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In fact, every time I was in my forge these days, all I thought about was what I could make for Gin. What weapons she might need. What sort of sculpture she might like. What single thing I could make to get her to forgive me.
So far, I'd made five sets of knives, three sculptures shaped like various flower bouquets, and a complete set of silverware for the Pork Pit. None of which was good enough for her, not by a long shot. But still, I kept forging things, hoping that some sort of inspiration would strike and I'd finally know what to make, what to do to escape my past mistakes, and move forward.
Phillip started slashing the knife through the air, as though he was thinking about keeping it for himself.
"Give me that," I growled.
I grabbed the knife, put it back into the case, and closed the top.
"Did I ever tell you that you're no fun?" Phillip pouted.
"Frequently. " I dug through the trunk until I came up with another, slightly smaller hammer. "Here. Use this. If you still remember how. "
He twirled the hammer in his hands, with the same sort of familiar ease that I had. "Oh, I remember. I could never forget all the blisters, burns, and sore muscles I got from Cooper's forge. "
Back when we were younger and living on the streets, Cooper had taken us both in, along with Eva. Phillip had spent almost as many hours working in Cooper's forge as I had, even though he'd been a scrawny kid back then. But now he was even stronger than I was. He'd have no problems using that hammer to pound his way through whoever got in his way.
"Now what?" he asked.
"Now we find Gin's car. If they tracked her here, then they probably know what her car looks like and where she parked it. Since Stuart struck out in the club, they'll probably try to take her out in the parking lot. "
"So that's why you asked Xavier to throw them out of the club," Phillip murmured. "And here I thought you were just another ugly face. "
"Come on," I said, slamming the lid down on the trunk. "Before I show you just how ugly I can be. "
* * *
We walked through the rows of cars, looking for Gin's vehicle, but I didn't see it. Then again, there were so many cars crammed into the lot that I could have searched for an hour and not come across it.
"Maybe they came in Bria's car," Phillip said when we reached the end of another row. "Or one of Finnegan Lane's. I hear that he has quite the collection of vehicles. "
"He does," I replied in an absent voice, growing more and more frustrated.
Phillip poked me in the shoulder. "Hey, is that your guy?"
Sure enough, Stuart stepped out of the club. Rather, he was hustled out by Xavier, who had one of Stuart's arms pinned behind his back.
"C'mon, man," Stuart whined. "I was just having a little fun. "
"Well, go have your fun somewhere else. Remember what I told you, Stuart," Xavier growled, his voice carrying all the way over to us. "You're banned from the club for a month. And a month means a whole month, not a lousy couple of days. Now, get lost before I give you the beating that you so richly deserve. "
Xavier gave him a sharp push, and Stuart stumbled forward five feet before catching his balance. He clenched his hands into fists and whirled around as though he was thinking about charging Xavier. But Xavier crossed his arms over his broad chest and stared the other giant down, daring Stuart to come at him. Stuart must have thought better of things, because he brushed a bit of imaginary dirt off one of the sleeves of his blue T-shirt.
"Whatever. I don't need this stupid club anyway," Stuart said. "Chicks love me. Love me, I tell you!"
A few snickers sounded from the folks standing in line. Stuart turned his angry gaze to them, and suddenly, everyone was very interested in their phones, cigarettes, and conversations once more.
Stuart started muttering to himself, but he headed toward the parking lot, moving parallel to where Phillip and I were standing.
Phillip started to follow him, but I grabbed his arm.
"Wait," I said. "There's another guy with him. "
Sure enough, a minute later, Richie ambled out of the club, his hands stuck in the front pockets of his khakis like he was just out for an innocent stroll. The dwarf must have somehow sneaked past Xavier inside, or maybe he'd realized that Stuart was about to get tossed out. Either way, it didn't matter, because he was outside now - where I could deal with him.
Richie looked left and right. He spotted Stuart marching through the parking lot and headed in that direction, still keeping his slow, steady pace, as if he wasn't on his way to murder a woman.
Phillip let out a low whistle. "That's who's after Gin? No wonder you were worried. "
