Page 66 of Poisoned Pawn

“And what a fucking jolly it was.” Frankie’s eyes twinkle with glee at the memory before his face hardens as his eyes meet mine for the first time. He scans me from head to toe before taking in Roxy and the guys behind us. “It looks like you should have joined me.” And without another word, he turns and heads back inside.

Carter places a hand on the small of my back as we follow. I look back to see Roxy and the guys right behind us, all wearing uneasy expressions and scanning our surroundings.

There are several closed doors leading from the narrow corridor, but we keep walking to the very end where we step out into the central room. Aside from the ceiling height with its stunning architecture and the stained glass windows there is nothing in here that would identify this place as a church.

It’s a home. One side consists of a lounge while the other is a kitchen and in the centre is a large dining table big enough to seat ten. There is a spiral staircase leading to a mezzanine floor above in the back corner. The old front door isn’t visible having been blocked by a stud wall.

“Make yourself at home. Carter, a word,” Frankie says, tilting his head toward the corridor we just came through.

I wander around the space, brushing a hand over the soft leather of the sofa and arching my neck to take in the beautiful beams and watching as the light shines through the windows, casting a rainbow of colour into the room.

“Who is this fucking guy?” Maddox asks, picking up a picture from a side table.

“I don’t know. Carter said he’s a friend and that this is a safe house.”

“Can’t say I’m feeling very fucking safe right now,” he growls, putting the framed picture back.

And while I don’t say it, I’m inclined to agree. It’s not that I don’t trust Carter, but being back in Manchester and having even one person knowing I’m here feels like a threat.

“Where have you all been staying?” I ask as I realise I have no clue about my house and the money that was stashed in Perry’s suit.

“We’ve been at yours, but Aidan and Parker were staying somewhere else,” Roxy says, her words cautious, and I get the sense she doesn’t want to say too much in case our conversation isn’t exactly private.

Zak sidles up to me and shows me his phone.

Rick has moved them to one of his safe houses since they were attacked.

I take his phone and type another question.

What happened to the money we found in my boss’ suit?

This time he doesn’t use the phone but whispers in my ear, “It’s safe.”

This feels ridiculous to be whispering and typing questions and answers on a phone, especially as I know Carter wouldn’t bring us here if we weren’t safe. How the hell are we supposed to figure shit out if we can’t even talk freely.

I walk away from Zak and drop down onto the sofa. While we were in Wales, I felt safe, detached from everything that was going on here, and there didn’t seem to be so much urgency. Now we are back here and have a name for the guy who posted the bounty on the dark web, urgency and the need for answers is knocking at the door again.

Another five minutes passes with no sign of Carter or Frankie, and we are still sat in silence.

“This is fucking stupid. Tell me what you know about the guy who posted the bounty? Who is he?”

Roxy shares a look with the guys before answering. “All we know at the moment is his name is Brian Lewis. Koda has been using the time to try and get his server back before we pay Brian a visit once we have an address.”

“It’s not clear yet how involved this Brian guy is. It could just be that he was paid to hack the server and post the bounty,” Zak adds.

“A dead end then,” I say.

“It’s likely,” Zak says even though I didn’t really ask, it was more of a statement. “The dark web is the Yellow Pages of the underworld. Services for hire is top of the list just like Carter.”

Zak’s words feel like a reminder of who Carter is, but I don’t need it. Carter hasn’t shared his conversation with Lennox with Roxy and the guys, but there isn’t room for secrets among us right now.

“Carter spoke with Lennox Fortune on the way here.” That grabs all their attention. “Something about a double pawn and having a rogue Shadow.”

I don’t mention Carter accusing Lennox of being involved. Lennox’s speech about not getting involved in the politics of their hits rings true with me. The Shadow Guard are a secret society, an organisation, and you can’t have one without a strict code of conduct and loyalty.

“Double pawn,” Maddox muses. “Carter thinks there were two Shadows hired to kill you?”

“The guy at my house was a Shadow, but he also thinks the shooting at Neon Flux was a Shadow too.”

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