American Blood by Ben Sanders Read Free Book Online Page A

not looking to make anyone pay or regret or anything. I just want them out of the way, because it’s costing me a lot of money.”
    Ding, ding, ding, ding. Chino was coming up alongside them, off to Wayne’s right.
    Wayne said, “We’d have to negotiate my fee scheme.”
    “Why’s that?”
    Chino rounded the front of the car. Ding, ding, ding, ding.
    “Normally I charge on a per-hit basis. But if we’re talking a long-winded thing where I have to do a bit of digging, it could drag on a long time. I’ll need to have a think about it.”
    “All right.”
    “It really depends on what their security’s like. If the guy really does have a safe, anonymous system going it could be hard to pin him down.”
    “Yeah, well. Sooner the better basically. It’s all just lost profit.”
    Frazer paused and looked through the windshield. Lips slightly pursed like he was choosing words carefully. He said, “It just sounds like he’s got a pretty cutthroat game plan up and running, and I think it would be good to get in and disestablish it before he starts thinking he’s dealing with sissies. You know?”
    Chino coming down the left-hand side. Ding, ding, ding, ding—
    Wayne said, “Yeah. I understand.”
    “So is this something you’re going to be able to look at for me?”
    “Normally I would.”
    Frazer glanced at him. “But?”
    Chino approaching that open door.
    “It’s kind of a conflict of interest.”
    “How so?”
    Ding, ding, ding, ding—
    Wayne leaned suddenly and trapped Frazer against the seat with his left arm, and with his right drew the revolver from inside Frazer’s jacket and sighted on Chino one-handed and squeezed the trigger twice, a clean double-tap. Confines of the vehicle, the sound was colossal. Frazer tensed and shut his eyes, recoiled against the flash, cried out mutely beneath the blasts.
    Chino caught both rounds. A tight group through the armpit. He was dead midstep. Lifeless form toppling and Wayne, still calmly in the moment, tracked the fall and fired a third time and shot him through the head.
    Blood mist and a thump as he met the ground and a shallow wave of dust issued radially. Wayne eased himself upright and settled back in his seat. The leather creaked with the motion. He laid the gun on his thigh. Colt Python, chambered for the .357 Magnum. Smoke rose off the muzzle.
    Ding, ding, ding, ding.
    Frazer still crushed back against his seat, shock keeping him pinned there. Face averted from the horror and his cheek pressed to the headrest. Arms raised and hands clawed, some futile don’t-hurt-me gesture.
    Wayne waited.
    Dignity returned gradually. Frazer lowered his hands, turned and faced forward. Breath heaving, face a shade paler than a moment ago. He passed a sleeve across his mouth and risked a glance outside the car. His backup man just dumped there, inanimate flesh and bone. Only movement his blood as it left him.
    “Jesus. You killed him.”
    “I did.”
    Wayne just sitting there calmly, and Frazer must have wondered what other madness he’d witnessed for this to seem normal.
    Wayne said, “Like I told you. Conflict of interest. If you’d contacted me six months ago things might have played differently. But I guess you’ve missed your chance.”
    “You’re working for him?”
    “On retainer, more or less.”
    Ding, ding, ding, ding—
    “So now what happens?”
    Resignation in his tone like he knew there was just the one outcome.
    Wayne said, “It’s binary. Either you die or I die.” He smiled. “And then we go our separate ways.”
    “Jesus.”
    “He wasn’t much help to Chino. So I doubt he’ll be helping you.”
    “Please. There are other ways.”
    Lines he’d heard before. Wayne said, “You carry a gun, you keep an armed bodyguard. You must have envisioned a violent end.”
    Frazer didn’t answer.
    Wayne said, “Don’t worry. This isn’t some wild departure from likelihood. You were always going to end up here, more or less.” He gestured with