He’s the latter.
Without blinking, I lay my cards on the table. “I’m a business owner here in the uptown area. And my business? I run a casino.”
There’s a dryness in Monahan’s tone. “You don’t appear to be a Native American to me. I’m guessing this so-called casino isn’t held on an Indian reservation, and isn’t licensed?”
I don’t blink. “Your guess would be correct.”
I lean back, studying me. “And this is how you came into contact with my victim?”
I tell him how I first met Marcus, and what happened the last night I saw him alive.
“I think that if I open the G-Ring tonight, the shark that Marcus owed will show. He wants that money, and he wants me, the only witness, dead. I’m the link you need to bring him down.”
Silence blankets the table. Detective Monahan steeples his hands again, drumming his index fingers together, all the while staring at me.
“We’ll give you immunity, but your little ring is shut down after tonight for good.”
“That’s exactly what I want. I’m looking for a new line of work, anyway.”
He snorts. “I bet you are.”
“So we have a deal?”
“We’ll have eyes and ears with you tonight at your location. We have a deal.” Monahan nods.
I take a single sip of the coffee the waitress brought back moments ago, and then push up from the booth.
My next stop? Kevin and Counts. We have work to do to prepare for tonight.
Twenty-Five
ACE
“You sure this will work?”
Counts, Kevin, and I stare up at the tiny, nondescript camera lens hidden in the EXIT sign on the door leading to the back hallway in the warehouse that houses the G-Ring.
“Damn right it will.” Kevin sounds annoyed that I’d even question his skills.
“Sound, too? If I’m gonna have enough to nail this guy, I need there to be sound.”
My discussion with Detective Monahan earlier today is ever-present in my mind. It seems Marcus isn’t the only one running scared from the newcomer, and he’s breaking all kinds of laws with blatant disregard for the police and the unspoken rules of the underground. I agreed to work with the cops because it’s the best thing for my future. Sure, I’ll have to give up the Ring, but this whole mess will be over. And if I’m living clean, I can go on to get the business degree I’ve always wanted. Become a legitimate businessman.
Maybe even become good enough to be with Naima.
Being with her last night made everything so much clearer. She’s the kind of girl guys wait their whole lives to meet, and I’m lucky enough to have crossed paths with her at this point in my life.
That gives me time, to clean up and earn her. And then I’m going to keep her.
It’s time to get my shit together.
I have enough money put away to put myself through college, and I’ll help Carson manage the bar until I graduate. I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep Naima by my side.
“Sound, too,” confirms Kevin. “Aren’t the cops gonna be outside, monitoring their own bugs?”
I nod. “The ones they installed earlier this afternoon? Yeah. But I don’t trust anyone but myself to get this right, Kev. If they miss something, I want to have it recorded.”
Counts frowns. “They’ll bust it up if they need to, right?”
Nodding again, I glance at the invisible camera. Satisfaction and anxiety pierce my chest at the same time.
Let’s do this.
I turn to my other friend. “Now get out of here, Counts. Don’t want you around once shit goes down.”
Counts glares. “Ain’t leavin.’”
I roll my eyes skyward. “Counts…”
He steps up to me, our noses even but I’m heavier and Counts has never had size on me.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not made of brave stuff. “I’m not going anywhere, Ace. Thick and thin with us, right?” He stares at me, challenging me to deny the fact that our friendship has withstood miles of bullshit.
I can’t, so I just lift my chin in reluctant agreement. “Stay out of the fray.”
He salutes me and then wanders over to the craps table.
The first knock sounds at the door about half an hour later. X brought his bouncer friend Luke to help him man the door. I asked for help beefing up security, and Luke was the obvious choice. A rough-around-the-edges sort of dude who grew up in the hood directly across the street from the high school Counts and I attended, he loves a good rumble. And he’s probably packing, too, which is just a bonus in this situation.
Carson sent over another employee from The Corner with X and along with Borg, they’re all stationed at different areas of the warehouse interior. I feel safe with them surrounding me, but even if I didn’t, I’d still be doing this. There’s only two ways out of this situation, and this is the only one I can control. That won’t end with me going down for a murder I didn’t commit.
I know whoever the mystery shark is didn’t expect me to go to the cops. He figures my hands are as dirty as his, and that’s where he’s wrong.
It’s this crucial mistake that I’m capitalizing on.
Right now, I couldn’t be more thankful that Naima is far away from all of this. I asked Carson to stay on the sidelines and be with her, because I don’t trust anyone else with her safety.
I’m keeping a low profile tonight. As rich college boys stream into the warehouse, choosing where to place their bets or what table game to play, I patrol the outskirts of the group, keeping an eye on every guy, the girls they brought, and the money passing hands. My skin stretches tight every time I think about the fact that my whole dynasty here is on video tonight. Detectives are watching from a live feed somewhere outside, and my own little hidden camera catches almost everything going down in this room.
I shudder. It’s against everything I believe in,
