Page 115 of The Innovator

Once we settled inside my car, I said, “How did you fake your death?”

“I had intel that the organization was sending someone to kill me. These people won’t stop until the deed is done.” He looked out at the street where two teenagers rode their bikes on the road. “They attacked faster than I expected. I almost died, but I’d been working with my friend Viktor—Royce’s father—behind the scenes. He got me out and replaced me with a dead from the local morgue. The dead body wore my clothes.”

Royce’s father had been undercover with the organization trying to reveal who the elite members were, but he hadn’t been successful. Now, Royce’s parents were living a peaceful life in another country under different aliases.

I remembered Remi saying Slash had left a note requesting no one show up at his funeral because members of the organization would be present.

“Did you even have a funeral? Did your wife know about your fake death?”

He looked at me with regret in his eyes. “I couldn’t tell Maria. They were watching her too. She had to show her raw emotions. My poor baby was devastated. When things settled, I reached out to her. It took time for her to forgive me, but eventually she did. Thank God.” He pressed his palms together in prayer.

“How long did it take?” I asked, wondering when Natalie would forgive me.

“Six months of me showing my dedication and devotion.”

There was hope for Natalie and me.

“What did you do that needs forgiveness, amigo?”

“Something unforgivable.”

Slash waved a hand. “Anything can be forgiven if you do it right. You need to show your heart.” He tapped his chest. “Words mean shit. You need to prove what you want.”

The difference between him and me was that he’d been married for a long time, so he and his wife had a long history. Natalie and I were just embarking on a new journey, and I had crushed her. So her forgiveness might not happen.

Returning to the task at hand, I said, “Thanks for the intel on Natalie’s location. How did you find out?”

Slash placed an elbow on the armrest. “A dead man is like a ghost who can get things done better than one who’s alive. The person who ratted me out to the organization was Natalie’s aunt. Estelle LaRue is a ruthless woman, moving up the ranks. She asked me to kill someone for her. I told her I was busy with something. She didn’t like people saying no to her, so she complained to the organization, claiming I wasn’t loyal to them. She was right, but I wasn’t sure if she knew about my business outside of the organization or was making shit up because I didn’t do what she’d asked.”

I told him her real identity.

He shook his head. “She was trying to find her place in a crime world ruled by powerful people. No one is your friend, no one is truly loyal. It’s all about the money. If you make money for them, you’re valuable—to an extent. I’m happy to hear about her punishment. But they’ll get to her before she starts her prison sentence.”

I wanted to say that Uncle Derek had lasted longer than expected, but he’d had money stashed away and paid another organization for protection. I didn’t think Estelle was that prepared.

“I killed Adonis,” Slash said casually. “The guy was on steroids and other shit. He was lurking around your building too many times.”

He’d been aiding me from the shadows. “Thank you. You’re responsible for the collapse of The Prism?”

Slash nodded. “They’d been using parts of the building for their crimes. It had to go.”

I told him that the real estate now belonged to me.

“Good. Resurrect it. Clean it up. Make it better, amigo.” He looked at me with curiosity. “So, what’s your plan?”

“Club Diablo.”

“Ahhh . . . Yes, start there. How did you know to start with the clubs?”

“Uncle Derek.”

Slash nodded. “He came through at the end, didn’t he?”

I nodded, coming to terms with my feelings about my uncle. “He said the organization discovered videos of us flying drones that day. He’d deleted them. I don’t know if there are other videos around.”

“I deleted the ones I knew about,” Slash said. “I still have connections to the organization in ways they’d never know.”

Relief settled in me. “Good to know.”

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