Page 49 of Dangerous Silence
Wil blinked away the rage, then said, “She isnotfine. I’m tired of dealing with Muro.”
“You know it’s Muro?” I asked. Everyone in the group turned towards me, and I realized that I was the one who always tagged along, but never spoke. Axe’s perfect shadow, until now. I rolled my eyes. “What? Axe told me. I know what’s going on.”
“Yeah,” Axe said, turning back to Wil. “Was it Muro?”
“What happened?” Maddie asked.
“We were supposed to be going to the island, but the ferries were broken, and I didn’t feel like sailing,” he said with such aristocracy that I realized he must not hold himself to the same minimalist standards that Axe did. Sailing? Axe didn’t seem like he’d ever consider a past time like sailing. “Got a hotel room on the water to make up for it. Anyway, I don’t know how the hell they got in.”
“I disarmed,” Ellie said.
“And I put the bullet in between his eyes,” Wil said, looking at Ellie. They turned back to us.
“Did you find the logo?” Derek asked.
“On the neck,” Wil said.
Axe lifted his chin. “We were attacked too,” he said. He turned to me, which made the rest of them look at me too.
So Axe wanted me to talkforhim? All right, then. I shrugged. “Yeah, they were chasing us.”
“Where?” Derek asked.
“In the desert,” I said. “By car.”
“Shit,” Derek muttered. “And we know for sure it was Muro?”
Axe lifted the matchbox from his pocket, showing the logo.
“They must have had a plan for when Cannon was taken out,” Derek said. “Maybe he was a cover.”
“Or there’s a rat,” Axe said.
The room fell silent, the accusation hovering in the air. Then Maddie cleared her throat, and Wil sat up straight.
“What do we do now?” Wil asked.
Gerard popped his head in, then tilted backward, motioning for the brothers to follow him. Derek and Wil stood up.
Axe put a hand on my shoulder as he stood up too, then said, “I’ll be back.” Ellie followed behind them, leaving Maddie and me alone.
“You’re not allowed in the business talk either?” I asked.
“Oh,” Maddie lifted her shoulders, “I don’t mind taking a break.” She rolled her wrists. “A few hours where I get to sit around and wait is fine by me.”
Huh. What was she waiting for? “What’s going on with you?” I asked.
“Derek’s trying to convince his dad that it’s fine if I clean their place regularly.” She forced a smile. “I guess Clara prefers to do most of the work herself. And Gerard doesn’t like extra women in the house.” Extra women? She must have read the confusion, because she added, “He has a history of infidelity. Knows he needs to keep himself in check.”
My jaw dropped slightly, but then I straightened. “But you’d never do that,” I said.
“Of course not,” she smiled. “But if that’s what he needs to do to make his wife feel safe, then by all means,” she knocked her shoulder into mine playfully, “I understand. But Derek hates letting his mom do that kind of stuff. She’s getting older, you know?” She looked at the door as if she could see Derek through it, and her eyes softened. “He’s so damn protective,” she said, her voice wistful. Then she shook away the daydream and turned to me. “Anyway, I hear you went to Las Vegas. Did you get to do any gambling?”
I wrinkled my nose. The kitty machine in Sour Times must have counted.
“I guess,” I said.
“Good,” she chuckled.
