The Belial Stone (The Belial Series #1)(9)

He didn’t worry about whether the professor would follow his orders. He knew he would. He’d tapped into two of the professor’s most motivating emotions: fear and greed.

He idly brought up the laptop’s browser and glanced at the last few sites Drew had visited. None were problematic, except, maybe…

He opened the email page and spent a few minutes hacking into the program. He glanced at the emails Drew had sent over the last day. Most were innocuous: notes to students about class, one to his mother, a few bills he’d paid online.

The last email, though, was to a Delaney McPhearson. It had an attachment. He opened it and then cursed softly. Damn it, more fires to put out.

He looked up as the door opened from the bedroom across the living room. An Asian man, dressed in a tight black t-shirt and a long leather coat, crossed the room.

“I’m heading out. Are you sure you don't want to join me?” Paul Cook raised an eyebrow as he caught Gideon’s eye. “Problem?”

“Yes. It seems, brother, we have another fire to put out. I need you to track down a woman named Delaney McPhearson.” Gideon switched to a search engine and typed in her name. “She’s a professor of criminology at the University of Syracuse. She lives just outside of the city, in a town called Dewitt.”

Paul crossed to the island and poured himself a glass of wine. Leaning against the island, he took a sip. “Okay. Any reason you can’t handle it?”

Gideon grimaced. “I have to head to D.C. to deal with the Senator. He's getting antsy.”

“Ah, and you need to play lap dog.”

Gideon glared at him.

Paul chuckled and raised his hands. “Just kidding. I know we need to keep the Senator happy. His happiness ensures our success. So, this professor, what do I do when I find her?”

Gideon’s voice was steel. “Eliminate her.”





CHAPTER 6



Albany, NY



“Where is he?” Jake Rogan slammed K-Dogg into the alley’s brick wall. Pieces of mortar chipped off the already crumbling bricks.

Dressed in torn, baggy jeans, a wife-beater and some chains, K-Dogg was reputed to be one of the toughest members of the G7s. He wore torn, baggy jeans, a wife-beater and some chains, and although they were about the same height, he easily outweighed Jake by about forty pounds of muscle.

Jake wasn’t worried. A former Navy SEAL, he’d faced a lot tougher individuals than a gangbanger with control issues. In the mood he was in, he’d take on the whole gang to get the answers he needed.

“Man, I told you. I don’t know,” K-Dogg replied. Jake knew he was trying to sound angry, but the tremor in his voice made that impossible.

Jake wanted to smash his face into pulp. He was the one who’d pulled his foster brother into the G7s. He glared at K-Dogg, pressing his forearm harder against his neck. “I am not asking again.” He enunciated each word. “Where. Is. He?”

K-Dogg grabbed at Jake’s arm, but couldn't budge it. “Damn it, man. I don’t know! We ain’t seen Tom since he got out.”

Jake studied K-Dogg’s face, trying to gage his sincerity. With a growl, he shoved him towards the back of the alley. “So tell me, how come you haven’t talked to him? He’s one of you.”

K-Dogg looked over Jake’s shoulder.

“Don’t even think it,” Jake warned.

K-Dogg put up his hands. “Wasn’t thinking nothing.”

“Tom?” Jake prompted.

“Yeah, Tom. He’s still one of us. G7 for life, man.” K-Dogg raised both hands, seven fingers pointed down, the gang’s sign.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re real bad asses. Now, how come you haven’t seen Tom if he’s G7?”

K-Dogg looked away and shrugged. “No reason. We just went our separate ways.”

Jake was done dancing around. He grabbed K-Dogg by the arm, twisted it and then shoved him against the wall, one hand shoving his head into the brick.

“Shit, man. Let me go,” K-Dogg screamed.

“No more bullshit.” He twisted K-Dogg’s arm. He knew with a little more pressure, he could break it. “I'm gonna stop being so nice if I don't get some answers.”

“Fine, man, fine. Just let me go.”

Jake pushed him away again. “Now, why haven’t you guys been in touch with Tom?”

K-Dogg grumbled underneath his breath. Jake took a threatening step towards him. K-Dogg backed away. “No need to get physical, man. I'm talking.” He rubbed his arm. “Tom got out a couple weeks ago. We made some overtures. He told us he didn't want to be in the gang no more. So we let him go.”

Jake laughed without mirth. “Right. You just let him go. What happened to blood in, blood out?”

“Ain’t gotta be that way with Tom. He done us solid. We're good.”

Disgust dripped from Jake’s words. “The grocery job.”

Tom had gone away for five years as an accessory to attempted murder. According to court documents, Tom had admitted to knowing about the plan to rob the mom-and-pop shop. He hadn’t known about the weapons. Tom was the lookout. When he’d been arrested, he’d refused to turn on any of the others. He’d only been seventeen years old.

“Tom could have hung you guys for that. He did five years and didn’t say a word. As thanks, not one of you went to visit him.”