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Carson didn’t live far. Only a few blocks away.
Audry rested in my arms, gripping me tightly as I walked. I tried my best not to jostle her as I sped up. The set for the band would be done soon, leading the crowd to disperse toward us. Audry needed privacy and cover.
I rounded the last corner, approaching Carson’s house. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, her fist wrapped at my collar. I adjusted her as I knocked on the back door.
No answer.
I knocked again, this time more frantically. Carson would be awake at this hour. She had to be. But, the green door stared back at me, a medusa as the knocker. This was her haven.
Audry slipped out of my arms, her feet connecting with the concrete.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said as she nuzzled into my neck, her weight leaned against me.
I dialed Carson’s number, the phone ringing.
“Hello?” she said, annoyed.
“I need your help,” I said, the words echoing off the brick walls of the narrow alleyway. The back door was still shut and locked. The smell of garbage mixed with the precipice of rain, the dampness seeping into my clothes.
“Cashing in a favor already, Kai?” she asked, her voice tinged with amusement. The night was chilly, a light breeze blowing in. It was so normal, but?—
“I’m outside with…” I glanced down to Audry shivering against me. “With a friend.”
A deep, depressed sigh came from the other end of the phone before it clicked. Seconds later, the door opened.
Carson stood in the doorway, her black hair tied up, the ringlets waving down to the top of her shoulders. Her freckles were brighter than Logan’s, something that always set them apart. She pursed her full lips and blinked. Last night’s makeup was smudged along her waterline, giving her a party girl appearance. Her gaze dragged over Audry next to me, pausing on the blood.
“Come on, inside,” she said without another question. The distant sound of late night traffic disappeared as I helpedAudry up the concrete steps into Carson’s home. “You should’ve brought her to the Serpent’s Embrace,” Carson chastised, leading us upstairs.
The yellow walls didn’t seem welcoming anymore.
“She doesn’t belong there,” I said. Normally, I would’ve brought any other woman I picked up in that area to Serpent’s Embrace, but Audry didn’t belong in the brothel.
Carson glanced back, intrigued, but said nothing else. The second floor had a loft area with a small couch and her desk. There were two bedrooms and a bathroom off of the landing. She pointed to the bathroom off to the side and motioned to take Audry.
“No,” Audry cried, tensing. Her hands tightened against my shirt, her nails nicking my flesh underneath.
“It’s okay, she’s going to help,” I said, prying her off of me.
With hesitation, Audry went with her, disappearing into the bathroom.
I ran my hand through my hair, dropping the weapon on the desk.I was in this now, I thought. The damn beer bottle stared back at me…the bloody prints, not just hers anymore.
“What did I get myself into?” I muttered.
“I don’t know, brother. You tell us,” Liam’s grating voice boomed from the top of the stairs.
I spun around on my heels, uncertain how this would go. Logan was tucked in behind him, more than happy to be here.
“I didn’t kill him,” I said, holding my hands up.
“Didn’t seem like your work,” Logan said, pushing past him. “Too messy and too…easy.”
“We’re already in trouble with Samuel.” Liam stalked closer to me, lipstick still stained on his neck. “Nate of all people, Kai!”
“What did you expect me to do?” My stare narrowed on him. “I know you have a debt to pay, and this isn’t on you?—”
“Isn’t on me? Are you fucking joking right now?” Liam’s stare darkened. The type of stare reserved for those dying at the end of his gun.
