Page 55 of Lamb

“Notya know.”

“No, I don’t know so why don’t you explain it to me?”

“Not like that.” He gestured a hand in the air. “You’re… loyal.”

I twisted my scowl into a polite smile. “You’re right. I am loyal, John. To those around me, those in my very tight circle. To those I respect and admire and trust with my secrets.”

“Exactly!” He clapped his hands together, relief dripping down his face and moistening the edge of his collar. “Did I ever tell you that you were like a son to me, Adrian?”

“No,” I forced out between clenched teeth. “Never. Not once. But you know what? You sure as hell always treated me like a father.” I didn’t give the words a chance to sink in before adding, “I’ll tell you what… I’ll take care of this little problem for you. For a price.”

He nodded, his glasses shifting up and down on his nose each time his chin tapped his chest. “Yes, of course. You name it. But… it needs to look like an accident. Can’t have this leading back to me.”

“Accidents take time, John,” I sighed. “Planning, research… What’s this guy’s routine? Does he have any hobbies? A girlfriend?”

John just stared back at me. “Uh, I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe?”

I didn’t bother responding, jabbing a finger against the intercom that I knew was already on and listening. “Bugs?”

“Yes, Dr. Lambert, how can I assist you?” the kid replied, much more formally than usual. It was all for show. A way to ensure our customers got the full experience.

“Dig up everything there is to know about a Mister….” I looked to John, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

“Michaels. Cohen Michaels.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgement. “Dig up everything there is to know on a Cohen Michaels, a med student with a residency at Northwestern.”

“Got it, boss,” he signed off, and I returned my attention to John, who was staring at me with a puzzled look on his face.

“Bugs?” he questioned.

“Best if we keep things impersonal. Plausible deniability and all that,” I explained. “Now that that’s settled, we have to go over a little housekeeping. We only accept cash. Upfront. I am sure you understand the reasoning.”

I waited for John to slip back out the door with his tail between his legs before calling the boys into my office. Bugs was the first to appear, probably because he never stopped listening.

“So let me get this straight…” He leaned a shoulder against the jamb, arms folded over his chest and ankles crossed. “The guy we’ve spent close to a year blackmailing, just dropped in to the place he helped pay to upgrade, offering to give us a ridiculous amount of cash to take out the wrong guy?”

I lifted a noncommittal shoulder, allowing the smirk to spread across my face. “In our line of work, we call that double dipping.”

Instead of replying, Bugs stumbled forward as Casper barged his way inside the room, tossing a thumb behind him. “Who was that?”

“That was John… Dr. John Rath. Our newest client.”

Casper glanced towards the door before looking back at me again. “Kinda looks like a weasel.”

“That’s because he is one.”

69

MARISELA

“Did you figure it out?” I shot my glare at the kid sitting in my office chair, his dark shaggy hair pressed behind his ear by one of those hands-free devices while his fingers clicked away at my keyboard. The sound loud and annoying when it wasn’t coming from me.

It took a moment for his bright-green eyes to flick in my direction, landing on my scowl before flicking up to my face again.Fucker better keep it in his pants if he doesn’t want one of my heels shoved up his ass.

“I’m sorry… Did you say something?”

Hard to hear when you’re too busy staring at my mouth, huh?Then again, that was why I preferred red. Men weren’t exactly bulls but they were easily distracted by shiny objects. And today,Iwas that object. I needed to be if I wanted anyone to pay attention to me in that boardroom.

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