Page 19 of Priest

“Call from your room,” Joker says. “Bathroom door locked. Sink running. Shower running. Burner only.”

“They could still hear.”

“They hear water. They hear a pregnant woman taking too damn long in the bathroom. They don’t hear me.”

Her fingers curl into the thin motel blanket.

“And Sadie?”

“Yes?”

“That burner better stay buried. If one Saint finds it, if Ghost even sniffs close to it, you better pray Priest puts you down before I get there.”

Her breath catches.

“They don’t talk around me,” she says quickly. “Business, money, anything that matters, they shut it down before I get close.”

“That ain’t what I asked.”

Silence presses hard against her ribs.

Then Joker says, “You get in his pants yet?”

The words hit her like a slap.

“No,” she says immediately. Too fast. “It’s not that easy.”

“I didn’t ask if it was easy.”

“He’s different now.”

“Bullshit.” Joker’s voice sharpens. “I put you there because you were in his bed once. You told me history would work. You told me he had a soft spot for you. You told me if I got you close enough, you could get back under him.”

Sadie closes her eyes.

“I can.”

“You haven’t.”

“He’s hung up on that bitch he was fucking,” she snaps, fear and frustration tangling until she can’t separate them. “He’s been searching for her for a month. He barely sleeps. He barely looks at me unless I force him to remember the baby exists.”

“He won’t let me close enough. I’m trying.”

“You better do more than try.”

“I gave you what I could,” she says, heat slipping into her voice despite the fear clawing up her throat. “Ghost closes screens when I walk in. Ledger stops talking before I’m through the door. Priest keeps the whole room careful. The information I’ve gotten is the best I can get without making them suspicious.”

Joker goes quiet.

That scares her more than the shouting.

“The best you can get,” he repeats.

“Yes.”

A soft laugh slides through the phone. “Then maybe you ain’t worth what it cost to put you there.”

Sadie freezes.