Knight’s fingers tapped.“Three weeks ago.”He turned his screen to Knuckles.“Full fee is fifty thousand.”
“Half up front, half on delivery,” Knuckles clarified.
I shook my head.“Not on this one.What does FM mean?”
“Front money,” Griffin said quietly.“Full payment, all at once.And 3-5 is three passengers, five transports.”
I reached for the next page, but Knuckles stopped me with a raised hand.“That’s enough for now.”
I straightened, my back aching from hunching over the workbench.My palms had gone clammy, and the cut on my hand had settled into a dull, insistent beat.“I have more.A lot more.”
“We know,” Knuckles said.“You’ve been brave as hell going after your sister’s captors alone.But you’re standing in the middle of something much bigger than one woman can carry.I’m not even certain how my club’s gonna handle it.So, I want Knight to go over the rest independently.Then I want the two of you to compare notes.If he needs help with locating something, will you help him?”
I blinked up at him, shocked but pleased at the way he phrased his request.I suppose, logically, I knew I didn’t have much choice, but I couldn’t take offense when I’d been expecting to have to fight my way into helping.“Absolutely, I’ll help.”
He leaned forward, his eyes never leaving mine.“I’m putting the full weight of my presidency and every piece of leverage I hold as one of the Miles family’s most brutal enforcers behind finding your sister and delivering the men responsible to whatever justice looks like when the law isn’t invited.Which will very heavily depend on the shape we find your sister in when we recover her.”
I stared at him, the implication of his words sinking in one by one.“What do you want in return?”
Something like approval flickered across his face, almost a smile.“The same thing you want.To make sure all the right people pay for what they’ve done.”
I glanced at Griffin, who stood beside me.His jaw was set, eyes giving nothing away, but he gave me a single, almost imperceptible nod.“Tell me what you need from me,” I said, turning back to Knuckles.
“Everything you’ve got.Every name, every date, every dollar.Everything you’ve figured out, and everything you’re still working on.Knight will take it from here.”
Knight nodded, already turning back to his laptop.“I need access to your files.All of them.”
I reached into the laptop bag and pulled out the external hard drive I’d salvaged from my apartment.“Everything’s on here.Encrypted, but the key’s in the front pocket.”
Knight took it without comment, plugging it into his system.The screen filled with lines of code, scrolling too fast to read.Knuckles turned to Griffin.
“Get her settled,” Knuckles said, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest.“Make sure she’s got everything she needs.”He looked at me.“Get some sleep.Tomorrow, once me and Knight have a chance to review everything with Gunnar, we start putting this together.”
Griffin nodded.“Come on,” he said to me.“You look like you’re about to fall over.”
I glanced at the ledgers, still spread across the flat surface.“Thank you,” I said, the words feeling inadequate.“For believing me.”
Knuckles shook his head.“Don’t thank me yet.You don’t know what you’ve started.This isn’t going to be easy.”
With a nod, Griffin urged me out the door.“Come on.The sooner you can shower and rest, the better you’re gonna feel.”
He led me down a hall and to a lift that carried us to the third floor.Each step was an effort, a dull throb starting in my hand that matched the ache in the shoulder I’d landed on.The world felt thin at the edges, the result of a day without sleep and a morning without food.I just focused on putting one foot in front of the other.
“This is you,” Griffin said, stopping at a door halfway down the corridor.He produced a key card from his pocket and unlocked the door, then stepped back to let me enter first.
The room was bigger than I expected.A spacious living area held a worn couch and a low table, with a full kitchen along one wall.Through a doorway, I could see a separate bedroom, just large enough for a bed, a dresser, and a desk.A single, large window set high in the exterior wall looked out over the camo-netted yard below.
Griffin stepped inside and shut the door before handing me the keycard.“Obviously, the lock is electronic, but you’ve also got a deadbolt.You control who comes in or out.”
He set a bottle of water and a wrapped sandwich on the counter.“Pain will be by with his woman, Nadine, to look at your hand in a few minutes.Try to get some rest.”He paused a moment.“You have my phone number.Hannah said she gave you hers, Pippa’s and mine.”When I nodded, Griffin gave me a smile before stepping back outside and pulling the door closed behind him with a quiet click.I waited a moment before crossing to the door and turning the lock.The bolt seated itself with a dull click.I pressed my forehead against the cool wood of the door and closed my eyes.I was safe.For now.
It wasn’t long after, a knock came.I looked through the peep hole to see a woman about my age or slightly older standing outside.Behind her was a large man I’d seen briefly when I’d first gotten to the compound.I unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door.
The woman who knocked was compact and athletic, with honey-colored hair in a loose braid.Her gray eyes assessed me with a calm, clinical interest I recognized from ER nurses.The man behind her was older, maybe mid-forties, with shaggy salt-and-pepper hair and a settled stillness that was unnerving.He watched me without expression while the woman offered a bottle of water.
“Veda?”The woman smiled warmly, and it reached her eyes, which I hadn’t expected.“I’m Nadine.This is Pain.Griffin asked us to come take a look at your hand.”
I stepped back from the door.“It’s really not that bad.”
