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Once we’d finished loading everything into the dishwasher, I grabbed a blanket and we made our way outside.
“The town and your people are safe,” she blurted, the second I’d covered her with the blanket. We sat, side by side, on a bench made from my own hands, looking out into the night from my floodlit deck.
“From Gideon?”
She nodded. “I made sure no one followed me. I used a burner and changed my plates. No one followed me here.”
“You haven’t called to give away my location?”
Her eyes flared. “No.”
“Just checking.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, gripping her beer. “I just… I wouldn’t do that. I’m not getting paid for this job.”
“I figured that when you said something about your uncle.”
“I make enough hunting for the state,” she continued. “I don’t need private jobs. I’m good at what I do. And unfortunately, that seems to be the reason I’ve landed in this mess.”
“Why?”
“My uncle raised me. Not the greatest of role models, but he did the best he could. I struck out on my own five years ago, helping him on bounty hunting jobs from time to time. He struggles with the bottle, the track, the slots, cards, you name it.”
“He played at Gideon’s casino?” I guessed.
“Yep. And when Gideon’s men dragged me off the street to his office, I found him with a gun pointed at Will’s temple. He claimed my uncle had bragged enough about my reputation, and that should be enough to clear his debt of fifty thousand should I bring in Warren Donovan.” She looked directly at me. “The man who killed his daughter.”
My jaw clenched. “What happened after that?”
“I offered to pay off the debt. I have money in my savings account. Gideon didn’t want a cent. I negotiated a month to bring in Warren, and he clarified that he’d have my uncle watched day and night and taken out should I fail.” She laughed humorlessly. “My uncle is going to have a shock if he tries to skip town.”
I sensed her hurt, scooping up her hand, and stroking her soft skin. “How did you find me?”
“Gideon gave me a sketch of you and one hacker call later I had a place to start. I shook my network and followed my gut.” She smiled meekly. “I heard the stories about the men who could turn into wolves beneath the moon. Wolves who united under some form of an alliance, or whatever that is.” She shook her head, a blush staining her cheeks. “Foolish, I know. But it pulled at me in a way that I couldn’t ignore. I focused on the fables and where they’d originated. I paid those who needed the money when many refused to tell me more. I used the people I’ve come to know over the years, some I trust, some I don’t. It pays to have a lot of people know your name when you’re chasing someone down. A favor for a favor builds bonds and opens information channels.”
“And you found me from that?”
“I found a name, an investor called Donovan Darman, from that. And the name Donovan was linked to Warren Donovan, and that’s how I work. I follow the thread, no matter how thin. Then when I saw you in The Red Riding Hood, it confirmed my target when the sketch registered and you told me your name.”
“You didn’t expect the connection?”
“Hell, no.”
I laughed. “Yeah. Me neither. I wanted to be a bastard to you. I wanted to make you suffer.”
“Screw with me, eh?”
“And screw you. Send you back to Gideon with a big fuck you. Things didn’t work out like that, though.”
“Good plan,” she smirked. “But what would have stopped me from blabbing about the location? Giving it to Gideon once he released my uncle from his debt?”
“I never thought that far ahead. Too consumed by your ass. But why didn’t you do that once you confirmed who I was?”
“Because I don’t trust Gideon,” she replied. “He’s a piece of shit who greases the palms of the right people to look the other way. The rumors of the things he’s done sends shivers down my spine. There is no way I intended to lead him to the door of innocent people.”
“But it’s okay to serve me up on a platter?”
“I had doubts,” she muttered. “If that helps.”
