Page 48 of Dangerous Command
That was more than we had at that point. “Where?”
“Byron Estate Club,” he sniffled. “It’s in the center of the city. I used to go there for my old boss.” He shuddered to himself. “I can’t tell you who, but they know him. They’ll know where he is. You gotta go there.”
“Tell us about the Byron Estate Club,” Derek said.
“Technically, it’s a cigar club,” Kyle said. “But it’s membership-only. Private. So that they can do things…” He shook his head again, trying to get rid of the memories. “Only criminals go there. Rich criminals. Men so wealthy that when they do terrible things, the others laugh.They laugh.”
His eyes were frantic, trying to search for the rope to pull him out of the quicksand. But how deep was he in? Didn’t he know that by telling us this, he was putting himself at risk too?
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“People died,” he said. “I can’t live with this anymore and not say anything.”
It was hard for me to imagine what he had been through, especially if he had worked at a club where laws didn’t exist.
Derek shifted against the wall. Did the weight of any crimes burden him like that?
“Cigar club?” I asked. “So it’s rich people smoking?”
“You’ll see,” he said. “You need a person there. A-a-a servant. I c-can’t explain it.”
Tears filled his eyes. We thanked him and I gave him a hug. I waited until he looked up.
“You’re saving a lot of people by doing this,” I said.
“And a lot of people are going to die,” he said, his voice trembling. He knew that he was next. I wanted to tell him that we would get rid of Miles Muro, once and for all, and then he wouldn’t have to worry.
But I couldn’t promise that he would live to see that day.
Derek lifted his phone. “I’ll have a car come for you,” he said to Kyle.
“Forwhat?” Kyle gasped.
“For protection.”
My heart swelled. Derek may have been cold, but he truly valued loyalty. And Kyle was doing him a favor.
Tim put an arm around Tina. It was hard to avoid my past, looking at the two of them. Did they still keep in contact with Kit? We had grown up with him, and his brother, Shines. Shines had never cared about anyone but himself, but Kit was nice. He would have been a good contact to have—if there was any of his soul still left inside of him.
We drove to the warehouses in silence. My mind drifted to my mother. My stepdad had always had a thing for cigarettes, even the occasional cigar. But it was never because he liked smoking, but because of what it did to my mother. He liked listening to her skin singe as he stuck the embers into her flesh. Her back had been pockmarked with scars as if she constantly had chickenpox. I was lucky that he had never done that to me. He hurt me, but I was never willing to bow down to his punishments like my mother was.
Maybe she had done it to save me. So I wouldn’t have to.
The old Midnight Miles warehouses were even more empty than before. Derek must have sent another team through to make sure that there was truly nothing left. There weren’t any shelves or cardboard on the floor. Only a brand-new set of folding chairs to the side.
“This place could be bugged too,” I said.
“Not now,” he said. If he was fine with it, then I was too. “Do you believe what Kyle said?”
“He said it, knowing he might die,” I said. “Why would he lie?”
Derek stared at me carefully. “People have their reasons to lie.”
I blushed, looking down. “And yet you offered to help him.” He nodded, and I moved on: “So what do we do about the cigar club?”
“Get a membership.”
“But if you’re after Miles Muro, they’ll—”
