“Only if it’s for real. You guys do stuff like this for other people, right? You said that before. I want a contract and everything. Then if anyone asks, it’s official.”
Hellfire points at me with a smile. “I think I like this one. Let’s get this in writing. Family and friends discount, obviously. Let’s say two weeks minimum. We can renegotiate if the threat level changes.”
The final sum isn’t as bad as I thought it could be, but it’s still way more than I have. “I’ll need to wait until the streaming residuals start being paid out. If that’s okay.”
I already knew I had to have a talk with Mom about my finances, and this is just another reason. Hellfire doesn’t waste time once we’ve agreed on the details, emailing me a document for digital signature, and also making a print copy. It’s all surprisinglyorganized and professional, but I should probably stop being so shocked. They do this regularly.
Priest reaches out to take my hand. His touch is warm as he captures mine in both of his.
Hellfire nods after looking it over. “Alright, you’ve got a deal. One of my boys will be with you at all times until we figure out what the fuck is going on.” He looks around at Colt, Priest and Sinner. “I’m sure they’ll keep you safe, but I’ll give you my personal number so you can contact me directly if something changes. Okay?”
“All the time? Even at home?”
“Especially at home,” Colt cuts in. “They know where you live and your fucking doorman is a pushover.”
There’s a knock at Hellfire’s door.
“Come!”
A bear of a man pokes his head in. “Cops are at the gate.”
12
Chapter 12 - Priest
“Not surprised,”Sinner grumbles. “We weren’t exactly subtle.”
“They don’t seem eager to start anything. Dragon and Shiv are keeping ‘em busy for now. How cooperative are we feeling?” Crank asks. He loosens his shoulders as he walks.
Hellfire rubs his temples. “On principle? Not very, but today I think we’re in the clear.” Sinner opens his mouth but Hellfire cuts him off. “Don’t you say a fucking word about the guy you shot.”
Sinner mimes zipping his lips and throwing away the key.
Quinn follows right behind me, quickstepping to keep up. “Am I going to have to go with them?” She sounds worried.
I stop and turn, catching her by the arm. “No. Not if we can help it, and they know better than to think they have any fucking say about what happens inside our walls.” I gesture to the side, where she can wait out of sight of the gate, but still beclose enough to get to quickly. “Wait over there until we know everything’s good.”
There are faint red marks on her neck and cheek. I almost hope the asshole who got shot is still alive so we can shoot him again. I wish I could say the protectiveness I feel is just me watching out for my best friend’s little sister, but even I know there’s more to it than that.
She nods and does what I asked.
Hellfire leads the way to the gate, where Shiv and Dragon are waiting with the gate closed. Word must be getting out around the compound because brothers are trickling in, filling the ranks on our side. The pigs brought four fucking cars, so you know they’re prepared for trouble, but only a few cops are actually in the street waiting. It’s tense, but not a standoff. Yet anyway.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Hellfire calls out to the cops, “What do you want?”
A beefy man with stripes on his shoulders, a shiny badge and flighty eyes, steps out of the pack. “There was a report of an assault in Brentport about an hour ago. One of your boys was identified at the scene and a young woman’s gone missing. I know we try to ignore each other as much as possible, but I’ve got a lot of frightened civilians right now and we need to tell them something.”
We operate on the wrong side of the law. They know it and we know it, but the unspoken arrangement between us and the cops always comes down to one thing: don’t fuck with the general public. It’s usually not a problem because we’re not a petty fucking street gang. A lot of our work, running bounties and protection duty like we’re doing for Quinn is even perfectly legal.And the part that isn’t? Well, the people we work with and for are also quietly ignored by the local boys and girls in blue.
“Didn’t know we weren’t allowed in Brentport.” Hellfire snorts derisively. “You got a picture? Or a name at least?”
“We do, I’m afraid. We’re still going over the footage, but your man is clearly involved in some sort of altercation, and we have a clear shot of him running off with the missing woman, Quinn Callahan.”
I’ll give the cop this, he has more balls than most of his kind. If the shit really hit the fan, we do have a few contacts on the force, but in this case we happen to be in the right.
“He was actually on duty.” I step forward. “She’s been receiving threats. He was there as her bodyguard.”
The cop looks suspicious. “I need to see some proof of that, and to speak with both the suspect and Ms. Callahan.”