Malum

“By gone, you mean 86’d?”

“You always have to go gangster, Malum. Yes, I want them all dead.”

I chuckle. “Yeah, sure. What about the Ghost? Want me to send out a warning first?”

Hector smirks in a way that resembles his son. “Do we do warnings?” His face straightens. “It needs to be rectified. Put in its place. See if it knows anything about it.”

I leave the meet with a clear head. Peyton is still with Hector when I tread down to my car. She’s been a fucking nuisance through all of this, and I still don’t quite know why Hector is keeping her alive. The man rules with a twitchy trigger finger. Any other person would have been dead the day we found her with Micaela.

“Nate!” Peyton calls out, pausing my movements.

I squeeze the door handle, not bothering to turn and face her. “What?”

“I’m sorry about Micaela…”

I snort, yanking the door open. “Fuck off, Peyton.”

I climb into my car and head home to prepare for the trip.