“Here’s the thing, Hamilton. The buyer wants to meet you, face-to-face. He wants assurances.”
“No way. I’m not meeting with some dealer.”
“Oh, yes, you are. You’re going to assure him you can continue providing the product and prescriptions. I’m going to assure him I can continue bringing in the high-grade blow. And together, we’ll shake his hand, and then you’re going to take a wad of cash off him.”
Josh felt the heat begin to rise. Play it, Josh. “You want me to rob him? No. Absolutely not.”
Allen turned cold. Josh was reminded of a snake, coiled and waiting, impassive, safe only if left unprovoked. “No isn’t part of the equation. You’re going to do this. You’re going to do it right. And we’re going to walk away very, very rich men.”
“I can’t. I have no idea how to pull it off.”
Allen cleared his throat. “Stop being such a *. I’ll walk you through every step.”
Josh glared at him. Play along. Be yourself. Be the timid guy he knows and loves.
“No way, no how. I can’t do this. I’ll screw it up. I’m a doctor, for God’s sake, Derek. I’ll blow it.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll be fine. There’s just one catch.”
“Just one? What’s that?”
“I don’t know what night it’s going to go down. My contact is flying in, but for security reasons he won’t tell me when.”
Josh ran his hands through his hair. “Derek. Don’t make me do this.”
“You’re doing it, and that’s final.”
It was another two hours before Allen dismissed him, after drills upon drills of how they were going to make this work.
Finally, he set down the pointer. “Good. That will work. Now, come here, kid. We need to have a chat.”
Josh felt his heart jump into his throat again. Maybe he was wrong; maybe Allen did know. Fuck.
“Have a seat.”
Josh took the chair. At this point, if he argued anymore, Allen was going to get suspicious. But he was caught by surprise.
“I’m really proud of you, kid. This is an important deal, the biggest one of my career. This dude is big-time, and I don’t want his people thinking they can push me around. We’re gonna show him we’re strong, unstoppable.”
“One question. Why?”
“Because I need them to understand I’m the right guy to do business with, and that we’re going to be doing things my way, not theirs. We need to send the right message. We aren’t going to be bought. They’re going to work with us. For us. We’re the ones with the product they want. And you’re the one who can make it happen for me. You’re my leverage. I just wanted to say thank you.”
Josh was shocked, and his face certainly didn’t hide that. Allen laughed. “I know. That sounds crazy to you. But you’ve added an element of class to this operation. You’re smart, and I trust you. Do you see any issues with the plan?”
“Outside of me being the one who’s supposed to rob this guy, and the fact that if I screw it up, his people will probably hunt us down and kill us both? No. It’s solid.”
“You’re going to do fine. Don’t worry about it. He won’t see you coming. Just stick to the program and you’ll sail right through.” He hung an arm over Josh’s chair, leaned in, the good cheer gone. “One last thing. You realize if I go down, we all go down, right?”
“Always.”
“Good. I’m pretty sure this will happen sometime this weekend. So be ready. And no leaks.”
“I can’t this weekend.”
“Yes, you can. And you will.”
“No, seriously. My best friend is getting married, and I’m in charge of his bachelor party. I’m tied up the whole weekend. I’m the best man. I can’t just not show up.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” He smiled. “When I give you the signal, you’re going to get yourself in place and get me that briefcase. Do you understand?”
“What’s the signal?”
Allen stood, effectively dismissing Josh. “Trust me. You’ll know.”
CHAPTER 57
Chase
Aubrey shouldn’t have forgiven him. Not that she’d said the words, exactly; there’d been no benediction, no blessing, just a sad stroke of his forehead and those limpid eyes, hurt flaring inside them, then compassion at his confusion.
How could he have been so stupid? How could he have allowed himself to be manipulated like this? He thought he was the one doing the game playing, yet it had all been a big joke on him, hadn’t it? He’d lost Aubrey for good, and he was in over his head with this story.
He drove away from Aubrey’s house, drove in circles for an hour, looping through Nashville, until he found himself at the hospital.
He wound his way around the crazy hallways. He finally found Daisy’s room, but it was empty. A nurse at the central station told him she’d been taken back into surgery, and he could wait in the surgical floor lounge.
He hurried there, only to find Tom sitting defeated in a chair. He was asleep, chin in hand, a cooling cup of coffee to his right.