The Family Business 3(19)
I explained my price, though he knew damn well what the million was for. “A million dollars to kill LC Duncan.”
“This is your problem, not ours.”
Elijah noticeably stiffened, and I can’t say I blamed him. It was taking everything in me not to go off on this old Jew for insulting me this way. If Bernie was anyone less powerful I might have snapped his neck on the spot. Given his position of power, though, I kept my temper in check as best I could.
“I don’t understand why you think I’m so stupid, Bernie,” I said through gritted teeth. “You didn’t come here to give me advice. You came here because you want us to do your dirty work—and I’m telling you it’s going to cost you one million dollars. I’ll throw in the rest of LC’s sons, especially that homewrecker Junior, for free. But I want a million dollars to take out LC.”
Bernie bit down on his lip. To be honest, I didn’t think his cheap ass would go for it. He looked like he was in actual pain when he finally said, “Fine, we’ll pay one million dollars, but I must have your assurances that nobody will know me or any of my people gave the order. And I mean nobody.”
“We don’t talk about our clients or the jobs we do for them. You know that.”
“Just make sure you kill the one they call Vegas too. Otherwise we’ll all have to sleep with one eye open. He’s a very dangerous man.” Bernie got up from his chair with a little help from one of his bodyguards. “Let me know when the job is done.”
I nodded. “So before you leave, you wanna tell me why you want the old man dead?”
Bernie turned to me with an annoyed expression. “For a million dollars, I don’t think I should have to tell you shit. Just get the job done, Xavier.”
I watched Bernie and his goons head out the door.
“What, Elijah?” I asked. I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel his gaze.
“I don’t trust him,” Elijah replied.
I turned to face him. “Neither do I, my friend. He’s hiding something, I just don’t know what it is yet.”
“You want me to look into it?”
“No. I’ll deal with Bernie Goldman. You go speak to our people on the street. I want to know everything there is to know about LC Duncan and his family.” I grabbed his arm. “And this time, Elijah, I want to know everything there is to know about the Duncans—both legal and illegal.”
Paris
12
Bam! Bam! Bam!
As I descended the basement stairs I could hear the distinct sound of a .38 being fired, and I knew exactly who was shooting before my feet hit the ground. I touched the cold steel of my nine, heading toward the gunfire. I probably should have gone back upstairs to get Sasha, but it had been a long time since I’d had an opportunity like this, and I wasn’t about to let her outshine me.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
As I turned the corner, I watched my father take aim and then place three rounds dead center. LC Duncan wasn’t one to go into the field anymore, but he was no joke with that .38 he always carried. I slipped in beside him, taking out the target next to his with three rounds of my own.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
He glanced over at me and smiled. We used to do this type of thing down in our basement shooting range all the time, before my son Jordan was born and I was still considered his baby girl. You can’t even imagine how much I loved my daddy.
He took off his protective ear covers.
“What you doing down here shooting, Daddy?” I asked.
“With everything going on, I figured I better make sure I keep my skills sharp. You never know.”
“True that,” I replied. “Orlando said you wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, where’s Sasha? I wanted to see you both.”
“She’ll be down in a minute.”
“Good. That’ll give us a little time to talk.” He put his headphones back on and started to shoot, taking out his target’s head.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
“Talk about what?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure if he’d heard me through the gunfire.
Lowering his gun, he turned to me and pulled the ear covers behind his head. “I’m worried about you, Paris.”
“Why? What’d I do now? I got my shit together.” He shot me a disapproving look. “I mean, I got my stuff together. I’m taking care of Jordan, being responsible, doing my job.”
He placed an arm around me. “I know that, but you don’t have to do anything for me to be worried, little girl.” I loved it when he called me his little girl. “Sometimes a father just worries.”
“You really worried about this mess with Junior, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but not in the same way I’m worried about you.”
I looked at him, confused. “Huh?”
“Rio told me what LaSalle said about Niles,” he said.
Just the mention of Niles’ name still caused my stomach to flip, but I couldn’t let Daddy know that. “Fuck LaSalle,” I shot back. “Niles is dead. I killed him myself, Daddy. Just like I killed LaSalle’s fat, lying ass.” Suddenly, I was on the verge of tears, and I wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it. Daddy pulled me in close, wrapping his arms around me.