The Audi was quiet, a steady low thrum from the engine the only sound. Gabe was seated stiffly and staring determinedly out the window when Xero said:

“Report.”

Gabe drew a deep breath. “Richardson is likely in his late forties, pushing fifty. He has never been fit but age and affluence have made him worse, that’s why he always looks like he’s melting. He sweats near constantly, even when it isn’t hot, probably because he’s fat and he has a testosterone imbalance that comes around his age and is fairly common in men who are overweight. He wears tailored clothing that’s slightly too small because he likes to pretend, but it’s still expensive and he makes sure everyone knows it. His shoes were new. He drinks.”

Taking another breath he continued. “His bodyguard was also dressed well, which indicates either that Richardson pays him well or he’s for hire and he earns separately. Since Richardson seems a touch paranoid about his business, he’s likely employed full time. So he pays his people well, because they are a reflection of him, and it ensures their loyalty. The guy looked about mid-thirties and had a small cut over his eye, and a small indentation in his left earlobe, which could be a past piercing healed wrong. Closet homo.”

Xero arched an eyebrow at him over his shoulder. Gabe shrugged. “I added the last part ‘cos he was checking me out.”

Xero only hummed in response. “Could you take him in a fight?”

“Probably. Am I likely to need to?”

Xero tilted his head. “I’m not sure. Well done for not giving the game away.”

“Yes, speaking of which,” Gabe said, turning himself in the seat to stare intensely at Xero. “When were you going to tell me he wanted me dead?”

Xero didn’t even blink. “Never.”

“Why not?”

“How is it your business?”

Seriously? Gabe’s mouth almost dropped open. “How is it not my business? My head is a treasure chest and he wants to open it. Probably with a bullet.”

“Since when does that frighten you?”

“Just because I go cage fighting doesn’t mean I want to die.”

“You don’t behave as if you want to live.”

Confusion made him blink. “How do you figure that? I came to you because Drake is after me. If I didn’t care about my continued existence, I could have just handed myself over to the fucker.”

“You came to me because you don’t want to give him the satisfaction. Or perhaps because you feel indebted to me. Not because you’re afraid.”

Gabe’s face whipped away, eyes focussing on the dash again. “What do you mean, feel indebted to you? I am indebted, you made that clear.”

They had come onto his street by then and Xero pulled smoothly into handicapped parking. Leaning back and touching his mouth with fingertips, Gabe saw something unusual flicker across his features. He looked closely, but it was gone, and the cold blank stare had returned when he met Gabe’s eyes.

“Gabriel. Unlike many in this city, you have no debt with me. We have a bargain; you work for me, and I help you in your eventual confrontation with your former pimp.”

“What about when I was behind bars?” Gabriel asked, eye widening slightly.

Xero gave a minute shrug. “Antoine wasn’t just a thorn in your side. He had been an annoyance for one of my clients for some time. You resolved the issue and wiped your slate clean. I meant what I told you before, I appreciate a keen mind and clever instincts. When you called, it was to accept the offer of employ.”

Gabe leaned back slowly, still watching him. Was this even true? Had it been the case the entire time? Had he just been too filled with resentment and rage to see it?

“I’m your dog.” He pressed. “Like Etienne.”

Xero shot him an annoyed look. “Hardly. I don’t control you, I pay you. Whatever damage has been wrought on your psyche over the years has clouded your judgment, obviously. We are not a dog and master, Gabriel. We have a kind of partnership.”

Gabe couldn’t look away from the blueness of that stare, all ice. Xero grinned his knife-like smile then.

“You are the knife and I am the sheath.”

Gabe started at that. Xero nodded approvingly.

“In all honesty, when we first met, you didn’t seem worth the effort. Richardson wanted you alive until we could understand just how much of a risk you were. Etienne was a steady informant on the matter after he saved your life. When you proved to be more than just a wide-eyed boy shaking in his shoes, I thought you were worth keeping alive, even though Richardson preferred not to take the chance. So I lied to him, through omission.”

“He thought you had been taken care of.” Gabe affirmed.

“Indeed. It was a convenient assumption. However, you spent your time wisely. You’re hardly the mess you were when we first met. Though you still have a mouth on you.”

Gabe tried to fit the pieces together. “Are you saying you were impressed by me?”

Xero looked away, again a minor shrug. “I wouldn’t go that far. Only that I saw potential in you. Was I wrong?”

Gabe was still processing everything he was being told. The information was reordering his perspective on the world. “You still haven’t said why you didn’t tell me?”

Xero spared him a disappointed look. “You’re clever but you’re stupid at the same time. I don’t have to explain anything to you. The only reason I’m telling you now is because it would make our working relationship so much easier if you weren’t champing at the bit all the time.”

“What? Oh, you mean like with a horse.” Gabe ran a hand over his face. “You just said there is no ‘bit’.”

“It was an expression, Gabe.”

Gabe blinked. Xero had never called him ‘Gabe’ before. He couldn’t help feeling like Xero’s words and Xero’s motives weren’t lining up.

“You’re not telling me everything,” Gabe said.

Xero was unaffected. “You should be used to that by now. If not, try.”

Gabe wasn’t completely convinced there wasn’t a leash around his neck anymore, or that there never had been, but he needed to think everything through before saying anything further. He opened the door, swinging his legs out quickly and shutting the door tight behind him. As he climbed the steps to his building, he heard Xero call.

“Tomorrow at nine AM.” He said through the open window.

“You still owe me donuts.” Gabe shot back before turning away.