Page 22 of Bodyguard Wolf Shifter
"I'm not usually one to pat anybody on the back. The money is rolling in. You were right to come to me with your proposal. You might take all the risks, but I'm cleaning the money through my legitimate businesses. Nothing can be traced. We still have the pesky business of detective Coleman to deal with. What would you suggest?" he asked, obviously painting me into a corner.
"We can't kill cops. That is bad for business. He doesn't know anything for certain. The product is being made someplace off the grid. Not even you know where it's at. We have to keep that knowledge on a need-to-know basis. I hope you understand and are not offended," I asked with another scallop floating on the surface of my tongue before allowing my teeth to penetrate into it.
"Think nothing of it. This arrangement works when we keep things compartmentalized. I like the idea of one hand not knowing what the other one is doing. It makes it easier in case somebody gets caught in the act. It's not like they can point them to our doorsteps. You could always blindfold me and take me to where the drug is being made. It's just an idea," he added with a sip of wine while he looked at me over the rim.
"I want to make one thing perfectly clear. This is temporary. I've never been comfortable distributing drugs. Our recipe is proprietary. Nothing is written down. The process will be destroyed after we no longer have any use for it," I announced.
He stopped eating with the steak knife still in his hand. "I heard what you said. We can discuss that later. I'm trying to enjoy my meal."
"We're not going to discuss anything later. We will disappear and you will never see us again. Don't try to find us. You won't like what you find," I threatened in a backhanded way.
He signaled for the waitress with a snap of his fingers. "I don't like ultimatums. Watch your tone. What you don't understand is that we are not partners. You work for me and not the other way around. That will continue until your debt is paid in full."
"I've heard just about enough." I pushed away from the table.
He glanced at his watch and back at me. "I didn't say this meeting was over. Sit your ass down." He motioned with a nod of his head. "Without me, you would have nothing."
"I know that, and you don't need to constantly remind me. We are both apex predators in our own way." I hinted we were of like animal mind.
"I think I do have to remind you. This drug is making me a fortune. I hitched my wagon to yours and I hate to be disappointed. There's no telling what I might do. Keep that in mind." He went back to eating, no longer looking at me, essentially dismissing me without saying a word.
His arrogance was getting on my last nerve. It was conceivable to cut off the head of the snake.
My considerable research had discovered his hand in practically everything. The most disturbing of all was human trafficking. Underaged girls moving through what I could only describe as an underground railroad, metaphorically speaking.
I had already compiled enough evidence to put him and those complicit with him behind bars. This would include high-profile individuals in the public eye.
One press of a button and the evidence would be released digitally.
There would be no stopping the process once it began.
It seemed a little hypocritical when I was skirting the law. We were doing bad things for the best reasons. It didn't make me feel very good about peddling a potent drug laced with our blood.
It was merely a few drops. Nothing we were going to miss and could easily replenish.
Hunting had taken a back seat, but we were all anxious for the full moon in two days. We would finally be able to let the beast emerge from within our human forms.
The drug operation remained where it was off-site. Moving it to the suburbs would've been too risky. It was bad enough the four of us were staying there together. The neighborhood was populated with young families.
They had looked at us strangely when we moved in.
I walked a fine line between two worlds. One I was very familiar with, and the other I was starting to get the lay of the land after a few months.
The pure bloods were more of a problem than I wanted to admit to the others.
Luke suspected they would come calling. They never let us forget where we came from. They wanted a monopoly over the human population. They had no interest in the status quo. It didn't surprise me they were plotting against us.
I flagged down a taxi and had him take a few detours to make sure we were not being followed. A couple of cars showing up a few times made me well aware of the possibility Smith would take matters into his own hands.
"There's a $100 tip in it for you if you can lose the blue Mustang behind us without being too obvious. You must know these streets like the back of your hand," I said with a smile when Luke looked at me from the driver's seat.
He surprised me with his resourcefulness.
I didn't even know it was him behind the wheel. The man was a master of disguise.
The blonde wig tied in a ponytail was quite authentic. He had on dark glasses and a fake scraggly-looking beard. His eyes had changed color and his eyebrows were more pronounced than usual.
"I thought it best to keep an eye on you. We are being followed, but it's not by the blue Mustang. Our network is being threatened. Detective Coleman is in charge of a task force and his investigation has put him on to us." Luke pointed to the mirror.
