Page 32 of Pursuing the Egoist
“What were you thinking? Coming here in such weather on a motorbike…”
“But nothing happened. I’m a good rider…” Mio tried to defend himself, but Yugo shot him a glare.
“That’s not what I want to hear. Try again.”
“I’m sorry…” Huge, azure eyes blinked, and a single tear trickled down the pale cheek. Mio sniffed, swallowed, then added. “I won’t do it again. Please, don’t hate me.”
He gulped, and a waterfall of tears rushed out of his eyes.
Yugo sighed, got up, and turned the water off, the sleeves of his shirt were wet and so was the front of his pants. Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it around Mio’s shoulders. “I can never hate you. How don’t you get that? You are everything I have. I can’t lose you. Stop being this reckless, or I will have to lock you up.”
Mio’s lips twitched again, and Yugo couldn’t say if he was smiling or crying, as the boy threw himself forward and wrapped his tiny body around Yugo’s torso, but his hard cock, pressing against Yugo’s thigh, spoke better than words.
So troublesome…Yugo thought as he picked Mio up and carried him to the bed.
THE PICTURE FROMlast night built in Yugo’s head with every brick of information received. The copy of the search warrant request Tobias provided tied all ends to Lax. According to the police report submitted an hour ago, Leiris had overheard the essential information in the bar which allowed him to conclude the delivery site.
It took Greg one hour to identify the source of the leak. Another two hours to bring him to the mansion, and twenty minutes more to find the incoming wire transfer of half a million dollars credited to Gaston Martínez’s offshore account.
When the door to the office opened, causing a draft to slam the window into the frame, Yugo faced the door.
With his foot freezing over the threshold, Greg lifted his chin toward the grand staircase. “Everything is ready.”
“Did Gustavo arrive?”
Greg nodded. Yugo grabbed his lighter before following him out of the office and down the wide, grand staircase. Taking a narrow corridor behind the kitchen, he descended to the basement.
THE UNHEALTHY YELLOW LIGHTwas sodden with a damp, moldy smell. The buzzing, coming from the tube lamps, mixed with the chaotic, jagged breathing of the man kneeling on the cold, concrete floor; hands cuffed behind his back.
Leaning against the wall, Yugo watched a sad, disappointed expression crawl up Gustavo’s face. As always, he took the betrayal personally.
“Tell me something.” Gustavo’s deep baritone carried on through the silence. “Didn’t I pay you enough?”
Gaston lifted his face. His brown eyes were swollen, the left one closed. His mouth and nose turned into a bloody mess, red, bubbling mucus dripping down his black beard. Rumpled and oily, his hair clung to his forehead.
“Was I unjust or disrespectful?” A tiny jerk of a chin was all the reply Gustavo received. “Then why? What have I done to deserve this? And for such a low price…”
Gaston didn’t answer, but his shoulders shuddered as he lowered his head.
Gustavo squatted down in front of him. Tilting his head, he looked into Gaston’s face with the same disappointed expression, but his voice came out rigidly cold. “Answer me.”
“Nothing.”
“Hmm?” Gustavo’s hand slapped across the man’s face, not too hard to knock Gaston to the ground, but humiliating enough for the man to glare back. “This isn’t the answer I was hoping for.”
Red saliva bubbling on the lips, Gaston spat on the floor but didn’t say a word.
“You see, if you needed money, you could have come to me. Instead, you betrayed me. You insulted me. You put me in a bad light in the eyes of my friends and partners, for my man betrayed us all. And over what? Thirty pieces of silver…” Despite the words, his voice remained calm. “I’m gonna ask again, and you will consider this question with all attention because you have a nice, loving family. They don’t deserve to die or suffer because of your stupidity. Little Eleanor is too young to understand why daddy doesn’t come and save her from another man touching her, isn’t she?”
A fizzy sound escaped Gaston’s mouth, before he creaked, “You’re bluffing. I know you. You won’t do this to your goddaughter.”
Half-turning his head, Gustavo gave a flat smile to Yugo, confirming Gaston’s words.
Unfazed, Yugo mouthed, “Keep going.”
“You are right,” Gustavo admitted with a soft chuckle, turning back to Gaston. “I will never hurt her or your wife, but there are others who will. I won’t lie to you. It’s over for you, but not yet for your family. Help me help them. If you refuse to talk, your wife and kid will be given to Rudolph as part-payment for the loss you caused. You do know what that means, right?”
Gustavo had never been cruel. Everyone knew it and often mistook the tranquility in his voice for a weakness. Now, listening to the calm baritone, Yugo watched Gaston realize his mistake. His chin trembled when he lifted his head, horror in his eyes.
