Page 117 of Player

“You play the fool so well one forgets you’re quick on the uptake.”

“And yer compliments feel as gratifying as a dagger dragged across bone.”

“We’ll finish what we started first. O’Brien has buyers scheduled for pickup next week. You’ll take plate numbers until I arrive. I want a running record of everyone who comes and goes.”

I nod. Knowing what’s coming. Waiting for the ball to drop. A different man might show a bit ofleniency. But this is TORC business. For better or for worse, I’ve a job to finish.

“For a man with a big ego, O’Brien’s meticulously organized.”

Don’t. Say. It.

“But then so am I. No stone left unturned, not even the kind that holds a man down and makes him want to set up roots in the middle of an assignment.”

Feck. Here we bloody go.

“You had to fall for a reporter, didn’t you?”

This time, I don’t deny it. Maybe because the truth is settling in. Maybe because I’m shitting bricks over what he’s about to say. I won’t kill her. But given the chance, what I will do is save her.

“Get rid of her, immediately. That’s an order.”