced over to the ladder. It looked worse than the stairs I’d taken earlier, but I didn’t see any alternatives, so I grabbed the ropes, put my foot on the bottom rung, and started up. It immediately swung right, and I had to stop and steady myself before it dumped me into the water.

Goddamn pain in the ass jungle gym fucking bullshit.

Carefully, keeping my weight centered on the rungs, I ascended. Two goons waited to search me at the top. They found all three guns and the knife.

Tyler stood several feet away, arms crossed, watching. “Lot of fucking weapons for a talk.”

“Relax,” I told him. “I didn’t know what I was walking into.”

He glanced at the surrounding darkness. “Anyone else here with you?”

“Yup,” I said, letting him know it wouldn’t be smart to try and get rid of me. “They’ll be fine as long as we stay up here.”

He gave me a discontented look and turned on his heel, waving me after him like he was calling a dog to heel. I balled my hands into fists and followed in his wake.Be nice, be nice.We strode to the back of the boat, passing shipping containers and old storage drums. A cry rose from down below, and then cheering. The game sounded like it was in full swing. How the fuck had Tyler wormed his way into this world without anyone finding out who he was? And how had he clawed his way up to this level so fast?

“Get lost,” he told the men guarding the stern.

They lumbered away without comment, but I could tell from the looks on their faces that they liked him about as much as I did.

“You should be more careful,” I said when they were gone. “Men who make enemies in this city don’t live very long.”

He waved me off. “Why should I worry about being nice when I’m paying them more than they’re worth?”

I shook my head. “I never said to be nice. But a little respect goes a long way.”

He snorted. “Sure.”

I could tell from the dismissal that there was no point in arguing, so I let it drop.

He leaned against the taffrail and eyed me. “Whose debt are you after?”

“Patrick McKinney’s,” I said.

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