Blood Money Read Online Free

other
attempts to get the kid’s attention just ended in failure. So he
decided he needed to up the ante a bit.”
    Kelton tried to stifle his smile but
couldn’t.
    “It’s not funny,” Slake said.
    “Actually, it is.”
    “No, it’s really not,” Slake said. “His
father is not going to be happy about this. And he’s not a guy you
want to piss off. There’s no way in hell he’s going to let
something like this go.”
    “Fuck him. What the hell is he going to do
to me? He doesn’t even know who I am.”
    “He does know who I am, though,” Slake said
softly, almost apologetically.
    “You dealt with him directly?”
    Slake nodded.
    Kelton bit down on his annoyance. “Now why
would you go and do something stupid like that?”
    “It was a special circumstance,” Slake said.
“We were brought together by a mutual friend and I had no other
choice but to meet with him. But don’t try and pin the blame on me
for this one, Kelton. No matter how the job was arranged, it was a
simple assignment. Go in, scare the kid, and get out, without
permanently hurting him. Is it really that hard to follow?”
    Kelton opened his mouth to explain himself
further but Slake waved him off before he could say anything.
    “Just give me a minute to think,” Slake
said. He leaned forward, closed his eyes, and started to massage
his temples.
    Kelton stood up and headed towards the bar.
He returned a few seconds later with a pitcher of Coors Light and
two fresh glasses. A peace offering.
    “I assume you took all the necessary
precautions after the job?” Slake said as Kelton poured them each a
new glass.
    “Of course.”
    “You ditched the weapon?”
    Kelton nodded.
    “And destroyed all your clothes?”
    “I took care of everything,” Kelton said. “I have done this sort of thing once or twice before, you
know.”
    “I know,” Slake said. “But humor me, okay?
Just this once.”
    “Fine.”
    “You tossed your shoes, your gloves, your
ski mask?”
    “All of them,” Kelton said.
    “And you left nothing in the house that
could be tracked back to you?”
    “It’s as if I was never even there,” Kelton
said. “Just like every other job I’ve ever done for you. Or anyone
else, for that matter.”
    “Then maybe I can play it off,” Slake said.
He looked down at the table and spoke softly, talking to himself
more than Kelton. “I’ll have to be proactive, go in and talk
directly to the father, apologize, give him his money back, tell
him it was a big mistake, tell him that I don’t know who you are,
that I’ve only worked with you a couple of times, that I’m never
going to work with you again, and then give him some bogus
information about how I reached you, a big giant bullshit
sandwich.”
    “You think he’ll buy it?” Kelton said.
    “Yeah, he’ll buy it,” Slake said. “But
you’re going to owe me big time after this.”
    “I can deal with that,” Kelton said.
    “You damn well better be able to. Otherwise
I’ll just tell him where you live and be done with it.”
    “Yeah right,” Kelton said. “Then who would
you call when you needed a job done?”
    “I’m sure I can find someone. After all, I
found you.”
    Kelton snorted. “Yeah, you found me when I
showed up on your doorstep, asking you if you wanted to start
making some easy money.”
    “You call this easy money?”
    “It’s a hell of a lot easier than real
work.”
    Slake tipped his beer in Kelton’s direction
and took a drink. “True enough, my friend. But do me a favor and
just stick to the assignment from now on. This freelance crap is
bad for my heart.”

 
     
    CHAPTER THREE

    It was just after 2AM when Kelton arrived at
the meager three-bedroom house he rented on the outskirts of
downtown San Diego. He parked his pickup in the driveway and headed
along the walkway towards the front door. He had just put his key
in the lock when he felt an itch in the back of his mind.
    Normally, that single moment of intuition
would have put