Page 11 of Song Bird Hearts

I suck in a deep rattling breath, but I don’t cry. They don’t deserve my tears.

This entire industry doesn’t deserve my fucking tears.

Chapter6

Knox

The black phone on my hip rings and I tense, annoyed that it would be going off now of all times. We’d just finished an assignment and Gilden is buying me a well-deserved burger after his fuck up nearly got me shot, and now here the phone is, ringing again before I can even bite into the fucking burger.

“Dammit,” I hiss, setting the burger down and pulling the old-style flip phone out. I flip it open and hit the too small green phone button. “Yeah?”

“Emergency assignment,” is the answer. “Meet at the corner of Venison and Broadway. Subject is female, twenty-eight, high profile. High pay.”

“Can I finish my burger first?” I grumble, already knowing what the answer will be. If it’s an emergency, there ain’t time for anything.

“Negative. You have ten minutes.”

The phone line goes dead and I swear under my breath.

I meet Gilden’s eyes across the table where he manages to take a bite of his burger. The pure bliss on his face tells me I’m gonna regret not getting to eat this thing. Fuck. This place has the best burgers.

“Pack it up,” I tell him. “Emergency assignment.”

“T’en r’viens-tu pas, toi?” he growls after swallowing his bite. “Now?”

“Now,” I nod, pulling a wad of bills from my wallet and tossing them on the table. I don’t bother taking a bite of the burger. If I do, I’ll just be even more pissed than I am now if I realize what I missed out on and I’m not carrying a damn to go box when I gotta drive. Gilden doesn’t think the same. He immediately crams as much as he can possibly fit into his mouth before standing up. The Cajun looks like a damn chipmunk by the time he looks at me and gestures for me to take the lead.

My phone dings with the assignment info and my brows shoot up. Well, that’s interesting.

“What’s the assignment?” Gilden asks once he manages to swallow damn near half the burger he bit off of. “Protection or. . .”

“Protection,” I mutter. “Get a Cessna ready. Gonna be a long flight.”

“Where we goin’?” Gilden asks once we’re in the rental car. “California? Texas? Ohio?”

“Wyoming,” I answer.

Gilden’s eyes crinkle. “Wyoming? What the fuck’s in Wyoming?”

I shrug. “A paycheck.”

Gilden mutters under his breath in his signature Cajun French, his lilt still charming even to me. The man has it easy when it comes to women for sure. He’s a damn good partner, but he right gets on my nerves most of the time.

Right now, though, he’s all serious as he pulls out his own phone and starts making moves. We’re gonna have to pay heavily for a Cessna out here in Tennessee, but a regular airline is out of the question.

“You mean to tell me someone as high profile as this, someone with this much pull, lives in Wyoming?” Gilden says once he gets off the phone and we’re almost to the coffee shop. “Who called in this favor?”

“Doesn’t matter,” I grumble. “Let’s just get it over with. You still owe me a burger.”

Gilden rolls his eyes. He’s always rolling his eyes. And when he ain’t rolling his eyes, he’s grinning. Fucking asshole.

“Oh,couillon!I can tell this is gon’ be a fun one by the look on your face,” he grins, teasing. “Everything’s ready to go. Let’s get the package.”

I probably should have prepared him for who the package is, but where would the fun in that be?

Chapter7

Valerie

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