Someone was tailing me. A few times I’d caught a souped-up Mazda with blue rims in my rearview mirror. Not exactly inconspicuous. Not Hopkins style, either. Probably one of Aguda’s lackeys, checking to see if the cop showed up near me again.

Simon thought it was Aguda too. “I’ll take care of it,” was all he said. A few days later, he got on a plane without telling me where he was going or when he would be back.

I relished the taste of freedom. Teaching without having to worry about being interrupted by some shady job. Spending time with McCrary, who was back to his old self. Pretending to ignore the Mazda hovering at the corners of my vision. Pretending to ignore Maggie whenever she came into the gym. Doing my best not to think about kissing her again, running my hands through her hair, pressing her hips into mine.

But with Simon gone, I had to keep an eye on things, so when Alonso told me he had a meeting with a potential client, I had to show.

“Why don’t you wait until Simon’s back?” I asked Alonso.

He’d taken up Simon’s spot behind the desk in his office at Pearl of China as if it belonged to him.

“This guy’s perfect—in a hurry for money, desperate.” Alonso adjusted the chair until it was up so high you couldn’t tell how short he was. His feet didn’t reach the floor. “I don’t know when Simon’s going to be back anyway. Did he tell you?”

“No.” Simon didn’t usually keep secrets from me. It was stupid that this bothered me now, given my feelings toward him. “Still, send the guy somewhere else. What if Simon doesn’t approve?”

“Are you kidding?” Alonso checked his reflection in one of Simon’s picture frames, rubbing his hand along his pasty white cheek. “This is easy money. I could tell on the phone the guy is a patsy.” He cracked his knuckles. “Patsies are great for compounding interest.”

Alonso just wanted to knock someone senseless.

The appointment arrived. It was a younger man, probably around my age, with longish dark hair and an easy grin. He was skinny, with dark circles under his eyes. An addict, maybe? He held out his hand for Alonso to shake. He didn’t seem nervous at all to be there. Most people usually were. I stood against the wall where I could observe his profile, his hands, his feet, anything that might reveal some kind of tell. Simon would want these details later. Alonso wouldn’t see past an easy target.

“Fred Madsen,” Alonso said, giving him a pointed stare. It had nowhere near the same impact as Simon’s. “Are you sure you want to be here?”

Fred didn’t even twitch. “Of course.”

“Why?”

His eyebrows rose the tiniest bit. “Because I need the money.”

This Fred guy needed to watch his tone or Alonso would prove his strength before he even signed the papers.

“Do you really need it so badly?” So far Alonso was following Simon’s script exactly. Simon always made it very clear to each of his clients what would happen if they didn’t pay up. Yet they always seemed surprised when an enforcer came calling.

“I have a solid investment plan but I need the start-up capital.” He cracked a slight smile. “It’s the sort of thing a bank wouldn’t want to be connected with, but still, all above board. I have all the necessary paperwork.”

I tensed when he opened a briefcase, but he only pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Alonso.

Alonso looked over the documents, taking his time, trying to make Fred sweat, but the guy inspected the office and stared at the pictures as if he had all day and no cares at all. It made me suspicious. Either he’d fallen from the stupid tree and hit every branch on the way down, or he was up to something.

“Seems to be in order,” Alonso said finally. He folded his hands over the papers. “I’ll have to check your references, of course.”

“Of course,” Fred replied with a smile.

Alonso’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t lend fifty thousand to just anyone. I’ll be doing some digging.”

Fred shrugged. “Go for it.”

Now I was really suspicious. Fred didn’t seem desperate like Alonso thought. But there was something off about him. He was too young, too sure of himself. That kind of confidence comes with experience and Fred didn’t look like he had any.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” I asked Alonso. Fred gave me a once-over as if noticing me for the first time.

Alonso ignored me. “You’ll owe two grand a week, plus ten percent interest. You miss a payment, interest goes up. You miss two payments, we start taking a more personal interest.”

Fred winced. Finally, he was showing something real. “I understand.”

Alonso rifled through Simon’s desk drawers. Messing up his desk would be another thing on the list of what Simon would be upset about when he got back. But that would be nothing compared to this mess.

“I think we should talk now,” I said.

Alonso grit his teeth but ignored me. He handed the paperwork to Fred. “Go ahead and read it over. If you’re happy with the terms, sign.”

Fred paled but he bent over the papers and scrawled a signature. When he was done, he handed them back to Alonso, his grin gone. Maybe his nonchalance had been an act, something he couldn’t keep up anymore.

“My errand boy here will be in touch, once I’ve made sure everything is in order.”

My knuckles itched, begging to knock some sense into Alonso.

Alonso and Fred stood, shook hands.

“Excellent,” Fred said, his grin back in place. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.”

Alonso gave him a malicious, pencil thin smile in return. No doubt he was squeezing the life out of Fred’s hand. “You too.”

Fred swallowed. When Alonso let him go, he left the room, shaking out his hand as he went.

“That was a mistake,” I said as soon as he was gone. “There’s something shady about him.”

Alonso rolled his eyes. “Everyone who comes in here is shady. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be here. He’s just stupid. That investment might pan out but it’ll take a while. Which means lots of cash coming our way.” He held out Fred’s papers to me. “Check on these, just in case.”

“I don’t work for you.”

He smirked. “You might, one day.”

No chance of that. Alonso was too stupid and too greedy to run this place on his own. He’d screwed up with Fred today, I’d bet on it. I wasn’t going near this deal.

“Your bed,” I replied. “You lay in it.”

“Simon’s gonna give me a big fat bonus for this deal when the money starts coming in. You’ll see. And if I get to mess up Fred Madsen’s face a few times first, all the better.”

“Just remember whose office this is,” I said. Alonso didn’t listen to me this time either.