Page 111 of Kai
My boss isn’t wrong to ask me.
And my reasons are definitely personal.
I lean back in my chair, and I give him the only answer I can.
“Because he put his hands on Mary when she told him no and he’s been trying to crush the school’s fundraiser for a new gym because of it. What kind of sniveling prick does that? Punishes an entire school because the woman he wanted refused him?”
“Fuck, Kai?—”
“No, listen,” I say, and I sit up straighter in my chair, “I know he’s connected to some bigwig politicians, but you want to know why I’m poking him, and the truth is somebody has to, Kane. And right now, that somebody is me.”
“Jesus Christ,” Noel mutters.
Across the line, I hear papers shuffling.
Keyboard clicks.
The sound of Ego laughing.
That asshole.
“Don't encourage him,” Noel snaps.
“I'm not,” Ego says immediately.
A beat passes.
“He's right, though,” Ego says, defending me.
He’s a still prick, but he can be a good brother sometimes.
“Of course you'd say that. You share the same caveman DNA.”
The line crackles and I shuffle the phone against my ear.
“No, seriously,” Ego continues. “So, I’ve had Jack digging deep into this guy, and he pulled some records.”
Now I'm paying attention.
“Talk.”
“Jonas is a slimy motherfucker. He’s been getting his palms greased every which way he can, skimming from local campaigns, withholding permits until certain demands were met—usually financial—and steering municipal contracts for years.”
That gets my attention fast.
I sit up straighter.
“What kind of contracts?”
“Construction.”
Noel sighs heavily.
“Municipal building renovations. Park improvements. Public works projects.”
“And anything with grant money attached,” Ego adds.
“Prick.”
