Behind René, Dex stepped forward into the dim light cast by the chandelier. He’d been standing so still and silent in the shadows that until he’d moved, Evan had nearly forgotten he was present. Dex raised his left hand and pressed it across his lips. The tattoo on the back of this one was not a smile but a bared grimace. The incisors were pronounced, not quite vampiric, though they dripped with blood. The kind of mouth that would chew right through your gut. The sight of the inked scowl held up before Dex’s otherwise blank features sent a chill corkscrewing up Evan’s spine.

Dex had answered his question without having to speak.

“Dex is mute,” René said. “Dumb, they used to call it, but I promise you that’s not the case.” His teeth were tinted from the Bordeaux, the red distinct against his pasty face. He regarded Dex like a prize steer. “He manages to convey so much without saying a word.”

Evan stood up. Instantly, Manny shouted at him from behind. “¡Siéntate! Ahora, motherfucker.”

But Evan didn’t sit. Instead he kept his stare fixed on Dex. Holding his painted fangs in place over his mouth, Dex looked back him, his gaze containing no menace or fear. It held almost nothing at all, just the relentless focus of an owl watching a mouse about to scurry from cover.

“I can see you’ve won some fights,” René said. “I bet you think about them from time to time. Replay them in your head.”

“Not as much as the ones I’ve lost.”

René crossed his utensils neatly upon his plate and pushed it away. From inside his lapel, he removed a clear cylindrical spray bottle. He squirted down his place setting and then rose and sprayed the cushion of his chair. He did this as though it were normal postprandial etiquette.

The mysterious bottle vanished inside his jacket. He tugged the front panel, seating the coat properly on his shoulders, then flipped a button into place with an expert twist of his thumb. He nodded at Manny. “It’s okay. It seems we’re done.”

He turned to leave.

“So this wire,” Evan said. “You think it’s not traceable?”

“The computer is air-gapped, never been connected to the Internet before. The wire will be encrypted. The receiving account will relay the money out through a series of…” René stopped when he saw that Evan was smiling. “What about this amuses you?”

“That you think it’s enough.”

“Enough for what?”

Evan shook his head. “Trust me. You don’t want to do this.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Evan said. “You never know who’s watching.”

16. Faithful Companions

16

Faithful Companions