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Seen them before? What was he talking about now? Eden’s blood went cold, but before she could even understand what he was talking about, the window on her left suddenly changed.
It was now obviously a screen, but the clip displayed was of really poor quality. It kept jumping, and the image wasn’t stable, as if filmed by someone whose hands were shaking. It even took Eden a couple of minutes to realize what she was looking at.
The back alley next to her building, the one with the dumpsters. She couldn’t understand. Had someone from a nearby building filmed the scene? It looked as if it was taken from far away but with a zoom, which would explain the poor quality. Why? A wave of panic came over Eden. The scene began with the Mexican thugs fooling around and being loud. Was that why it had been filmed? Someone spying on the local mafiosos? Yet, Eden couldn’t stop watching. Even though she knew very well what was coming next. The angle wasn’t good, but her blonde hair and thin figure were too identifiable even from afar. Worse, she moved exactly as she did the previous night. Her fighting style was recognizable to anyone with a decent level of combat. There was no sound, so they remained strangely silent until the moment when Eden could be seen grabbing the pups and going back inside.
A cold shiver went down her spine. What if they had found the basement? Was that why she had no news from Loir? Had he been caught too? She didn’t even dare ask. His sole existence was one of the biggest secrets she had sworn to keep. Loir was probably one of the only people in Chicago with a bounty higher than hers without being affiliated with a member of the Zodiac.
Although, that was about to change soon. Eden turned her head back to the man who was holding Bullet, glaring at him. Dante De Luca already had his eyes on her too.
“So?” he asked.
“Fine. What do you want exactly?”
“I said it, didn’t I? For you to work for me, as a bodyguard and a hacker. I’ll even pay you a decent salary, of course; I’ll provide anything you need. A roof, food, and, uh... clothes.”
He had said that while glancing down at Eden’s body, which made her even madder. She was not in the mood to joke around.
“I want my dogs back. Both of them.”
“Of course.”
As his boss was saying those words, the man let go of Bullet. The pup had been moving around so frantically he almost dropped him on the ground. Yet, the pup was quickly back on his feet and ran to Eden, who crouched down to grab him immediately. He didn’t look harmed, despite all his whining.
“I want the other one too,” she said.
“I’ll give him back once we sign a proper contract.”
Eden squinted her eyes, pissed. If they signed a contract using their SINs, she would have no way to get out of it. She knew how the Zodiacs worked. There would probably be a death sentence hanging above her head if she refused. She took a deep breath, trying to think quickly.
“What of my friend? The people at the bar?”
“Those who made it through the fight are fine and went home, I suppose.” He shrugged.
“The bartender?”
“He didn’t like us taking you, but the bullet in his leg didn’t really help.”
Eden grimaced. So Jack had been shot too. At least if it was in his leg, it probably wasn’t a mortal wound... She wanted to ask about her other colleagues, but the sight of Bella and June’s dead bodies came back to her mind. Everything had happened so fast, Eden hadn’t even had time to be sad. Plus, she wasn’t sure who else had made it...
She took a deep breath. Too many things were uncertain right now, but she was clearly at this guy’s mercy. She knew the Tiger wouldn’t stop before he got what he wanted from her. After her pups, he’d find every friend, every person she cared for, and threaten their lives until she agreed.
In her arms, Bullet barked at the Italians, but Eden covered his eyes with a sigh.
“I want immunity. For all of them.”
“All of them isn’t really precise,” said Dante, taking a pull on his cigarette again.
He was that confident to turn his back on her as he glanced back at the other man. Eden checked each of their movements, but it wasn’t time for action. She knew when a fight couldn’t be won; she had survived for too long in the streets to not know.
“I want all the workers of the bar immune against... against your people. You don’t come near my people, and you fucking leave my dogs alone.”
“...Aren’t you going to ask what I want from you first?” he said, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re the one who hired me thinking you know everything. Those are my terms,” she retorted.
Dante chuckled, a snarky smile on his face.
“...Fine. But if you don’t give me what I want, your agreement will be considered invalid.”
