Page 58 of Blue-Eyed Jacks
Sprout shrugged.“Dunno.”
Wolf leaned over to try to read upside down.I gathered the phone closer to my vest to keep his prying eyes away.Sprout was smart enough to figure out that the sender wasn’t Kate, but not smart enough to see who it really was.
But I knew.
There was only one girl on this planet who deserved the monikerKnavette.Which was her webmail handle.I hoped like hell she’d learned enough to cover her tracks; otherwise, Shock’s goons would sniff that shit out faster than a cadaver dog.The note was simple.
We’re coming to you.Fourhours, max.
Four hours.That put them in a radius from here to Trenton, or maybe a bit farther out.Unless they were taking back roads, which could mean they were within touching distance.
Or, my heart shriveled a bit, they were in Pittsburgh.
Sprout glanced at Tits and Wolf.His eyes flicked to mine.He’d read the email.Seen the clue staring him in the face, and kept it quiet.I locked gazes with him for a short moment, quietly warning him to keep his mouth locked.If he could.
Which there were zero guarantees of.I handed the phone back.“Thanks for the heads up.Go back to guarding the door.”
“I’m not a fucking prospect anymore.”He’d used his low register voice, not the usual clown tones.
“I know that, and trust me, it can’t be a speck this time.It needs to be someone Wolf and I trust, understand?”
His measured nod reminded me of his father.It was a damn shame that man was gone.Old Jolly would be a godsend right now.I’d tried to replace him for years.But my efforts were likely in vain.We were getting soft with good living and a bankroll that didn’t rely on illegal activity.No matter how many quality killers I found, I failed to hire the right kind of killer who wouldn’t question the cost.
Which brought me back to the current issue of getting Wolf on board, now with a deadline.“Here’s the issue.The shit storm is coming.Now.”
Wolf smirked.
Tits, much smarter than her husband, jerked her focus to me.“Now?”
I nodded.“It will have to be you.Wolf, please understand I didn’t want that.I just wanted an introduction so I could keep you both out of my mess, believe me.”
He blinked.“Now?”
“Four hours.Or less.”
“Jesus.”He searched for an exit I hadn’t discovered.“We’re fucked.”
Not if I could get her and Zoe gone fast enough.“Take Tits wherever she needs to be.Wait for my call.”
Wolf shook his head.“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
There was a moment where I swear those two were telepathic.Tits raised her eyebrows.Wolf tilted his head.Their hands squeezed so tightly their knuckles turned white.
“I never saw you as a man who runs,” Tits started.
“I don’t.”
She nodded and sent another look to Wolf.He shook his head, still arguing with her silently.Apparently, Tits was having none of it.She turned to me and asked, point blank, “But your woman is?I don’t believe that.”
“I told you her history.You both weren’t there, but it was bad, even for Shock.”
Tits flinched.She’d witnessed far worse in her life, that I was certain.I used that to my advantage.
“He might not be as powerful as some, but he’s powerful enough.”
“A bullet or two fixes that.”Wolf squinted at me, remembering exactly how he and Tits managed to bury the ghosts of her past.
