“Nope. Very alive… and very annoying.”Accurate.
“Motherfucker, nine lives,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What?” Vee asked.
“Nothing.” I pushed my chair back from her desk and stood. I didn’t make it two steps before Vee was grabbing my arm and spinning me around. For a middle-aged woman, she was awfully spry when she wanted to be.
“I already told you not to touch this. You will not disobey me again, girl.”
I yanked my arm free. “Why? Afraid I’ll hurt your boy,Mommy?”
I definitelyhurther. I could see it in Vee’s eyes. Not many people would notice. Because not many people knew this woman like I did. She knew me just as well too. Which was why it was both easier and harder to hurt each other.
Gabby was standing between us in seconds. She looked from me to Vee. “Okay, I think we all need to take a breather. This isn’t like us. It’s not supposed to be like this.”
Vee nodded once. “Your sister’s right.”
“Not my sister,” I grunted, and Gabby and Vee broke out into matching grins.
Why? Because it didn’t matter how many times we said it. We all knew it wasn’t true. Blood wasn’t thicker than water. But it sure as hell was a lot more fun to swim in.
“He spiked my drink.” I sighed. “I can’t let that go.”
Vee swallowed hard before offering me another quick nod. “If he did it to you, he’s done it to someone else.”
“Exactly.”
“We won’t get paid fortarget adjacent,” she added.
“This one’s on the house.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
CASPER
“Whatcha got for me?” I jumped down from the top bunk in Bugs’s room. The fucker startled and switched on that little implant in his ear when I slapped a hand on his shoulder.
“Where the hell did you even come from?” He swiveled in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest while eyeing me like I’d just caught 'em with his cock in the cookie jar. “How did you get in here?” he grunted.
I shrugged a shoulder. Couldn’t tell people all your secrets or you had nothing to hold over 'em later. Bugs mighta had this entire place wired up but that didn’t mean he knew it better than me. No one did.
At least no one still breathing did. The dead were particularly good at keepin’ shit they knew buried with them. The only exception was Don-Don. But he wasn’t saying nothing either.
I tapped a finger on the monitor, waiting for my bunk brother to catch up. “Who are they?”
Bugs looked from my face to the window he was quick to minimize as soon as he realized I was interested. “No one.”
“Threeno ones,” I hummed, spring-boarding from my feet back onto the bed. Landing so that my legs were in the air—kicking from side to side—as I propped my chin up on my hands. “And one of thoseno oneslooks suspiciously like that old chick we had in the conference room yesterday.”
“Chicks don’t like being calledold. Orchicks,” he grumbled before blowing up the image on the screen. The same one Lambo had given to Danica. The little arrow bouncing from one face to the other. “Veera Vaughn.”Old chick.“Gabrielle Simmons.”Not-as-old chick.“Bellatrix Doucette.”Angry chick. Also chick who locked my dick in a death grip.“They run some vigilante group out of an office building at the border of West Garfield. Female clients only, which is why Adrian probably called Dani in. No listed phone number or email. All business is conducted by word of mouth, a strict referral process. It’s kinda genius actually.”
“It’s kinda stupid is what it is.” I laughed.
Bugs peered over a shoulder to look at me. “How do you figure?”
“Girls make up what? Fifty percent of the population…”
“Closer to forty-nine—” he started to say, and I waved a hand. Because I didn’t give a shit about numbers as much as Sir Jerks-A-Lot did.
