That word held little meaning in this life. Revenge is what he meant. He was all about justice, except when it came to needing help with his sick son. Then all of a sudden, justice wasn’t so important.

I hate cops. They’re the worst kind of human trash. Tex’s face flashed before me, and my stomach twisted in discomfort. Maybe not all cops. It was one night and a toy I wouldn’t get to play with again. Deep down, I hoped that wasn’t true.

“What can you tell me?”

“I want my family to receive two months of what you guys were paying me,” Johnny shot back.

“All your kind does is take.”

I could make him talk, but Benito said no playtime. And right now, I might lose myself to the blood, missing any information he may or may not hand over.

“One.” I held up my hand, stopping his negotiations. “It’s already being generous. Unless you’re willing to sell your wife to us, I’d stop negotiating for more money they won’t be able to pay off.”

Johnny shut his mouth and nodded. He let out a sigh as he leaned back. The scrape of the chair against the concrete floor echoed around the room as he pushed it back.

“There were whispers about the new mayor wanting to bring down a crime family in order to get re-elected.” Johnny shook his head. “Fucking politicians. As far as I know, the chief shot down the idea of a task force for now.”

I stared at him, waiting to see what else he had for me. Johnny’s tough-guy act dropped as the minutes ticked by.

“The last bust on Bedford Ave? The tip came from some junkie. He was cracked out on meth. We let him go, but I heard he was picked back up.”

“Name,” I demanded.

Johnny looked everywhere but at me. It was like he could tell his time was nearly up. His leg began to bounce.

“I don—”

“Think. Remember, your family’s lives depend on your answer.”

He stopped moving and finally met my gaze. Anger flashed in his eyes as his brows dipped and his lips turned down in a frown.

“It was Carter, no, Clark, maybe Carl. It started with a C.”

I nodded, and two men moved forward at my signal. Johnny attempted to jump up, but they held him down. He’d put on a brave face only to chicken out now.

He was a disappointment, but they all were. I pulled my Staccato XC 9mm out and aimed for his head. Johnny gritted his teeth and met my gaze, his mouth opening, but no words could be heard over the bang of the bullet leaving my gun and piercing the air.

My hand snapped back slightly from the recoil, and I steadied once more before lowering it. Johnny’s head flopped back before rolling forward. Empty eyes looked back at me.

Blood dripped from the hole in the middle of his skull. The bead slid down around his slender nose and over his thin lips. It was mesmerizing as more joined it creating their patterns on his face before falling to his clothes or the ground to be soaked up.