Page 90 of Strictly Forbidden

“Oh, shit. Who sent that?”

“Someone who has my best interest at heart.” I was almost disoriented but knew that the game had just turned into Russian roulette. If I wasn’t careful, the chamber would be spun the wrong way.

What the fuck had my grandfather been into? Drugs? Illegal drugs and weapons? No wonder my father had wanted nothing to do with him and had all but disowned me for agreeing to work with the man. Why hadn’t my father told me the truth?

I couldn’t lament over that now. Nor could I change the past.

At this point, what I did would only alter the future.

“What do you want to do?” Dan asked as I slid my phone back into position.

“Exactly what I came here to do. Rattle Saldono.” As soon as I started to walk away, he grabbed my arm.

“Wait. Are you thinking he had something to do with your wife and child’s murder?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then why hire you?”

“Haven’t you heard the expression—you keep your friends close and your enemies closer? Saldono all but shut down my grandfather’s encroaching business by employing me. And he could keep a watch on the product of tragedy. It was a very effective method.” I felt cold inside, more so than I’d felt before. However, I also had more control, the pain not nearly as bad as it had been for ten years. Ten years.

Now I could have my revenge.

“Yeah, I have. He deserves to die,” Dan snarled.

“No, my friend. As a couple of wise people recently reminded me, we deserve to live. That’s what I intend on doing.”

And I did.

I would also tan the woman’s hide for meddling and not listening to me right after I’d told her what she meant to me.

The chill remained but now, I was the viper, carefully preparing a strike. I buttoned my jacket and headed deeper into the restaurant, no one bothering to even look in our direction. One thing that had worked to my benefit was that I’d changed enough since being carted away that few would do a double-take to gawk at the horrible convict. Especially since I was dressed in the second thing I’d purchased after getting out of the joint, the truck the first.

What my beautiful girl also didn’t know was that I’d hidden a significant amount of cash inside of the cabin, enough we could disappear if necessary for a very long time and live more than comfortably.

Not that I had any real plans of entertaining that thought.

My, wasn’t my mind all over the place?

I was smirking by the time I was only a couple of feet from the table. As expected, Saldono was with a lovely but way too overdressed woman. At least she was a brunette this time. It would seem he was branching out.

She was laughing at whatever stupid joke he was telling her. Since one of his hands was underneath the tablecloth, I could only imagine what naughty deed he was doing while wooing her.

We’d all aged but Saldono looked like a stuffed pig ready to pop. His suit was ill fitting, sweat beading across his forehead from the limited exertion and I gathered a stench of perspiration from his pits.

What in God’s name had this woman been promised to get her to tolerate spending time with the man?

Since he didn’t notice my arrival, I merely slid into one of the chairs in front of him, immediately snapping my fingers at the waiter. Any waiter.

Meanwhile, Mark and Sam immediately stopped Saldono’s goons from trying to convince me to walk away and not bother the pig.

As if I would pay any attention.

I’ll be damned if it didn’t take the puffy man almost ten full seconds to recognize me. By that point, a waiter had scurried over, already looking nervous. Hell, maybe my scraggly mug had been plastered on the nightly news. I could be a celebrity by now and not know it.

When recognition finally settled in, I had a feeling instead of groping the chick, he was reaching for his weapon.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I told him as I opened my jacket, allowing him to see I was armed. “It’s a favorite spot for you to seduce your weekly girls and the owners are good people. Besides, you won’t walk out of here alive.”

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