“East side. Take the freeway east. Get off on Smith Road. Head north.”
“That’s a drive. I’ll need you awake by the time I get that far. Keep pressure on it.”
“Kay.”
The heat partially thawed the ice on the windshield, forcing me to scrape more from the glass. Thus far, I saw no one who seemed interested in shooting us. Still, I worked fast, got in, and drove more sedately down the alley. I sure didn’t need the cops pulling me over for speeding.
“You good?” I asked, turning onto the street.
“Yeah. So far.”
“Hang in there, man. Stay with me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
***
Forced to sit up in order to navigate, Magnus’s weak voice told me where to turn and when. The neighborhood was so neglected that the city never bothered to plow the streets. I pulled into the driveway of the single-story house and looked at the smoke billowing from the chimney.
“Did you start a fire last time you were here?”
“Uh, no. Why?”
“The place appears to be occupied.”
“Shit,” Magnus muttered. “This sucks rocks.”
“Stay in the car,” I told him, making sure my baton was in my pocket. “I’ll run them off.”
“They might be dangerous,” he called as I walked around to the back.
“So am I.”
The back door, as Magnus had described, was unlocked and opened easily. I stepped cautiously into the nasty kitchen, breathing in the scent of woodsmoke and booze. Walking lightly on the balls of my feet, the baton in my grip, I stepped into the warm front room.
Two skinny meth heads busily drank whiskey in front of a roaring fire, oblivious to my presence. Though I felt a vague sort of compassion for them, Magnus had already claimed this house. They took advantage of his work to move in.
“Morning, gentlemen.”
They both swiveled in shocked surprise. “Oo’re you,” one demanded, baring his toothless gums.
“We already claimed this house,” I said reasonably. “You boys need to find another place to live.”
“We like this ‘un,” exclaimed the other. “All warm an’ all.”
I flicked my wrist. The baton snapped into place. Their eyes widened as I paced toward them, making damn sure they saw me for what I was. A threat. And a damn mean one.
“A’right, a’right,” the first junkie protested, lifting his hand as though that would stop me. “We’re goin’. Put that thing down, lady.”
They stood, seizing their blankets, their booze, the plastic sacks that carried their worldly goods. Had my need for this house not been so dire, I’d have left them alone. As a safe house from Arnaud, this couldn’t be any more perfect.
I followed as they rushed for the front door, then surged across the lawn. They barely glanced at my car and Magnus inside it, trotting through the snow to vanish down the street.After shoving my baton back where it belonged and into my pocket, I strode to the car.
“Come on,” I said, helping Magnus out. “It’s warm in there.”
“Cool.”
His right arm over my shoulder, Magnus shuffled beside me, his head low, his black hair tumbling over his brow. Once inside, I left him to stand while I dragged a ratty armchair closer to the fire. He sat with a sigh, but I worried about the dirt in the damn chair so close to his wound.
