“At least you’re honest,” she sighs. A twinge of guilt causes me to tighten my grip. It doesn’t pass unnoticed by Tiny. “What?” she asks with challenge.
“I might have left out a small bit of information about my earlier altercation.”
“A small bit,” she says sarcastically.
“Infinitesimal.” I roll over on my side to face her, still holding her hand.
“So small you didn’t think it was important to divulge, right?”
“More like, so small I didn’t want to worry you.”
“But you’re going to tell me now, right? Because you’re honest with me?” Her eyebrow is cocked, and I can tell this is a test.
With a sigh, I give in. “I have one of the attackers stashed in Kaga’s basement.”
“Ian Kerr. Why didn’t you tell me this before?” She tugs to get loose of my grip, but I won’t let her.
“Listen now. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to worry you. He might not tell me anything. I promise that he’s been fed and treated properly. Tomorrow we’ll let him go if he doesn’t cough up any information. Now come here and tend to my wounds, woman.”
I tug on her hand. She resists for a moment and then slides down next to me.
“You have to make sure I get a good night’s rest before I confront Big Guy tomorrow.” I settle her into our sleeping position: her head on my shoulder; my arm curled around her back; her leg on top of my thighs.
“Big Guy?”
“They haven’t divulged their names. I dubbed them Big Guy and Small Guy.”
She snorts and all is right in the world. We made love, fought, and now we’re entangled together once again.
THIRTEEN
KAGA’S HOLDING ROOM DOESN’T LOOK much better in the morning. Down below the Aquarium club, there was little to distinguish between night and day. Big Guy had been provided a candle; its wick was nearly burned out when we opened the door. He didn’t have the look of a hungry man, and less than twenty-four hours had passed. We had done nothing physical to him, but isolation and darkness can be its own punishment.
I lean against the door frame, with Kaga holding the heavy door open behind me. “Ready to talk?”
His face looks uncertain but a glance at the nearly burned out candle prompts a response. “What?” The question is pure frightened belligerence.
“How about we start with your name?”
He relaxes slightly and shakes his head. “You can’t keep me here forever.”
“You’re wrong.” Kaga remains silent. This is my show. “Not only can I keep you here forever, but no one would even know. Except perhaps your brother?” I make an educated guess based on the likeness of their features. He starts, eyes darting around as if worried that we have his sibling locked up in a neighboring cell. “How will he explain this to the police? He can’t very well claim that the two of you were involved in a botched assault that led to your disappearance.”
“Might as well let me go. Not talking,” he says mulishly. He recognizes that if we haven’t called the police by now, we aren’t going to. Yet he’s not smart enough to appreciate what kind of danger he’s in.
“You should have come at me with the knife first. Why pull that out as backup instead of leading with your strong hand?” I ask. That part has puzzled me all night.
There’s no immediate verbal response, but I watch his body carefully. His shoulders slump, and the look on his face is one of worry rather than fear. Kaga and I wait him out. Finally he says, “Didn’t want to kill you. We’re not into that. Just rough you up.”
“No point in giving me a beating if you don’t attach it to a verbal warning. Otherwise it’s just a random attack with no deterrent. So what’s my warning?”
His eyes jerk to mine with surprise, as if he just realized he had missed the most important part of this whole charade. “You got so many enemies you don’t know which one is hiring out a beating?”
Kaga bursts out laughing. He continues to howl so hard he doubles over and the door slips from his grip. I have to catch the metal slab before it slams shut. Straightening, I walk out. This guy needs more time to think—this time without the candle. I start to close the door.
“Wait,” he says with alarm. “This is kidnapping.”
“I prefer to think of it as having a guest, but you can use a different term if you like.” I shut the door before he can say anything else. Turning to Kaga, I resist the urge to shove my knee into his face. He manages to gain control and stands up, hands on his hips. “Thanks, ass**le.”
“You have to admit, that’s kind of funny. This guy doesn’t have a message for you because whoever hired him thought you would know who it was.”
“What kind of message is an assault?” I complain. “I’m not some random gambler who can’t pay my debts. Hitting me isn’t going to do anything but make me angry. Frankly, this is the kind of show of force that bookies and drug dealers like to carry out. So while my first thought was Howe, I don’t think the Hedders can be scratched off the list. Anyone else is going to come at me in the boardroom or trading floor with cash and liquidated assets, not with fists and knives.”
Kaga nods in agreement. “You’ll figure it out. What do you want me to do with our friend?”
“Let him stew for a few more hours and then let him go. It’s a crying shame when you can’t buy people off. I didn’t know loyalty existed.”
“It’s probably fear-based silence,” he observes.
I agree. “Then it’s probably Howe, because he got those three women to clam up tighter than a duck’s ass.” Three women I’d tried to buy off to come forward and ruin Howe had all resisted the money I threw at them. That was when I turned to Malcolm Hedder in the hopes of hiring someone who would get me sufficient texts, pictures, or video of Howe to cause his wife to leave him and his family to disown him.
When Cecilia filed for divorce, I’d bring the full power of Kerr Inc. down on top of him. I held the majority of his debts, quietly buying them up through different shell corporations. It would be easy enough to tip him into bankruptcy.
Except I fell for Tiny and couldn’t bring myself to use her in that fashion, which left me without a way to separate Howe from his family. At least, for now.
“Speaking of Howe, what’s Tiny doing this morning?” Kaga asks.