Page 18 of Gator

“He was fucking with our profits! I’ve been wanting a piece of your ass since you turned sixteen, but I held back, trying to be the good uncle.”

“You’re not my uncle. You’re nothing to me.”

“Oh, Dylan, you really are adorably stupid sometimes. Britton is wondering how his son is doing. Shall I send him to New Orleans to meet his baby?”

“He won’t get near me or my child.”

“Tell me where they are.”

“Never. You deserve whatever is coming your way. You and all your corrupt, disgusting business friends. You’re going to get everything you deserve.”

Gator, Cam, and Luke all gave a small smile to her. She was playing with fire, but she was doing a great job of antagonizing Hanz.

“I will kill them, Dylan. All of them. They’ve interfered in my business and the business of my associates long enough.”

“You mean the business of drugs, trafficking, prostitution, money laundering. Shall I go on?”

“You forgot Ponzi schemes and fraudulent bearer bonds.”

“Right, how could I forget that,” she muttered.

“I know they’re listening, Dylan. That’s what they do. Listen to conversations they shouldn’t. Well, hear me, REAPER-Patriots or whatever you’re calling yourselves now, I will come for you, and I will win. I will destroy you all, and I will be king of the hill among my peers.” He was silent for a moment, then spoke again. “Take care of Joey, Dylan. His father will want to visit him soon.”

The line went dead, and Dylan stared at the people around her. A million thoughts were swirling in her head. When Gator stepped forward, reaching for her hand, she looked up, her eyes rolling back in her head. He caught her just before she hit the floor.

“Get her to your cottage,” said Riley. “You’ve got some things to figure out.”

CHAPTER TEN

Gator stared at the snow-white face of Dylan as she slept on the sofa. Riley assured him that she was okay. She was just exhausted and emotionally drained.

“She’ll wake in a bit, Gator,” said Suzette. “This is a lot to process. To think that you were raped by one man who fathered your child, only to discover you were actually raped by two men, must have hit her hard. She did beautifully on that call, but she’s got a lot to process. We need to get her an appointment with Rachelle, Bree, or Ashley. At the very least, have her talk to Calla.”

“I’ll make sure we get her in to them,” he nodded. “What’s Hanz’s game? I mean, he’s known we were screwing with him for years. Why do all this now? Why put her in the middle of all this?”

“It’s another way to twist shit around and fuck with people’s lives,” frowned Hex. “Something big is happening with Hanz and the others. Chappo Ruiz is on the move. Literally. His home in Tampico was boarded up yesterday, and everything moved out. We have him on satellite moving toward Coatzacoalcos.”

“That’s a major shipping port,” frowned Gator. “Why there?”

“That’s a great question, but obviously, we suspect that he’s going to be moving something big. Either for himself or for Hanz.”

“What about the others in the group? Do we know who they were?” he asked.

“Hanz seems to have quite an eclectic group of friends,” frowned Hex. “We have Ruiz from Mexico, Messina from Italy, Romanescu from Russia, and Xi from Taiwan. Now ask yourself this. What would all those men be doing in one place?”

“Wreaking havoc,” frowned Gator. “They’re planning something big, and I don’t think it’s all about us. I think it’s a distraction to whatever else is going on.”

“Oh, I have no doubt they want us dead,” said Luke, “but I think that’s really Hanz’s thing. I think there’s something else happening that we need to figure out. Maybe we call Bodwick.”

“Bodwick,” repeated Gator. “That’s it. It’s the election in two weeks. Bodwick isn’t running again. We already know that, but what about the other candidates?”

“I try not to think about politics,” said Hex. “With Bodwick leaving, he worked hard behind the scenes to pick his successor. Aaron Frost has been a proponent for RP and now, hopefully, VG as well. Former Ranger, he was on a team with Eric for a while.”

“Good man?” asked Gator, staring at his big friend.

“One of the best, Gator, and that’s no bullshit. He’s a big bastard, all hard muscle and fierce expression. He did seven deployments before he retired. Got his law degree, immediately ran for Congress, and now he’s the front-runner for the presidency. He’s a straight shooter, no bullshit kind of guy.”

“The kind of guy Hanz and his friends wouldn’t exactly get along with,” frowned Gator. “Who’s the other candidate?”

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