Page 89 of Insidious Heart
I just shrug again because I have no idea how to respond to that.
“I didn’t mean to imply you’re completely heartless, Victor.” John smirks as I slowly meet his eyes. “I’m probably the only one who knows you’re not, and I shouldn’t have made it sound otherwise. You don’t care, but not for any reasons other than the fact that you had to protect yourself from getting invested in other people, and you really don’t understand a lot of things when it comes to them. Which aren’t bad things, by the way, it just caught me off guard is all.”
The tension releases from my body as I relax a little. “So, you’ll let me help?”
Little John shakes his head but quickly continues. “I meant the shit about papers. Technically, Victor Crow no longer exists, and I can’t have a ghost working for me, not if I want to keep this business on the up and up to keep you safe.”
“Yeah, sure.” I clear my throat and ignore how it tightens over his words. I know I’m not the only reason John keeps the junkyard legit, but hearing I’m one of them is enough to have me experiencing something else I don’t like feeling. “If I got papers… if I got shit to keep things on the level?”
My mentor’s eyes go wide again. “You’d do that? You’d get documents just so you can help me out?”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re a contracted hit man and serial killer reliant on protecting your identity. Because you’re supposed to be fucking dead.”
Nowthatmakes me grin. “I am dead, Johnny boy. Dead as a fucking doornail, come back as a ghost to haunt your grizzly ass. Which gives me the freedom to become whoever the hell I want.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” John mumbles as we start walking again.
“Don’t worry your bald little head over it. I’ll handle the paperwork, you start planning how you’re going to spend all your free time. I hear they just opened a new day spa in Sabine Woods that’s all the rage.”
He rolls his eyes and tries to scowl but I can see him fighting a smile.
“I know!” I gasp as I move to the station wagon in front of us. “You could take up golf! Old guys do that when they retire, right? Hit the green and knock around someballs.”
I show the bear of a man my best imaginary golf swing as he rolls his dark brown eyes. “I’m not retiring, Tor. And I ain’t playing fuckinggolf.”
With my best grin, I open the driver door, grab the keys then head to the trunk to grab a license plate. “Such a shame. You’d look so cute in those little pantaloons and cleats.”
John barks out a laugh as he walks away, shaking his head and calling me a dumbass under his breath as he does, and I pause for a second to appreciate it.
I might not understand how to handle feelings and people and shit, but IknowLittle John Andrews. And knowing him has done both of us some good whether we want to admit it or not.
* * *
“Took your sweet fucking time,”Beau grunts as Jesus slides into the booth across from him. “I said this shit was urgent, and I meant it.”
I roll my eyes as I watch the footage that’s being live streamed from the drone—courtesy of Spider and his massive brain—perched on the streetlight outside the diner.
Turns out a sober Finlay is even smarter than a high one; not that I know firsthand, but he’s shared as much, and something he used to do in his free time wastinkerwith electronics. And this tiny little flying robot he created from scratch was pretty damn impressive when he showed it to me, but now, seeing it in action and doing what Spider made it for, is even more so. It’s beneficial as fuck to, be perfectly honest, and I’ve rather enjoyed testing out all of the equipment the Goliath Birdeater sends my way.
He’s streamlining my process and I am definitely enjoying it.
Too bad he hasn’t created something that’ll get Beauregard to spills his guts and tell us everything he plans to do in order to pin this sex trafficking bullshit on us.
On the Kings, I mean.
How he’s going to pin this shit on theWulven Kings.
I roll my eyes at myself this time and refocus on the phone in front of me.
Most of his plan is clear. We know what Beau’s doing for the most part: hiding a bunch of women in some shipping container until he moves them and looking to pin it on the Kings, but the questions ofhowandwhenare still unanswered. And they’re the only things keeping him alive at this point.
I’m assuming Beauregard will organize an auction some time in the near future since he’s working with Jesus and that seems to be the Cobra Cons thing.
Lucifer was known for throwingpartiesin order to hide the dog fights as well as the girls he pimped out of the clubhouse, and he’d have realbangerswhen he was selling women and children to the highest bidders. So, I don’t see that changing now just because they’re under different management.
For a newer club, the Cons did a lot in a short period of time, and even with their former president sitting in prison for it, I’m sure their messiah will follow in Lucifer’s stupid ass footsteps.
