Page 25 of Saltwater Memories
Ever since Ned got the power to make people listen to him, he hadn’t been able to contain himself. At least it wouldn’t be Mike’s problem anymore.
Since being hastily pulled in from his cover, Mike had a different set of problems. He had concerns for his safety and his family’s safety.
When he was working under Lincoln, the plan was to remove him slowly, and to make it believable. But Ned was hasty, and the result was a botched story that had his close associates scratching their heads. Oh, and this ridiculous retirement party.
Mike didn’t want a party. He wanted to uncover the connection between Benzini and the Sabini family. Sabini had been a thorn in Dmitry Koval’s side for over fifteen years – long before Mike infiltrated the Koval family, posing as Gary Bomba.
Though the crime families dealt in a lot of the same business – drugs, illegal gambling, racketeering – somehow Sabini had pulled far ahead in recent years. It seemed like he had unlimited resources and Mike could never figure out why.
It was convenient, then, that Mike’s retirement happened when he was so close to figuring it out. He didn’t want to accuse Ned of being in Sabini’s palm or anything, but something wasn’t right. Something wasn’t adding up.
Mike took a bite of cake.
Disgusting.
How many bites would he need to take so that no one was offended?
He took one more, then discreetly dumped his plate into the trash. He didn’t have to worry about offending people for much longer – and he also couldn’t count on help from the FBI anymore. He was on his own. And he didn’t think it was a coincidence that Amanda contacted him last week, saying that she’d spotted Lenny in Seattle.
He was ready to follow up on that lead. As soon as this party was over, Mike was packing up what was left of his belongings and flying west.
