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“Okay,” I said, exhaling hard as I looked around. “Then we need to move the dogs out. And then we need to deal with the bodies. And clean any traces of us or Lark out of here,” I told them. “And Art, I am going to need you to get rid of any of the surveillance footage you have of this place tonight. And The Main Squeeze too.”
“And then?” Levee asked.
“And then we wash our hands of this. Keep an eye on everything just in case, but stay out and watch them implode.”
“Alright,” Seeley said, nodding.
“We’re going to need a car,” Levee said, looking at Seeley.
“I can have someone here in ten. They can bring the dogs back to the safe house if you want.”
“Lark would have my head if one of us wasn’t with them to make sure they are being separated properly and walked and fed.”
“I’ll do it,” Levee volunteered. “I’ve taken care of your animals a lot lately,” he reminded me when my gaze went to him.
“Okay. Alright. That works.”
“I’ll run out and get some cleaning supplies,” Seeley volunteered. “We are going to need more hands on this,” he added.
“Call in Donovan and Alaric. And tell them we are going to need to… transport some friends.”
“Okay. On it,” Seeley said, already reaching for his phone as he led his dogs outside. Levee followed behind with a few of his own.
Leaving me alone with Arty.
“I appreciate you, but what were you thinking?” I asked. “You know this is not your sort of thing.”
“I couldn’t get her free,” Arty said, gaze focused past me at the wall behind my shoulder.
“Well, you didn’t have the kinds of skills you’d need to do an extraction, man. It’s not your fault. What got into you?”
“I don’t know,” Arty admitted, brows pinching like he was genuinely trying to figure out what had happened to make him leave the safety of his filthy apartment and join the real world. “I wanted to… help.”
“That’s—“
“She ended up trying to save me,” he added, tone a little defeated. “She tried to tell them I was just being a Good Samaritan.”
“She didn’t want you getting hurt because of her. That’s not about you or how she feels about you. It’s about her and her big heart.”
“She was hurt. Her cheeks were red from crying.”
“It sounds like her shoulder was dislocated. She is getting checked out now. She’s going to be okay, man. Partially thanks to you. You knew where she was, and you told us. I appreciate it more than you can know,” I told him, moving forward to clamp a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.
In general, Arty didn’t like being touched. But at that moment, it seemed like he needed the comfort and reassurance.
“Can I come see her?”
“As soon as she gets checked out and gets a little rest, yeah. Absolutely. You know you are always welcome.”
“I will keep watching the Locust Crew,” he said, already making his way toward the door, pleased to have a purpose again.
“Arty, you need some sleep too, man.”
“I’ll watch them to make sure they aren’t coming for her again,” he insisted, walking toward the back door, pulling three dogs along with him, and I hoped one of the other guys would snag those leashes from him because when Arty had his mind set on something, he forgot about that kind of shit. Just like he forgot to eat or take out the trash.
Alone for a moment, I took a few deep breaths, trying to wrap my head around the events of the night.
With the adrenaline waning, everything was coming back in bright, acute detail.
