illicit funds • j cody

FIFTEEN

💸 POWER, CORRUPTION, AND LIES 💸

J lies with his head on my chest by the pool. "Everyone fucking hates me," he murmurs, "because Angela said I went and got her using again. She's a bitch. She screwed my mom and I over so many times, and Pope takes her more seriously than me because he thinks saving her is like saving my mom. It's bullshit."

I run my fingers through his hair with one hand and hold a martini in the other, "She'll fade away soon enough, she's bound to disappear for good."

"She isn't going anywhere until she gets money," he groans.

"I can make her disappear."

"They'll know I had something to do with it, and they think you're fishy just because you're with me. I'm stuck."

"You'll figure something out," I kiss the top of his head before taking a sip of my martini, "I know you will. She'll probably leave when Smurf kicks the bucket, there'll be too much chaos for her to make money."

"She thrives on chaos, she's going to be a goddamn leech forever," he gets up and takes another beer out of the mini fridge. "By the way, Smurf really wants to get lunch with you soon."

"Give her my number and tell her to text me, I'd like to speak with her one on one."

"I think she's been talking to a PI about you," he says with concern.

"Let her," I sigh, "the PI won't find shit, no one can, not even the federal government."

"She probably isn't looking into legal things though, my bet is on she's trying to find something personal that she can unsettle you with."

"The only personal thing I have is my mother, and she can poke and prod me about that all she wants."

"Just be careful," he sits back down and puts an arm over my shoulders. "She doesn't like you, I can tell, and most of the time when she doesn't like someone, she'll do whatever she can to rip them to shreds, and I don't want her doing that to you."

"She isn't going to do shit to me," I insist. "I'm not scared of her, and I've had to deal with people worse than she could ever imagine being."

"She's going to give you hell."

"And I'll appreciate the challenge."

💸💸💸

Smurf sits down across from me at the sushi restaurant where we agreed to meet for lunch, surprisingly, she was fine with meeting me at a place on my turf. I made sure we'd have a table in one of the private rooms so she'll feel perfectly comfortable with saying whatever she wants to me.

I'm not going to waste my time on formalities with her, and I'm sure she'll appreciate me cutting to the chase. A waiter placed a giant platter of sushi that I ordered to be ready by the time I got here in front of me, and I wait for him to leave before speaking.

"J tells me you've been doing some research," as usual I have a martini in hand.

She nods, "If there's a chance you'll be taking my place in this family, I had to find out who you really were."

I smirk, "I'm touched, but I'd rather be a Thorpe than a Cody," I sip my martini, "So, tell me what you know."

"Your Dad moves money for the cartels, he has for a long time, since before you were born, I believe."

"Does he really?" I chuckle casually. "Then how come the DEA is breathing down your neck far more than mine?"

She glares at me but continues, "That's why you were born in Colombia."