“Alright, Wood’s death has made Flint act. He just paid an entire gang of fifty people, might I add, to go ahead and kill all of you.”
My heart sinks to my feet, the thought of anyone harming Arlo making my blood boil. My hands clutch around the sheets, jaw locked tightly. The rational portion of my brain is telling me that everyone will be alright, after all, this is what they do, and it’s not the first time someone’s come after them. However, I can’t help but worry. All of those people are my family. From Arlo and Aria, to Freya, Jewel and everyone I’ve met thanks to my Baby. An image of their dead bodies flashes behind my eyes and it’s enough to make me nauseous.
“And the other thing?”
She motions with her head toward the other room. “Yeah, you need to see that one with your own two eyes.”
With a sigh, I toss the covers off, kissing the top of Arson’s head, and slide my feet into the soft slippers. Arlo’s hoodie smells so much like him, which is another proof of his presence. He definitely sprayed his perfume all over it while he was here. I throw it on quickly, and head out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me to prevent Arson from leaving. She’s an orange cat — she’s not to be left alone, unsupervised in a room that has that many cables connected to the outlets. She’d definitely chew on them, then die from her own stupidity.
“What is it, Kaya?”
Kaya sits in the chair, pulling herself up to the desk. The monitor turns on, and while one of the many programs she uses turns on, she puts her glasses on. Unlike the rest of her usual outfits, the glasses are very simple. How strange.
“Someone put a bounty hunt on your head.”
My brows skyrocket to my hairline. “Excuse me?”
“Mhmm,” she murmurs, taking a sip of the coffee that’s on the left side of her. It’s still hot, the steam floating upwards. “It’s likely Simmons. I’m tracking it down as we speak, but for the foreseeable future, you’re not to leave this place, got it? You’ll be dead before you can even go down the street to the bakery.”
“How much money are we talking about, exactly?”
“Fifty-thousand dollars.”
I breathe out. “That’s a lot of money. I’m a little disappointed that it’s not more.”
“Oh, that’s the standard reward. However, if someone manages to kill you within the first seven days of the ad being up, they get triple.”
“Jesus Christ,” I groan. “Does he still have that kind of money? Last I checked, all his accounts got frozen when he got arrested. Besides, the man’s still a wanted criminal!”
“Men like that have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in cash ready for things like this. I don’t doubt that he has the money to pay for your head. What I’m worried about is the fact that the ad popped up an hour after I learned of Flint paying a gang.”
The realization dawns on me, and I sigh, slumping to the floor, sitting and looking at Kaya’s back while she’s scrolling. “That’s just fantastic. Let me guess, the ad is on the dark web?”
“Bingo,” she nods, without looking at me. “But not just anyone can access it.”
I frown. “Isn’t the dark web extremely hard to get into in the first place?”
“Not at all,” she explains, turning in her chair to look at me. “All you need is a different browser, and a link. A kid could get in if they knew which browser to download. It’s the other things that aren’t as accessible.”
“But, theoretically speaking, if you knew what you were looking for, you’d find a way in?”
“Precisely.”
“Should I be worried you’re on the dark web?”
Kaya chuckles. “Worried? For me? No. Be worried for the motherfuckers I find on there.”
“Why?”
She lifts a brow. “Ever heard of the Rapscallion?”
“In passing,” I shrug. “Someone mentioned the name once or twice. Apparently, he’s some sort of a vigilante? He’s going around killing people who hurt kids.”
“She,” Kaya corrects.
“Oh? It’s a woman? I never knew and — oh my fucking God!” I gasp. “It’s you?”
“Took you long enough.”
