Page 57 of Two Sticky Nuts

He gasps. “Little Paul? No, not little Pauly.”

“I’m picking Pauly. Now, imagine he’s abducted from his room and there’s blood everywhere. Wouldn’t you want some security guru like yourself to try to help get him back?”

“Yes,” he says with sadness. “But if I tell you, it could ruin my business.”

“Why?”

“Because Miguel Gusano is my client.”

“You provide security systems for a drug lord?” I find that, well, stupid.

“Miguel is technically a farmer.”

“A farmer who helps his brother traffic drugs and who uses you for security.”

“Because they pay well,” he says.

“Money isn’t everything.”

“Tell that to Sofie. Miguel is one of her clients, too. It’s how she found me. Word of mouth.”

Sofie? My Sofie. “I will absolutely have a discussion with her about why she’s life-coaching criminals.”

“Maybe because they’re the ones who need it the most.”

“Good point.” Skippy isn’t completely stupid.

“I’ll send you the link to the video Carter recorded. But it’s definitely Roman Gusano, Miguel’s brother. All I ask is that you keep me out of it, okay? I’ll be losing my biggest clients to incarceration.”

Not exactly my highest nail right now. We need to find Carter. “Skippy, where do Miguel and his brother live?”

“They mostly spend their time here in Dallas. But I would be careful. They have excellent security.”

“Now’s not the time to boast,” I scold.

“Sorry.”

I have a thought. “Are you able to tap into their system so we can review any activity over the last twenty-four hours?”

“Of course.”

Then we’d be able to see if Carter is on the property. “And how hard would it be to get in there if the system were to suddenly shut down?”

“Easy. Especially if you waited for Miguel and his brother to leave for the day, which they always do.”

I like it. Except for one thing: “Why did Miguel’s brother take Carter?”

“Watch the video. Look, I gotta go.”

“I’ll call you later,” I say.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t, but I get the feeling that won’t deter you.”

“Nope. Bye-bye.”

A few moments later, Skippy sends the link. I click it and hit play.

Holy shit.Carter really is a nut. And he’s definitely gotten himself into a sticky situation.

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