Page 6 of In the Shadows

“Can I come when you tell him? He’s going to blow his fucking load, and you know how much I love watching him lose his shit.”

He rolls his eyes. “Whatever.”

It’s not a no, so I’ll take it.

“You two can go now if you’d like. She’s going to be out for a while, and it’s going to take me some time to patch her up,” Rogers says, not bothering to look up at us.

Bishop looks from me to the girl and then to the doctor before his eyes come back to me again. “I think you should stay here with her. That way Rogers can fix up your arm, and one of us can be here if she happens to wake.” I don’t need him to say the words to know what he’s getting at. He doesn’t trust Rogers alone with her, and that’s only more indication that somehow, the unconscious woman in front of us has crept under the sensible one’s skin, and for some reason, I fucking love the idea of that.

I nod. “Sure, I’ll stay with the little lamb.”

Bishop groans. “Please don’t call her that.”

“Why not? She’s just walked into the lion’s den, it’s only fitting I give her a nickname to suit.”

CHAPTER FOUR

CREW

The holidays are meant to be a restful time for us. We spend the entire year ensuring the city’s underworld doesn’t descend into complete chaos, but this is the one time a year when the criminals of the city take a hiatus. Okay, that’s not totally the case, but they don’t tend to plan to overthrow their bosses, nor do their bosses plan to take over territories that don’t belong to them.

But John fucking De Marco had to go and ruin my time off. Or at least, as close to time off as someone like me gets. I guess that old saying is true. There’s no rest for the wicked.

I’ll be the first to admit that promising your first-born daughter to a man like Charles Davenport is not going to win you any parenting awards, but breaking that contract and letting her run is just plain fucking stupid. What did he expect to happen? Did he think Davenport, and in turn the Syndicate of the Legion, would just let that slide?

I let out a groan and drop my head into my hands. The girl was long gone when Kaos and Kovu got there, but that’s not our problem. Our job is to keep the peace and take care of problems to avoid wars. The moment De Marco took his final breath, this ceased being our issue. If Davenport wants the girl that badly, he’ll find her himself.

I suspect the only reason he’ll want her is so he can have the territory she’s now the sole heir to. Her idiot uncle and cousin may be able to hold down the fort until she can be located, but they’re not capable of the type of leadership they’d need to hold that territory. It’s arguably the most valuable in the city, housing the docks and some of the best warehouse space on the market, so it’s only fair that it’s also the most disputed.

If he does manage to find her, that’ll be a new problem for us to solve. The bylaws state a family can only have ownership of one territory at a time, but I’m sure Charles will try to twist that rule to suit himself.

A knock at my office door drags my attention away from my feeling sorry for myself, and by the time I look up, Bishop is standing in the doorway looking sheepish.

“What’s wrong?” I ask immediately.

“Hi son, how are you doing? Oh, you know, Dad, a bit bored, can’t wait to kill some fuckers once business picks back up,” he muses as if he’s having a conversation with himself. He always was the smart-ass of the group, I’m not sure why I ever expect him to be serious.

I groan and drop my head back against my seat. “I’m not in the mood, Bishop.”

He rolls his eyes and takes a seat across from me. “Well, seeing as you’re already in a bad mood, this won’t put you in one.” He shrugs. “I found a woman in the alley behind the garage, and she’s currently being seen to by Rogers. Kovu and I have taken responsibility for her and will make sure she doesn’t get in the way until she’s able to leave.”

I stare at him for long moments, waiting for a punchline for what must be a joke. Because surely my son isn’t such a fucking moron that he would bring a woman into our compound. But not just any woman, one who is hurt, which means she likely has some kind of baggage. Except he doesn’t laugh, he doesn’t even crack a smile. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Sorry, pops, no can do.”

I shouldn’t be surprised, whoever this woman is, she’s not the first stray he’s brought home, but it’s a bad time for a woman to be allowed in the compound. Recently, our position within the underworld was called into question, and although the threat has been neutralized, it doesn’t mean the families of New York haven’t got the same idea in their heads.

“No.”

He sighs and leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees. “I wasn’t asking for permission.”

“Bishop, I’m sure you understand this is a bad time to have a…houseguest.”

“You would say that regardless of the time,” he points out. “She won’t cause us any problems, and I’ll send her on her way once she’s back on her feet.”

I watch him for a few seconds, trying to figure out what could possibly be going on in his head. “What is it about this woman that makes this so important to you?”

He scrubs his hands down his face, and I see a flash of something I haven’t seen in my son’s eyes for a long time.

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