Promises After Dark (After Dark #3) (19 page)

When Alex walked through, the first man remained outside and went back to take his position near the elevators.

“Mr. Standish is through those doors. He’s expecting you, Mr. Avery,” the smaller of the two men said. Still, he had to be six-two, two-fifty. He and the other man followed close behind Alex, one at each shoulder.

“Before we go in, sir, I’m sorry we have to make sure you aren’t armed or wired.”

These were polite criminals
, Alex scoffed mentally as he nodded. “Fine.” He unbuttoned his jacket and held it open so the men had a clear view inside.

“I’m afraid that’s not good enough, sir.”

Alex’s mouth quirked on one side.
These “wise guys” were so polite
. He supposed they needed to appear above reproach to get away with the shit they did. If it were only theft, money laundering, and extortion, he would be surprised. Only serious criminals would care about outward appearances.

The larger of the two patted Alex down: under his arms, the waist and legs of his pants, his inseam up to his balls, and even around his ankles. The experience was slightly rough, designed to give the message that they were serious about protecting their boss and it wouldn’t be in Alex’s best interest to fuck with any of them. Like anyone would try to take out Standish in his own building. That would be incredibly stupid. It was funny how his mind had started to work on some criminal level, but it was somehow comforting. If Alex lacked anything, it wasn’t intelligence, and thinking like them might help his negotiations and maybe keep him from getting killed.

“Do you do this before all business meetings?” Alex asked cryptically. He couldn’t help himself. His demeanor scoffing and incredulous, like he dealt with bad shit like this on a daily basis.

One of them eyed Alex warningly but did not offer a reply. Instead, he spoke to his partner. “He’s clean.”

After that, Alex was allowed inside. There was an older man, with dark, thinning hair in a light grey suit, sitting behind a massive desk in front of the window. The room was large with two sofas, a large screen TV, and a wet bar on one side, while the office was on the other. Again, similar to the set-up he had at Avery, only his was more suited for business.

Marvin Standish stood when Alex entered; the two men, who Alex was beginning to think of as goons, took position on either side of the door, standing stone still with their hands crossed in front of them. Alex glanced back at them then at the small man in front of him.

“Mr. Standish, I’m Alex Avery. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.” He walked forward and reached out to shake the other man’s hand.

“Call me Marvin.” He indicated two large chairs in front of his desk, and Alex moved to take the one on the right. “I’ve been interested in doing business with Avery for a while.”

Alex settled into the chair at the same time Marvin sat back down behind the desk.

“I’m afraid this isn’t about business. I’m aware Mark Swanson was married to your sister.”

“Yes. I sat back and watched you flush that piss-ant down the drain. It must have cost millions; decidedly more than he is worth.”

“Depends on your perspective, I guess,” Alex responded, his voice devoid of all emotion.

The man behind the desk smiled. “I have to admit, it was amusing. Brilliantly played, though I’m dumbfounded why you’d bothered. Perhaps you can shed some light on your reasoning?”

“My motives were purely personal. Avery lost a shitload of money in the process, but I’d do it again. I’m sorry about what he did to your niece.”

Marvin Standish’s eyes widened, and his hand came up to his mouth and hovered there.

“You see; I’m dating Angeline Hemming. She was the clinical psychologist assigned to test Mark Swanson for the DA’s office, for your niece’s case. I’m well aware of the accusations.”

“You mean the rape.”

“Yes. Angel believed your niece and wanted desperately to find conclusive evidence through her testing procedures, but Swanson was able to cheat the tests. Angel, being Angel, couldn’t live with that, so she taunted the bastard over and over trying to crack his resolve. She even lied to him to get the prick to come after her. She risked her own life so the D.A.’s office would be able to convict him on new charges where the key witness wasn’t afraid to speak up.”

A slow smile spread over Standish’s face. “She sounds like a firecracker. And, very dedicated to her work.”

“She is, but she’s reckless. She took a huge personal risk. She’s stubborn and headstrong. At times to her detriment.”

“Well, I’m grateful for her diligence. I’m just glad Swanson was her target.” He smiled wider.

Alex was annoyed. This was no laughing matter, and though he himself was proud of her convictions, in his opinion, her methods needed work.

“When I figured it all out, I put my plan into action, and it worked but only served to make the bastard even more vengeful. He’s stalked and tormented Angel. He broke into her home and brutally attacked her. Currently, he’s trying to blackmail me for an exorbitant amount of money.”

Alex was still holding his sunglasses and slowly replaced them in the breast pocket of his jacket.

“You don’t seem like the type of man to go along with something like that.” Standish’s eyes narrowed, clearly sizing Alex up.

“No,” he answered without a second’s hesitation.

“It’s nice to know someone wanted to stand up for the poor girl. Your business acumen is legendary in Chicago and beyond, so I’m going to assume you know what’s up with my company.”

“To an extent. I haven’t had the success I’ve had by being ignorant of what I’m up against before going into any situation. I use knowledge, rather than lies or bullshit illusions, to conduct business; I put the truth on the table and let the cards fall where they may.” It was a risk to admit to a man ensconced in the mob, as this one was, that he knew about his illegal dealings. “And this is the truth; I’m in love with Angel, and I will do anything to ensure her safety. I don’t know the details of your situation, and I don’t need to. I have no ill will or intentions toward you or your businesses. I’m here for no other reason than our mutual problem.”

“I see.”

“Good.”

Standish studied Alex, trying to determine just how far he would go to accomplish his goal. “I wanted to have him permanently put to sleep, but unfortunately, my sister’s stomach is not as strong as mine. I don’t understand her squeamishness, considering what he did to Sherry.”

This was the first time Alex heard a name associated with the girl Angel felt so bad for. “I thought if I ruined him financially, he would be contained due to a lack of resources, but it only made him more dangerous. Angel is professional, and she is careful about professional ethics, but in the case of this dirty fucker, she pushed and pushed. He could have killed her. I believe he would have, if my brother and I hadn’t been close by.”

“How’d you keep this out of the news?”

“The DA is a personal friend of Angel’s, and exposing her name or address might be dangerous to her and detrimental to her future work with their office.”

“Ahhhh. And why didn’t you just end him then and there?”

“I’ve asked myself that many times since. I certainly had the opportunity.”

“So what do you want from me? To take him out?”

Alex put his hand up and shook his head. “As much as I have wished that fucker dead and buried, no. One of my security operatives assigned to keep Angel safe disappeared a week ago, and we believe Swanson has him. Alive or dead, he has him.”

“I did hear of a disappearance on the news, didn’t I?”

“Yes. But the police have no leads. What I need from you is just probable places to look. Where he could be hiding or where he would take a hostage to hold or kill them.”

Marvin Standish studied Alex for a minute, and Alex held his stance. To appear uneasy at all would not help get what he wanted. Standish was wondering if Alex could be trusted, and what the consequences would be for sharing locations where some of his own dealings had taken place in the past, and would again.

Part of Alex didn’t believe Standish would help him, and though he wanted to plead his case, his acute business mind stopped him.
After you close the deal, shut the fuck up and wait for the other guy to crack
. Those were his rules. Good thing Marvin Standish wasn’t as practiced with that technique. It didn’t take more than thirty seconds for the response to come.

“You and I have similar goals, Avery. Mark Swanson is particularly slimy, even by my standards. The family is what it is, but we do not condone the beating and raping of women, blood relations or not. If I hated him before, I despise him after what he’s done to my niece.”

Alex sat silently still waiting. This was what he had hoped for, but still Standish was a criminal, surely far worse than Swanson could ever be, due to the power and money he wielded.

“How do I know I can trust you?”

Alex was outwardly calm. The stakes were higher, but this was business, and he’d treat it as such. “You don’t,” he said simply. “You aren’t stupid, and frankly, I have nothing to offer other than my word. I can tell you this; nothing means more to me than putting that heinous bastard away. I don’t care how much money I have to spend, or what I have to resort to, to do it.”

“Yes, you do have money. My boys can take care of it, for a price.”

Standish had just said he hadn’t already killed Swanson due to his sister’s sensibilities, but his new offer to do so gave Alex pause, and shook him out of his momentary forgetfulness that this was indeed a killer sitting in front of him.

“Tempting as that sounds, the police are involved in the search for my employee, and that would be too suspicious and not in your best interest. I just want to find Swanson, and, hopefully save the life of my man.”

“The police involvement is a problem. Let’s just say, I don’t need my secrets exposed and rifled through.”

“I get it. I don’t plan to involve them. I’ll hunt him down myself.”

“Alone?”

“I’m at my wall. The bulk of my resources are engaged elsewhere, but I’m done toying with this asshole. I tried to do it on the straight and narrow, but you can’t reason with the unreasonable. If things have to get a little messy, so be it. You have my word, I will not disclose anything we discuss, now or at any time in the future.”

Marvin Standish smiled a wicked grin. “Good, because you know, I’m very comfortable with messes.” It was a barely veiled threat. “Understood?”

“Understood. I knew my risks when I walked in here, but Angel is worth it to me.”

“If Swanson was to have an accident, my problem would be solved and I’d be able to look my sister in the eye and tell her honestly it is not on my hands.”

Alex should have been shocked or shaken, but he wasn’t in the least. His first and only priority was putting Swanson down. In jail or in hell, it mattered little at this point.

Marvin nodded at the two guys still stationed at the door. “Tell Millie to print out the addresses for the house in Northbrook and the one in Rockford.”

“Northbrook?” Alex asked. He expected Englewood, maybe. It was notoriously crime-ridden and dangerous. Northbrook was one of the nicest suburbs in Chicago. Marvin nodded, and Alex tried to think more like a criminal. Northbrook’s police would be less concentrated, and Standish certainly had the money to set up shop where he’d have more freedom with fewer eyes on his illegal activities. It made sense, in a twisted way. Rockford was west of the city by sixty or so miles, and Alex could also see the logic behind that choice.

“Should I expect anyone else to be in occupancy at either of these locations? Beyond Swanson and his entourage?”

“No. Mark wouldn’t show his face anywhere we would be. Although, I’m not sure he’d risk these places, regardless.”

Soon the piece of paper was folded and shoved into his pocket, and Alex was rising to leave. “Thank you, Marvin. More than anything, I’m trying to keep Angel safe.”

The older man reached out to shake his hand. “I understand, and because she tried to help my niece at the risk of her own life, I am willing to help. Maybe we can do business sometime.”

Alex smiled. Here it was. The tricky place he’d have to wiggle out of. “I’m afraid this will be my only foray into side-stepping the law, but if it’s legal, I’d be happy to partner up on a deal or two.” Happy wasn’t the exact emotion he felt, but he owed him now, and as long as it was something legal and wouldn’t drag Avery Enterprises down by association, it should be fine. In any case, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, it wasn’t a concern.

“Maybe you could broker some property for me, since I may need a new one after this. Or advise me on some wise stock investments.”

“I can advise on a few investment opportunities, certainly. I do well, but I’m not always right. Only most of the time.” He offered a sly smirk.

The other man laughed. “No worries, Alex. I understand the risk.”

“Well, I can promise you I won’t advise you to buy anything that I wouldn’t be buying myself.”

Marvin Standish gave a solid nod. “Good. I think that’s a risk we can both live with.”

“Counting on it.”

Alex exited the offices then the building quickly, pleased with the results of the meeting. He sighed deeply, tension leaving his chest. Obviously, the man was used to getting his meaning across with few incriminating words. He was good at it. That was scary as fuck, if he was honest. He had two armed killers at his back, and now, he had just promised to help Marvin Standish in the stock market.

“At least it’ll be legal,” he muttered softly, pulling out his phone. Calling his driver, Alex asked he be picked up, but he was anxious to speak to Angel. He hadn’t talked to her since before he left Australia, but he’d do that once he was in the car. He needed to stop by his apartment to get some things, keeping the façade of Jillian’s party, then to his parents’ estate. With any luck, Swanson would show his ugly mug and do something stupid so the police could take him back into custody, though he doubted that would result in obtaining Bancroft’s location. Alex would rather bash his fucking head in and needed little provocation anymore. Mark Swanson deserved a quick trip to hell. The thought should have made him shudder.
Should have
.