“Says the girl who is about to commit a felony for that same gang.” He gave me a smug look, and I just flipped him off again because he was right. Fuck, was bribing or threatening a judge a felony? I guess I’d already been complicit in my brother’s murder by not going to the police, now I’d have another crime to add to my growing list of sins.
“How long have you been working for Carlos then?”
Adrian blew out a breath, his cheeks puffing out. “Almost six years now.”
“How old are you?” I studied his profile, but he looked like he was around my brother’s age.
“Twenty-five.”
“Did you know my brother?” I asked tentatively, scared to learn of any other secrets.
“Yeah, um, Jack and I tended to cross paths for work. It’s impossible not to when our jobs are so interdependent.”
“His name isn’t fucking Jack. It’s Ja-vi-er. Why does everyone keep calling him that?”
He gave me an incredulous look and shook his head, “You really don’t know shit about what your brother was doing, do you?”
“I think we already fucking established that,” I said bitterly.
“Look, it was an inside joke. Someone called him Jack, apparently that was the real name of The Joker from Batman. Your brother…” Adrian paused, and I studied his profile, waiting for him to continue. “Your brother was a little unhinged when he was working.”
I swallowed, trying to reconcile with this new version of my brother.
“Anyway, I’m sorry that you had to see his death. You didn’t deserve that. And you definitely didn’t deserve what Pedrofilo and my dad did to you.”
“So, why does Carlos have you chauffeuring me around?”
Adrian sighed and flicked his gaze to mine as we pulled into the parking lot behind the courthouse.
“I may be a sabueso, but I’m going to be more than that soon. Keeping you alive and well is my current task.”
My brows furrowed with confusion, but I shook my head, not caring enough to ask him what he meant.
“You know, you’re working for a man who is gambling with your brother’s life. And hewilluse your brother, regardless of whether or not I follow his orders. It’s only a matter of time.”
Adrian’s jaw tensed and he reached across me to the glovebox. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see the gun sitting inside, but it still made me tense. He pulled out the envelope and closed the glovebox.
“I know. But it’s not gonna be today, so don’t fuck this up.”
I took the envelope, zipped it inside my backpack and gave him one last glance before leaving the car. I wiped my sweaty palms on my leggings and tried to walk casually around the building to the entrance.
A security guard eyed me as I entered, and I gave my best smile. I was forced to walk through a metal detector while my bag went through an X-ray machine, before reaching a reception desk. A young woman was standing behind the desk and looked to be packing up her things to leave despite it being only 3:45 in the afternoon.
“Excuse me,” I interrupted, and she looked up expectantly. “I’m here to see Judge Spinner, can you tell me where I can find him?”
She looked me over slowly before nodding and giving me directions to his chambers. I gave a polite smile and tried to walk as calmly as possible to his office.
I let out a shaky breath as I stood in front of the door marked with his name. After a minute of praying I didn’t getarrested for what I was about to do, I knocked. A soft ‘come in’ resounded from the other side and I entered the small reception area.
It was dimly lit with an orange hue from a lamp in the corner. An older woman sat at the desk squinting her eyes at me as she lowered what I assumed were a pair of reading glasses.
“Yes?”
“Hi. Um, Judge Spinner, I have an, uh, appointment,” I stuttered.
“Name?”
“Hannah Bell,” I smiled forcefully, my heart thudding loudly in my chest.Fuck’s sake, I need to chill.
