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“Or we just fly under the police radar ’cause they care more about drugs and whores and alcohol.”

“Make no mistake; guns are a big fuckin’ deal.”

“Bigger than drugs?”

“Yeah, I dunno,” he sighed. “Maybe.”

“Whatever. Sounds like I got the easy job compared to the rest of you guys.”

“You’ll be the respectable one, and that’s necessary. You’re the guy who gets to go to grand openings and to campaign dinners and make donations. You’re the honey that’ll draw the flies that get caught in the web.”

“That’s quite the sinister metaphor there.”

He grunted. “Yeah, well. It’ll be shit to be you sometimes too. When some dirty politician realizes that you’re not as benign as you seem, there will be trouble. That’s why you’re gonna move. House, cars, Landry will have people watching his place, keeping him safe. The step you’re gonna take is for life. There’s no turning back.”

“Landry can’t ever be in danger, or my family, Gabe.”

“I know. Everybody knows. There are rules. The target will be on your back, Trev—just like mine, just like Rigel’s—but if they squeeze the trigger, it gets squeezed back, right? And who’s gonna fuck with the man who has Conrad Harris for muscle?”

The thing was, I wasn’t scared. I was at the shallow end of the pool; Gabe was the one navigating the shark-infested waters.

I studied his face. “I’m sorry it can’t be you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sorry you don’t get to be the mostly legitimate guy.”

“I should have thought of that before I did my three-year stretch. And once I was out, I should have gone straight instead of letting Adrian Eramo talk me into being his muscle and his man. The first time you pull the trigger, it’s over.”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“And that’s how I plan to keep you.” He smiled, leaning forward to squeeze my shoulder.

I took a deep breath. “What if Rigel gets killed, and then you, and I’m left alone without any backing? Then what?”

“Then you roll the dice and hope for the best. I’ll be dead. I won’t give a fuck.”

“Nice.”

“Just tellin’ it like it is,” he said and shrugged. “If I get hit, you’ll have to step up and be me, and then you won’t even be able to pretend you’re legit for the cops; they’ll know you’re dirty. And I’m sorry about that. But since we’re bein’ honest, I need to know that you have my back so I only have to worry about what’s in front of me.”

I understood that.

He put his hand on my cheek. “I know that you will never walk away from me. I knew that day in the hospital; I knew before that. Adrian was always a little jealous. I know he wished there was one guy who he could point to and say, ‘That’s my guy, and I trust him with my life.’”

“He trusted you.”

“Yeah, but he shouldn’t have.”

And I heard what he was telling me, that he had been the one who killed him. “Did it hurt?”

“No, it was fast. That was their concession to me.”

“If you ever have to do me, make mine the same.”

The slap was fast and sharp. I was startled as my hand went to my cheek.

“Fuck you, Trevan,” he snarled at me. “I brought you in, I just raised you up—you’re mine. What do you need me to do to prove it to you?”