It felt a little strange to move around the house, now that Klaus was gone. He was more familiar with the layout and everything, and he knew where to find anything he might have wanted, but he was far from feeling comfortable.
The game room was nice, though. It helped him take his mind off of things. Plus, he liked it. It was just the first day without Klaus, yet he felt he was missing the guy. How the fuck he was going to deal with the guy disappearing from his life forever? At the moment, smashing the console controller seemed like a good course of action. He needed to man up. Diaz was right. He needed to learn how to stand on his own two feet, not always hoping that there will be someone to depend on.
With that new found determination in mind, he was pretty cool when he answered the phone.
"Hi," he said a bit too brusquely.
"Are you all right?" Klaus's voice sounded a bit worried.
He relaxed.
"Yeah. Only that it feels a bit strange to walk around this big house."
"You do not have to stay cooped up in there all the time. Go out. See your brother."
Jake's blood chilled.
"Oh, that. So you really want me to spy on him?"
"I only mean for you to observe him."
"Spying, that's what it is," Jake sighed.
"As you wish. It is for his own good. Sorry for breaking the news to you, Jake, but your brother is not the sharpest tool in the shed. He seems to have a tendency for striking bad deals."
"So, I just come back and report everything to you?"
"Only if Diaz is engaged in shady business. Otherwise, I am completely uninterested in what your brother is doing."
"Um, okay. But I'm not a snitch. If it's nothing that concerns you or your money, I won't tell you."
"Fair enough."
"Promise me that Diaz won't end up in jail because I tell you stuff," Jake tensed, waiting for an answer.
"I promise," Klaus responded promptly.
"Okay," Jake said. "Bye."
"Where's the fire?" the teasing returned, the cold businessman suddenly gone.
"Do you want to tell me something else?" Jake steeled himself.
It was unfair that it was enough to hear the guy's voice going all low and sexy, and he could feel his knees turning to butter.
"Well, for starters, I wanted to hear your voice."
"Well, you did that," Jake tried to play cool.
"Are you feeling a tad rebellious? That gives me a few ideas for when I come back. You should prepare."
"Nothing could prepare me for you and your perv ideas," Jake said defensively.
Klaus laughed.
"Tonight, at 10 sharp, be in the game room. Turn on the computer in the corner."
"Oh, can we get some facetime or something?"
"Or something," Klaus chuckled. "It is not only your face I want to see. Be ready."
Jake stared at his phone. Kind of rude of the guy to cut of the conversation like that. What was he trying to say by that? He shrugged. There were still hours until then.
Maybe it was a good idea to go see his brother instead of just spending more time alone. He could use a distraction from his own tangled thoughts.
***
"Look who decided to show up," Diaz smiled at him and grabbed his nape to shake it roughly.
"What's up?" he gestured towards the rest of the guys gathered at the workshop.
"Just chilling," Diaz shrugged. "We worked our butts enough for today. Thought about grabbing a beer with us? Or you only drink champagne now?"
The gang laughed. Jake shook away his brother's firm grasp.
"Cut it out, guys. It's not like that."
"What are you doing there, in that fancy house, all day long?" his brother questioned.
"I work at one of the construction sites. And I don't do much else. I only sleep there."
"Chill, little brother," Diaz grinned. "It's good that you decided to come around. I have a mission for you."
Jake was pretty certain he was not going to like it. But he nodded shortly.
"You're spending time with this guy, right? You're in his house, so you must see plenty of him, what he's doing, who he's talking to, stuff like that."
"I don't see him that much," Jake tried to avoid Diaz's questions.
"Come on, Jake, you need to focus. This is important. I know you're not stupid."
"He spends a lot of time talking on the phone. But he only talks in German. I don't understand squat."
"Have you heard him talking to the heads of the other gangs?"
Jake shook his head. That was the truth.
"Damn," Diaz said through his teeth. "Look, you need to find something we can use. This guy thinks he's some big shot, coming to our town, making the rules. I know these rich dudes. Does he think he can play rough? He has no idea how's life on the streets."
Diaz's rant was welcomed by the others, who were just nodding and agreeing on every word he said. Jake could feel his blood running cold.
"Is the guy carrying?" Diaz asked him.
"What?" Jake asked, taken aback.
"A piece. Is he carrying?"
"No. He's like against guns, I think. You heard him."
Diaz seemed satisfied with the answer.
"I knew he was nothing but a big mouth," Diaz grinned. "That's good to know. Good job, bro," he patted Jake's shoulder.
"What are you going to do?" Jake stole nervous looks in the other guys' direction.
"Nothing you need to know too much about," Diaz said. "You're the worst liar I've seen. I don't want that Nazi to smell you know something."
"He's not a Nazi," Jake blurted out.
"What?" Diaz looked at him, surprised. "Are you taking his side? It was enough to live a few days in the lap of luxury and now you're too good for us?"
"I think he means well," Jake spoke, curling his hands into fists. "Come on, Diaz, don't screw up. Dude's pockets are deep. He could make it better for all of us."
Diaz was looking at him like he was suddenly growing horns. He circled Jake slowly, sniffing him, pulling at the hem of his t-shirt, and watching him.
"Do you think that's enough to have nice clothes and eat well to be better, Jake? That guy looks down on us. I know he treats you like you're his Chihuahua or something, but you're worse than an animal to him."
