Alex’s eyes narrowed and he glanced side to side.
“To help you and our employer succeed,” I corrected.
He adjusted his glasses with one hand, then turned and stalked away from me. Fucking prick. Jogging a few steps to catch up, I said, “Alex. I swear.”
“Good. Look.” He glanced at me, suddenly all smiles. “I need you to do something prior to arriving at the club tonight.”
“Oh?” This was new.
We arrived at a black, spotless SUV. Moments before we were close enough to touch it, Alex’s driver, Nate, hurried around the side and held the back door open for us. I nodded at the stocky man, and received a pleasant smile in return.
Once the door was shut, Alex continued. “You are the middleman between us and the two families of the city that are giving us...issues.”
“The Esposito and Bianci? Yes. Recently the Acerbi showed an interest in—”
“I met with the Dons of both earlier today.”
This guy is a total fucking prick. I know I’ve said that before. Still. I would have taken great pleasure in strangling him in that moment, if that was something I was capable of. And I’m not even that violent.
Alex continued, unaware of my urge to punch him in the jaw. “Things got heated. I don’t believe either are willing to work with Vance. So I let slip that you’ve found some dirt on both that would put many of their people away, regardless of the hold they have on the DA and mayor.”
“Well, that won’t bode well with the meeting tonight.” It came out sassier than I expected, but Alex didn’t seem to notice. That, or he just added another mental tick on his list titled “Reasons I’d Like to Kill Henry.”
“That is why Vance will not be in attendance,” he said. The vehicle bumped along gently in traffic as Nate drove, and the pair of us swayed in sync. “I will take his place in full, and you will still be there as our liaison between the three businesses.”
Businesses. Ha. Rich.
“Yes, sir,” I said. “I understand.”
“Before you arrive at the meeting, I need you to talk with Officer Halpern and not only clue him in, but also come up with said dirt. He will keep it at the station, and if the meeting tonight does not go as planned, we will release it to the system. With so many on our side thanks to Vance’s timely payouts over the years, it will be easy to incriminate a good portion of both the Esposito and Bianci families.”
“Can do.” I checked my watch. “Gonna have to get creative with this dirt of yours. It’s already past four, and the meeting’s at nine.”
Alex graced me with a friendly grin. It gave me goosebumps, worse than if he’d smiled at me like he wanted to tear off a chunk of my face and eat it. “I have faith in you, Henry.” He gestured at the SUV’s door. I hadn’t even noticed we’d stopped. Looking out the tinted window, I recognized the front of the Redborough Police Department. “Clock’s ticking.”
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Afterword
In many ways, this book is about hope: Isaac’s hope to get away with the love of his life and start over, Emma’s hope to rise to power and finally be respected, Shawn’s hope to rid the city of the criminals he loathes, Jaxon’s hope to be noticed and understood. All four of these people had their desires crushed just now, in different ways. You may find that depressing, even, dare I say, grim (I had to). But fear not, for in the darkness, there will always be light. In the face of despair, strength comes forth, and it is up to these four to harness it, and use it to keep fighting. Don’t fret just yet, for this ride is just beginning.
Special Thanks
My family
My friends
My editors
My beta readers
My artists
I couldn’t have done this without you. I’m serious. Thank you for your love and continuous support.
Author’s Note
In the first three revisions of Grim Ambition, Isaac didn’t exist. Then, at one point in the first chapter, Emma pulled out her phone to text “one of her trusted contacts.” In the next rewrite, it became “her friend;” then, “Isaac, her closest friend.” Once he was created, he instantly took over in the best way possible. I watched them interact as I wrote, and discovered they were in love with each other. When I described what Isaac looked like, with his soft brown curly hair and pale green eyes, I knew in an instant Anton Yelchin would play him should Grim Ambition ever come to the screen. He always played sweet, loveable characters, and, perhaps because my mind had connected him with Isaac, Isaac became sweet and loveable. Did I write Isaac to be Anton? No. Did I write a version of Anton and changed the name? No. I never knew him in real life, but he nonetheless impacted me in the roles I’ve seen him in. To me, Isaac is Isaac, but Isaac wouldn’t be Isaac had Anton not been who he was.
I won’t forget the afternoon I found out Anton had died. I had been writing Isaac and Emma for a while by then. I remember yelling at my phone as the article of his death downloaded. It affected me, and I’m not ashamed to admit it, just like I’m not ashamed to admit that I cry like a baby now whenever I see him on screen. So young, so full of innocence on the screen. I didn’t understand how someone like that could die when so many others that have done terrible things roamed the streets. I still don’t. But he’s gone regardless, and the world is a dimmer place in his absence.
I don’t want you to think I’m playing favorites, here. I’m not. I have a deep connection with each of these characters. However, due to the emotional blow I’d felt, I found myself needing to continue writing Isaac with Anton in my mind.
Death affects us all differently. I had never felt anything before when a celebrity died, but none of them connected to a character that I created and loved, that grew in front of my eyes, developed into someone just shy of being real. No, Isaac and Anton are not the same. This trilogy is about finding your strength in the face of fear and pain. I can only hope that those who knew and loved Anton find theirs and carry forward, knowing he made the screen and people’s lives brighter while he was alive. And that you do the same yourself, when death takes someone close to you. Find your strength and carry forward. Hold tight to those you love while they’re here, and never forget them when they’re gone.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Jennifer never thought that she could actually write a book. Granted, her parents always urged her to write, considering she always had her nose stuck in a book. She got her love of the written word from her father, and her tenacity from her mother, and eventually, she tried her hand at a full length novel. Grim Ambition was released in March 2017. The second in the trilogy, Grim Judgment, is set to release later in the year, and Jennifer is currently writing the third, Grim Vengeance. She loves hearing from her fans. You can follow her on Twitter: @ChirpyJen and find more on A Grim Trilogy at her site: agrimtrilogy.com.
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