Page 43 of Texas Hold Em'
Bates’s eyes narrowed and more smoke passed between his lips.
Behind me, Caroline stood with her arms crossed and shifted her weight to her right side. She sighed heavily, as if this was the most boring conversation she’d ever been privy to.
Her father ignored her. “I want them all. Each and every Devil dead. You hear me, Hart? This isn’t a train ticket out of here you can punch out without getting your hands dirty. I have bullets reserved for each one of those bastards.”
I lifted my chin. “I understand completely.”
The calculations continued in his bright blue eye.
Caroline strode forward. “May I propose we pick a place that this will all go down? Those Devils are always hanging around the construction site of The Well.” She cracked a wicked smile. “We could blow holes through their skulls and burn the bitch down again.”
Bates chuckled. “That’s my girl.”
Caroline puffed up like a proud peacock.
“No,” I said, careful not to speak too quickly and give away my anxiety. “We should lure them somewhere secluded outside of Reno. It has to be somewhere off the radar. The last thing we need so deep into this mess is interference. We can’t afford any variables that aren’t under our control. The Well is too exposed. Besides, you could never get the drop on them there. They’d have higher ground and they’d see you coming half a mile away.”
Bates stroked his chin. “I like the way you think, Hart.”
I could feel the energy shifting as the fountain continued bubbling behind us. He was beginning to believe me.
“I have to think like this,” I said. “Like I said, I want my life back. I can’t risk getting any deeper into all this bullshit than I already am. I’ve always been good at mitigating risk.”
Bates finally tossed his cigar on the cobblestones. “Fair enough. What location do you propose?”
I already had one in mind, but I feigned thoughtfulness and turned to the fountain. I gazed into the bubbling surface where water poured from the open beak of the eagle. It was a peculiar fountain and unlike one I’d ever seen before. Usually, fountains like this had sculptures of beautiful women or peaceful Buddhas. The stone eagle looked terriblyunpeaceful with sharp talons poised above the water, as if it were diving toward the surface to catch a fish.
The bird reminded me of Bates.
I turned to Bates. “What about the old landfill? It’s what, five or six miles out of the city limits? That should do. Not too far away for a quick getaway if necessary, but not close enough for someone to wander where they’re not supposed to.”
Caroline piped up. “Plenty of good places to wait in hiding, too.”
I nodded. “It’s perfect.”
“And how do we get all the Devils there?” Bates asked.
Caroline grinned. “Hart can handle that, can’t you, baby?”
I winced. “How am I supposed to do that? They don’t exactly trust me… especially Jackson. He thinks I’m a loose cannon.”
Bates chuckled. “Well, at least the man has some sense. It takes all the fun out of the kill when the prey is a dimwit without a fighting chance.”
My insides squirmed. Bates relished the kill more than he looked forward to running Reno without opposition. If someone had told me two years ago that I’d be standing on a patio with a man like him sharing a cigar and scheming to destroy eight men I was beginning to like, I’d have told them they were an out and out liar.
Bates pointed a finger at me. “You’ll bring all the Devils to the landfill on Friday at midnight.”
“This Friday?” I asked, perhaps a little too sharply.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“They’re going to think the landfill is suspicious,” I said. “How do I throw them off the scent?”
“That’s your problem Hart, not mine. Tell them whatever the fuck you want. You wanted a remote location? You got it. I don’t give a damn what you tell those fuckers so long as they believe you and are there at midnight. You can tell them you’re luring me there. I don’t give a damn. Just make it happen.”
Caroline shifted her weight and smirked. “Think you can handle it, Ranger?”
I lifted my chin. “Yes.”
