Pyramid Deception Read Free Page A

expected.”
    â€œWhat time do you want to head up there?” Jason asked. “It’s a good half hour drive. And do we meet someplace or ride in the same car?”
    â€œWe?” Hannibal said with a small smile. “No, Jason, that’s not how this works. You don’t go along. If you’re dating this woman she’ll think she can hold back with you there. And there may be things she doesn’t want to admit in your presence. In fact, you don’t even talk to her on the phone between now and when I see her, understand?” Jason sat back in his chair, looking unsure.
    â€œHannibal’s right,” Cindy said with a condescending tone. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect your interests.”
    â€œSorry, babe,” Hannibal said. “Best if I do this alone.”
    â€œNo,” Cindy said, stepping closer to Hannibal. “I have too much invested here. I’ll go with you.”
    â€œNo, you won’t.”
    â€œDamn it, Hannibal, you can’t just push me out of this.”
    Cindy was very close, in his face. Hannibal bit back his reflexive response and slid off his Oakley sunglasses. His face was passive.
    â€œThis is a mistake,” he said. “I know you want to join me, but it’s a bad plan.”
    â€œWell it’s our plan,” Cindy said.
    Hannibal glanced toward Jason who was watching them very closely. Then he took Cindy’s arm in a gentle but firm grip.
    â€œCan I talk to you in your office for a minute? Please?”
    After a couple of deep breaths Cindy marched out of Jason’s office with Hannibal close behind. She walked to her own office and spun toward him when she was in front of her desk. Hannibal quietly closed the office door.
    â€œWhere do you get off…?” Cindy began.
    â€œShut up!” Hannibal’s voice was sharp and low, the voice he used when he was challenged in a bar. “This is my business and you will not tell me how to do my job.”
    â€œWell if this is business then I’m the client,” Cindy said, hands on hips. “I’m the one…”
    â€œWhat? The one paying me? Like I’m the hired help now?” Hannibal said through clenched teeth. “You better dig yourself. What you are is the woman who invested all her money without one word to her man. Not one word, when you got an expert standing in front of you every day.”
    â€œOh? I’m supposed to consult you about my business now?” Cindy’s Cuban accent came out stronger as her voice rose. Cindy spat out her next sentence in coarse Spanish, waving her hands in Hannibal’s face.
    â€œSpeak English,” he said, louder than he intended.
    â€œI said I see you every day in your dumpy little flat in Southeast. Since when are you an expert in financial matters?”
    It was Hannibal’s turn to get in her face. He leaned in on her, fists clenched and shaking at his sides. “No, I ain’t rich, and probably never will be. What I am is an expert in fraud, schemes, and deals that are too good to be true. Not that you need to be an expert to know you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. But that really don’t matter right now. Right now you’re in trouble. Here’s the facts that matter. You’re the person who got you in this fix. I’m the guy who can get you out of it. So right now you need to sit your ass down and shut the fuck up.”
    While he talked Hannibal poked a gloved finger at the spot between Cindy’s eyes. She slowly stepped backward until shewas behind her desk. Then the energy seemed to leak out of her like steam, and she lowered into her chair. Through it all she never lost eye contact with him. When she spoke again her voice was childlike and weak.
    â€œI need to do something.”
    â€œWhat you need to do is go home and get some rest,” Hannibal said. “What you need to do is trust me. This is what I do, after all.