Simon gestured to the huge open area that took up the entire second floor. “Sell or burn everything. Take the money as a legal defense fund for my people. Give all paper and electronic files to me.”
She nodded slowly. It was a huge task and certainly one she was willing to do. But it was going to take some time and effort. A lot of?—
“I’m hiring you, Alyssa. A thousand a week at first. More as we get settled.”
A spark of greed kindled in her belly, and she arched a brow. “I have a business.”
“That’s why it’s only a thousand at first. Because you’ll be splitting your time.”
Good thing she had things running like clockwork at the laundromat. “Triple it and you’ll get me twenty-four/seven this week. We’ll renegotiate next week.”
“Deal.”
And so began the most incredibly exhausting day of her life. It wasn’t just that he needed her to write down everything he learned, but there were bodies to take care of and police statements to give. Nothing in the upper story could be dealt with until that was done.
All in all, it went pretty smoothly. Detective Kennedy smoothed things over and even recommended a good lawyer. Alyssa was able to check out the guy through her own contacts, and declared he was a good choice. Plus, it helped that Simon turned over all the records they could find regarding the drug and weapons business. Yes, Nanook had been into all sorts of nastiness.
Simon worked methodically. He would not be rushed and nothing distracted him. She had to admire such a steady and organized mind, but as the day wore on, she saw the toll it was taking on him. Though he never raised his voice, his words got more clipped, his orders became commands, and he rarely waited long enough to see if they were obeyed. Or even acknowledged. By the end of the day, there was no softness in him, not even for her. At least twice in the afternoon, he’d managed a whispered, “Thank you,” to her. Now she didn’t even see a gentleness in his eyes much less gratitude.
He was cold and impatient, and he turned up his nose at the pizza she’d had delivered. When she’d offered him a glass of tap water (he refused to touch anything Nanook had in his refrigerator), he’d slapped it out her hand like it was toxic waste.
It was midnight when she lost patience with him. Most of the men were gone, though Detective Kennedy was likely to be working at the precinct through the night along with Vic and the accountant whose name escaped her at the moment. Hank remained a silent witness to everything that went on while a steady parade of people wandered in, greeted Simon by showing him their neck, and then wandered out. They never shifted and they never said much of anything, but Simon would whisper to her after they’d left.
“Wolf.”
“Cat.”
“Human.”
“Bear child.”
She found out later that meant the child of a shifter but one who had never shifted. They still owed loyalty—to a point—but were rarely counted as part of the real clan. As far as she could tell, they were from all walks of life and had varying degrees of annoyance or respect at being called in to greet the new alpha. But it was the last label that finally tipped her into fury.
“Sycophant.”
“That’s Mrs. Garcia, and she’s important in the neighborhood,” she snapped. And when he just looked at her with a flat expression, she continued on her tirade, barely able to keep her voice low. “She owns the cleaning company who is bleaching everything tonight and her nephew is the one taking out the furniture. They’re doing it as a personal favor to me.” And because she’d promised them a big healthy check if it was finished by tomorrow at noon. “Plus her sister’s kid runs a furniture store that can get you what you want wholesale.”
“And she’s important in your neighborhood,” he repeated, as if that explained everything. He gestured to her notes. “Alyssa, I can smell the cannabis on her. She’s the dealer two doors down your street.”
“She’s smart and honest?—”
“I’m not making a value judgment,” he said, his voice showing the first signs of strain since this began. “Just a notation that she’ll turn on me if the situation doesn’t benefit her. Am I wrong?”
No, he wasn’t. But it still pissed her off. She’d been working without a break from the moment she’d gotten up this morning. And yeah, it was exactly what she’d promised to do, but damn it, she hadn’t realized how difficult it would be to stand beside Simon and take orders like she was his servant or slave.
She wasn’t. She was his assistant, obviously, but she was also something more. Or maybe she wanted to be more. And maybe this back-and-forth in her mind was the real reason she was upset. Because she hadn’t thought it would be midnight, and he’d still be treating her like she was one step up from a computer note-taking app.
Rather than argue with him, she thumbed her phone shut. It was near dead anyway. “I think that’s it for today.”
His eyes narrowed, but not at her. He was looking at Mrs. Garcia as she started directing a small army of cleaners.
Alyssa spoke up. “She knows what she’s doing. And she’ll keep her mouth shut.” Then before he could ask his next question, she answered it. “She also knows how to look for hidden caches better than anyone else I know. And she’ll turn it over.” When he still didn’t respond, she lifted her chin. “You trust me? Because I trust her.” Plus she might have told Mrs. Garcia that there were hidden cameras everywhere, which wasn’t a complete lie. As far as she knew, Nanook had secret devices in the walls. She hadn’t had a chance to look.
“What exactly does she do? Exactly.”
She winced. “She grows and distributes the weed. Has a huge hydroponics setup in her home run by her nephew who is a botanist of some kind. And a niece who cooks. The cleaning crew is legit—run by her daughter-in-law—but it’s not the main source of family income. And I trust her.” At least in this, she did. Mrs. Garcia would absolutely do what was in the best financial interest of her family. And that included not betraying Alyssa in this cleanup job.
“Very well,” Simon said as he packed up Nanook’s computer. Alyssa had already looked at it. It was mostly a porn repository, but there were some potentially important files. It would have gone to the precinct with all the other electronics, but this had been in a secret cubbyhole under a floorboard. Simon had found it simply by sniffing from about two feet away, curling his nose, and pointing.
