Page 73 of Prey

“I told Annika,” she argued.

“Don’t fucking say her name,” I shouted, and I had to calm my shit because that was out of line. “Sorry, Mom, sorry, but…”

“I know, son. I know what she did to you and how hurt you were because you were so close. But I felt the betrayal as well. We all did,” she sighed as she cracked under the pain of reliving the past.

“Why didn’t you tell the police that you went out?” I asked again.

“I don’t know. I didn’t think of it. My head was spinning. The man…your father was the love of my life, and I just saw him shot…I was confused, and so, so shocked and grief-stricken.”

Two girls stepped out of Hallen Hall in gym gear, and I slid down in the seat so they couldn’t see me. Girls gossip, and they might mention to Riley that they saw Gunner Kaiser in Hallen Hall and ask if she had anything to do with him. There was only so long that I could keep up the disguise.

“Okay,” I said calmly. “I gotta go.”

“What? Gunner? What about your studies? Can we talk about school and your grades?” she insisted.

“No, my battery is running out. I’ll call you later,” I stated firmly.

“Sure,” she said softly, disappointed because she knew I had no intention of calling her back, not at least for another month or so.

I swiped off the phone call and breathed away the guilt and anger that speaking with my mom in Larsson always did to me before starting my engine and heading to my frat house to take a shower.

34

HHow is everyone this fine evening?” I asked Gunner and Ronan as they sat in the lounge room on the office floor with the large, darkened window overlooking the casino.

Gunner shot me a dirty look as I poured a whiskey and sat in the leather chair. “Why are you in a good mood?” snarled the boy, who was forever in a bad mood.

“I am blinded by the sunshine that beams out of my cousin,” I told Ronan, who chuckled as he sipped his whiskey. “And I’m not in a good mood. This is merely a charade for paying customers. You should try it sometime, Gunner.”

“No, thanks,” he snarled, after taking a pull of his cigarette. “Anyway, I called Mom and ah…I don’t think she’s lying about that night. I think she was confused.”

“That’s fair,” Ronan agreed, as the casino was in full swing with some of the best players sitting at their favorite tables, lightening their wallets of cash, while the girls flirted and smiled, wagged their tails. “Her husband was shot in front of her, so…maybe we were being too harsh. Besides, I reckon the police are the problem from beginning to end. Knee-deep in rotting meat.”

“Did you tell him about his father’s phone?” I asked Ronan.

Ronan turned to Gunner. " The Police said it got damaged, so the PI couldn’t inspect it.”

Gunner snarled, “You’re fucking kidding me.”

Cigar and cigarette smoke quickly filled the air as I took another sip of my expensive Scotch whiskey and relaxed into the leather armchair. I had a profitable business and good men beside me, and this view over Savile was the prettiest view ever. But when I felt the urge to allow myself to enjoy our success, I thought of young Gunner left without a father, and everything pales in comparison.

Ronan continued to fill Gunner in: “A Witness saw Mr. Kaiser have an angry argument with someone on his phone. She reckons he was being blackmailed. Do you know anything about that?”

Gunner’s black eyebrows were low over his sharp eyes, drinking in what Ronan said. I saw his father in him daily, but he needed to do something about that anger. He was only a cat’s whisker away from severely damaging himself or someone else.

“No,” he leaned forward, and his hand clenched the armrest. His knuckles turned white as he glared out at the casino, but his mind was elsewhere, probably back, Larsson. “Who the fuck would be dumb enough to blackmail Dad?”

“Exactly my thoughts,” Ronan agreed in his leveled voice, watching Gunner closely in case he flipped his lid.

I focused my attention on the sea of tables and men enjoying the spin on the wheels as the dancers prepared the stage behind the partitioned wall.

“What the fuck?” Gunner murmured, and I assumed he was still thinking about the police’s hitjob on our family. But his eyes were fixed on the floor as those black eyebrows sunk even lower over his narrowed eyes. “What the fuck is she doing here?”

I followed his gaze, hoping like hell Sylvie hadn’t just turned up unannounced. She threatened to come over for my birthday as an excuse to see her son but couldn’t get away from the club in Larsson. But I couldn’t see her out there unless she just slipped out of view.

“Who are you talking about?” Ronan asked, taking an interest in his odd behavior.

“Riley,” Gunner answered, perplexed, glaring unflinchingly, fingers gripping the armrest tighter.

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