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“A past client file.”
Briggs ran a hand through his thinning hair. “I maintain client confidentiality.”
I unclipped my gun from my shoulder holster and held it loosely.
His eyes widened.
“You mistook my statement for a question,” I replied.
“Yes, yes, of course. Which file?”
“Amy Shelton.”
He twitched and moved toward the back wall, filled with bookshelves overflowing with folders. After a few minutes of ragged breathing, he returned with a slim folder he had taken from inside a larger one.
“Here it is.”
I flipped the cover open, and Amy’s pale face, looking much younger than the photo on her passport, stared up at me.
“Had to age that one up. Excellent work, I’d say.”
I listened to him boast about his techniques as blood pounded in my ears. I flipped the sheets over. Rosa Cortes. The date of birth glared out at me like a punch in the gut.
“How old was she when she came to you?”
Our employment record said she was twenty-seven, but the date of birth on his paperwork didn’t match ours.
He peered over my shoulder, and the smell of stale cigarettes invaded my nostrils, making my eye twitch. Fecking hell, this suit would need dry cleaning.
“She was a young one. There, fifteen.” He pointed as if I couldn’t read or do simple maths.
He adjusted himself, and I barely stopped myself in time from painting the wall with his brains. I clenched my teeth and blew out a breath. Loch tensed next to me, reading my body language.
“What’s your interest? Has she been stealing from you?” Briggs licked his lips, his face eager.
It pissed me off even further that his immediate assumption was that she was a thief.
“Something like that,” I muttered.
Stole my fucking sanity.
I flipped the folder closed and handed it to Loch. To his credit, he tucked it into his jacket without wiping it down, keeping his hands free. The skinny guy backed toward the door, so at least someone was reading the room.
“How does a fifteen-year-old pay for an adult ID? Your prices aren’t cheap.”
Red tinted the edge of my vision, and blood pounded in my ears.
He smirked disgustingly. “I cut her a deal.”
I hummed in my throat, the rage burning like an incinerator. I knew instantly what this piece of shite was going to say. I wasn’t sure if I could hear the confirmation, so I changed the subject for a minute, thinking I could get something more valuable from this visit besides rabies.
“How’s your apprenticeship going?” I turned to the guy who was retreating from the room.
He gulped wide-eyed.
“The little shit only makes coffee,” Briggs blustered.
The skinny guys’ fear transformed into a mask of irritation. “So if I left, you’d still put out all the IDs you do? Your dinosaur methods are outdated,” he spat.
