“Nah, man, he spent the morning cleaning up puke and shit,” Manny said, walking up behind Luis with an even more stacked plate. “I wouldn’t be hungry either.” Luis’s brows pinched as he glanced over toward where Val was sitting at the front window, watching the grounds, likely itching to get out there with his friends. But the dogs were on schedules. Some were in the house a good chunk of the day, but outside all night. Others had the opposite. I didn’t believe in having dogs living outside, not even for protection, but some of them—like Val—seemed to live for their guardMy gaze kept drifting toward the clock, watching the hours tick away, getting more and more concerned that I hadn’t heard from that PI place. Were they really going to shoot themselves in the foot by not letting Hope take on the case? I mean, they got paid whether she solved the fucking case or not. Though, yeah, I had no doubts that she was capable of sussing shit out. If for no other reason than spite. Spite
Nah, man, he spent the morning cleaning up puke and shit,” Manny said, walking up behind Luis with an even more stacked plate. “I wouldn’t be hungry either.” Luis’s brows pinched as he glanced over toward where Val was sitting at the front window, watching the grounds, likely itching to get out there with his friends. But the dogs were on schedules. Some were in the house a good chunk of the day, but outside all night. Others had the opposite. I didn’t believe in having dogs living outside, not even for protection, but some of them—like Val—seemed to live for their guardMy gaze kept drifting toward the clock, watching the hours tick away, getting more and more concerned that I hadn’t heard from that PI place. Were they really going to shoot themselves in the foot by not letting Hope take on the case? I mean, they got paid whether she solved the fucking case or not. Though, yeah, I had no doubts that she was capable of sussing shit out. If for no other reason than spite. Spite
So I wasn’t afraid of male anger, knowing that no matter what form it took, I could defend myself against it. That meant I didn’t jolt or shrink or feel like I was going to cry when someone was in my face and screaming. Instead, I kind of just focused on how ridiculous their actions were. How they reminded me of the emotional regulation of a five-year-old instead of a fully grown man. Peter, he always got red. Liam kind of spat a little when he was yelling. Elijah cursed so often when he was pissed that I actually started a mental ticker when he started talking. It was only Vane’s anger that I even remotely worried about. Unlike our other coworkers who ran hot and emotive, Vane was a cold sort of fury. Quiet. Unpredictable. Or maybe I was just reading too much into shit, given our history, given the fact that we barely spoke since… well… all that shit went down. I was sure he wasn’t happy that the biggest client we’d landed in six months wanted me, and only me, on the case. B
Which is someone working behind—“ Elijah started. “I know what a fucking snake is, E,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Did he say why he thinks that?” “He didn’t give a lot of specifics,” Liam said. “He mentioned some vague things about things getting leaked that shouldn’t have been if ‘all the holes were sealed up,’” he went on, air quoting the part A had said. “Pretty much. We can’t go asking questions, but need to have answers,” Peter said. “Now why don’t you run along and tell the client what is going on, then take your ass home, so we can get to work?” I wanted to snap back at that, but I didn’t say anything as I grabbed my wallet, took another sip of my cold coffee, and headed out the door. The problem was, I didn’t have a phone number. Honestly, I doubted Peter and the guys did either. Jay struck me as more careful than that. And I couldn’t exactly show up at his house either. So my only choice was to wait for him to leave, hope he was alone, then follow him. It took longer t
While I waited for it to be filled, I popped into the local big box store, grabbing some more supplies to treat my wound since I was running low at home. Don’t ask me why, but I walked my ass casually down the book section. And when I saw Les Miserables and the first Wheel of Time book—that was now a TV series, according to the sticker on the front—I grabbed them and tossed them into my basket. I tried not to think too much into that as I checked myself out, then grabbed my food, and headed home. Then, about a foot into my place, I forgot I even had books in my bag. Because I realized almost instantly that I wasn’t alone… Naomi I’d never been so grateful for a plastic bag ban as I was right then. Because as I set my canvas totes down on the floor, so my hands were free to reach for my expandable baton and knife, they didn’t make a single sound. My apartment had a weird setup. It wasn’t in a complex like most people had, but on top of a store that, judging by the fact that it w
Hey, I need a place to crash for a few days. You don’t mind, right? Then: Where the hell are you? I’ve been here two days already and haven’t seen you yet… “Right,” I said, shrugging as I went across the apartment to tuck away the gun, and plug in my phone. The texts could wait until the morning. If there was something serious up, Violet would know about“How long are you crashing?” I asked, looking over at her. “Probably just another couple of days. Work has been surprisingly light lately. If you want privacy, I could go crash with…” she paused then, going through the list of cousins, mentally checking off the ones who’d recently gotten shacked up and were spouting out babies. “I know. The list is getting shorter,” I said, nodding. “You’ll always have me. I don’t plan on shacking up with anyone,” I told her as I went to grab the bags. “I know, right? Who the hell has the time?” Vi agreed, following her nose into the kitchen with me because, if there was one thing you could coun
That skip had originally been pulled in for a particularly horrific case of domestic abuse before getting let out on bail. Because, well, our justice system didn’t seem to give a fuck about the victims of domestic abuse. Violet had wanted him to know what it was like to be made to be a victim by someone with more power than he had. She didn’t often bend the rules. But she had her moments. When it seemed appropriate. “Why would he come to your place instead of one of the other ones?” Vi asked. “I mean, I’m not trying to be insulting or anything.” “No, that’s fair,” I agreed. It was no secret that there were bigger and, arguably, better private investigation offices he could have gone to. “I guess maybe he didn’t think they would take on his case, given who he is. And maybe what they know will happen to said snake once he’s found out.” Vi nodded at that, her attention turning to the TV. And I thought that was maybe it. Until she spoke. “I think it’s because of you.” “What?” I as
“What?” I asked, my pulse hammering in my wrist and throat, not used to being caught so off-guard. My hand was still holding the knife I’d pulled out of my cup holder. A’s gaze cut there for a brief second, unbothered, before it was looking back out of the windshield. “See… I got this strange feelin’,” he started again. “That you’ve been lying to me.” Shit. You don’t get as far as I got in life by being blind to the shit that was going on around you. Especially when that shit involved your work. So, yeah, I’d clocked the guys from the private investigator place. Sitting in their cars. Watching shit. Following people. I had to give them some credit. They were decent at their jobs. If I wasn’t looking for them, and I didn’t know who they were, I probably wouldn’t have noticed them. Different cars. Different clothes. The thing was, it was the men. Didn’t see Hope not once. It didn’t take a genius to realize what was going on. They’d gotten her to agree to the job, then took it