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I state the obvious. “Blackbeards are gonna blame this on us.”
Reaper’s grin drops. “Of course they are, asshole. Someone put Dino up to the bullshit that happened at the brothel. Don’t get it though.” He drains his beer and chucks the can towards the firepit and misses. “The odds were slim that he’d be able to grab Kit and take off.”
Joker nods. “Yeah. Beat her up first and then let her scream her head off? If it was me, I’d tie her up and gag her. Or knock her out. Lot easier to get out without raising the alarm.”
I think about this. “Maybe Dino was never supposed to get out. Dumb bastard went in there following orders. Maybe Crip wanted us to grab him.”
We’re quiet for a moment as we contemplate that possibility, then Reaper says, “That makes more sense than anything else. Dino was a sacrifice, maybe placed to feed us information that’ll backfire on us.”
“That’s a fucking big risk Crip’s taking,” Joker concludes. “Thinkin’ we were gonna let Dino come out the other end alive.”
I finish my beer and crush the can. “Would we have killed him? Things between us and the Blackbeards are hot right now. Maybe he was thinking we’d give Dino a good talkin’ to, then let him go.”
Joker raises his eyebrows as he focuses on me. “You’re not such an idiot after all. Well, at least not as big as Dino.”
I shrug off the insult. I’ve been called worse. “Ain’t never heard of Dino, so he’s either a hangaround or new prospect. I suppose Crip told him he’d be a hero. That he’d get some promotion if he took one for team.” I pop the top on another beer. “Dumb fuck.”
The ringing of my phone interrupts the conversation. It’s Evanee. “Hey gorgeous,” I say by way of greeting.
“Trigger,” she says. Her voice is too high.
I jump up from the table. “What’s wrong?” Because something sure as hell is. I’ve never heard my girl this distraught.
“Everything! The police gave me a citation for having Lullaby in town. They say they’re going to euthanize her if I don’t move her in the next 24-hours.”
“They cited you for Lullaby?”
Joker and Reaper are looking at me in confusion, so I cover the phone and say quietly. “It’s one of Evanee’s pets. A horse. Cops found out she was keepin’ it in the back of the clinic. Want her to move it.”
To Evanee, I say, “Don’t worry, babe. We’ll talk to the cops. Don’t know why the fuck they’re messing with you. They should fucking know better.”
“A horse?” Joker repeats. “What the fuck are you talkin’ about?”
I wave my hand at him to get him to shut up so I can hear Evanee.
“It doesn’t matter,” she says. “They’re right anyway. Lullaby needs room to run. She’s too confined here and I can tell she’s getting depressed.”
“I got this, Evanee. You ain’t alone anymore. Me and the Jury will find a solution.”
Reaper snorts. “You bring somethin’ like that to church, Hangman will fuck you up good.”
I scratch at the whiskers on my face. Fucking itches all the time. “We go at it differently. Cops are hassling my ol’ lady. That ain’t right.”
“She isn’t your ol’ lady, though. Is she? You haven’t brought it to church. She isn’t vested.”
Evanee hears everything. “I might not be vested?” There’s a quiver to her voice.
“You’re gonna be vested, babe. You don’t got to worry about that.”
Reaper and Joker exchange glances, but keep their mouths shut.
I glare at the assholes. To Evanee, I say, “Hangman ain’t gonna like that the cops are giving you the gears and he’ll make sure it don’t happen again.”
“But what about Lullaby?”
I’m gonna fuck up the cops who made my girl lose her cool. “We’ll solve it. Find a place with lots of room for her to run.” I look around the compound yard, and a lightbulb goes off. It’s big, barely used, the kids could ride the horse. Yeah, that’d work. I don’t say it out loud because Reaper and Joker are still listening. I hold my hand over the receiver again. “Why don’t you bugger off.”
Reaper grins. “And miss all the fun?”
