grateful by now. I’ve only been feeding him for fourteen years.” “Loyalty,” Alabaster approves. “More like fear.” The words are out before I have a chance to think about what I’m saying. They stare at me. “You know—” I backpedal. The damage is already done, so I’ve got no choice but to finish the thought and hope for the best. “Because it’s no good for your health to be the guy who got rid of the boss’s dog.” Baldy is regarding me in genuine horror, and I’m thinking I’ve really blown it. I’ve insulted Chicago’s toughest mobster in his own home. Best-case scenario, I’ll be thrown out, and so much for any chance of learning about the early days of Project Osiris. And that’s if I’m lucky. If I’m unlucky—my mind returns to that cop from the Organized Crime Unit: He’s a bad guy. A bad guy who knows he’s dying, which means he’s got nothing to lose. All at once, Alabaster brays a raspy laugh that finishes in spasm of coughs. “I love this kid, Lenny! Where’d you find him?” Baldy—Lenny—manages a slight shrug while struggling to restrain the dog. “He and his girlfriend just walked in off the street.”
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