My phone rang, disrupting the quiet contentment.
“Shit,” I grumbled, sitting up. I dug through my clothes for my phone, then settled back against the pillows.
“Yeah, Ollie?”
“I’m here with JC.”
Assuming this was important, I put the phone on speaker.
“What’s up?” I said. “I’ve got Cam with me.”
She sat up, her hair spilling over her shoulders.
“Yeah, I’ve got some more info for you about my contact in Detroit,” Ollie said. “Her name is Anita. I’ve got her contact information, and she’s agreed to meet.”
“When are we going?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, I’m not going with you. I can’t leave the force right now.”
“What? Why?” I asked, sitting forward.
“Nate,” JC spoke up, “things are getting tense. Word has already spread about the attack on you two. Accusations are flying left and right. If Ollie vanished, even for a day or two, more questions would pop up. I needeveryonein my pack to walk the line until we figure this out. I don’t need Lincoln Masters getting wind that Ollie is helping us dig up dirt on him. We need to keep this as quiet as possible.”
That actually made sense when I thought about it. Ollie had done enough the last couple days. He’d been shot, for God’s sake.
“Okay,” I said. “Send me the info.”
“Right.” JC sounded relieved that we weren’t pushing Ollie to be more involved. “Good. I’ll have Ollie send it.”
“We took care of that little problem, too,” Ollie said. “No idea who he was. If he’s a member of the Toronto pack, it’s someone from the outskirts I’ve never met.”
He was talking about the fucker I’d taken down in the alley behind the market. JC had sent a few guys from his pack down to remove the body, along with Ollie and another Toronto PD pack member, to ensure nobody came poking around. I’d really hoped they would get some info on the guy, but it looked like that was too much to hope for.
“That’s fine,” I said. “But if anyone turns up out of the blue wearing an eyepatch, just know he’s the one that got away.”
“Understood,” JC said. “Listen, it’s getting late. You guys need to get some rest. Be ready to head out first thing in the morning. I’ll text you the address and contact info.”
“Hang on,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” JC asked
“We need transportation,” I said, grimacing at the loss of my bike. When I’d leapt off it to attack the guy trying to hurt Cameron, it had gone careening into a pile of trash. It wasn’t totaled, but the front rim had bent, so I couldn’t drive it until I got it fixed. That would take days. Until then, we had no way of getting to the nearest restaurant, much less down to Detroit, Michigan.
I explained all this to JC and Ollie.
“I’ll have someone drop a car off for you early tomorrow morning,” JC said. “I’ll send you the location. It’ll be within walking distance of your safe house.”
“How safe is thissafehouse?” Cameron said, chiming into the conversation. “If those guys found us, won’t other people?”
“It’s taken care of,” Ollie said. “We’ve got a couple loyal TPD guys watching your house. They aren’t pack, though,” he added. “Didn’t think it would look good pulling too many guys from that world. All they know is that I’ve got some witnesses hiding out there and to make sure no one fucks with you. You can sleep easy tonight. I’ve got your back.”
We hung up, then, and Cameron visibly relaxed. It wasn’t a hundred percent certain that the cops would be able to keep anyone away, but it was way better than trying to sleep on a hope and a prayer that some other psycho wouldn’t try to break in during the night.
I tossed my phone on the nightstand and glanced at Cameron. “How do you feel?”
“Better, actually,” she said with a smile. “A lot better. We’re safe, Ollie and JC are helping us out,andwe have a lead. Maybeonce we talk to this Anita person, we’ll have enough dirt to take Rick and his father down.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I’m optimistic. Are you ready for bed?”
