Page 24 of The Suit

I pulled up in front of the brownstone Johnson Maynard had graciously added as part of the settlement and got out, just as the door opened and a young man stepped out wearing a Notre Dame sweater; still young enough that his gangly frame hadn’t quite fitted to his height, but there was no doubt it would. He looked like he had the makings of a football player.

“Mr. Latham?”

I nodded and smiled in a way that I hoped wasn’t too weird. “That’s me. Thanks for agreeing to meet me. Brandon, right?”

He tipped back on his heels nervously. “Yeah, no problem. Mom told us what happened yesterday. My brother, Bryan, is here too, if that’s okay.”

“Great, the more the merrier. One of my colleagues will also be joining us.”

Just as I uttered the words, the Mountain himself arrived in his blacked-out Escalade - the only car that seemed to fit his size – and pulled to a stop, jumping out with the nimbleness of a basketball player.

Brandon’s mouth fell open. “Holy fuck, he’s with you? What does he eat?”

“Bad guys,” I smirked.

He snorted, but Brandon’s eyes stayed wide and trained on Diego.

“Don’t worry, he’s on our side. It’s a good thing.”

“Dude, send him to my dad and he’ll shit his pants. You’ll get whatever you want,” he said with a wide grin.

I threw my head back with a guffaw as Diego reached us.

“What’s so funny?” he boomed, his deep voice reverberating through the air.

“You man, always you.” I slapped him on the back. “Brandon, this is Diego, my lead investigator.”

Diego hadn’t noticed that Brandon was yet to blink as he held his hand out for a fist pump, “Hey man, good to meet you.”

“Let’s take this inside, shall we?” I suggested.

Brandon shook out of the daze he was in, which, to be fair, was the standard reaction to Diego. Probably why he caught so many criminals. They were too busy staring at him instead of running, giving him time to get them in cuffs.

An almost identical but younger version of Brandon greeted us in the entrance hall by sliding down the enormous, curved banister and jumping off the end in an impressive display of athleticism only those under sixteen attempted.

He didn’t say hi; instead craned his neck up and up, taking in Diego as if it was all he could see.

“Whoa! Fuck man, you’re enormous.”

“Or maybe you’re just little,” Diego winked.

Brandon snorted at Bryan’s dumbfounded expression then playfully punched him in the shoulder. “Told ya you needed to up the gym.”

I interrupted before Bryan could respond, and we were caught in the middle of sibling bickering, which I did not have the time nor interest for today.

“Thanks for agreeing to speak to us,” I repeated.

We followed them into a large kitchen, which overlooked a tidy backyard. Bryan went straight to the fridge and took out bottles of blue Gatorade, passing them around, though by the way he was staring at Diego, it was only to witness him drink it.

Brandon frowned at him. “No worries. Our mom’s not here but she said we can tell you anything you need to know.”

“That’s cool, we appreciate it. We won’t take too long.”

Bryan’s face became serious, “Dude, I’ll give you all the time you need. My dad’s a criminal. He’s a dick and he deserves to pay.”

Brandon made a sharp intake of air. “Bry…”

“What!? He fucking does!”

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