“You’re the one who called it off.”

“Can you blame me? Yeah, I guess you can. Nothing is ever your fault, right? It’s always my fault. I made you get behind the wheel that night. I made you resist arrest. Pull your head outta your ass and take a look in the mirror.”

“You gotta lot of nerve talking to me like that. You think I can’t get to you?”

“I’m not afraid of you anymore. It’s you who should be afraid.”

He laughed. “Afraid of what? The FBI? You?”

“Of Nathan McBride.”

There was silence on the other end for several seconds. “How do you know that name?”

“He stopped by and we had a little chat about you.”

There was venom in his voice. “What did you tell him?”

“What do you think? I told him you’re a piece of shit.”

“That cocksucker killed Sammy.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Sammy!” Ernie screamed. “You know, my little brother?”

Amber froze, suddenly understanding why Nathan McBride had insisted she use his name. She’d been used again. Anger flared. “Well, he didn’t tell me that. Must have slipped his mind.”

“He’s a dead man.”

“Yeah.” She laughed bitterly as she put it together. “He set me up. They set me up. That whole press-conference thing, the question about Janey. It was all staged. Total bullshit.”

“And you were dumb enough to buy it?”

“I needed the money.”

“What money?”

“McBride offered me money to do the press conference.”

“How much?”

“Ten thousand,” she lied.

On the other end, Ernie chuckled. “Ten thousand.”

“It’s a lot of money. I’m not exactly swimming in greenbacks, Ern.”

“It’s peanuts.”

“Peanuts? Who do you think you are, Donald Trump?”

“Shit, I could give you ten times that much. In cash.”

“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. What do you want?”

“I want to torture Nathan McBride to death.”

“Well, good luck with that. I wouldn’t mess with him. That’s what he wants. In fact, I’m supposed to call him after I talk with you. He gave me his cell number.”

“Give it to me.”

“It’s your funeral.” She pulled the cocktail napkin from her jeans and read the number. “I’m sure he’d love to hear from you. Now, good-bye.”

“Wait, here’s what you’re going to do.”

“Screw that. I ain’t doing shit for you anymore.”

Ernie was silent for a moment. Amber knew she should hang up, but didn’t.

“I’m serious about the money,” Ernie said. “Leonard and me are buggin’ out. We don’t have much time. If you want the dough, here’s what you’re gonna do.”

“I don’t want your money. It’s dirty.”

“It’s not for you, it’s for Janey.”

“Yeah, right, like you care.”