“Even now, what?” Chase demanded.
Justin looked at him. “If I don’t—if we don’t—walk back out there looking calm as can be, he’s going to kill Julia. And as soon as word gets out, he’s going to see that my boys are killed, too.”
Chase stared at him. He had never believed that Justin was the head of their snake.
But just how deep did it run?
Back to the cartels theory. So who was the man with Julia today?
“All right, we’ll talk quickly. Who is the man with your wife right now?”
“His name is Drew Carter. He’s...been ordered to kill Julia if I don’t make things happen the way that they’re supposed to,” Justin said.
“That’s easy enough. I’ll get out by him and—”
“No, no, he’s just a...a pawn like me. His wife is in the hospital with a new baby. And there’s a man there...ready to take her out along with the infant and...you don’t know, you don’t understand how bad all this is. And it’s not just my wife. He’s going to go after Sammy and Jeff—my sons. He’s got them covered, too. Don’t you see? There’s no way out of this. He can kill anyone at any time with a snap of his fingers. His enforcers are everywhere.”
“And so are the good guys and law enforcement,” Chase told him.
“But if I don’t—”
“You do what you’re supposed to do. We’re going to go through the show with you having done what you’ve been ordered to do. And by then...”
He broke off. He could see that Sky was coming into the wing.
“Hey!” she called cheerfully. But he knew Sky. She wanted to know what the hell was going on.
Did he dare tell her this was the man who had killed her beloved father?
“Can you get Wellington back here?” he asked her.
“Um, sure. But—”
“Now. Please.”
“Sure. Okay.”
She hurried back toward the stage. “Hey, Andy! Can you come here for a minute? Chase wants to see what shirt you like best!”
Andy came on back quickly, excusing himself to the others. As he arrived, Chase told Sky, “Please, get back out there. Try to talk to Julia again and keep her with you.”
“Why—”
“Please, please, just act normally, in a friendly manner.” He looked at his watch. The doors would start opening in less than hour.
Whatever Justin was supposed to be doing, he was supposed to be doing it now.
The man still looked like hell. With Wellington there, he explained what he knew quickly, adding that Justin needed to get it together, to act as expected.
“My wife...the boys and...the others—”
“I’ll get to the guy out there watching over Julia,” Wellington promised. “Justin, do as Chase says—do what you’re supposed to do. And don’t be afraid. We’ll get to your children before anyone else can.”
“You don’t understand how powerful—”
“Actually, I do. But you need to understand how powerful we can be when given the chance,” Wellington told him. “I’ll go have a discussion about lights with Drew Carter right now.”
Wellington disappeared. Justin still looked like hell.
“Pull yourself together, man!” Chase ordered him. “This show has to go on as planned. All right, where does everything go?”
Justin shook his head. “There’s not everything. I just put the money I got from the last haul—” He broke off, looking worse than he had. “Blood money,” he said. “Right before we open the doors, I slip it beneath a particular seat, changes every time.”
“Do you have your orders yet?”
“Yeah.”
“And putting the money out was what Jake saw?”
“Yeah.”
“And no one else ever saw you?” Chase asked.
He shrugged. “I just walk around the seat, look at the lights. Sometimes sit a few places. Everyone thinks I’m just checking it out.”
“Do it. And quit crying. Justin, this truly has to be the performance of a lifetime for you.”
“I’m not on stage. I head back to the wings. Then I get a message about where to find the stuff I’m supposed to distribute along with what I get to keep.”
