Page 93 of Dangerous Deceit

I grit my teeth. There may be groups like that in Japan, but out here, in the United States, it’s fight or die, and the Endo-kai willneverdie.

I ignore his comments and move on. “Your son worked for us for a while, but what about you? Are you looking for work with us too?”

A vicious excitement bubbles in his eyes, and he bobs his head. “I thought you’d never ask. I was thinking guns?—”

“Do you have any smuggling experience?”

He rubs his forehead, bashfulness reddening his cheeks as if he’s actually embarrassed. If I didn’t know better, I would have believed Jay right now. This fucker is good.

“Shit. I don’t know,” he says. “I guess I don’t have any. But I’m good at negotiations. Amazing, actually.” He gives a fake nervous laugh. My lips pull back into a smile; I can play the game and pretend to be friendly too. “But you transport firearms, right? I’ve got contacts all over the country, and?—”

I wave a hand to stop his rambling. “We’ve got that side of the business covered, but I’m looking to expand. What kind of business can you bring to the Endo-kai? Something we don’t already have?”

He scratches his chin. “My own business?”

“Think of this like an interview,” I say. I sip my whisky, then rest my elbow on the bar counter, right by my phone. “Why should we choose you?”

His nostrils flare. “You guys ever done insurance fraud?”

I wrinkle my nose. Some crime groups do that, especially in Japan, but we’ve always stayed away from it. Shabu-8 and gunsmuggling are all we need. The casino cleans the money, and with a few protection rackets and corporate blackmail, we’re content and thriving.

But I indulge. If that’s what he wants to ramble about, then fine. He can talk himself into a corner, and I can use his own words against him.

“What’s that like?” I ask.

“Here’s your lesson in insurance fraud: You find some rich couple or a rich loner. I don’t know, but someone who’s got it all, right? But they’relonely.Childless. Something like that. You become their long-lost relative and get them to take out a life insurance policy and put everything in your name. Sounds hard to believe, right?”

I angle my head to the side. I don’t care either way.

“But itworks!” he shouts, pleased with himself. “You gotta split the payout with a contract killer, but you guys have muscle, right?” He grins like an idiot as he grabs his long island, the brown liquid sloshing over the side. “Those fuckers die, and you move on with cash in hand. Let their ashes rot in the funeral parlor. No one gives a damn. Easy as apple pie.”

I lick my teeth. “Do you still do insurance fraud?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. Is that what this is? He can’t possibly think he can pull that off on me or any of the Endo-kai.

“No,” he says as he shakes his head solemnly. “One of those deals went poorly. I made a mistake and went with an actual family. Didn’t work out as planned.”

“How’d you handle it?” I ask.

He leans forward. “Man to man? None of this leaves us?”

I keep my eyes on him. Luckily, my phone is still recording.

“How’d you handle it?” I repeat.

“Life gives you lemons, you squeeze the shit out of them until they’re nothing but sour pulp, right?” He lifts his shoulders. “Thekid was supposed to go with them, but she didn’t. So I ended up taking care of her.”

Taking care of her.Shit.

“Vivian,” I say.

“I thought I had it in the bag since her parents were so fucking loaded, but maybe it’s better this way. I don’t think I could have lived with a kid’s death hanging in my conscience. Plus, she was listedbeforeme, which means if she was living, then Ihadto take care of her. I stopped working with that contract killer after that. The piece of shit. He was clumsy as fuck.”

He never confirms her name, but I know it’s her. Blood pounds in my ears.

“I don’t blame you,” I say coldly.

“But she’s like family now, you know? And it’s not like you can forge that paperwork. I had to go throughallof that government bullshit,” Jay says. He finishes his drink, his eyes bloodshot. “The money dried up fast, but I don’t regret it. She’s a good girl, you know? Always does what I say.” He laughs. “Even if you have to get her drunk before you fuck her.”

Images flash before my mind: my fist crashing with Jay’s teeth; a cut on his neck oozing as he bleeds out on the floor; tying a cheese wire around his balls and pulling until they’re sliced from his body. I don’t know if he’s talking about Patrick fucking her, or if he’s talking about himself, but I want himdead.

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