Page 45 of Cruel Debts
"What if she's right?" Asher said suddenly, his voice quieter than before. "What if he is still out here somewhere? What if we didn't look hard enough?"
"He would have found us by now, you idiot," Liam snapped, his voice on edge. "It's Tank we're talking about. He's not stupid. If hecouldget to us, he would find a way. And it's been years. He's not coming back."
We'd see about that.
"Well, then, I suppose it's time to call Mistwood and have him do some digging into the staff at the club. Someone's gotta know why new girls are going missing, and where they're going."
Girls were going missing at the club? Was it connected to my situation?
"The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can end this contract and get back to the important jobs." Asher sighed, the weight of the whole situation like a physical entity on his shoulders. "We have put everything on hold to make sure Trinitystays safe, and St. Clair will start getting irritated sooner rather than later. Her good humor toward Minnie will only extend for so long."
It was ironic how they could discuss my well-being so casually, like it was a discussion on what to have for dinner.
The good stuff was over. I had what I needed now. They knew about the fake Keehn. Not only did they know, they were using him, and their knowledge over him, to reach areas their filthy, dirty hands might not otherwise easily reach. With a contact in the police department, they were beyond powerful. They were unstoppable.
And they weren't above blackmail to get things done.
Well, if blackmail was good enough for them, then it was good enough for me.
While they continued to discuss the future among themselves, as if it didn't concern me at all, I moved to the bed, yanking out the little notebook I'd repurposed into an escape plan journal from under the mattress. With renewed fervor, I set to work outlining my plans again.
If they weren't going to help me find Keehn, then I'd do it my damn self. And to hell with them and their plans for my future. I could handle a little danger. I'd been on these streets for weeks on my own and was doing just fine before they came along.
I could handle myself, dammit.
Keehn was out there. I wouldn't give up on him. And when I found him, there'd be no confusion who was loyal to him, and who was not.
My brother was my life. And I was his. And soon enough, I'd find out what happened to him. One way or another.
TWENTY
ASHER
"You sure do haveone hell of a bedside manner, Doc—Ow, dammit!"Ghoul, or Nash, whatever we were supposed to call him these days, growled at me as I tugged the bullet out of his damn arm. This was the third time I'd had to personally stitch him up in a month, and it was getting old.
"You know, I wouldn't have to see your ugly face so damn often if you'd learn to dodge bullets." I set the hemostats on the table and rolled my eyes as I reached for the thread and needle. "Sit still, asshole."
"I'm sat," he growled, his fingers gripping the edge of the table. "I shoulda just had Harpie girl take it out. She's gentler than your ass."
"You do a lot of complaining for a man whose open wound is within reaching distance of someone who was kicked out of the military for committing war crimes in a POW medic unit."
He scoffed at my veiled threat. "You don't scare me." I tugged the thread in his arm tighter, and he just grinned. "Yeah, daddy, just like that."
I gagged a little at his terrible humor. "You're insufferable."
"And you're a dick."
"Nashville, be nice," Harper muttered as she wandered into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge with barely a glance in our direction. "Or no treats for you later."
"Treats? What did you make?"
Her eyes sparkled as she turned them on him with a wink. "You won't ever find out unless you let stitch you up."
"Are you gonna pop them for me later?" He shifted in his seat, the bulge in his pants obvious now from my angle.
Fucking psycho.
"You wish." She sets a bottle down next to me on the counter and smiles. "For you, . Sorry he's so uncivilized still. I swear I'm trying to work on his table manners."
