AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Swiping on neat, even coats of the new color helps even more. I try to let it make me a new person.
A better, stronger person. One who can do what needs to be done for Hannah.
Gage, Ash, Priest, and Knox just watch me as I do it. They seem to understand that this is one of my little rituals, and they’re quiet, lost in their own thoughts and giving me the space to do what I need to do.
Once I put away the little bottle and start blowing on my nails to dry them faster, Knox and Priest move to get up from the bed.
“We should get to work,” Gage says, getting up and stretching his arms over his head. “We have a lot of ground to cover and some leads to track down.”
The men move like a well-oiled machine, and this might be the first time they’re going after someone like Julian in the name of someone else, someone who they didn’t even really know, but it’s definitely not the first time they’ve destroyed someone. They all know how this goes.
“We need more information,” Gage continues. “Anything we can find. River, you’re with me.”
I’m used to working alone when it comes to things like this, but I know I don’t want to be alone now. So I nod and grab my shoes and jacket, following him down the stairs to the car.
We go to meet a few of the contacts the guys keep—informants and people they’ve worked with before when they need information.
I don’t need Gage to tell me that we have to be careful and quiet about all this. The last thing we need is Julian finding out that we’ve been poking around in his affairs. Either he’ll get spooked and start shutting shit down, or he’ll retaliate before we have enough to really stick it to him.
And neither of those will have the satisfying end that Hannah deserves after everything that fucker put her through.
We pull up to a motel, just off the highway, and get out of the car. Gage takes the lead, and I’m happy to let him. Instead of going through the front, we head around to the back and meet one of the housekeeping staff who’s on a smoke break.
As soon as he sees Gage, he straightens up and stubs out the cigarette against the side of the building.
I let Gage do most of the talking. He knows how to handle this kind of thing, and the informant already knows him anyway. Plus, I’m still fucked up inside. When I close my eyes, I can still see Hannah falling and then laying there, never getting up again. I can feel her blood on my hands and see her mouth moving as she tries to say our little mantra to me one last time. The pain is raw and ragged around the edges, and it feels good to have something to distract from it, but I know that’s not the same as healing it.
If I let it, it’ll creep back in time and time again, get too big for me to handle. I’m trying to soldier through and get shit done, and I want to be here doing this, but I’m glad that Gage is taking point since my head is still a mess.
Gage says the name of who we’re looking into, and the informant, wearing a name tag that says Frisco, does a low whistle.
“Big name,” he says, glancing around like he wants to make sure there’s no one there to overhear us.
Gage nods. “It’s not small. But it is important. What do you know?”
Frisco shrugs. “Not much. Honest. I know the name and reputation. Know he’s big in the drug scene around here, but that’s all I’ve got off-hand. I can do some digging though. Maybe get you some more.”
“Good,” Gage says, nodding again. “And I don’t need to tell you what happens if this gets traced back to us, do I?”
Frisco shakes his head, sending dark hair flopping across his forehead. “Nope. I know. My lips are sealed and all that.”
“Good,” Gage says again. “Reach out if you find anything.”
We get back in the car and head to another location. This time a restaurant that I’m not familiar with. We go through the kitchen to the back and talk to a dishwasher, thankfully alone in the kitchen, up to her elbows in hot, soapy water.
Just like Frisco, she doesn’t know much about Julian that we don’t already know, but promises to keep an ear out for anything that she can find out.
“They’ll get us more information,” Gage says as we head back to the car one last time. “Those two are our best for stuff like this.”
I guess that makes sense when I think about it. People who work in service are always ignored, and they have front row seats to people’s conversations. Plus, Gage seems confident about it, which is good enough for me.
Gage starts the car, and I light a cigarette, rolling down the window so I can blow smoke out as we drive.
“Do you mind making one more stop?” he asks, glancing over at me.
“No, that’s fine,” I tell him. “Another informant?”
He shakes his head. “No, this is more of a... personal stop.”
