Chapter 13
HARLOW
Archer gave Boner the side-eye. A sentence I wouldn't have imagined thinking a couple of weeks ago.
"We can trust him," I assured Archer.
"Yeah, you can," Boner said. "Out with it, Hardman."
"Hardwick," Archer corrected.
Boner flapped his hands at him. "Whatever. Spill the coffee."
"Don't you mean spill the tea?" I squinted at him.
"I don't like wasting perfectly good tea." He grinned at me, then gave me a wink.
Archer sat still through all of this, his expression unchanged. Somewhere between unimpressed and slightly bored. His hand twitched like he wanted to scroll on his phone while we were bantering. Another minute or two and he'd probably whip it out.
His phone, that was.
"So anyway," I said. "Archer, you have a lead on someone we need to deal with."
Staying impassive was a challenge. If he knew something, knew someone that was doing terrible things to women and girls, I wanted to deal with them then and there. Before they could do anything else. I'd had to learn patience over the years, but I still didn't like it.
"We know the names of the first three men who took your sister," Archer said slowly.
I nodded. I hated saying them out loud, but I'd said them in my head over and over so many times it was like a classic rock track in the back of my brain. An earworm.
"Fred Alonzo. George Wentworth. Oscar Hetherington." I wanted to vigorously brush my teeth to get the taste of those names out of my mouth. Maybe step into a hot shower and scrub my skin until it was raw.
Boner turned his face slowly to stare at me. "You're the one who ended George Wentworth? I knew you were hot. That guy gave scumbag slugs a bad name. Tell me he died slowly." His eyes were wide, eager for the gory details.
"Very slowly," I said. "He had some regrets in the end." As for me, I had none. Except to wonder if he suffered enough.
Boner rubbed his hands together. "I fucking love that for him. I wish I was there to see it."
"If you're lucky, you might be there to see the next one go," I said, nodding for Archer to continue.
"One of my contacts found a connection between them and a man named Granger Fairfield," Archer said. "It seemed like they operated in a pack. Sometimes with several girls between them, sometimes with one."
I knew all of that, but it still made me sick to my stomach.
"Any chance you've been able to find the other three?" Absently I rubbed the tattoo on my arm.
"No." Archer's usually guarded face now showed a hint of regret. "I've tried asking around, but if I poke too much, they'll know we're looking."
"We?" Boner asked. "Are you two…" He flicked a finger back and forth between me and Archer.
"Friends," I said at the same time as Archer said, "Associates."
We exchanged glances.
"Associates," I said at the same time as Archer said, "Friends."
Boner grinned. "Either way, we're doing this together, yeah? Taking out Granger Fairfield." His body was tense, poised like he was ready to head out the door and tear Fairfield apart right now.
"What we're not doing is running in half-cocked,” I said.
"I only ever do things full-cocked,” Boner said, dropping his gaze toward my pussy. "I'm sure you remember."
Archer gave me a look, his brow creased. "Three of us going in there might be overkill."
"It sounds like the perfect amount of kill to me," Boner said. "What else do you know about this asshole? For example, can you confirm he was involved in what happened to Harlow's sister? Or any other girl, for that matter? I don't go around killing indiscriminately."
Archer gave him a flat stare like he didn't believe that for a moment.
"Even if you do, I don't," I said. "Boner is right. We need to be absolutely sure we have the right person."
"Right," Archer agreed. "At this point, I only have what my contact told me. I searched Fairfield up.” Of course he did. "He stands to inherit his father's jewelry empire. On the surface, he's squeaky clean."
"In my experience," Boner said slowly, "the squeakier someone is on the outside, the dirtier they are on the inside. They always seem to be overcompensating, trying to cover up for their fucked up-ness."
"Studies have shown that the image someone presents has a profound impact on the way others react to them," Archer said. "These men were, and are, up-and-coming businessmen. They want to portray an air of success. They want to seem untouchable."
"All the better to get away with anything," I said bitterly.
"They aren't getting away with this," Boner said. "Three of them already haven't. The rest must be sweating in their knickers." He almost seemed to relish the idea.
To be honest, so did I. Had they wondered if the first three deaths were related? Did they know there was a possibility someone was coming for them?
If so, we had to be even more careful. I hated to admit it to myself, but it might take three of us to succeed. I didn't usually work in pairs or packs, but if it meant bringing down Granger Fairfield, then so be it.
"So, first thing, we need more information on this prick," I said slowly.
A thought slowly formed in my mind. I wanted to dismiss it, but it made too much sense.
"Men like these often keep incriminating things on their computers," I said reluctantly. "If we could hack into Fairfield's, we might find…"
I couldn't finish that sentence. We all knew what we might find. Images none of us wanted to look at. Things no one should see. If we found what I suspected we would, those girls deserved justice. Closure. I couldn't give them back their innocence, but I could give them this.
"Let me guess, you know a guy?" Boner asked.
"I might," I agreed. "I don't really want to bring him into this, but…" I uncrossed my legs and crossed them the other way.
"If he can get us into Fairfield's computer, he doesn't need to do anything," Archer said. "Better if he doesn't. Then, if the cops come after us, he won't know anything."
"Hardcastle is right," Boner said. "All we need is access. For all we know, Fairfield doesn't have anything like that stored away."
"Hardwick," Archer corrected. "He might have some other incriminating evidence. Something that'll tie him to Lettie St. James."
"And if we don't find it, we follow him," I said.
"If it comes to that," Archer agreed. "Getting past his security is going to be the biggest challenge."
"I love a challenge." Boner looked ready to tackle it head-on. "I always say to myself, Edward, either you win again or you die. There is no losing."
"Dying sounds like losing to me," Archer said. "I read once that people are aware for about seven minutes after they die. Seems like you'll have time to think about whether you're winning or not."
"Sounds like bullshit to me," Boner said easily. "Hey, I have an idea."
"I'm not going to die so we can test the theory," Archer said. "If you're offering…"
"No one is going to die here today," I said, raising my hands, palms facing them. "Let's focus on Fairfield. He's the enemy, not anyone in this room. Okay?"
"You're right," Boner said. "Sorry, bro." He leaned forward and offered Archer his hand.
"Yeah," Archer said with a sigh, but he leaned forward and shook Boner's hand. "Can I have a few minutes alone with Harlow?"
Boner's gaze slid to me, his expression skeptical.
"It's okay, I trust him," I said.
Archer could have called the cops on me a long time ago. I could have done the same to him. Of course, neither of us could do that without incriminating ourselves. No, if he wanted to, they would have shown up on my doorstep a long time ago.
Mischief in his eyes, Boner slid his gaze back over to Archer.
I sat forward and poked Boner in the side with my fingernail. "He trusts me too." He really would do almost anything for a laugh.
"Yes, I do," Archer said. The look he gave Boner clearly said if there was anyone in the room he didn't trust, it was the Englishman. Fair enough. They'd known each other for barely an hour. That was a short amount of time for anyone, much less people like us.
Trusting the wrong person could get us thrown in solitary confinement the rest of our lives.
Or worse. No, I don't mean death. I mean being buried alive, up to my neck and left there to die slowly. Or locked in a sensory deprivation tank. I know those are specific, but I have particular nightmares.
"Right then." Boner placed his hands on his thighs and hopped off the top of the desk. "I'll leave you crazy kids to it for a few minutes. Don't make my floor sticky." He looked meaningfully at Archer, but he was smiling at the same time, right before he strode out the door, closing it behind him.
Archer rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. "Where did you find that guy?"
"Ironically, about the same place I found you," I said. "We both had the same target." I decided not to mention the night we spent together before that. Archer probably figured out by now that Boner and I had fucked at some point. I didn't need to give him the details.
"You really trust him then?" He glanced at the door as if he suspected Boner was on the other side, listening. Considering how thick the door was, I doubt he'd be able to hear a word. No, if he was listening, it wasn't through the door.
"Yeah, I do," I said. "He's a lot, but he's one of us. If he wasn't, the cops would be breaking down the door."
I'd taken note of the amount of cameras in the gallery. Just because I couldn't see evidence of a listening device in the office didn't mean there wasn't one. If he'd called them the moment he stepped out of the office, they'd be here by now.
"I guess so." Archer didn't look convinced.
"You two will learn to get along," I assured him. "I don't want to have to pick a side. You know what will happen then."
"You'll pick homicide?" A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
I grinned. "Exactly."
He chuckled softly. "Can I take you out some time? Make up for our coffee being interrupted." He seemed surprised at himself for asking, but made no attempt to take the words back. If anything, he seemed relieved they were out there, in the world.
"Sounds like I need to take you out," I said. It was my friend who interrupted us after all. I owed him a raincheck. "After we hack Fairfield's computer?"
"It's a date," he said. "But let me pick the place. I know a guy. I'm almost ready to go after him. We could do it together." His dark eyes shone with a fierce light, like he came alive when he was planning a kill. Like everything else was monotonous right up until the moment he sliced skin open.
"That's so romantic," I said, teasing lightly. I wouldn't say no. If we were going to go after a big, difficult target together, then some practice wouldn't hurt.
Well, it wouldn't hurt us.
"I should go and talk to Cass," I said. I surprised myself by how much I was looking forward to seeing him. It wasn't all about asking him to hack Fairfield's computer for me. I genuinely liked the guy.
Which, frankly, was terrifying.