Page 17 of Sixth Sin

Son of a bitch. “How long were you standing there?”

She shrugs. “Long enough.”

I roll her cryptic admission around in my head as my ride share app alerts me that my car is here. She clears her throat, and I glance up to see her angling her head as if trying to look through me.

“If you’re really offering her that kind of money, what’s the catch?”

I was right. She was eavesdropping. “Why do you assume there’s a catch?”

“There always is.”

As if on cue, my app chimes again. “This has been fun, but my ride is waiting.”

Before I can take two steps, she blurts out, “Is this about your search for Alexandra Romanov?”

Spinning around, I narrow my eyes. Intuition has always saved my ass, and at the moment, warning signs are pinging off this girl like atomic road flares. “I’m sorry?”

“Come on, McCallum, you think I’m stupid? I know that’s why Reggie’s girl slapped you. I heard everything. Not that it would’ve been hard to figure out. Every asshole with a telephoto lens and an overdrawn bank account is hunting for that girl.”

“So, what does that have to do with Angel?”

“You think I don’t see the resemblance? I’m broke, not blind.”

I force a blank expression. “I don’t follow.” Only I do. And when she sighs, I know she does, too.

“You won’t hurt her, right?” She stares down at her hands, and despite the sarcastic armor, I know this girl is being sincere.

“Look, I may be a lot of things, but homicidal isn’t one of them.” Choosing my words carefully, I offer a half-truth. “There’s a million dollars on the line. People with less morals than me will do anything to get their hands on it, and most of them won’t care what happens after the payout.”

She finally looks me in the eye. I have no idea what’s rolling around in that Crayola head of hers, but as I watch her tap the ripped edge of my card against her bottom lip, I’m hoping it’s surrender. “And you do?”

Frustrated, I rake a hand through my hair. “Let’s just say I know what it’s like to get thrown to the wolves. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

As her rigid posture relaxes, mine coils tighter than a starved python. That’s just a little too much truth for me. I know the moment she sees it, too. The exact moment she resigns both of us to whatever she’s been wrestling with.

“Promise me you’ll watch out for her.”

“What?”

“Promise me!” she yells, delivering a surprisingly hard punch to my chest.

My palms fly up. “Okay, Jesus, I promise.”

Keeping her eyes firmly on mine, she pauses before reaching in her apron and pulling out a pen. I watch as she scribbles frantically on the back of my torn card before shoving it in my face. The moment I take it, a shadow of regret passes over her face. “This is her address.”

No. It can’t be this easy.

“Why would you give me this?”

She stares at me before dropping her gaze to the destroyed card clenched in my hand. “If you can give her a better life, you need to convince her to listen to you.” Her voice catches as her eyes trail over her shoulder toward the dead-end bar. “No one deserves to die serving cheap booze in a dirty apron. Especially her. She has talent, McCallum. Real talent.”

“How selfless of you. Unfortunately, you fell on the wrong sword. Even after stealing my wallet, she still refuses to listen to anything I have to say.”

“You’re a persuasive guy,” she says, giving my chest a firm pat. “You’ll figure it out.” I’m about to tell her I can’t figure my way out of half the shit I’m in when she adds, “You owe it to her.”

She can’t be serious.

“I’m sorry, you think I owe her for robbing me blind?”

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