Page 38 of The Consigliere

“Whew. Heavy handed this morning. You never answered this yesterday. Did something happen at that ballgame you haven’t told your team about?” He laughed, the man knowing me as well as anyone. He’d served in the military as well, his expertise in weapons highly regarded. He’d also been injured, taken prisoner for almost two months. That had provided him with a distinct edge that both Max and I had been looking for when developing Powers Security. He was the best in the business, completely trustworthy.

That’s exactly the kind of people I needed around me right now.

“Just some personal shit I need to deal with,” I answered. As we both noticed the crowd, I tensed.

“I didn’t know you had a personal life.”

“Not much of one.”

“You need to learn how to relax. A vacation? Getting laid? I know it’s tough after what happened with that chick you were dating, but there are some nice girls out there.” Stephen gave me one of his looks. Around the office, we’d begun to call him Doctor Watson. Partially in reference to the famous character given his dog-eat-dog investigative skills, but mostly because he’d gotten into psychoanalyzing the entire crew.

“You said your piece yesterday. Okay? I got it.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah, but some things changed.”

“Anything I can help with?”

I thought about his offer. “Maybe.” He was as good or better than any henchman in any crime syndicate. He’d helped retrain Max’s soldiers.

“Say the word and I’m there.”

“I appreciate it.”

He snickered as if he knew exactly what was going on.

What I didn’t need at the moment was another reminder that I’d actually liked the actress more than I should have, our breakup putting me into a ridiculous tailspin. What I had learned was I was getting too old for the game playing involved with dating. “And I suggest you plug your thoughts, or I’ll do it for you.”

There were far too many people clamoring to capture a glimpse of Callaway. I’d read up on the man. Everywhere he went, he needed assurance of having his posse surrounding him. His behavior made me fucking sick to my stomach.

“Whoa. You really do need to get yourself a personal life.”

Given where we were standing and the requirement of professionalism, I couldn’t give him the finger like I wanted to.

“First task,” I snarled, purposely pulling away from anything personal. “You need to get these people out of the way. Don’t let them give you shit like usual.”

“I never allow them to give me shit.”

I threw him a look and he huffed.

“Fine. I’ll be more forceful for a change.”

“You do that.”

I pulled the car into the required parking space, immediately scanning the building to my right. There wasn’t a gated entrance, no security guard waiting to check the by-invitation-only guests into the esteemed meeting.

I noticed a single camera, although I suspected there as a second one in the back of the building. There were no walls surrounding the property or a single guard dog. There was a thick forest on two sides, roads leading to the property on the other two allowing ample access to the facility.

In other words, if someone wanted to eliminate Mr. Callaway, they could do so easily. It was possible we were fucked in our assignment. We’d been pressured to take this one by an old client, unable to provide assistance in setting up the meeting location.

“I’ll do what I can. Not the best scenario,” Stephen said in passing as he opened the door.

“Not at all. He’s due to arrive in five minutes. We remain close throughout the meeting. That’s all we can do at this point.”

After exiting our vehicle, I used the few minutes left to walk the grounds while Stephen did his best driving the thirty or so people back as far as possible. At least barricades had been provided at my insistence. We both ended up in the parking lot as an entourage made their way toward the facility.

I tensed as Mr. Callaway eased from his rental car, arriving from New York only this morning. We hadn’t been assigned to provide security to and from the airport, which was another mistake in my mind. I refused to fail, and this had all the markings of being the first in the corporation’s existence. I moved forward, the two female assistants accompanying him on the trip a noted hindrance.

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