Page 16 of Long Live the King

After our embrace, Victor picks up his cigar again before speaking. “Leo was right to choose you. You could go far in this thing if you keep your nose clean.”

I take the compliment as an insult. Victor doesn’t respect my position as boss because he feels his seniority puts him above me. He’s condescending, and he’s doing it on purpose, but I have to let it slide.

There’s a time to be brave, and a time to be smart.

“We’ll talk soon,” I reply, then I nod to Frankie who finally leaves his post and follows me towards the garage door from which we came, bypassing the two men holding the machine guns, who glare at us.

Once we’re back in the truck, Frankie finally speaks.

“That was too fucking close,” he says behind a sigh of relief. “Half a million fucking dollars?”

“I know, it’s bullshit,” I answer. “But I didn’t really feel like dying today, so I did what I had to do. I didn’t realize he had us surrounded like that.”

Frankie exhales as he starts the SUV and drives away from the warehouse. “I know,” he says, “I was just glad you saw me before you said anything else. But what do you want to do about the money? Half a mil is no joke.”

“No shit. But we make that back in a day, fuhgeddaboutit. We’ll pay this cock sucker off, then it’s back to business as usual. We’ll be done with him. Call Jimmy and have him set up his crew to make the delivery first thing tomorrow morning. I want this shit over with as soon as possible, because if I have to meet this motherfucker face to face ever again, there’s no way I let him live through it.”