Page 14 of The Silence of Hell

“Hi, Ma’am, I’m Jinx and your guard for the next few nights. I’ll sleep outside on the porch and keep an eye out for you,” he said on arrival.

“Actually, I’ve made some room in the entrance hall,” I offered and waved my hand.

“No offence, ma’am, but I wouldn’t relax with all those eyes watching. That shit’s creepy,” Jinx replied.

I studied the young man in front of me. He was about twenty-one and, while tall and strongly built, had some growing remaining. Genuinely honest eyes watched me as I appraised him.

“I wouldn’t sleep knowing you’re out there alone. If something happened to you, I’d never forgive myself. We’ll share my room. You can bunk one side, and I can shift my bed to the other,” I said, opening the door.

Jinx looked around. “Your bed needs moving far from the window. I’ll do that now. I’ll also leave a gap between the wall and bed. If I tell you to take cover, slide down the side of it. I will put my bunk under the window. Should someone try to come through it, they’ll step on me.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Ma’am, I’m here to keep an eye on you. I’m perfectly certain,” he answered. “I’m gonna take a walk around and check for any weak areas. If you hear doors rattling or windows shaking, it’s me. Or this time it is, anyway.”

“Thank you. That means a lot,” I replied. “I’m going to order Thai, what would you like?”

“Oh, I’m fine, I brought sandwiches,” Jinx said and held up a sorry-looking package.

“Is that it?” I exclaimed.

“Well, Ma’am, I don’t have a lot of ready cash. Candidates do get a cut of the profits the club makes, but only a slim one. My money was saved for my bike. The good news is everyone receives a free room at the clubhouse, so I ain’t gotta worry too much.”

“Call me Lavender, please. I’m about seven years older than you, and you’re making me feel ancient. Go do your checks, I’ll order food, and then we can talk. I have questions,” I bossed him.

Jinx smiled and disappeared, and I frowned. Candidate? That wasn’t a phrase I was familiar with around MCs. Not that I honestly knew much about them, I guess as much as anyone who watched TV. But most of that was fake. Cut of the profits? Yup, I’d wait and then grill Jinx.

And not a lot of money? Jinx couldn’t buy a meal? I’d be speaking to Chance about that as soon as I saw him again. Meanwhile, I needed to figure out Jinx’s wage. Jinx was working for me and would take payment come hell or high water.

???

I smiled as I lay down. That had been a right battle. Jinx was overwhelmed by the amount of food I’d ordered but ate half of it. So those damned sandwiches wouldn’t have filled him long. Jinx was calm to be around, which was crazy, considering the weird stuff that happened near him. I could understand why he was called Jinx now.

Jinx was so good-natured with everything. He told me he’d warned Chance and everyone when he’d interviewed for the club about the strange shit, but they’d not listened. Jinx said his whacked out woo-woo crap—his words, not mine—had behaved for all of twenty-four hours when he’d been accepted. Then, it had erupted with a vengeance.

Jinx smiled sadly when he explained it had caused his mother no end of issues. When I asked if she was still alive, he nodded vigorously. Jinx was obviously close to her. Somehow, despite his closeness with his mom, I sensed a troubled life, one of poverty and something else. Jinx refused point blank to discuss certain subjects and would change the direction of the conversation abruptly.

He was also cagey about what he said about the club. He explained the candidate and prospect roles and how Hellfire and some of their allies’ recruited brothers. Jinx wouldn’t say too much, and I got the feeling that Hellfire had suffered a dark period. But when pressed about how much he earned, Jinx clammed right up. Stated that it was club business, and he declined to comment.

The annoying man also fought me over paying him. Jinx point blank refused to accept payment, stating he’d been ordered to do this for the club. Therefore, it was his role. I was unwilling to let Jinx stay unless he accepted payment.

In the end, distressed, he’d contacted Chance, who told him to take the wages I offered. Jinx grumbled a bit but finally gave me his bank details. I looked up what security guards usually got an hour, added on twenty per cent, and paid him for a week up front.

Once the argument was done, Jinx did another round of the outside, and we both headed for bed. He seemed quite happy with his put-up cot and sleeping bag, but I decided to get the room next to me cleared tomorrow. Then Jinx could have his own space. My team should be arriving early morning, and we could pack everything up and clean it for Jinx.

Smiling at my plans, I finally dosed off.

???

I came too with a start. There’d been a noise. I looked over at Jinx and saw he was upright in bed but slumped as he peered out of the window.

“Jinx?” I whispered.

“I heard it too. Someone is out there, you’ve not been wrong,” Jinx murmured. I began to slide out of bed, and Jinx stopped me. “Lavender, stay there. If I say hide, slip down the side and curl up small.”

Jinx slowly slid from his bed and picked something up by his bed. “I’ll knock three times and then once after a count of five. If you don’t hear that second knock, it is not me. Shoot whoever comes through the door.”

“What?” I gasped.

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