Page 69

ADRIAN

A loud bang had me looking up from the stack of files on my desk just as my office door was swinging open.

Hitting the wall with a thud and more than likely denting the new drywall.

I tossed my glasses aside and rubbed at the bridge of my nose.

Reminding myself it wasn’t Donnie’s fault.

Fucker didn’t know his own strength. And he really was making progress.

Speaking almost full sentences without nearly as many violent outbursts.

As for the sex addiction, couldn’t do much about that. He was a prisoner to his dick. I glanced over at the email I’d just sent to Marisela.

Okay, maybe he wasn’t the only one.

“What is it, Donnie?” I paused, giving him enough time to process the question and try to formulate an answer. Press him too hard, too quick… and something was getting smashed .

“Man here. For you.”

I nodded once. “Send ?em in.”

Donnie stepped aside, and I realized he meant literally here. As in, right outside the door. But that wasn’t the curious part…

I kept my expression neutral, gesturing to the chair in front of my desk. “It’s been a long time. How can I help you, John?”

He was sweating. His knee bouncing up and down while his right hand tugged at his collar. Obvious signs of distress, mixed with a touch of guilt and desperation. “I need a favor.”

I clasped my hands together and leaned forward. “As in a consultation? A patient giving you trouble?”

He shook his head. “This is, ah, more of a personal matter.”

“Are you ill, John? Please tell me it’s nothing serious.”

“No, nothing like that.” He glanced from side to side, like he was afraid he was being watched. He was, of course. Bugs wouldn’t have it any other way. “It has to do with my finances.”

I tsked my tongue, and he shrank back in his seat. “Now, John, we both know I am not in the business of dishing out loans.”

“No… but someone mentioned you were in the business of… something else.”

“Someone and something…? You’re going to have to be more specific than that.” I quirked a brow.

“Like taking someone out. Like making sure they can’t talk,” he said cryptically.

“Once again, I need specifics, John. Or else stop wasting my time. Someone who? And what is it you’re afraid of them saying?”

“A colleague. A student?—”

“You want me to murder a kid for you?” I lifted a palm to my chest and did my best to appear offended. When really I was just fucking with him. Enjoying the way he cowered in on himself. In my office. In my facility. In my city.

“No! He’s a resident. An adult,” John was quick to clarify.

“Right, okay then, what did this adult do to warrant you wanting to off him?”

“He’s blackmailing me. Threatening me, threatening everything I’ve worked for.”

“I see… and what does he want?”

“Money.”

“So give it to him.” I shrugged. “I don’t see the problem, John. Pay him to keep his mouth shut and I’m sure this will all blow over without us having to resort to cold-blooded murder.”

“I did! I have been!” John was yelling now, up on his feet and pacing in front of my desk. “He just keeps asking for more. It’s been months. It’s not gonna end, Adrian. I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. It’s never gonna end.”

“I see. You’re right. That is a problem.” I nodded.

“Okay! So you get it now. I don’t have any other choice. ”

“And you’re sure it’s him. This student of yours?”

John raked an agitated hand through his hair. “It couldn’t be anyone else. No one else knows about me… about what I… about my preferences. No one except him… and you. But you aren’t?—”

“I’m not what, John?” I grunted, daring him to give me a reason. Just one fucking reason to jump across this desk and wrap my hands around his throat.

“Not ya know .”

“No, I don’t know so why don’t you explain it to me?”

“Not like that.” He gestured a hand in the air. “You’re… loyal.”

I twisted my scowl into a polite smile. “You’re right. I am loyal, John. To those around me, those in my very tight circle. To those I respect and admire and trust with my secrets.”

“Exactly!” He clapped his hands together, relief dripping down his face and moistening the edge of his collar. “Did I ever tell you that you were like a son to me, Adrian?”

“No,” I forced out between clenched teeth. “Never. Not once. But you know what? You sure as hell always treated me like a father.” I didn’t give the words a chance to sink in before adding, “I’ll tell you what… I’ll take care of this little problem for you. For a price.”

He nodded, his glasses shifting up and down on his nose each time his chin tapped his chest. “Yes, of course. You name it. But… it needs to look like an accident. Can’t have this leading back to me.”

“Accidents take time, John,” I sighed. “Planning, research… Wh at’s this guy’s routine? Does he have any hobbies? A girlfriend?”

John just stared back at me. “Uh, I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maybe?”

I didn’t bother responding, jabbing a finger against the intercom that I knew was already on and listening. “Bugs?”

“Yes, Dr. Lambert, how can I assist you?” the kid replied, much more formally than usual. It was all for show. A way to ensure our customers got the full experience.

“Dig up everything there is to know about a Mister….” I looked to John, waiting for him to fill in the blanks.

“Michaels. Cohen Michaels.”

I dipped my head in acknowledgement. “Dig up everything there is to know on a Cohen Michaels, a med student with a residency at Northwestern.”

“Got it, boss,” he signed off, and I returned my attention to John, who was staring at me with a puzzled look on his face.

“Bugs?” he questioned.

“Best if we keep things impersonal. Plausible deniability and all that,” I explained. “Now that that’s settled, we have to go over a little housekeeping. We only accept cash. Upfront. I am sure you understand the reasoning.”

I waited for John to slip back out the door with his tail between his legs before calling the boys into my office. Bugs was the first to appear, probably because he never stopped listening.

“So let me get this straight…” He leaned a shoulder against the jamb, arms folded over his chest and ankles crossed. “The guy we’ve spent close to a year blackmailing, just dropped in to the place he helped pay to upgrade, offering to give us a ridiculous amount of cash to take out the wrong guy?”

I lifted a noncommittal shoulder, allowing the smirk to spread across my face. “In our line of work, we call that double dipping.”

Instead of replying, Bugs stumbled forward as Casper barged his way inside the room, tossing a thumb behind him. “Who was that?”

“That was John… Dr. John Rath. Our newest client.”

Casper glanced towards the door before looking back at me again. “Kinda looks like a weasel.”

“That’s because he is one.”