“Bring her back,” Irene said as she slid the stack across.“Don’t make this a one-and-done.”
“I plan to,” I said.
We stepped back into the evening light.
The car I’d seen earlier was gone.
My shoulders stayed tight until we reached the fence and Jimmy waved us through.
“You see anything?”I asked him.
“Nope,” he said.“Just a Lexus with a soccer mom behind the wheel.She stopped long enough to check her GPS, then kept going.Spade already ran the plate.Belongs to a dentist in the next town.You’re clear.”
“Thanks,” I said.
He locked the gate behind us.
Jade hugged the books to her chest like they were a personal victory.
“You okay?”I asked.
“I didn’t die,” she said.“No Diaz.No Roth.Good stories in my arms.I might float away.”
“You float, I’m tying a rope around your ankle,” I said.
“Promise?”she asked.
“Yeah,” I said.
* * *
Later that night, after the kids crashed and the bar closed, Atilla called a quick meeting in the office.No full Church.Just core.Me.General.Spade.A couple of the older guys.
Jade came too at his nod.Sat in the corner with her shoulders square, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee.
Spade projected a map onto the wall.“Diaz’s books bled today,” he said, voice flat.“Rusty Nail.Two laundromats.One construction site.Hanley’s pushing on the city side.Feds sniffing around an import company Roth tied to Diaz’s port runs.”
“Diaz react?”General asked.
Spade tapped a key.A traffic cam feed popped up.Convoy.SUVs.A truck.
“He shifted a shipment last minute.”His eyes narrowed at the screen.“Moved a load meant for the city to a secondary route skirting our county.”He glanced up at me, jaw tight.“The bastard believes whoever tipped off the cops watches his usual roads.”A cold smile crossed his face.“We know better.”
“He going to push closer to us?”I asked.
“Maybe’” Spade shrugged.“He’s paranoid.He wants to keep product moving while he figures out who’s poking his nest.That means he uses every road he thinks we’re too scared to claim.Including the ones near town.”
“We’re not scared,” I said.
“No,” Atilla agreed.“We’re smart.We pick our battles.”
He studied the map.“You think he’ll test us?”he asked Spade.
“Soon.He doesn’t like unknown variables.We’re a big one.Roth disappeared.His bar friends go dark.His laundromats hit snags.Feds near his warehouses.”
“Good,” I said.
Jade’s gaze flicked to me.
