Colson visibly shivers. Yeah, Carnage can be a little intense.
“We’ve got your back, Spec,” Ghost says as Phantom nods in agreement.
“Hell yeah, we do,” Whisper adds.
Nimble is quiet at first, but then he sits up a little straighter. “I might know something. A few weeks ago, I was out doing my thing over on the west side of Mistone where the tent city is.”
“Under the Blackwater bridge?” Whisper asks.
“Yeah, exactly. There were a bunch of cars huddled together, and at first I didn’t think much of it. Drug deal, gang meeting—whatever, right?”
Shadow nods.
“But now with all this new information, I remember the cars were a little nicer than usual. I didn’t see the guys, but I did catch some blond hair. Not the usual criminal types forthese parts.” He turns to me. “Sorry, man. It didn’t click until now.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Maybe if I’d noticed sooner?—”
“Nope,” Shadow says. “We don’t play that game. That’s good intel, Nimble. Let’s start surveilling that area.”
“On it,” he says.
“You’ll know more when I do,” Shadow says. “Stick to your normal jobs for now but keep an eye out for anything that might help us find these fuckers.”
“If anyone can, it’s us,” Phantom says.
“Damn right.” Ghost nods in agreement.
The meeting breaks up, everyone splintering off into their own conversations, but I stay seated, as does Shadow.
“How does your wound look?”
“Good.” I glance at Colson. “I have a very good nurse.”
Shadow nods, but I notice his gaze lingering on Colson. “While I have you both here, I figure this is a good time for a discussion.”
Colson tenses, his fingers digging into my thigh.
“Since it’s clear you’re going to be part of our family now, we should go over a few things.”
My jaw drops. We haven’t talked about this one-on-one yet, so it’s coming out of nowhere for me.
“We all heard you last night, Specter,” Shadow says, answering my unspoken question. “You’re in love with him, yes?”
I nod. “Yes.”
Shadow nods as he continues. “We’ve never had a permanent partner in our mix, so I gave some thought to how it should be handled. You obviously get along with everyone, Cashmere, which is important, and I doubt anyone would object to having you here. Especially if it makes Specter happy.”
I peek at Colson, who’s watching Shadow intently.
“I thought about an NDA.” A slight smile tugs at Shadow’slips. “That seemed kind of prudent and official, but I thought better of it. What’s a piece of paper mean anyway? That we’d, what, sue you if you told someone?”
“I would never?—”
Shadow raises his hand, cutting Colson off.
“Instead, I thought it would be better to make sure you understand what the stakes are. What would happen if the wrong people knew too much about us.”
