Page 31 of Mafia Captor

“The Bachman name does that to people,” I say.

“Bachmans… yeah. Ashely’s been pretty tightlipped since she’s been working for you guys, but being this close to the city, I’ve heard some things about the family.” A tinge of awe creeps into his tone. “There’s a lot of power behind that name.”

“Sure is.” I pull into the gravel lot. “Sure is.”

“Wow. Earlier today I was under a 1998 Honda minivan, changing the oil, and now I’m having a drink with Boston ‘The Boss Man’ Bachman. How do you know A anyway? She working for you now?”

“Yeah. Something like that. She’s staying at my place for a bit. Getting my house in order. She wanted to invite you along for the ride.” Idle hands make for the devil’s work, and I know Ashe is worried about him interacting too much with us and our line of work. I need to keep the kid busy. “I might have a job for you too.”

“Okay. What’re you thinking?” he asks.

“We could use a good mechanic. There’s a vibration in my Ferrari engine I’ve been wanting to have someone take a look at.”

“I’m your man.” He holds up his hand, slapping me a high five. “It’s a deal. Let’s celebrate with that drink.”

He loves the place, lodging another point for him in my books. The smooth rock walls, the dirt floor, dim lights recessed into the curved stone overhead. The bar top is a polished wood piece. The bartender keeps it spotless, none of that stick to your arms shit when you lean on it. Slow, soft blues music floats through the room.

We sit on stools at the bar, taste a few pale ales, settling on the same one.

I turn my attention to him. I’m guessing Ashe doesn’t want me drawing him into our world any more than we have to on this trip. I’ll respect her wishes, but damn, I like the kid. He tells me more about Ashe, A, he calls her because he couldn’t spell Ashely as a kid. He talks about his sister the way I talk about Ma.

He really loves her.

He’s funny too. He has a great way of telling stories. By the time we finish our beers, I like him even more than I already did.

When we pull up to the gates of my estate, he gives another one of his whistles. “Damn. What a place.”

He wants to go straight to the bay of garages. I turn the car to take him there, but there’s a little blonde bombshell standing in our way. Hands on her hips like she does when she’s mad. Does she think it makes her look bigger or something?

She’s still tiny. Her determination just makes her cuter.

“Uh-oh,” Beck says. “Told you she’d be waiting on me. Shit. You got any mints?”

“Let me handle this.” I pull up beside her, rolling the window down. “Sup?”

She comes over, hands resting on the doorframe. “What’s up? You left two hours ago. His work is only forty-five minutes from here and I know he’d already gone home to get his stuff before you got there.” She leans into the window, inches from my face. “Is that… beer I smell?”

Let me teach the kid a trick. Answer a question you don’t want to answer with a distraction. “Sweetheart, you gonna say hi to your baby brother or what? He’s been dying to see you. Talked about you nonstop.”

She forgets her anger for a moment, the sun shining from her face as she beams at her brother. “Hey, Beckett! Thanks so much for coming on short notice.”

“No problem, sis.’

“I figured if I had to be locked up in a gorgeous estate till we figure out what’s going on with that stupid SUV…” Beck tenses at her mention of the car. I filled him in over our beers. She laughs, “I may as well have you imprisoned with me for company.”

“Not true,” I whisper, just loud enough for her to hear me. “She wants you here as a block. To keep her from being tempted by her sexy boss.”

Beck lifts his hands in surrender. “Not touching that with a ten-foot pole.”

Smart man.

Ashe ignores my comment, but can’t stop the pink from coming to her cheeks. “Get out and give me a hug.”

“Coming.” He climbs out of the car.

I watch through the windshield as the siblings hug. She goes up on tiptoe to whisper something in his ear, then looks at me. Warning her brother off spending time with me, for sure. She made it very clear when she made her kidnapping request that Beckett was not to be dragged into Bachman family business.

I assured her they won’t be here long enough for her baby bro to get corrupted. I’ve got ears and eyes everywhere and we’ll soon know who the driver of the white SUV is. Let me correct myself—who the driverwas.Because when I get done with him, he’ll be compact size, his body crunched inside his car by the crusher at the landfill.

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