Curtis (21 page)

“He doesn’t strike me as the joining
type. I mean, he seems so straight about everything.” Vaughn hadn’t realized he’d
spoken out loud until McKnight turned to him again. “I’m sorry.”

McKnight shrugged. “If he doesn’t join
forces with me then he’ll be as dead as that man.” He looked over at the man in
question. “I’m easy. Yes or no. Either way, I’m a happy man.”

Insane was more like it. Vaughn licked
his lips when McKnight took another line of his stuff. Vaughn was shaking with
need now and he wanted to knock the other man away and bury his nose in the
stuff. It had been hours since he’d had a good hit and he was hurting badly. He
was about to ask for it when the door opened behind them. He nearly wet
himself.

“Car’s ready. Guns are loaded too.” This
man looked twice the size as the one on the floor. When the man looked at the
one near Vaughn, he nodded toward him. “Want I should put him with the others?”

McKnight nodded. Others? There had been
his grandmother and this one. Had he killed his staff as well? He wanted to ask,
but was afraid of what his answer would be.
“Yes,”
maybe, and,
“you’re
going to join them.”

Vaughn felt his bladder loosen. He stood
suddenly and didn’t even stop when the gun was lifted again. He dashed past the
man in the doorway and down the hall. The laughter that followed him didn’t
faze him as much as not wetting his pants did. He made it to the toilet just as
another spasm hit him. Christ, he was going to piss himself.

It took him nearly twenty minutes before
he moved out into the hall. He’d had a good talking with himself and felt
marginally better about things. Not perfect, but better. He walked into his
office to see McKnight standing next to the safe in his office.

“You know the combination to this
sucker?” He spun the dial again and looked back at him. “It more than likely
has more money in it than what’s in the wall.”

“I tried. Even as I beat my father to
death I couldn’t get him to tell me it. I think it’s in that book, but I can’t
figure out how.” He sat down again, but didn’t reach for it. The book held all
sorts of secrets, he was sure. “Mary didn’t know it either. We think it has
something to do with my mother, but she’s gone into hiding by the Feds.”

“Yeah, I know. We tried to find her
thinking to get to control you with her. But it wasn’t until afterwards that we
figured out you didn’t know shit about her either. Mary did, but she wasn’t
giving her up. I think she figured your mother was useless to her.” He laughed.
“I guess we were both wrong about her.”

He thought he was talking about Mary and
him, but didn’t comment. Vaughn didn’t know she had existed until a few days
ago. How could he have known whether or not she knew dick?

The phone rang. He reached for it, as
McKnight did. When he backed up with that smile on his face that said,
“go
ahead, you won’t be around all that long anyway,”
Vaughn picked up the
phone with a shaky hand.

“Hello, we were calling to speak to the
owners of the household. We were wondering if you had a few minutes to answer
some questions. We’re asking all your neighbors who they would vote for this
fall.”

Vaughn glanced up at McKnight, sure he
was laughing at him. “I don’t vote.” He nearly hung up the phone when he heard
the voice on the other end speak again. This time, the hair on his arms danced
and his blood ran cold.

“No, but you should have. Then you would
have been in fucking jail instead of screwing around in my life. There’s been a
change of plans.”

Vaughn sat down hard when Hunter spoke
again, this time quicker than before.

“You’ll meet me at the building in one
hour. If you don’t, then I’m taking the money out and you’ll never see a thin
dime of it.”

The phone went dead. He laid the
receiver into the cradle and closed his eyes. This wasn’t going to make
McKnight happy and would probably get him killed. He turned to the man when he
thought he could do so without begging for his life. “That was Hunter. He said
I either meet him at the newspaper in one hour or he’d take the money now.”

 McKnight shook his head then smiled.

“He doesn’t sound as if he is worried
about us.”

“He’s not because he doesn’t know about
me. That’s because you’ve been a pussy about this for so long he knows you’ll
be begging him to take the money so you won’t go to prison. But he doesn’t know
not to fuck with me. I’m going to be taking over the building, the money, and
his fucking life as soon as this is over. And when it’s over, it’s going to be
my way and not the way of the little shit who thinks he’s in charge.”

Vaughn waited to be shot. He waited for
the gun to go off and him not to be around any longer. When he heard a shuffle
he looked at the doorway and watched as McKnight walked through it. He nearly
got up to lock him out when he came back.

“Come on, asshole. We have less than an
hour to get to the fucking building and kill the cocksucker.”

Vaughn was so happy to be allowed to
live he nearly fell over the stool getting to the door. He was in the limo when
he realized that he wasn’t armed.

The car was his. He’d know this thing
anywhere. It was custom to his needs and wants. The driver, however, was not.
So when he was told to slide into the corner and behave, he did so without
hesitation. There was a gun hidden between each door and seat and he was just
reaching for it when McKnight spoke to the driver.

“Have you cleaned this?” The driver
nodded. “Good because if he comes up with a gun or something else that might
get me hurt then I’m going to feed you your nuts. Then I’m going to kill you. Understood?”

Vaughn had a feeling he was asking him
if he understood that he too was going to be a dead man, but said nothing. What
would have been the point? He looked out the window and thought about what the
fuck had gotten him here. Drugs and money, or the lack of money he supposed. But
it had cost money to start out, money he didn’t have. And when he’d been approached
by someone saying they could help him out, he’d nearly drooled at the thought
of limitless funds. And they had been limitless at first. By the time he’d been
nearly sixty million in debt to this man, he now knew, he was beyond ever
paying any of it back. And from the looks of things he wasn’t going to have to.

The ride to the building took just under
twenty minutes. There was only one vehicle in the front of it and the gates
were open. There was no sign of the dogs Mary had told him about, nor were
there any guards. He wondered now if there had been either and decided that it
mattered little. They each got out of the car and his driver was told to stay
behind.

“‘Kay, boss.” The man looked like he ate
a cow, the entire beast, for lunch. “Be right here for you.”

Chapter 17

Curtis looked around the room again. He’d
been told where to stand and not to move. The little microphone in his ear
bothered him, but not too much. Every time someone spoke to him, he nearly
jumped out of his skin. He was getting used to it now because someone had
started playing music softly so he wouldn’t be startled again. He looked out
the window when he heard a car pull in.

“He’s here. It looks like there is one
in the front seat and one…no, make that two in the back. Are you doing okay,
Curtis?”

Curtis nodded at Mann, forgetting that
he couldn’t see him. But the others could, all ten of the Special Forces that
were hiding around inside the building.

“Two? Who else is with him?” Curtis
stepped away from the window and leaned against the nearest printer. “Should I
be worried?”

“No. We’ve got you covered from head to
toe. And you were right about Kylie. She’s now under lock and key. She nearly
slipped past one of my men in an attempt to go to you.” Curtis smiled at the
man’s frustrated voice. “She’s a little spitfire, isn’t she? She took out two
of my men before she was subdued.”

“Just so you know.” Curtis stood when he
heard the door below him open. “You hurt her and I will rip you apart limb by
limb and then piss on your dying body.”

The two men walked through the doorway
just as he heard Mann sputtering. Curtis didn’t get mad often, but when someone
fucked with what was his then all bets were off. And he was as serious as it
came when it came to Kylie. “You were to come alone. This is not a fucking tea
party.” The smaller man stopped and the larger man, one that Curtis knew
immediately was in charge, bumped into him. “If you have business with
LaMancusa, then you do it on your own time.”

The man laughed and knocked LaMancusa
out of his way. There was something cold and calculating about this man. He was
a killer and Curtis felt sweat trickle down his spine.

“Oh, you can conduct your business with
him. I’m going to be here as a…let’s just call me a casual observer. Continue
as if I’m not even here.”

Curtis was doubtful that was possible
even if LaMancusa didn’t look like he was terrified. “And you would be?” Curtis
didn’t think he’d answer him and was surprised when he did. But the cursing in
his ear didn’t make him feel any better about the introduction.

“I’m Lambert McKnight. Have you ever
heard of me?”

Curtis shook his head and tried his best
to ignore the voice in his head.

“I thought not. You’re much too
straight-laced to have been in my circles.”

“He’s one of the biggest mob bosses ever
to come to this part of the country. Hell, probably the world. He’s been
connected to more crimes than Capone ever was.”

Great news,
thought Curtis.
Now fucking what?

“Don’t piss him off.”

Curtis thought right then and there that
he was going to shoot Mann. The man and his helpful advice notwithstanding,
Curtis wasn’t happy with him. Trying to calm his pounding heart, Curtis leaned
against the press and smiled. “But my business is with him.” He nodded toward
LaMancusa. “Him I know, you not so much.”

“Are you fucking trying to get yourself
killed?”

Tempted to take the bud out of his ear,
Curtis tried once again to ignore him.

“I said
not
to piss him off, not
to
try
and piss him off.”

“True. You don’t. But we can fix that. How
would you like to be rich beyond your wildest dreams? How would you like to
have more women and more places to go than anyone you know?”

Curtis shrugged.

“Oh come now, Hunter, you have to have
more aspirations than simply being a flunky for your older brother?”

“No. I love my family and I have more
money than I can spend right now. And in a few weeks, I’ll have more woman that
I can handle. My lovely wife. I’ll have a great deal more when I open that wall
up and see what’s inside.” Curtis didn’t look at the place where the money was
hidden. “I could simply take what is rightfully mine or split it with that
moron and still have what I—”

“
Hey
.” LaMancusa finally spoke
up. “That’s not very nice and the deal was that I would let you live and you’d
give me what is rightfully mine.”

Curtis looked at the man. He was stupid
if he thought that he was coming out of this with anything more than he had in
his pockets right now. And when he glanced at McKnight he thought LaMancusa
would more than likely not make it out of this building.

“As I have said to you countless times,
the money does not belong to you. You can try and take it, but I can tell you
right now that I will hunt you down and take more from you than you took from
me.” Curtis stood straighter and stretched. “I’m tired of this shit. We end
this right now.”

Before he could move toward the door or
to even say the word that would bring the cavalry running, McKnight agreed with
him. “Right you are, Hunter. Right you are.”

The gun was out and pointed at him. Curtis
froze for a few scant seconds then the gun was pointed at LaMancusa. The report
of the weapon going off nearly had him cry out, but he was too scared to move.

“What happened? Curtis? Tell me to come
in. Mother fuck, he’s been shot. I need—”

Curtis spoke before Mann could give the
men around him the all clear to come out. “You killed LaMancusa. Why?”

“That’s just fucking great. He killed a
man right in front of you. Give me the okay to come in. We have enough now to
put him away for a few years. Not as much as I’d like, but—”

“I have my reasons. Now it’s just you
and me. And whoever else you have in this building.” Curtis didn’t move. “Oh I’m
not nearly as stupid as the man I just killed. And you’d be stupid to come here
without support or back up. But you have to know that you’ll be a dead man
before they can come here and my man downstairs will get me out before I ever
make it to any jail.”

“I’m listening.” Curtis hoped that Mann
was as well. Curtis wasn’t quite ready to die just yet. “The money is all yours
if there is any.”

“There is. I’ve been doing research as
well.” McKnight looked at the wall. “You know it as well. Billy Trust wasn’t
the only person in the FBI building that has loyalties elsewhere.”