Page 34 of The Demons We Hide

The back office door opens and Darrio steps out, a cigar hanging from between his lips. “You’re done?” he demands as Nolan gets off his chair and stretches. Without waiting for a response, he nods, not bothering to say anything to Gio. “Good. I have a job for you three.”

Rogue nods to me as I get up and fish out my wallet. I slap a stack of hundreds in his hand and nod to Carver to let him know that it’s for both of them. He hands me the plastic bandage that’ll keep it clean and help it heal over the next 24 to 72 hours. I put it on and crack my neck to the side to relieve some of the ache from having it bent for so long on my phone. The skin over the left side of my chest burns slightly as I reach down and grab my discarded t-shirt, pulling it on over my head.

“What do you need?” Nolan asks as he does the same.

“I need you to take a trip.”

Gio frowns. “We have football practice next week, we can’t miss it.”

“Your fucking football games aren’t going to put food on the table, now, are they?” Darrio practically snarls at his son. “I thought I was raising a man, not a fucking boy. If you don’t want to get paid then you can skip out.”

Gio stiffens. Neither Nolan nor I say a damn word as Gio’s face slackens into a perfectly controlled mask. “Of course, sir,” Gio replies. “What do you need?”

Darrio glares at him. “I need you to stop being such a pussy,” he grits out before switching his attention to Nolan. “Head out to Eastpoint this weekend,” he says. “I’ve got a new client up there that’s willing to purchase some of the goods we have coming in. I need you to solidify the deal—ensure him that we’re reliable.”

“And the product?” Nolan inquires. “That’ll be in on time?”

Even if it hadn’t been our duty, neither he nor I had missed Darrio’s outburst on the phone. “It will be,” Darrio snaps. “Or by fucking Christ, I’ll have their damn balls.”

I keep my mouth sealed. It’s easy enough to make the man forget my existence when I never talk. I don’t like to acknowledge Darrio’s existence; it only serves to remind me that he’s not yet where he should be—in the ground, pushing daisies.

As if he senses my intentions, Darrio’s dark eyes flick towards me and then back to Nolan. “I’ll have Bates send you the information,” he says, referring to his second in command. “Don’t fuck this up.”

Nolan nods, face a copy of Gio’s. “Of course, sir.” With that, Darrio turns and stomps into the back office, slamming the door until the covered glass windows rattle.

Together, the three of us—Gio, Nolan, and I—wave goodbye to Rogue and Carver as they clean up their stations, and head out the front. The sun is setting over the gray horizon, casting the sliver of parking lot into a shadowy hue as we walk towards my SUV and Gio’s Firebird.

“I don’t like this,” I say as we get closer.

Gio glances at me. “Because of her?” he guesses.

I nod. Leaving Silverwood has rarely been a requirement from Darrio, it’s almost always been taking drugs up to the northside, but if he’s really branching out then until we take him out, this might become a regular occurrence. It’s a problem. We still don’t know who’s after Juliet.

Nolan sighs as he stops by the back of the SUV. “I agree.” Reaching up, he pinches the bridge of his nose as if to ward off an oncoming headache. “She’s not going to come with us willingly.”

“You want to take her with?” I ask, almost hopefully.

Get Juliet out of Silverwood? Alone? Well, with the three of us,I mentally correct,but alone with us otherwise.

Gio shifts on his feet, turning to face us with his back to the Firebird. “She wasn’t all that receptive to our talk at the Dionysus Lounge,” he says. “She really thinks the two of you burned down the complex.”

“You know we didn’t,” Nolan snaps.

In my pocket, my phone buzzes, and I pull it free. Glancing over the notifications on the screen, I smirk and then swipe over to the remote-controlled app that I had privately installed on Juliet’s cell phone. Poor baby must be losing her mind every time she realizes her attempts to block us are rejected. Going down the list of actions she’s taken, I undo the blocks on all three of our phones before finding the screen that will allow me to read her latest texts.

JULIET: Hey when are your parents coming in this weekend? I want to make sure I’m out of your hair before they get here.

ROQUEL: Saturday morning at the latest, but as early as Friday night.

JULIET: K

Ghostly dots form a bubble at the bottom of the screen showcasing that someone is typing. A moment later, Roquel’s name pops back up on the screen.

ROQUEL: Going out tonight. Don’t wait up.

JULIET:

The conversation itself is innocent, but the subtext is clear. Juliet is leaving Roquel’s… but where is she going?

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