“At any cost to others, yes. Look at me. I’m fat. I’m ugly. What do I have? Money and fearlessness. Which equals power. Through power I get my needs met. I value luxury, yes. Youth. And beauty.”

A young man trudged in from the hall, rubbing one eye with a fist. His T-shirt pulled up, exposing the kind of stomach only achieved in one’s early twenties, a slight concavity runged with muscle. His dirty blond hair swirled up, bedhead chic. He was either stoned or really tired.

René’s son?

René stiffened. “It’s not safe for you here, David.”

David looked around through heavily lidded eyes, taking in Evan, Dex, Manny with his raised shotgun. “Looks plenty safe to me.” He plucked a piece of meat off René’s plate, chewed it languidly.

Then he leaned over and kissed René full on the mouth.

Oh.

David mussed René’s perfectly coiffed hair. “The steam room is broken.”

“Broken?”

“It takes too long to get, ya know, steamy.”

“I’ll have Samuel look at it.”

“Yer a doll.” David cast a bored gaze at Evan, then disappeared back into the hall.

René shared an exasperated look with Evan. “When you’re young, you’re never going to be old. Remember?” He forked some green beans into his mouth. More wine. “I’m not gay,” he said. “I just sometimes like to sleep with men.”

He pressed the clicker again, and Samuel appeared, scratching at his scar.

“Go look at the steam room,” René said. “There’s nothing wrong with it, but David’s fussing again. Pretend to make adjustments to the valve.”

Samuel nodded, exiting swiftly.

“If my interests are aligned with someone else’s, I can be quite generous,” René said. “As with you. I’ve done my best to acquaint you gently with your circumstances. I hope you’ve seen that you’re free to enjoy certain liberties, that you’ve been treated well.”

Evan shifted in his chair, bringing Manny and his shotgun into view over his right shoulder. “It’s been lovely.”

“It’s a lot of money to lose. I understand that. You have seventy-two hours to come to grips with it. But let me be clear. At the end of that time, if you don’t cooperate, you won’t like what will happen.”

“What will happen?”