Chapter 13 #2
He listens. “Yes.” I glance over my shoulder, but Shadow is gone now. “So, he’s okay with everything?”
“Yeah. I figured he would be. I just need to let him know I’m out of the rotation while I deal with this.”
“Does it mess up your schedule? Do you even have a schedule?”
Chuckling again, he picks up a piece of banana and feeds it to me. “Not a schedule in the way you’re thinking. When we have assignments, it’s up to us how we handle them, but usually we have some sort of timeline for when the client is expecting completion.”
“You sound like a project manager, not a hit man.”
“It’s kind of the same thing sometimes. The difference is how the work gets done.”
I laugh at that. “A minor difference.”
He smiles. “It really doesn’t bother you, does it?”
“No.” I busy myself molding the dough into a pie crust. “I guess it should, but I thought it was hot when you and Shadow were talking about what you were going to do to Leon.”
“What if it wasn’t Leon? What if it was someone else?”
I shrug. “I don’t know that I would even think about it. Is that weird? I mean, yes, it is. I know. I’ve always been a little odd compared to my peers.”
“I don’t think you’re odd at all.”
“You’re a hit man, Carnage. I think your view of reality is slightly skewed.”
He laughs again, and I’m happy I haven’t offended him.
“You’re so adorable.”
“Thanks.” I grin in spite of myself before swinging around to put the dough in the oven to blind bake for a bit. “I think I’ll make a fruit salad too.”
“What can I do to help?”
“You can get some grapes and a bowl ready.”
“I can do that.”
The two of us move around the kitchen, preparing the food, and by the time the savory scent of quiche starts filling the air, my tummy is growling. Carnage whistles and several of his brothers pour into the kitchen.
“Set the table. Food’s almost ready.”
“It smells fantastic,” Colson says. “What is it?”
“Quiche. Hope you guys like it.”
“Never had it,” Nimble says. “But it smells good.”
“It’s just eggs, cheese, and veggies. Like an omelet with a crust.”
“I’m in,” Nimble says, grabbing cutlery.
Everyone grabs something, from plates to napkins to juice, and before long we’re all sitting down at the table. I’m proud of how the quiche looks, so I hope it’s tasty.
I cut slices and we pass plates around to serve. It surprises me how normal and mundane the morning is. There are a bunch of hit men sitting around a table eating breakfast and talking about very regular things, like movies they want to see and TV shows they’re watching.
It’s nice. They’re a family. Maybe an unusual one, but the bond is the same.
“This is incredible.” Specter shovels more quiche into his mouth. “Petition to add Rue to the breakfast rotation. No offense, Ghost.”
Ghost laughs. “None taken. This is beyond my skill set.”
“I’m glad you like it,” I say, spearing a piece of cantaloupe. “And I’m happy to help with cooking as long as I’m here.”
“Are you leaving?” Phantom asks.
“At some point.”
Colson winks at me like he knows something I don’t. Flustered, I bow my head and focus on breakfast.
“Good segue,” Carnage says. “Any ideas on how to handle a kidnapping exchange?”
“Exchange?” Wraith asks. “What does that mean?”
“Leon thinks I’m going to meet up with him tonight to give Rue back. He said he’s bringing money and two men for a trade. He offered drugs too, but I declined.”
“Motherfucker,” Whisper mumbles.
“He’s got business at those Lake Breeze apartments,” Shadow adds. “Rue’s heard him.”
“Do we think it’s another trafficking ring?” Stealth asks. He really lives up to his name. You almost forget he’s in the room until he speaks.
“Could be,” Carnage says. “He has access to people, at least.”
“I never heard specifics like that,” I say. “It seemed like mostly drug deals. He does a lot of business at Redlight, but he’s mentioned those apartments a few times. I don’t know the details though.”
“It’s a start,” Whisper says.
“Obviously, I’m not giving Rue back to him. So I’m trying to think about how to give him the sense I am going to so I can get any innocents away before I take care of business.” His tone is deeper and darker than normal.
Okay, there’s that weird flutter in my stomach again.
“I have an idea,” Stealth says. “One of us can take Rue’s spot while the rest of us hide in the shadows and work to get any bystanders or victims out of the way. It has to be synchronized, so when we make a move, it all happens at once.”
Carnage nods, thinking it over while taking another bite of quiche. “Leon’s mine though.”
“Of course, bror,” Wraith says.
Another man enters the room, still looking half-asleep. He’s got dark hair and I think I remember someone telling me he’s the hockey player’s brother. Boone?
“Smells good,” he mumbles, sliding into a chair.
“You’re lucky there’s still some left.” Wraith smiles warmly at him.
“Late night, Brother?” Pax asks.
“Went down a rabbit hole,” Boone says. “Reading up about that shamrock gang.”
“Shamrock gang?” Shadow asks. “What’s that?”
Whisper grunts, so Carnage gestures for him to explain it to Shadow. “We stopped a hate crime last night. The victim told us it was a gang thing and that all the members had shamrock tattoos.”
“Irish, then?”
“Probably. Fighting with the Italians. Pretty standard Mafia shit, if you ask me.”
“Exactly,” Boone says. “It’s not a street gang. Well, it is, but they’re jockeying for more. They’re organizing. According to some police reports I found, the hate crime stuff is part of their initiation.”
“So they’re homophobic assholes too,” Specter says through gritted teeth while Colson rubs his hand to soothe him.
“Not just that,” Boone says. “They’re triggered by lots of things—race, gender, sexuality, you name it. If they can hate it, they will.”
“And they come to a liberal fucking city like Mistone?” Stealth says. “They’re asking for us to fuck ’em up.”
“Is there more, Boone?” Shadow asks, his jaw set tight, his fingers steepled over his empty plate.
“That’s all I know so far. I’m looking for hangouts and shit like that, but it might be a boots-on-the-ground thing to find out more.”
“I’m down for hunting these fuckers.” Stealth cracks his knuckles.
“Count me in,” Ghost says.
“Same,” Phantom adds.
“Keep us posted,” Shadow says. “Now, about tonight. You’ve got it all handled, Carn?”
He nods, glancing at me. “Anyone who can help, let me know in the group chat and we’ll organize from there.”
“I want to come,” I say.
Colson practically spits out his juice as he stares at me with wide eyes, then at Carnage.
“That’s not happening.” Carnage doesn’t even look at me.
“Why not?”
“You already know the answer to that. Not up for discussion.”
I crinkle my brow and gently shove his arm. “I’m not a child. You can’t just shut me down.”
“You’re not fucking going, Rue. You’re not. You think I’m doing all this so I can hand you to him on a fucking platter?”
“I want to see it.” My tone is snappier than I intended, but oh well. “I deserve to see it. He made my life hell for five months and what he was gonna do to me is pure evil. He would’ve destroyed me. I want to see him die.”
Everyone’s silent while my words hang in the air. Carnage is staring down at his plate, and I can see his jaw ticking. He’s mad, but for some reason, I’m still not afraid of him.
“You can’t come,” Whisper says. “It’s far too dangerous for you, but we can make sure you see it.”
Carnage lifts his head.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Video exists. If it’s that important to you, we can make it happen.”
I sit with that for a second. I’d rather be there, listening to his groans, but I can already tell this is a fight I’m not going to win.
“Okay.”
Carnage exhales, nodding at Whisper. “You’ll be safe here with Colson.”
“I’ll be here too,” Pax says. “There’s a hockey documentary I’ve been meaning to catch.”
“That sounds fun,” Colson says enthusiastically, but something about it feels a little sarcastic.
Pax laughs. “You don’t have to watch it with me. I’m just letting you know I’ll be in the house.”
“I’ll go with the guys to video,” Boone says. “Maybe we can find out more about that shamrock gang too.”
“So we have a plan,” Carnage says, turning to me.
I nod. “Yes.”
As he gazes into my eyes, I want to lean in and kiss him again or slide under the table and put his cock in my mouth, but of course I don’t. I doubt he wants his family to know we’re hooking up, anyway.
“Great breakfast, Rue.” Nimble pops a grape into his mouth. “Joss is coming over Saturday. Any way I can convince you to make this again for Sunday brunch?”
“I’d love to if I’m still here by then.”
Carnage huffs, sounding frustrated.
“Why wouldn’t you be here?” Colson asks.
I shrug. “I don’t know. If you guys handle Leon tonight, there’s no reason for me to—”
“We’ll talk about that later,” Carnage says. “There’s no rush.” He squeezes my thigh under the table. “You’re welcome here.”
There are murmurs of agreement from the other guys, and I have to blink rapidly to clear my glossy eyes. “Thank you. I’d be happy to cook again. Whenever you want.”
“Awesome, but make twice as much,” Phantom says. “I could’ve eaten three pieces easily.”
“Noted.” I smile. “I should clean up.”
“Uh, no,” Ghost says. “Whoever cooks doesn’t clean. We got it.”
“Oh. Okay.” I turn to Carnage who is watching me with a serene look on his face. “Your family is nice.”
“They’re great. Want to go upstairs?”
His delivery makes my tummy flutter again, and as my body heats, I nod. “Yes.”
I hope he plans on touching me again, because I’m definitely not done with him yet. Maybe I won’t be for a while and I’ll get to stay here while I figure out my life.
I could use a break.