Page 84 of The Oath We Take

I shake my head. “They nearly got me. Parked up ’round a bend in the hope I’d hit them at high speed. Went off into a field.”

“Oh my God,” Ember says, running out to the balcony. “Are you okay?”

I limp up the stairs, trying to decide if anything needs medical treatment. Gently, I lower myself into the patio furniture, which isn’t really big enough for my frame. “Nothing a naked massage won’t fix later.”

I wink at Em, trying to conceal my real feelings about what just happened.

“Fucking stop making me complicit,” Catfish says.

“He nearly died,” Ember says dramatically.

Catfish raises one eyebrow. “When your father finds out about this, he’ll kill him either way.”

It’s then I notice there’s someone down the hallway in the apartment. I try to jump to my feet to pull my weapon, but Catfish presses his hand to my shoulder. “Stand down, cowboy. In the worst possible timing, it’s the insurance guy.”

The windows are open, and the smell of smoke and damp is disgusting.

“Turns out that one of the old-timers’ grandsons is an insurance adjuster,” Catfish says. “Butcher was able to pull a few strings to get him to make a visit today. Or so he said. Not a hundred percent certain he didn’t just threaten him, given the way the guy jumps at everything I say. He’s already said he’s willing to make sure the claim is highly favorable to Ember.”

“And you just decided to let him in, when those fuckers were hanging around outside?” I ask.

“Figured they were gone. You weren’t going to let them get back here, and Ember really needed to get this mess cleaned up.”

Multiple motorcycles can be heard on the street outside. Butcher, Taco, Wraith, and Grudge eventually appear.

“What the hell happened?” Butcher shouts as he marches up the stairs to the patio.

“He was here, Dad,” Ember says. “One of the men who came the other night for money.”

I raise a hand. “Before you get mad at the guys watching the road into town, my guess is the Russians already spotted them and did a loop around the town to come in from the west.”

“Stranger on deck,” Catfish says.

“Who the fuck are you?” Butcher asks when the insurance adjustor appears.

The man looks flustered. “I’m Jamie. My grandpa said you needed this assessment done quickly.”

I almost laugh in spite of the day I’m having. The guy has the charisma of a lettuce leaf.

“Fine. Did you agree to pay out every single penny and not fuck her around?”

Jamie clutches his portable gadget to his chest. “Yes. Of course. Whatever she needs.” He turns to face my woman, and I don’t like the way he checks out her ample tits before adjusting his glasses and looking up over the roof.

Ember smiles, though I can tell it’s false, as she leads him to the steps. “So, I can start cleanup, like laundering all my clothes and things?”

Jamie smiles like a smitten puppy, and it takes all I have to not step over there and punch him in the face. “I can also have an emergency payment made to you, and we can look for a rental property you can use, or you can choose one yourself. I’ll make sure it gets signed off.”

“I had no idea my policy included temporary housing.”

“When you set it up, you did it correct. A residence over a business, and you listed them as two separate property entities rather than one building. Therefore, I can process this property independent of the bar.”

At this point, she’s nudged him to the steps. “Great. Please send me that check.”

“I’ll be in touch,” Jamie says, almost stumbling down the stairs.

“That’s a relief,” she says as we all watch Jamie disappear from the yard.

Butcher folds his arms across his chest. “Now can someone tell me what the fuck is going on?”

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