Page 22 of Cruel Debts
A window that I was suddenly concerned might not last if Liam did what he looked ready to do and punched straight through it.
“You’re playing with fire,little girl,” Hawke chuckled, starting the car with a smile. “Careful you don’t get too close, or you might get burned.”
“I'm not scared of a little fire,” she retorted, her forehead against the window as Liam crammed into the back seat and slammed the door. “My brother and his friends taught me to hold my own.”
“You’re gonna need that,” I muttered, leaning back against the seat.
It was gonna be a long ride home.
The whole wayto the asylum, she peppered me, Hawke, and sometimes Liam with questions, not all of which we actually answered.
“Do you guys wear the masks all the time?”
A question for Hawke, as he leaned away from the finger she’d poked the side of his oni mask with. “Yep. Even shower in them.”
“Weirdos.” She turned to me next, after seeing Liam looked to be in no mood to answer anything she wanted to know about. “Are you guys, like, important in your Guild, or whatever?”
“We’re basically founding members,” I admitted, frowning at her rapid-fire questions. Did she really need to know all of this? “When you get to the Guild, it’s important you listen to what we tell you. It could save your life.”
“You can’t wander around on your own. There are worse assholes than us roaming those halls, and not all of them have a conscience.” Hawke turned onto the drive leading up to the parking garage. “And keep your mouth shut around the rest of the Guild. Sometimes, it’s best not to say anything at all.”
“If you should have any issues, you just tell them you’re with the Gunners, and they’ll leave you alone, or they’ll sign their death certificates.” Liam’s words were harsh, but he said themwith a serious tone, no inflection of attitude or assholery in the words.
It looked like she took them seriously, too. She didn’t bother retorting with something witty.
Instead, she turned to face him, her body twisted to face the backseat as Hawke stole glances at her out of the corner of his eye. “Are you guys like the big bads in the asylum?”
“Something like that,” he responded, watching her from behind those goggles. “Are you always this annoying?”
“Maybe.” She turned around in her seat, already tired of him, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing.
It’d been a long time since someone had pushed our buttons like she did. Maybe having her underfoot wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all.
ELEVEN
HAWKE
I wasn’tsure whether to be irritated by all the questions or amused that she seemed to lose her earlier hesitancy when alone with us. It would be a shitty existence for the time being if we had to walk on eggshells around her.
I wondered what kind of people her brother and his friends were to have molded her into such a feisty person. I mean, I didn’t give a shit, but it was funny.
She kind of reminded me of someone I used to know.
When I pulled into our parking spot and shut the car off, I saw Asher reach for her bag as Liam escaped the car with a quickness. What surprised me was that he stopped to open her door for her, his earlier ire mellowed out to just a hint of irritation.
“Come on, then, little girl. We’ve arrived at your new kennel.”
She stared at the hand he held out and brushed it off, stepping out into the early morning air with a sigh. We were supposed to report to St. Clair for a debrief, but I’d called her on the ride over to tell her we’d put it off until later, since we still had to clear out the room and get this shit settled.
She stayed silent and broody the whole way up the elevator ride to the main floor of the asylum, but the second we steppedout into the commons, about ten sets of eyes turned to us, and we got the kind of attention I had been hoping to avoid.
The Skeleton Crew and the Neon Dogs were standing around in a circle, the two groups very close to exchanging blows if their shouting was any indication. On one side, you had Hyena, the new leader of the Dogs, watching as her three men struggled to keep their composure. On the other side stood Harper, leading lady of the Blackwood trio, her hands pressed against Ghoul’s chest as she struggled to keep him calm—and far away from Jackal.
They hated each other. Well, not always, but on a bad day, they were fire and gasoline.
Behind the two groups stood St. Clair and her head of security, Thomas, Thompson, whatever. They didn’t look too concerned about the argument devolving into a physical fight, choosing instead to simply observe and smile like they knew a secret the rest of us didn’t.
The sound of the elevator drew the attention away from the disagreement, whatever it was, and the shouts, insults, and swearing came to a screeching halt.
