“He’s not my cousin! He’s not family! Alex’s whore of a wife can’t keep her goddamn legs crossed for five weeks while he’s away on business and I’m supposed to pretend like I don’t know?! It’s a miracle that worthless sack of shit hasn’t been done in by his own mother yet, for all the good he’s done! The only reason I keep him this close is so I can keep him from fucking up things too bad!” Nickolas relaxed his grip on the table, slowly retracting his claws from the aged, oak surface as he breathed deeper. “But that’s not a problem anymore, Munk. And not one you will need to be involved in.”

“You still haven’t answered the question, Nickolas.”

“And that was?”

“What do I get out of this? Why should I risk my neck when I’ve got a good gig going here, the only respectable bit of work I’ve done in years?”

A smile crossed the feline’s lips as he shuddered with a low purr. “Well, Munk, that’s very simple…”