Page 153 of GAF Factor

I walked over to Dash and leaned over his shoulder, watching him work.

“Anything you wanted, boss?”

“Just checking in.”

“Nothing since you had me start five minutes ago, but check back in two minutes. I might have something for you,” he said sarcastically.

“You know, I understand why Cash nutted up.”

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh. He had to deal with you all day.”

38

IKE

The “meeting”,as he called it, was nothing more than a location and a name. The rest would be coming soon. Very fucking soon. I stepped over the body and holstered my gun, nodding to the two men sent with me. It wasn’t often that Vince sent men along, but every once in a while, he sent them for cleanup. This time, I had a feeling they were here for me.

My spine tingled as they watched my every move. My fingers itched to pull my gun and put a bullet in both their heads, but that would only seal my fate. If I had any hope of making it out of this alive, I had to play it cool.

Ricky held out a pack of smokes for me, and though I didn’t want one, I needed it to calm my nerves. I hoped Isla would forgive me this one time. I pulled out a cigarette and took the light, letting the nicotine fill my lungs. God, I missed this.

The distinct click of the gun wrenched through the silence of the night. It wasn’t a surprise. In fact, I’d used the whole cigarette trick a time or two. Make the person you’re with feel calm. Make them think everything will be fine. It was a classic move. I just found it funny that Ricky thought he could successfully pull it off. He’d only seen me do it. He’d never actually done it before.

“Something you want to tell me?” I asked, not bothering to look at him as I took another drag of my cigarette.

“Yeah, the boss wants a word with you.”

I slowly turned to him and smirked at his attempt to take me by surprise. “And this was the best you could do?”

“I have the drop on you.”

I lifted the cigarette to my mouth as another gun was pressed to the back of my head. These two were such amateurs. I slammed my foot into Ricky’s chest, sending him flying back as I grabbed the new guy’s arm and yanked him forward, then slammed my fist into his face, disarming him in the next second. With all the calmness Ricky came to expect from me, I strode over to him, still smoking my cigarette as I knelt down beside him and blew a long puff of smoke into his face.

“You know, you could have just asked.”

“Vince said to take you by force if necessary.”

I tapped my finger on his forehead, shaking my head. “If necessary. See, all you heard was take by force. That was your first mistake.”

He swallowed hard. “What was my second?”

“Thinking you could actually do it.” I took one more drag from my cigarette, then leaned forward and put it out on his cheek, ignoring his screams as it burned his flesh. I got to my feet and left them both behind, dropping the gun at my feet. I wouldn’t need it. They would disarm me as soon as I walked onto the property.

I got into my car and drove across town, knowing I was walking into the lion’s den. Once I was in there, there was no turning back. But there was no other way. I couldn’t allow this to come back on Isla in any way. If I ran, they wouldn’t stop chasing me, and then Isla would be in danger. Even if I left her behind, I knew I would never be able to stay away forever. I would go backto see her at some point, and that’s when they would catch me. I just knew it deep in my gut.

I picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over her number. It would be so easy to call her right now, to hear her voice one last time. But would that be fair to her? I glanced at the clock. It was the early hours of the morning. She was probably asleep anyway. I’d driven straight through the first day to pull the job tonight and hadn’t gotten any sleep. That’s why I was contemplating calling her right now. I was fucking exhausted, not thinking clearly.

But it was so fucking tempting.

My thumb hit her number and I let it ring. She picked up immediately, but I covered the microphone so she couldn’t hear me.

“Knox! Knox, talk to me!”

My throat clogged up as I heard her voice. Fuck, she sounded so panicked. I wanted to tell her it was alright, that I would be fine, but I couldn’t make those promises to her.

“Fuck, I love you,” I whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear me. “I wish we could have had more time.”

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