Aton grinned. “I had to skip town for personal matters. Went to New York. We had a little rat problem there. At a restaurant. Get it?”
I nodded.
Rat problem meant someone was talking too much or not paying up enough. Whoever it was, they were long gone now.
“Yeah,” I said. “Glad you’re back in town.”
“I’ve been back for days, Wes. You haven’t returned my calls.”
“I’ve been busy.”
“I see that. Listen, I am sorry about that fight. I should have looked at the calendar. But it had to happen.”
“One day a year, Aton. That’s all I ask for.”
“I think a lot of people ask for that,” Aton said. “That’s not how it works.” Aton took his hand back. He reached into his suit jacket and took out a gun. “This is all business, Wes.”
“Just like the night Shane was killed?”
“I’ve lost a lot of people I loved,” Aton said. “It’s just life. At least you’re alive.”
I nodded to the gun and sipped my coffee. Then I said, “For now, right?”
“I’m not going to kill you, Wes. You’re too valuable to me. But I have to teach you a lesson. I have to show you what it’s like out there. What my other guys do. You’re worried about a fight here and there? Let’s talk about taking out real fucking problems.”
I looked at the gun again. “Taking out problems?”
“See, I have something going down tonight. I need a little protection for it. You’re the protection.”
“Me.”
“You, Wes. In case something happens, I need your fists ready to go.”
“Is this a hit?”
Aton grinned.
My stomach flipped again. I stood up and hurried to the kitchen sink and my stomach let loose again. I gasped for air as I held the edge of the sink.
Murder?
“Wes, I don’t know how you view life, but you’re not going to be a fighter for the rest of your life. You’re going to get old. Weak. You’re going to lose. And sometimes when you lose, you really lose.”
I looked at Aton and gritted my teeth.
He was talking about Shane.
I took a few deep breaths and stood back up. I ran my hand through my hair. Right then I told myself I’d never touch a drop of booze again. I knew that was a fucking lie though.
“Would you like to hear what I have in mind for you?” Aton asked.
“No,” I said. “I just want to fight, Aton. I want to be in the middle of the circle. If that’s where I end, then so be it. I’ll go down like Shane.”
Aton nodded and stood up. He left the gun on the table. He slipped his hands into his pockets. “Let me put it to you this way, Wes. Since you’re so fucking cocky right now. Your brother was an asshole. He had no respect for the fights. Near the end, he would drink, smoke, show up high and wanting to go at it. I lost money on him. I didn’t know what to do with him.”
My blood started to boil. “Is this where you tell me you set him up to fight? To die? You let it all happen?”
“No,” Aton said. “That entire thing was out of my control. Nobody is supposed to die like that. I didn’t give the command on any of it. I tried to stop him. I tried to stop it all. He insisted on taking on the assassin, wanting to cement his name forever. I guess he did that because the assassin never fought again. Nobody heard from him again. He just disappeared.”
“Did you kill him?”
Aton smiled. “No.”
Part of me wished Aton would have lied. He could have told me he killed the assassin in Shane’s honor.
“So my brother was an asshole. He drank too much, got high, got killed. I’m following right in those footsteps.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going out on a run with Tommy.”
“Tommy? Who the fuck is Tommy?”
“I’m Tommy.”
The guy who had dry heaved when he smelled my room stood there. His face was a little pale. He adjusted his tie and cleared his throat.
“You?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Got a fucking problem?”
“Hey now,” Aton said. He patted Tommy’s shoulder. “We’re all good here. Tommy has the brains for fire. Bombs. That kind of thing. He can make cars have accidents. Or he can wire them a certain way…”
“Christ,” I whispered.
“So you and him are going out later. I need you to take care of something for me. We have a situation that needs to be…”
“Taken care of,” I said. “I get it.”
“Tommy is going to get everything set up. You need to be the lookout for him. Make sure things go, and stay, smooth.” Aton put both hands to my shoulders. “I’m doing this for you. To show you what else is out there. You can get into that circle anytime you want to make some cash, Wes. You’re a smart and capable fighter. But there’s more you can do for me. For us. For my family. We can never take you in. You stink like an Irishman, and not just because of the vomit and booze.” Aton slapped my face. “Don’t fuck anything up, Wes. I’m trying to make things right.”