“I’m never stepping foot back into this cursed apartment,” Isaid.
Mr. Pruitt sighed. “Matthew…”
“Stop texting me! Don’t send crazy people to my office withletters and threats. Don’t contact me in any way. We’re done.”
“We are not done. I’ve been asking you for years to comespeak to me and the best you can do is show up in the middle of the night half lucid.This isn’t a game. You’re in danger, Matthew. I’m trying to protect you. Justlike I have been for years. This is a life and death…”
“You expect me to believe that you’re worried about me? Wherewere you after Brooklyn died? You never came to her grave. You never stopped bymy parents’ house to talk to me. You never gave a shit about everything youtook from me. So don’t stand there and pretend you care now. You don’t careabout me. And I don’t give a shit about you. So get it through your thickskull. Leave me and my friends the hell alone. “
Mr. Pruitt looked so calm. “You can’t keep blaming me forBrooklyn’s death. It wasn’t my…”
“It wasn’t your fault? You tricked her into loving you. Intotrusting you. And then you murdered her.”
“Murder is such a strong word,” Tanner said with a grimace ashe elbowed me in the ribcage.
“She agreed to the surgery,” Mr. Pruitt said. “She knew therisks. It was a misunderstanding at best.”
Misunderstanding? He’d murdered his daughter. “Is thathow you sleep at night? Watch your back, Mr. Pruitt. Because I have resourcestoo.”
“Are you threatening me?”
Damn right. “Enjoy one of your last nights in your ownbed.”
Tanner was staring at me like I was insane. He turned to Mr.Pruitt. “He doesn’t mean that,” Tanner said. “He hasn’t been getting much sleep.If you would just call off your hitmen, maybe...”
“Come at me with whatever you have,” I added. “I’m going tofucking destroy you.”
“Watch your own back, Matthew,” Mr. Pruitt said. “I’m nothaving you tailed. And you’re not in danger because of me. Despite what youthink, I’ve been protecting you for years. And if you refuse to thank me,consider my protection revoked. Come back to me once you’ve learned reason andan ounce of respect.” Mr. Pruitt slammed the door in our faces.
“I know you cry during the Titanic!” I yelled at the door. “Waituntil everyone finds out about that!” I laughed.
“Why are you laughing?” Tanner said. “He’s so fucking pissed.He’s definitely going to off you.”
“Good. Let him try.”
“What?”
I grabbed Tanner’s arm and pulled him away from the Pruitt’sdoor. “I want him to try to kill me. You said you got the information about thehitmen illegally so it can’t be used in court. So I’ll catch him in the act andget him sent to prison where he belongs. Attempted murder isn’t as bad asactual murder, but he’s old. Hopefully he’ll just rot in prison for the rest ofhis miserable life.”
“Oh. Oooh. Well, that’s a good idea. Minus the fact that youmight die in the process.”
“I’m not going to die. I have a plan.”
“Well…are you going to fill me in?”
It was fitting to make Tanner wait for something for once. Theonly problem was that I didn’t actually have more of a plan than what I’d toldhim. Seeing how angry Mr. Pruitt had gotten was what had given me the idea. I’ddug my heels in and gone all in by throwing more insults his way. There was nogoing back now. Surely Mr. Pruitt had murdered people for less. And I needed tothink of something fast or else I was an idiot. I’d just threatened a mobster.Maybe I was an idiot. An idea finally popped into my head. “James has prototypesof these little undetectable cameras…”
“You’re fighting with James. I doubt he’ll loan expensiveprototype cameras to you right now.”
Damn, that was a good point. I’d basically told James to fuckoff. “Well, Penny will let me borrow them.”
“You really think James is going to let Penny hang out withyou while you guys are in a fight? He knows you have feelings for Penny. Thatwas part of your argument.”
“Penny’s her own woman. She doesn’t need James’ permission tohang out with me. Besides, we have plans for dinner tomorrow night. She won’tcancel.” I think. She hated when I canceled on her. I doubted she’d doit to me. But that really depended on what she and James were talking aboutright now. She’d definitely overheard some of our conversation earlier. MaybeJames was telling her everything. The thought of Penny knowing about Brooklyngave me a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“A dinner date?” asked Tanner. “Nice. So you’re going toseduce Penny and then she’ll bend to your every whim?”
“No.” Maybe. No. “We’re friends. If I tell her I needthe cameras, she’ll give them to me. She won’t even ask any questions.” Thatwas a lie. Penny would definitely have a million questions about why I needed spy-gradecameras.
“Great. So you’ll get a hitman trying to kill you on filmwith a tiny, undetectable Hunter Tech camera. And somehow get away with theevidence and your life. That’s your big plan?”
“I’m open to suggestions.”
“Why don’t we just try to confront the hitwoman directly? Gether to confess to being hired to kill you before she actually has a chance tokill you?”
Damn, that was a much better idea. “I’ve tried to talkto her. But she always runs away. And she’s pretty fast.”
Tanner cracked his knuckles. “Not as fast as me.”
I stared at him. I’d never seen Tanner run. The closest washim hurrying to my car tonight and he was so unaware that I’d almost run himover.
“Don’t look at me like that. I’m quite the athlete. I’ve beenrunning more years than you’ve been alive.” He laughed because it made nosense. “As the saying goes.”
“I’ve never heard that saying.”
“You know what I mean. I’m fast. Much faster than you or ahitwoman.”
“If you say so.” I would have sworn I was faster than ahitwoman too. Maybe the heels on her boots were somehow powered to make hermove faster or something. Or she
