Chapter 13

Jackson opens the nightstand, and something silver flashes in his hand. I take a minute to register what it is. A Zippo. He holds it in his hand like most people hold a gun.

Cole tugs at the chains around his neck, his grin getting wider. “Should have gone for your gun, Jackson. Pussy seems to make your brain go soft.”

“What the fuck’s takin’ so long?” Another man appears, one I haven’t seen before. He’s wearing a black suit and has short black hair. He looks like an established financier, not someone you’d think would hang out with someone like Cole.

“Vance, what the hell are you doing here? I’m surprised you left Carla,” Jackson says before putting his lighter back on the nightstand.

“Cole and Ford called. We’ve got Ferdinand. We thought you’d like the honor, but if you don’t…”

“You have my father? Where?”

Cole and Jackson pass a look at each other.

“Anyone gonna tell me what’s going on?” Vance asks, looking between the other two men.

“Jackson here seems to have stuck his pen in Fer