“Which part?” Mike asks incredulously. “How about all of it. Look, I get that you do this every day, or whatever, but this is a first for me. And this is my life we’re talking about, so…” He trails off then drops his head to his chest as his whole body seems to deflate at once. He sits on the edge of his dining room table and says, softly, “It’s a big deal.”
Mike says, resignedly, “We both know the answer is yes.”
There’s a pause, and the man says, “Your grandmother is lucky to have you for a grandson.”
He stands, spins, looks out the window. “Yeah. I’ve done a bang up job of taking care of her.”
“You’re willing to sacrifice the possibility of your own personal freedom to make sure she’s taken care of. That’s not a small gift.”
He nods then turns his head to look at the man sitting in a chair across the dark apartment. “Why me, anyway?”
He just smiles. Harvey Specter, notorious mob boss, head of the Specter Family, just smiles at him. Like Mike should know better than to ask.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“There’s a rat in my organization. I want you to find them.”
“Someone’s actually stupid enough to cross you?” Mike just shakes his head. “And what makes you think I’ll be able to find them?”
“You have an incredible mind and a sweet face. You’re good at making friends. It’s been my experience that people like you tend to be good at loosening lips.”
Mike’s face heats up and Specter smiles, shark like.
“You really think your people are going to open up to a newbie at the bottom level of the organization?” Specter just stares at him for a moment, patiently. Finally, Mike gets it. “No…they wouldn’t. And you know that.”
He says, “See? You catch on quick.”
“Yeah…it’s this brilliant brain.”
Crap. Mike always knew he had shitty survival instincts, but sarcasm? He’s not going to survive long in mob captivity.
Except Specter is grinning even wider now, as if he’s pleased.
“You’e going to come in near the top of the organization.”
Mike walks over to sit down on the sofa, leaning forward and bracing his arms on his knees. “Isn’t that going to make them trust me less?”
“Quite the opposite. Every single one of them will want to be best friends with the boss’ new boyfriend. With that face and no history in an organization like ours, they’ll think you’re prime for the picking.”
Mike sits up. “Your boyfriend?”
He nods. “We’ll move you in to my condo in a couple of days.”
“Your live-in boyfriend?”
Mike looks around his apartment. It’s small, yes, but it’s his. But…not anymore. Nothing in his life will be his anymore.
Specter is almost gentle when he says, “I have too many enemies, Mike. If I left you here to fend for yourself, I’d never see you again.”
Mike swallows, looks up and says, as firmly as he can manage, “I’m not going to hurt anyone for you. I’m not going to kill anyone for you.”
Specter meets his eyes and says, “Agreed.”
“You’re not muscle, Mike. You’re too important for that.”
“She’ll be moved to her new residence tomorrow, just a few minutes away from our place.”
“Our place,” Mike parrots softly. “This is going to take me a minute to process.”
“I’m going to take care of you, Mike.”
“You mean in the biblical sense or the ‘they’ll never find my body’ sense? Shit.” Mike closes his eyes. “Sorry, boss.”
“It’s Harvey, Mike. Not Boss.”
He looks over at him. “I thought everyone called you Boss. Or Mr. Specter.”
“They do.” Harvey reaches his hand up and loosens his tie, leans into the back of the chair, as if he’s content to stay for a while, here, with Mike. As if he has nowhere else to be. “You don’t.”
Harvey smiles, soft in the darkness. “There you go. Step one.”
He’s probably the most dangerous man in New York. And Mike is definitely a fool for saying yes. But it’s Grammy. Of course he said yes. He was always going to say yes.
Mike pulls the last two beers out of his fridge, holds one up toward Harvey. Harvey nods, and Mike uses the edge of the counter to pop the caps off each one. He hands it to Harvey by the neck and Harvey takes it, eyes locked on Mike as he tips it back.
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