Page 137 of Princes of Carnage

“Eh…” He licks his lips, considering that. “I dunno. He was a decently tall guy, about your height. Blond hair that was cut real short, kinda buzzed, I guess. And dark eyes. Oh, and he had a scar on his right cheek. Ran from right under his eye to the corner of his mouth.”

Triumph flashes through me. Fucking finally. We’ve been searching for this fucker for what feels like ages now, and finally we have something to go on. Between the name, the description, and the knowledge that he’s frequented this place, we should be able to track him down.

I pull the gun away from Smith and let him up.

“Thanks,” I tell him, giving him a curt nod. “That was actually very helpful. Now if you keep your tongue from flapping, I won’t have to kill you. Don’t tell anyone I was here asking about Silas.”

Smith nods grudgingly. “I know how this shit works.”

“Good.” I pull out a wad of bills and push it across the counter to him. “For your trouble and your silence.”

I can tell from the look in his eyes that paying him off with a fat stack of cash is more than enough to make up for the rude questioning. He’s a business owner, and money talks more than anything else with his type.

I leave Smith rubbing his jaw and counting his money as I push my way out of the shop, heading back to my bike. Once I reach it, I call Atlas.

“Hey,” he says when he picks up.

“Hey. I got a lead.” I fill him in on what Smith told me, leaning against the side of my bike.

He makes a noise of satisfaction when I finish. “That’s good news. It’s about fucking time. If Silas has been to that shop before, chances are he’ll come back. Do you trust that this Smith guy will keep his mouth shut?”

I shrug a shoulder even though he can’t see it. “He didn’t see my face, so he doesn’t have much info to give. And if he decides to open his mouth anyway, then we’ll know who snitched. He knows what I’ll do to him if he talks.”

“Okay, so what’s our next move?”

“We need to keep a lookout stationed near the pawn shop at all times. If Silas comes back in, they can call and alert us. Then we either try to take him out, or we follow him to find out whether he’s working alone or as part of a new group.”

“Sounds solid to me,” Atlas agrees. “I’ll pass the word on.”

“Perfect. See you later.”

We hang up, and I slip my phone back in my pocket, determination rising inside me. Now that we have something to go on and a plan in place, there’s no way Silas can hide in the shadows for much longer.

We’re going to get this fucker soon.

42

QUINN

I frown as I look at the snake I’ve been doodling, tilting my head to the side to try to see it from another angle. It doesn’t look quite right, but I can’t put my finger on what exactly I don’t like about it.

I’ve been in the zone with tattoo ideas lately, which is good because it’s been a while since I’ve put out a new flash sheet for clients to choose from. Gang business has been taking precedence lately, as it has to sometimes, but I do miss having the time to work on the tattoo side of things.

Atlas comes walking into the living room, and he stops at the coffee table, glancing down at the piece of scratch paper I started drawing on before I went and found my sketch book.

He picks it up, and a little smile crosses his face as he studies the sketch of a moth I did earlier.

“I don’t know if I’m keeping that one,” I say, cutting a glance at him.

“It’s nice.” He shrugs, slipping the piece of paper into his pocket. “Nico called.”

That gets my attention immediately, and I put down my pencil, giving him my full focus. I know Nico went out to question other weapons smugglers to see if he could get a lead on Silas. Ever since I had the idea for it, we haven’t come up with anything useful so far, and it’s been irritating all of us that we’re no closer to figuring out who exactly this Silas guy is.

“And?” I ask impatiently when he doesn’t speak right away. “What did he say?”

“He’s got something. It was his first stop of the day, actually, and the pawn shop owner had seen Silas in there before. So we have a physical description of him, a list of the weapons he’s already bought, and a plan to keep a lookout at the shop in case Silas goes back.”

“Yes.” I tip my head back against the couch cushion, letting out a breath. “Fucking finally.”

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