Page 78 of Retaliation

“What did I just say about asking questions?” She raised a brow at him.

“Okay, okay. Just one last one,” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “What can I do to help?”

“Are you on- or off duty?”

“Off duty,” he said.

“Keep it that way and I’m sure there are some civilians who need help cleaning up.”

With a nod, he jogged down the street and started helping a store owner board up their broken windows. The door to The Grave Bar opened next to Poison as Skel stepped outside, and spotted her.

“Who’s that?” he asked, flanking her, crossing his arms.

“A cop,” she murmured, and she felt Skel’s spine stiffen next to her.

“What the fuck, P?” he growled. “You involved with a cop?”

“Not here,” she hissed, tearing her eyes from Gavin. “We can talk inside.”

Turning on her heel, she walked into the bar, not waiting to see if Skel followed. She walked straight to the bar, where Marty was cleaning his shotgun. Hearing her footsteps, he gave her one look and placed two glasses on the counter, filling them with clear liquid.

“Thanks,” she muttered, knocking back the content of one of the glasses. “Would you mind giving us a moment, Marty?”

He nodded, stood, and cocked his shotgun before walking to his office door at the back of the bar.

“You can put the bottle on my tab,” she called to him, downing the second glass.

She grabbed the bottle of liquor and two glasses before walking to the pool table, where Skel stood bent over a city map of her territory.

“What’s the extent of the damage?” she asked, filling the glasses on the edge of the green baize.

Skel circled an area on the map with his finger. “It’s concentrated in this area. They moved slow but did a thorough job destroying everything in their wake.”

“How many families were displaced?” she asked, her heart breaking for the loss they had suffered because of her.

“Only three, luckily. They mainly focused on the businesses,” he answered.

She took a moment to look at Skeldon. If she hadn’t known him, she would have sworn he was military-trained. She had never witnessed such mastery over emotions or handling of difficult situations. He was a colonel at war, and every thought, every action was measured and calculated.

“Set the families up at the barracks until we can rebuild.”

Skel nodded and immediately texted their crew to help the families.

“Everyone’s insurance is up to date, so we shouldn’t have trouble on that front.”

“That’s good,” she answered, staring at the map again.

Skel turned and leaned against the table. With arms crossed, he stared at her.

“You mind telling me what’s going on now?” He studied her, and the intensity of his gaze made her look away.

Downing her drink, she poured another and retrieved her cigarettes from her backpack. Only once she perched on a bar stool, blowing out puffs of smoke, did she look at him again.

“You might want to sit down for this,” she said, sighing.

“Does this have anything to do with Reaper returning?” he asked, pulling a chair closer and sitting down.

She shook her head. “Yes and no,” she answered. “It is because of him, but he didn’t do this.”

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