Page 15 of Collateral Love
“Why?” I asked.
“Because he wanted control without accountability,” she replied. “And because you smelled ego on him before you smelled loyalty.”
Xavier let out a low whistle. “Damn shorty.”
I leaned forward, forearms on the table, voice dropping.
“You don’t know what I’ve done to protect what’s mine,” I said. “You don’t know what bodies I carry.”
She didn’t flinch.
“I don’t need to,” she replied. “Your reputation already tells me.”
I scoffed. “Reputation lies.”
“Patterns don’t,” she shot back.
I stared at her for a long moment, then reached into my pocket and set my phone on the table.
“You wanna talk patterns?” I said. “Tell me why this phone rang twice this morning.”
She glanced at it briefly.
“Because one of your runners is nervous,” she said. “And because nervous people talk.”
Xavier straightened. “Who?”
“Clearly, I don’t know,” she said. “But I know his type. He’s new. He needs validation. He spends money fast and asks too many questions.”
My jaw clenched.
“And?” I prompted.
“And he’s the one who’s gonna fold first,” she finished. “You should cut him loose.”
Xavier shook his head. “You can’t just?—”
“Yes, you can,” she interrupted. “And you should. Today.”
I laughed, sharp and humorless.
“You real comfortable telling me who to drop.”
“Because you’re already thinking it,” she said. “I’m just your conscience.”
That pissed me off more than anything else she’d said.
“You think you can read my mind now?” I snapped.
“No,” she replied. “I think I can read risk.”
I leaned back, studying her. The calm. The certainty. The way she wasn’t trying to dominate the room, but because she wasn’t trying, she already had.
“Alright,” I said slowly. “Let’s say I don’t drop him.”
She shrugged. “Then you eat the loss.”
“What loss?” Xavier asked.
