Page 23 of Carler

“You don't, but I'm not asking you to kill anyone.”

“Okay, but how do I get this off?”

Viv looked at him, and he moved forward slowly so the child would not get scared. It was a very simple bomb, but it could be tripped when someone tried to take it off. There was no doubt that Joe wanted this bomb to go off regardless of who was standing nearby. He went to open the window and saw the poor dumpster below. If anything went wrong, he intended to throw it out the window and hope it didn't explode until it landed. With his backup plan in place, he moved back and began to work on the bomb.

He had told everyone to move back, especially Viv, and they all had, but he was not sure they were back far enough. The best thing he could do at this point was diffuse the bomb quickly, throw it into the dumpster, and hope for the best. They needed to up their game because Joe had. No one was safe, and he seemed to target those who were defenseless.

“I believe I have it diffused," Carler observed just before the timer began to go crazy. He hurried to the window and tossed it, ducking in case it went off while it was still close to him.

The bomb went off as it hit the dumpster. Damn! That was a close one. How had a little kid like this, fifteen tops, gotten in here where there was a casino? He would need to backtrack the cameras and see what he could find.

“Viv, can you take care of the child and see if you can find her mother and sister? Use whatever resources you need, and if you find that crazy Joe, do that too.”

“I'm on it. I'll get my usual partners, and they can help me after I find someone to help Darla.”

His mate headed out with Darla in tow to get started on her work. He needed to get started on his. He went to the surveillance room and began to backtrack the video. He was shocked to see Darla walk in, and no one stopped her. Those employees that had seen her had exited the building quickly. Or should he say those former employees? They would no longer be working for the hotel, whether they were involved with Joe or not. They not only led her in without attempting to stop her but had not alerted anyone to the danger.

He took pictures of those employees and sent them to the new head of security. A job he wouldn't want because he was sure it was going to get ugly. Carler tried to find her at the airport, but it didn't look like that was the way she'd come in. He'd have to have Viv ask because he was sure she would let them know, especially once they found her mother and sister and brought them here. This whole situation made him angry because it was getting dangerous to be around the casino. These were people he wanted to protect, but it was becoming impossible. That young girl should have never been put in a situation like that, but Joe was a horrible person, and he was willing to sacrifice anyone.

Maybe they needed to take young Joe hostage. If you disappeared from the prison and Joe knew he hadn't taken him, maybe he would come to them. That all depended on how much he still felt for his son. While Carler knew he wanted to punish him, did he want any injury to come to him? Wouldn't he want him to be safe? It was hard to tell, but one thing was for sure: they could take him back and put him behind bars if having him here didn't work. While he knew that Joe Senior had other family members, he wasn't willing to go after anyone who wasn't involved in Old Joe's business.

Chapter 7

Old Joe

Joe Senior knocked on the door, and a voice yelled enter. This meeting was important, and he wasn't sure why he had been called in. The man waved him to sit in the chair across from him, so he sat.

“I've heard you sent a bomber to the casino. It turned out to be a fifteen-year-old girl. That's not the kind of business I want to be involved in.”

“You can't cut me loose. We are so close to finding out who and what they are. To make an omelet, you have to crack a few eggs.”

“That saying doesn't fit here. You've been using children and mentally ill people to try to gain your advantage, and that simply doesn't work for me.”

Joe looked at the man who had been financing his campaign against the dragons. Without his money, he didn't know what he would do.

“I understand you want to set some rules. You can do that, but I'll need more money if I have to be careful about who I send in there.”

“I don't think you understand. I admit I was curious about who they are and possibly what they are, although I didn't believe your theory about dragon shifters. If that were true, they would have already taken over the world. Or maybe Earth isn't worth it to them, and they'd rather just have a little piece of it. At this point, it no longer matters that much to me. I will pursue other curiosities instead.”

Joe was stunned as he looked at the powerful man who had been supporting him for several months now. This was an influential man beyond anyone's dreams. He stayed in the shadows because most people with that much wealth weren't always honest and didn't always follow the law. That showed in the fact that he supported Joe and knew exactly who Joe was.

It occurred to him to try to threaten the man, but if he did, he might not make it out of the building alive. What the hell would he do now? His attacks had reduced his followers greatly, and now he had few. Somehow, they had found a way to track his money and removed large amounts from his bank accounts, so now he only had a little left.

The mob he had worked for no longer backed him. They had separated themselves from what they called his craziness, and now he made no more money and had no defense through them. He nodded because the man seemed to be waiting for a reply.

“I'll have my secretary escort you down.”

This new guy would just be one more person on his revenge list. Joe chuckled under his breath. It wouldn't be long, and the whole world would be on his list. Junior was in jail, and Joe was leaving him there for a while because he needed to learn a lesson about letting his personal life interfere with business. In the business they had been in, there was no room for that. The boy had taken himself down and dragged his father with him.

As a rare act of kindness, old Joe had cut his wife loose with a decent amount of cash and a house that was paid for. He realized he was going down a dark path and didn't want to drag her with him. Joe wouldn't say he loved her. That was too strong a word. He had respect for her, and at one time, appreciated their life with their sons. Joe never intended to see her or his other sons again. It was a favor for them so they would not be dragged into this. Even the mob wouldn't touch them as long as he didn't come around them.

His favorite son, who had been an enormous disappointment, was stuck in jail. He couldn't get to him, but occasionally, he could send him a message. Since there was nothing he could do for him, there was no point in sending a message. Now, his last supporter had cut him loose, and he had no idea what he was going to do. Apparently, he'd crossed the line on the man's moral code. Joe hadn't even realized he'd had one.

The secretary led him down to the large entry doors, and he exited without a look back. Was it embarrassing? Maybe a little bit, but that wasn't why he cared. He would have to find someone else to support his campaign against the dragons, or he would have to find some way to make money for himself. It was sad that he had gotten to the point where he had no support of any kind, and his only son, who cared about the business, was in jail through pure stupidity. That bitch, Davy, deserved to die slowly. She had taken down his whole criminal Empire, leaving him with nothing.

Joe hurried to his motel room, entering and slamming the door before locking the lock and putting the chain up at the top. He was sweating profusely and hurried to the sink to wash his face. When he stared in the mirror, he could see the insanity trying to get in or out. There was still a little money left for Mr. Sensitive because he had made sure he had picked people who would do the job he wanted for little to nothing. Turns out that was a good idea.

This hotel was a dump, but he had been hiding in places like this since not long after all this began. No one had even thought to look for him here. They were looking in the places where a rich man would hide instead of looking in the places where a criminal on the run would go. Maybe it was time for him to end this. Maybe it was time for him to go in person and cause as much trouble as he could, even if it killed him.

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