Page 40 of Capitol Matters

Six shooters, cowboy hats, and kerchiefs began to disappear. Avery alone kept his costume intact while the others were stripped down to basic pants and shirts.

Avery twirled a finger like a lasso through the air. “That’s enough fun for today, fellas. Time to go.”

“Are you kidding?” One of the nameless newbies gestured to me. “There’s five of us and one of him.”

Avery slapped the back of the other man’s head, bending him forward. “That kid could snap you like a glowstick. Get outta here.”

Still muttering, the new recruits did as instructed. I kept my grip on them until they were out the door and out of sight. Avery lingered with his hands on his hips as he looked at the fallen investigator.

“In case it was unclear, he saved your ass.” He tossed his head toward me. “Show the guy a little appreciation, won’t you?”

Despite the pain pulling her features taut, Holland looked as ready to spit in Avery’s face as agree with anything he said.

He huffed a laugh, then waggled his fingers at her. “Toodles.”

The conjurer walked away, taking the same path his minions had to the exit. I didn’t dare look back and risk him blowing a kiss and my cover at the same time. What had already transpired would require enough explanation without Avery’s flamboyant ass piling on.

Seconds dragged until I decided they wouldn’t return, then I rushed to Holland’s side.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said, her voice edged with pain. She shooed me with one hand, creating space soshe could stand.

The bank customers trembled and talked amongst themselves while aiming wary glances at me.

Stepping back, I watched the investigator peel the suit jacket away from her wounded shoulder. Blood soaked her white satin blouse and slicked the bare skin of her arm.

The Capitol healers could patch her up, though. That assurance eased my concern enough for me to brag, “Told you I could handle it.”

Her eyes flashed a warning. “What did you say?”

“I saved you,” I explained. “And the hostages. I handled it.”

Holland stabbed a finger into my chest, hard enough I had to brace against it. “You don’t get credit for solving a problem you created.”

“Icreated?” My forehead creased in confusion. “How was this my fault?”

She pressed in. “If you had waited in the car—”

“They would’ve killed all the civilians, and you would’ve died trying to stop them,” I argued.

Didn’t she see that? Avery knew she was there before I arrived. He wouldn’t have let her escape. In the gang’s endless hunt, investigators were prized game.

Outside, sirens approached. The long-awaited backup had arrived.

I jerked a thumb toward the bank’s front door. “You want me to go tell them you’re in here?” I asked, oozing sarcasm. “Or keep more customers from coming in?”

“Cute,” she replied snidely. “And no, let me handle this. The worst thing you can do now is run your mouthand accidentally implicate yourself.”

I rolled my eyes, but she didn’t slow, growing more severe as she said, “I watched you kill those men, Marionette—”

“It’s Fitch,” I corrected.

Her head shook before she pushed past me. “Not when you act like that, it isn’t.”

I received Isha’s callMonday afternoon. I’d put her offer of tipping me off about clients of interest out of my mind because it had felt like an effort to butter me up. Maybe it was, but the need to make progress on Maximus’s list left me no room to be picky about how I located my victims.

With the Porsche in the shop for the foreseeable future, and the cost of its repairs putting a sizeable dent in the lump sum of cash I’d taken as my share of my own bounty, I borrowed Donovan’s Bronco. He would be waiting at the Lock n’ Roll Self Storage for my return, after which I planned to take him out for drinks. I owed him that much.

I arrived at the Blooming Orchid, where Isha greeted me at the top of the stairs. Spiked heels put her an inch or so taller than me, all the better for her to hook one finger under my chin and tip it to her lips for a kiss.

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