Page 141 of Stains of Desire
"Sit down so we can talk," Gustave orders.
Louis cautiously chooses the armchair. Gustave and I sit on the couch.
"What have you come here to tell me?" Louis asks.
"As you're aware, I rescued Penelope Chelton, the woman who works for the British embassy in Panama."
"And?"
I arrogantly grin. "Let's just say I got a little close to her."
"You got laid. Big deal. What's the real news?"
I snort. "I learned her secrets. Or should I say, your secrets?"
He taps his fingers on his thigh and glances at Gustave. He says something in French, and they have a short conversation. I don't understand a word, and it doesn't help my flipping stomach.
"Tell him," Gustave says in English.
I sit back in my seat and cross my arms. I intentionally glance between the two men. "You know, I think I need to double what you're going to pay me for my information. I'm ready to enjoy life a bit more, know what I'm saying?"
"I told you two million," Gustave says.
"I want four."
"Two," Gustave replies.
I rise. "Let me know when you're ready to pay."
I take one step, and Louis sternly barks, "Sit down."
"Wire the extra money first," I instruct Gustave.
He scowls at me but pulls out his phone, makes a bank transfer, and shows me the screen. "Enough now. Sit back down."
I sit and put my feet on Louis's coffee table to irritate him.
He sneers but says nothing.
"Penelope told me you were at Santiago's compound." I pause, knowing Gustave is going to cut up the recording and edit it to our advantage, then add, "Several years ago."
He glances back at Gustave.
"He knows. Just be glad he came to me. We can do damage control now."
Louis relaxes slightly. "What about it?"
"You had a discussion with Santiago, the President of the United States, and the U.K. Prime Minister."
"So what?"
"You know what conversation I'm speaking of? Taking down Jonas Torres was the topic."
His face hardens. "Jonas, Santiago, Jorge... I've had conversations about taking every one of them down. What's your point?"
"You discussed Jonas Torres's expansion plans he told you in confidence. It gave Santiago a head start to slow him down. You asked the prime minister not to give Jonas any more leniency in his country. In this meeting, you made plans for the prime minister to tighten the amount of drugs Jonas smuggled into the U.K. so Santiago could take over his zone."
"Why are you bringing this up?" Louis asks.
