“Cult or not we will dead all of them if they keep trafficking in Shelby-Love.” I vow to him.
Chapter eighteen
CASH OUT
SABAN
Stretching out all the kinks and knots from the light, I give myself a moment to take an inventory of my body in the aftermath of the intensity of Snake’s loving.
My kittykat is sore, though that is not a surprise, and neither are the bruises I see reflected in the mirror when I go to shower.
After I moisturize, make my coffee and go over my schedule for the day. Three appointments that I had the good sense to schedule three hours apart.
Hisashi Takeda is coming in to have work done as well as his brother. Seems like their mother passed away, and they want to have work done.
I’m not versed in the traditions of tebori — Japanese tattooing, but they were fine with me using my tattooing machine instead of having it done with bamboo in their cultural tradition.
Finishing my coffee, I head downstairs. I still have an hour before the first appointment, so I decide to set up and grab a quick breakfast from the Kandie Shoppe — which started servingbreakfast for the overnight and morning shift for those working at the Creative Chaos tech plant.
One thing about that business, since it came to town, other businesses in Shelby-Love have boomed. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kandie wouldn’t be hiring help to help her expedite the orders she’s swimming in.
“H-Hi,” I stutter nearly slamming into the chest of Ulysses Shelby, our town sheriff, who Kandie loves calling a dirty-ass cop. Though it seems he’s not — at least about the folks being trafficked by el Diablo.
“Saban.” He says my name with no heat, only harsh determination.
“Sheriff.” Hedging unsure of what he wants. I’m not used to dealing with the law. Nothing good has ever turned out well with el Diablo and the local law enforcement in the past. They were often targeted, especially after Angel freed them from the oppressive circumstances of working in the fields of Mathias Shelby Sr., the local billionaire sugarcane baron. He died right before Easy and I left. His son chose not to continue the family tradition or the one of marrying a socialite. Instead, he recently married a Love girl, Nikki, Kandie’s baby sister, and is running for senate. The campaign is one of the dirtiest in the state’s history, with his opponent, Fitch, bringing up Nikki’s parents’ past like that has any bearing on the race.
“I need your help with something down at the sheriff’s office.” He says, his gaze as cold as glaciers.
Trepidation makes dread sit in my tummy like a bad meal.
“Sure, let me lock up.” Pulling the keys out of my pocket, I never would have bothered with my plan to go down to the Kandie Shoppe Bakery had not been interrupted. I lock the doors and follow him over to his cruiser.
“How’s things been since you got back to town?” Acting like he’s not aware that his partner in crime hasn’t had me lockedaway for the last couple months does nothing to endear trust in this endeavor down to the Sheriff’s office.
“You know good and well how it’s been. Your buddy had me locked away in his hidden mansion.” Scoffing, I roll my eyes at him.
“You want to file a complaint?” Daring me to do it, he quirks a blond brow in my direction.
“Whatever,” I grumble, looking out at the bright sunny day that lights the town.
For a place that has seen so much conflict at the hands of its founding families, it’s certainly the epitome of small-town quaintness.
If no one was the wiser, they would never believe there had been a literal war raging here just a few months ago.
“Aight we’re here.” He comes to my side, opens my door and helps me down from the county cruiser. With as many storms as we have around here, there is no point in their having regular cars. They need to off-road more often than not — whether it’s getting a cow out of the mire or hauling fallen trees and debris like the ones that caused Easy’s crash off Highway Seventeen.
“This way.” Tilting his head, Ulysses leads me to the elevator, his face set with stern determination.
The atmosphere is oppressive in the elevator as we enter and all the way down. He’s as big as Snake. I don’t know what it is in the water or the food consumed ‘round these parts, but they just seem to make them big in Shelby-Love.
The elevator opens onto the bottom level. Apprehension makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. I’m pretty sure this is where the morgue is. Swing my face to Ulysses’s I stare at him in horror. “What’s going on?” my voice sounds tremulous and afraid.
“I just need you to look at something.” He doesn’t break stride.
I want to bolt, but this is his domain. He’d catch me. I have no power here, and that is made apparent by the fact he feels no compunction to tell me what is going on.
Something switches inside me then. This is not Kandie’s — whatever they’re currently denying they are. No, this is the law.
