Page 97 of Dark Horse

“You ever regret leaving the family business behind?” Levi asks, studying him.

“Not a day in my life. Only regret is not leaving it sooner. If I thought you two would listen to me, I’d tell you to pack it up and move somewhere you could forget you were ever a Stockton.”

Which begs the question of why the man would return, but asking that would open a Pandora’s box I’m not ready for yet. Not while a gun and half a dozen other weapons are strapped to his body and backup is a short phone call away. If I could tell my younger self something, it would be not to get into a life-or-death fight with family. But there’s not much I can do about it as itstands.

“Well, hopefully, someday we can all have a quiet retirement.” I offer up half a smile as we get off the elevator.

“Someday,” he echoes.

We have to pass through several locked doors sealed by triple verification, badge, code, and biometrics. He does the courtesy of looking away, but we’re trusting he doesn’t have any sort of recording device on. Once we get to the vault, it’s one final series of locks and challenges to prove our ability to have access.

“Do you have any idea how the vault could have been breached? How many employees have access to it?” he questions.

“A dozen not counting us,” Levi lies. It’s less than that, but we don’t want to give him additional data points he could use against us if this doesn’t go our way.

“Any that would have an interest in stealing from you? Disgruntled? Anyone who’s left?” He presses on.

“We’ve had a few employees who have left, but not who we could point a finger at though. One of them retired, and the other had a wife who took a job across the country. The others who departed didn’t have this level of access,” I explain after Levi opens the vault, and we step inside.

“All right. So tell me what’s missing then.” He turns around in the vault, taking everything in, from the stacks of money to the lockboxes and shelves that contain valuables and art. We were a veritable underground bank, not just for our family but for friends and associates as well. Not to mention the cash that passed through the casino, legitimately and illegitimately alike, but that’s in a different vault.

“If you look down here, you’ll see the empty shelf.” Levi distracts Jay while I step back toward the door. Jay follows, peering at the place he points toward. “Yep, just a little further down here.”

Jay takes another step and misses the drop down in the floor. It was a constant hazard, but in this case, it was a benefit.

“What the fuck!” he shouts as he falls face first. He hits the ground hard. His hands and knees take the brunt of it. He groans loudly in pain as he tries to turn over. The man isn’t exactly young anymore, and his knees struggle to bear his weight as he tries to get up.

Levi and I take the opportunity to step outside the door. I press the lock, and the doors start to shut, but it feels like an eternity until it closes. I watch him start to stand up slowly, dusting himself off, and turning around to see why we’re not helping just as it seals.

The look of betrayal on his face is searing. The same look I’m sure I made when I realized it had to have been him who helped set up the bombs. He runs at the door, slamming his hand against it to try to open it again and desperately pounding the interior button.

“That won’t work.” Levi hits the intercom and opens a line of communication between us.

“What the fuck are you two boys doing?” he snarls at us.

“What are we doing? How about we start with what the fuck you’ve been doing.” Levi’s furious. I place a hand on his shoulder, trying to get him to find his center. This wouldn’t work if we lead with too much emotion.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He lies.

“Weknow. We know you worked with a staff member who trusted your last name to bring in the champagne crates. The ones you intercepted and swapped out. The ones you put bombs in. You tried to kill your whole fucking family and then some, at your nephew’s wedding,” I add. “Can you imagine what Dad would fucking say if he was here?”

“Dad wouldn’t say anything to a corpse.” Levi sneers. “That’s what you’d be if he was here and knew you tried to killhis youngest. His grandkid? Takes a special kind of fucked up to do what you did.”

“Says who? Some staff member? Of course he’d pin it on another family member. He wants to set us against each other. You can’t believe every fucking thing someone tells you.”

“We have a very limited amount of time on our hands. Let’s not play games or lie to one another,” I say, exhausted already that this is his play.

“You want the truth? Then let me out of this fucking cage.” He slams his palm against the door again.

“So you can finish the job you started?” Levi laughs. “Do we look fucking stupid to you?”

“You look dumb as fuck holding a sheriff hostage. You know how that ends? With both of you in prison.”

“Don’t worry. We don’t plan to hold you long.” I shake my head. “Just long enough for you to tell us answers.”

He presses his lips together in a flat line and raises his gun at the glass.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Levi warns. “There’s a chance it’ll ricochet and kill you.”

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