Page 26 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

It took me two seconds to identify the person as Delaney as he righted his footfalls, and one more to land a right handed jab at his nose.

Delaney swore, crashing back against the wall, holding his now bloody nose. I heard screams and gasps coming from some of the girls as they ran to hide. Grabbing Delaney by his shirt, I shoved him harder against the wall, hitting him with another jab to the nose.

“Where’s our money, maggot?”

Delaney squealed. “Fuck man! I got it! It’s in the other room. I was going to call TJ today to tell him!”

I pulled out my gun. “Get it.”

Delaney stumbled away from the wall, using his shirt to try to catch the blood that was still flowing freely. “You broke my fucking nose!”

We followed him through to the other room and watched him open a package. I moved closer, my gun never leaving his head. I would never trust losers like him. The fucker could be getting his own gun for all I knew. But after a few fumbling moments, he held up a few wads of bills before thrusting them into a plastic bag and tossing it to me.

I passed the bag to Davo without taking my eyes off Delaney. “Is it all there?”

Davo grunted and I heard the bag rustle. “Yep.”

I glared at Delaney. “Don’t ever make us wait for payment again. Got it?”

Delaney glared back. “Yeah, I got it.”

Following Davo out the door, I tucked the gun back into the waist band of my jeans and climbed in the car. Davo laughed out loud as he started the engine, making me raise an eyebrow at him.

“Not a morning person?” he asked sarcastically.

I grunted. “Something like that.”

***

Later that day I drove into town after telling the guys I was in need of some munchies. After checking my mirror for the tenth time, I sent a quick text to Kate then immediate hit the delete button.

Ten minutes later I pulled up in front of a run down low set house with a half collapsed wire fence out the front. Climbing from the car, I did a quick check to make sure I wasn’t being watched, then walked up the path and knocked on the door.

Kate opened the door wearing a skimpy silk night dress with her hair messed up like she’d just gotten out of bed.

I smiled. “Hi.”

Her lips curved up in response, her

gaze turning sexually devious as she took me in. “Well, hello,” she said.

I didn’t hesitate to grab her by the waist and pull her into me, pressing my mouth onto hers as I pushed her backwards into the house and shut the door with my foot.

The second the door was closed, she pushed me away, laughing. “You horn dog.”

I reached for her again with a sly grin. “I know you want me.”

“In your dreams, baby.” Her stance was defiant, but her eyes sparkled with something else. Turning away from me, she slumped onto the couch and ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. “What’s new?”

I sank down on the other end of the couch and lit a cigarette. “Ken’s almost doubled his sales in the last week.” I could feel my irritation with him spreading to my expression. “You know Tom OD’d?”

She sighed. “Yeah. We found his body next to a dumpster behind O’Malley’s.”

I shook my head with disgust. “Well, as you’ve probably worked out, Ken’s replaced Tom with his stepdaughter. Have you managed to get someone undercover at the school yet? I’m worried about her, Kate. She’s as innocent as they come.”

Kate scowled. “Fucking bastard, sending someone you’re supposed to care about into a place like that.” She scratched her fingernails over her chin. “Leah’s starting on Monday. It took a little while to try to get her classes to match the girl’s.”

“TJ had Davo and I follow Ken’s son the other day. It seems he’s taken over the distribution side of things for him. He’s the reason sales have gone up. He’s the right age to get in with the kids, and he knows the best places to do it.”

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