Page 47 of One Love

“Newbie from Eddie’s team. He’s about to learn a valuable lesson in humility.” We both chuckle at his words and, on cue,we watch as some old dude pats the kid on the shoulder and mere seconds later, his face drains of all color.

“Bingo. The Shadow strikes again.” There’s no denying the awe and respect in Glitch’s voice when speaking about J. In a world created by men for men, Jordyn O’Neill has whipped every single motherfucker there into place.

“Fuck. You’re hard right now, aren’t you?”

I don’t bother looking at him as I answer. “Yup.”

Fifteen minutes later, I’m still going through tapes and growing more and more convinced that the pantry has an important role in this crazy ass situation when my phone beeps. Before I even glance at the screen, I know it’s my girl.

Little Demon: Perv.

I’m about to type something back when Glitch jumps out of his chair and puts his headphones back on.

“Binx, did you see that?” My attention is immediately on the screens as I try to figure out what the fuck.

“Is that…?” I let the question trail off because I already know the answer. I can’t hear what Binx is saying in Glitch’s ear but there’s no mistaking it. Harvey Cook, or fucking Wright, just walked into Eddie’s bar and went straight to the counter without passing Go, but I’m guessing there’s some collecting going on and it’s nowhere near two hundred dollars.

“Binx is waiting on J to give orders.” We both watch, wishing we had some fucking sound, but when I suggested it, J said there was no need. Next time, I’m taking charge whether she likes it or not.

I’m guessing not. Too bad.

From the angle of the camera, J is assessing while Shoo walks to the bar all casual and looking to buy a drink. It’s clear he’s listening in on the conversation but Cook is too twitchy and worried to pay any attention.

What the fuck is he doing there and seriously, what are the odds?

“I thought he had ties to the Irish. If he’s looking for money why isn’t he just going to them?” Glitch shrugs at my question and I assume it’ll go unanswered but, seconds later, he gives me his take on it.

“The Irish are too close to their cash, they don’t shit where they eat. If you’re working for them, they won’t lend you a damn penny.”

I nod. It makes sense. He comes to the Italians to get some gambling money, I presume. It’s fucking stupid but it makes sense for someone battling his addiction.

I’m about to go back to my yawn-inducing surveillance when Glitch curses and calls out Binx’s name.

“Shoo just clocked Wright…erm…I mean, Cook.”

Again, I can’t hear Binx on the other side but Glitch lets me know that J has given the order to take him in for a little chat. That’s code for someone’s gonna bleed, and fuck if that doesn’t turn me on.

After a couple of hits from Shoo and a permanent snarl on J’s face, Cook is dragged out of the bar and there’s a long beep from the tower where the facial recognition software is running. Glitch and I both look at each other and grin. Game time.

Our toys are working.

Leaning into the screen like two teens watching porn for the first time, I freeze.

“Holy shit,” comes from Glitch.

“Is that…?” I ask because I’ve only seen her once, and briefly, but J’s talked about her a few times.

“Sure as fuck looks like it,” he confirms, and I try to understand how any of this is fucking related.

“But…how?”

“I don’t fucking know.” We both jump onto our own computers, fingers tapping away furiously.

“I’ll check Harvey Cook’s family history,” I tell him, and his grunt is my cue that he’s searching out the girl’s information. If our software works, then our search history will match.

“His father got remarried when he was in his late teens.” I’m thinking out loud but also feeding my findings to Glitch.

“Yeah, her dad died when she was a kid, her mom remarried when she was in her early teens,” Glitch confirms, and shit just got fucking real.

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