Going through his emails, I had learned that he had a rented storage space. I also knew he was taking a bigger cut of the money than his accomplices had agreed to, making my plan more plausible. I found a video from a few months ago, in which he was clearing out the safe wearing the very same outfit he wore while talking to Logan. Hooray for the male fashion sense!
“Baby?” Claire’s voice broke my concentration. I just grunted to acknowledge her presence, but refused to take my eyes off the screen. “We’re all packed. You sure it’s safe for you...”
“Uh huh.” I answered.
“Don’t be careless.” Aaron said. “We love you!”
“Hm.” was all they got back from me as I continued my task.
Claire and Aaron stood in my doorway for a while watching me, seemingly waiting for me to say anything more, but I no longer cared about their promises and assurances. The night I spent with Claire had done a surprisingly good job at reminding me how much I actually yearned for a little closeness with them. Not the sex, mind you, but the way she held me after the sex. With their behavior at the meeting in Bill’s office and seeing their reactions to Golden Boy’s repeated betrayal, however, I was once again convinced there was no future to this.
One way or the other, I would be gone once this was over.
“You can’t really blame your brother.” I suddenly heard Bill’s voice, pulling me back to reality.
“Are you serious!?”
“I know you’re pissed he threw you under the bus. But you can’t really blame him for it.”
“And why the fuck not?” I asked, not believing my ears. Of all the people in my life, Bill was the last one I expected to stab me in the back or support my backstabbing brother.
“Because this isn’t some action movie with him in the main role, Kid. He’s not some Rambo-type who laughs death in the face, or some CIA-Agent trained to withstand torture. That’s not how the real world works. He was obviously scared out of his mind and would’ve told them whatever could’ve gotten them off his back without even thinking about it.” he explained calmly. “I’m not saying you can’t be angry with the little fucker. From what I understand, this whole situation only exists because he made one bad decision after the other. But I am telling you that you can’t blame him for what he did in that particular moment.”
“You
“Look ... it’s easy for outsiders to claim they wouldn’t have done it. But the truth is, nobody can know how they would react in a situation like that, until they actually find themselves in a situation like that. Now, I know you’re not planning to wait for the bookies crew to show up on your doorstep. You already have an idea. Whatever it is, it won’t work if you spend the night fuming over what we just saw. So, what are you thinking, kid?”
I looked at him for a while, but ultimately had to agree with what he said. I had to concentrate instead on my task instead of making up scenarios of how to punish Logan.
I still wasn’t sure if I should tell him what was brewing in my head, though. The family seemed to be gone, and Bill was the one I felt was the most trustworthy person in my life. I didn’t want to risk that. But still, I needed that bookie off my back. Permanently. The implications and probable consequences of what I was about to do, however, weren’t exactly something I’d want others to know about. But at the same time ... Bill had helped me more times than I could count. I sighed and resigned myself to simply trusting him.
“I’m going to steal the money he’s supposed to clean, and ... make it look like he stole it himself.” I carefully answered, watching his face for any indication of disapproval. I couldn’t find any. In fact, like so often, I couldn’t find an indication for any type of emotion on his face.
“You know what kind of people gave him that money. And what they’ll do to anyone stealing from them.” he stated simply. Just like his face, his voice also showed no judgment.
“You know what they’ll do to Claire, Ava, Danielle, and Maggie if I don’t do this.”
He watched me intently for a while. I felt like he was trying to gauge my resolve. Then he spoke again.
“How you gonna do it?” he asked as he moved closer to me, looking at my monitor.
