Shadow: Come to my office.
Me: On my way.
I kiss the top of Rue’s head and try to gently extricate myself, but he stirs, holding on tighter.
“I gotta go see Shadow. He has work for me.”
“Mm. Okay,” he mumbles.
“Keep sleeping. I’ll be back.”
“M’kay.” He pulls the blankets up, snuggling into them and tempting me to ignore the boss, but I force myself out of bed.
After freshening up, I throw on some sweatpants and hurry downstairs to find Shadow in his office. My blood is already pumping. I’m ready to do some damage and take my frustration over missing Leon out on someone.
Shadow’s behind his desk, sipping coffee. The house is still quiet, most of my brothers still asleep at this early hour.
“Hey, boss.”
He lifts his head, gesturing for me to enter. I cross the space, plopping down in a chair as he tosses me a folder. “Thought you might like this one.”
I open the folder and glance at the photo inside. He looks kind of familiar. “Do we know him?”
“Not directly. He’s been in the news recently.”
“For what?” I flip a couple of more pages, then find my answer. “Oh, this motherfucker.”
“Yeah. He made bail so he’s a free man until his trial date. My contact says he’s a flight risk and he’s got the money to disappear. He’s getting home around six this evening.”
I study his picture, realizing I’ve been seeing him in the news for weeks. I don’t watch it much, but Whisper and Boone do. We’ve talked about this asshole too. He’s been charged with possession of kid porn and accused of facilitating the abuse of minors.
“I can’t believe they let this fucker out on bail.”
“That’s why we’re involved. Crooked situation. Maybe a paid-off judge. The target has family in Greece and Turkey and a valid passport.”
“Wouldn’t they flag that if he tried to leave?”
“Who? The same corrupt system granting him bail in the first place?”
“Good point. What’s my order?”
“Devastation. Client isn’t interested in letting the justice system handle it.”
I nod, almost salivating at the idea of torturing a child abuser. I’ve met too many losers into this stuff to show even an ounce of mercy.
“Make it hurt,” Shadow says. “Your specialty.”
“With pleasure.”
Shadow nods. “How are things with your man?” An almost smile tugs at his lips. “He is your man, right?”
“Yeah.” I chuckle. “Never thought I’d say that.”
“It seems to be catching around here. One by one they all fall down.”
“Then it’s coming for you too.”
Shadow scoffs. “I doubt that.” He fiddles with a pen. “He seems sweet. Can he handle us?”