Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 613(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 409(@300wpm)
“You… you made fake routes?”
“Yup. Fake routes only you saw. Well, Billy, sure enough, someone tried to access the system after I’d already changed the passwords—someone using their employee I.D., but then, I let you get into one document the next day. I knew you’d try again, not believing I’d actually block you from access. I let you get to a doc that was purposefully not password protected. Looked like an oversight. A glitch. Before I knew it, that shit was copied. Put on a thumb drive. All of this is traceable. Every step you took. Every keystroke. You know once Bannon figures that out, he’s going to kill you, right? Those routes are all fast tracks right into the arms of the police. His delivery guys are screwed. All thanks to you.”
They glared at one another. Billy swallowed, then motioned to his jacket pocket.
“May I take out a cigarette?”
Archer cocked his gun and nodded. Billy tapped the cigarette out of the pack, lit it, and leaned back against the loveseat. The only sound was his choppy, heavy breathing, and the hum of the pump in the fish tank.
“All right.” Billy shrugged while a small smoke cloud billowed from between his lips. “You got me. I sold you out. I want to tell you why. Please let me explain before you do anything crazy.”
“I’m sure your version of the truth is riveting.” Archer chuckled.
“Archer, there’s no long, complicated tales to weave, okay? My reasons were earnest, and sensible. Ya killed Tone. A guy who practically worshiped you. You’ve kept a prisoner around and shared secrets with her. This Honey lady shows up outta nowhere, and you put her before everyone else! You put all of us at risk because she had footage and connections that could get us sent away for life. She’s a damn reporter. You haven’t been on your A-game because you’re distracted by a woman. It’s not like it used to be… I was angry.”
“You don’t have the first clue as to what I was doing, and why. The fact that you believe I’d allow just anyone to get that close to me, especially if they hadn’t earned it and proven themselves, is amazing to me. You don’t know me at all. You’ve always had a problem with a lack of foresight. You’ve been trying to impersonate me, but failed miserably, so you resent me for it and have done so for years. I gave you the most important role in my company, and you fucked it up. I would never put my men in peril over pussy. No one, and I mean no one, was at risk of getting made, because let me tell you something—I know this woman, my fiancée, almost better than she knows her own damn self.”
“Your fiancée? What?!”
“Yeah. I’m getting married, and you would have been the best man had you not shown your true colors. You were due for a raise, had you not turned into a Judas. I cared about you like a fucking brother, until I felt the sharp object in my back. You might as well have done it for real, because to me, it felt just the same…” His eyes narrowed on the bastard. “You were jealous. Afraid. Resentful. You and Tone were close… real close.” Billy looked away, breaking eye contact. “Billy, I don’t judge nobody. We like what we like. I don’t give a shit about any of that. I’ve known the truth for a while, without you ever having to a say a word. I saw that you two had something going on.
“That’s your own private business, so I left it alone, but I’m tellin’ you that your feelings for him made your thinking foggy. You were projecting onto me. Pussy didn’t make me lose my mind, but your feelings for Tone, made you lose yours. That makes you volatile. I killed your special friend, your lover, and you wanted my special friend and lover killed, too. My Honey. You wanted me to feel your pain.” Billy dropped his head. “You hated her even more once you realized I was attracted to her… feeling something for her… protecting her from myself even, and from others. This wasn’t about work ethic. This was about truth. I’m not the one living a lie…” Billy looked at him. Darkness. Remorse. Hatred in his eyes. “Just like I had your number for a long time, I knew to not hesitate to get your ass under surveillance, pronto. I trust my gut. I don’t hesitate. I’ve had your back when some of the others talked behind it!”
Archer jumped to his feet, his anger soaring.
“I stood up for you when deep inside of me, I wasn’t certain if I should! But I did it because you were my best friend! You have no idea the kinds of shit people were saying about you at the warehouse! Complaining to me. Telling me that you’re power hungry. A control freak. Disrespectful. A hot head. And what do you do in return for the loyalty I showed you, you son of a bitch? You go and rub elbows with the motherfucker who killed our friend. You get chummy with the guy who put my fuckin’ sister behind bars, and now she can’t see her son, and she can’t get a job to support herself despite her being able to run circles around most other I.T. Security professionals with her damn eyes closed! She’s had a terrible life, and she’s fucked up a lot in that life of hers, but she was good to you, man, and she was always there to help.