Read Last Call for Free Online Page B

mind paying a little extra, the go-to guy is down in Mara-thon. His name’s Manny Ochoa.”
    “Okay. I’ve got a few sources of my own. But I’ll check out this Manny.”
    “Thank you. I can’t wait to see it.This is the best birthday present this girl has ever gotten.”
    “I aim to please.”
    “And your aim is getting better all the time.”
    They shared a laugh and said good-bye. Theo closed his flip phone slowly, then reached inside his pocket and clutched his wallet. It gave him an uneasy feeling. He had no idea what he’d just promised to get her.
    “Everything okay?” asked Cy.
    “Yeah, same old bullshit. Where do we start on this tour of yours?”
    “I thought we’d head on over to—”
    The ring of Theo’s cell interrupted again. He left it in his LAST CALL
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    pocket, not even checking the number. “Head over to where?”
    said Theo.
    The phone continued to ring. “Don’t you need to get that?”
    said his uncle.
    “I’m sure it’s Trina calling back.”
    “Then take it.”
    “I don’t feel like it. I swear she’s always changing her mind.”
    “You want her to change her mind about you ? Take the call, fool.”
    Uncle Cy was the only man besides Jack who could talk like that to Theo. But at least the old man made sense. Theo dug the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.“Whassup, baby?”
    “Whassup, baby yourself.” It was Isaac’s voice.
    Theo struggled to show no reaction, but his uncle seemed to pick up his sudden annoyance. He drifted in the general direction of Theo’s future stage, pretending to act busy by pacing off the room’s dimensions.
    “I thought we were done,”Theo said through clenched teeth.
    “We would be if you hadn’t tried to change our deal.”
    “What the hell do you mean?”
    “Come on, dude. If I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you got your phone calls open to the cops or somethin’. Quit playing games and stop talkin’ like it wasn’t you who helped me blow TGK
    in the first place.”
    Theo was on to him immediately. Isaac was making good on his threat: If Theo went to the police, he was going to convince them that Theo had “come to Jesus” only after he’d helped Isaac escape. Thank God he and Jack had decided not to let the cops monitor his phones.
    Theo said,“I got nothin’ to say to you.”
    “Hey, I know it didn’t go exactly as we planned, but—”
    “We never had no plan, you son of a bitch.”
    “I ain’t askin’ for freebies here.There’s something in it for you, too.”
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    James Grippando
    “I already called the cops, all right? Don’t bother me no more.”
    “You what ? You motha’—”
    “Don’t call me.” He ended the call and drew a deep breath as he rolled his head from one shoulder to the other, trying to release the anger. He opened the flip phone again, but the sound of his uncle’s voice kept him from hitting Jack’s speed-dial digit.
    “What’s wrong?” said Cy.
    Theo closed the cell phone.The old man had always been good about not butting into Theo’s business, but he seemed to have a nose for real trouble.
    “That definitely wasn’t Trina,” his uncle said.“Who was it?”
    Theo slipped the phone back into his pocket. He’d already done the right thing. He’d called the cops. Like Jack had said: It was best to keep that between him and his lawyer. No point spoiling his afternoon with his uncle.
    “Nobody,” said Theo.“A real nobody.”
    Chapter 5
    Jack felt naked when he opened his front door. He was wearing only a swimsuit, and an FBI agent standing on his doorstep made him want to run for cover. Especially when it was Special Agent Andie Henning—with the emphasis on “special.”
    “Hey, Andie.” He didn’t know what else to say. It had been almost three months since their last date, which hadn’t ended on the best of terms.
    “Sorry to drop by unannounced,” she said. “I was afraid you might blow me off if I called. But I knew you’d be professional if I