I grimace at the mess pooling on the floor, and take one deliberate step back, not away from the body, just out of its way. I won’t look at her again. She no longer exists, and I won’t waste any more of my attention on a non-issue.
Someone answers on the fourth ring. “Line two. Speak.”
I answer as I walk toward the glass doors, glancing into the parking lot. “Hey. It’s me.”
“Cleanup?” Mother Elvy, the woman on the other end of the call, sighs as if she can’t deal with me tonight. “Just one?”
“Yes. The lobby of The Tidesman Midtown. East entrance.” I make my way toward the elevators, checking the hallway. “It needs to disappear. Quick.”
There’s a beat of silence before she replies, “Ten minutes.”
“Better make it five,” I say, and hang up.
When I turn back around, the guys haven’t really moved. Not that I expected any help scoping the place for witnesses. I do appreciate them staying out of my way, though.
Jace radiates anger, hands flexing at his sides as if he’s deciding whether to lunge for me or my gun or rip the body apart. If I hadn’t seen how much he hates the deceased, I might worry about his reaction.
Silas looks as if his lungs are struggling to do their job; his breaths are shallow and fast as he stares at his feet. There’s a fleck of blood on his cheek from standing a step too close, and he hasn’t wiped it away or acknowledged it’s there.
Kieran… He’s watching me like a man whose reality just folded in on itself, the same way the body did.
Good.
Now they know.
I cross the lobby and sit on the edge of the decorative fountain, giving them some distance until they decide how the rest of our night is going to go. I stay calm and contained on the outside, the way you sit when you’re waiting for a ride. But inside, my stomach knots as I wait for them to say something.
Anything.
“You just—” Jace stops himself and shakes his head as if he’s not sure he believes what’s happening. “You just?—”
“Shot her,” I finish for him, maybe a little too casually. “Yes. I’m aware.”
“You’re… calm.” Kieran tries, but he seems to still be at a loss for words.
I walk to the side doors, where I instructed the cleanup crew to park. It’s my way of giving the guys space to figure out what they want to say.
“She made a threat she couldn’t back up,” I explain, peering out the window like I can see around the corner. “And she did it in my city.” I shrug. “I did warn her.”
The silence behind me stretches. I turn to face them and tilt my head as I take them in.
“What would you have done?” I ask, though I’m not really looking for a reply.
Jace opens his mouth, but quickly closes it and shakes his head. Kieran drags a hand down his jaw as if he’s trying to anchor himself back into the moment.
Silas is done rebooting, stepping away from the mess to come closer to me. “Where’s the body going?”
“I don’t know. But I suspect it won’t be anywhere that remembers her.” I lift my phone as it buzzes, keeping my eyes on Silas. “Yes?”
“One minute out,” a man informs me through his thick Spanish accent. “Instructions?”
“No message. No souvenirs,” I tell him. “I don’t want it found.”
Tires squeal outside as a blacked-out SUV pulls up, followed by an unmarked van. Neither vehicle has plates. The entire crew is untraceable and professional.
The doors fling open and three people step out: two men and Mother Elvy. It’s always them, and sometimes one other guy if the mess is bigger. They wear identical disposable bodysuits and blank expressions.
The woman nods when she sees me. “Standard protocol?”
