“Spine,” I repeated.
“You’re quieter than your reputation,” she said. “More watching. Less posing. I expected more peacocking.”
“You calling me a disappointment?” I asked.
“Not yet,” she said. “Impressive restraint for a man who named himself after a state.”
“I didn’t name myself,” I said. “That was a gift.”
“From who?” she asked.
“Miami,” I said, automatically. The name felt like a bruise every time I said it now.
She clocked that, filing it away. Valkyrie didn’t miss much.
“So, he’s the funny one,” she said.
“He thinks so,” I replied.
We finished the loop and ended up back near the main building. Bikes lined the lot. One of the girls—Arizona—was on the roof, camera in hand, taking shots of something.
Valkyrie’s gaze drifted to the road beyond the gate.
“If the call doesn’t come,” she said quietly, “we’re in it together.”
“Seems that way,” I said.
“Devil’s Aces and Shore Vipers,” she said. “Two nests of idiots with too much pride and too many guns.”
“You say that like you’re not proud,” I said.
“Oh, I’m proud,” she said. “Doesn’t mean I’m blind.”
We stood there for a second, shoulder to shoulder, both staring down a road that could bring anything.
The phone in my pocket buzzed.
Every muscle in my body went tight.
We didn’t run, but we didn’t take our time either. By the time we hit Liberty’s office, 8-Ball and Turnpike were already there. Rosé leaned against a cabinet. Indigo stood by the door like a statue. Liberty sat behind her desk, phone on speaker in the center.
Blackjack’s voice filled the room the second she hit the button.
“You’re alive,” Liberty said. “Shockingly.”
“You wound me,” he replied. “Everyone in one piece?”
“For now,” she said. “Talk.”
The relief hit first. A wash of it, hot and fast. I felt my knees go a little weak and locked them before anyone noticed.
I moved to stand between 8-Ball and Valkyrie, back to the wall. I needed something solid behind me.
Blackjack didn’t waste time.
“Roman didn’t sign off on that shipment,” he said. “So, he’s either the best liar I’ve ever met, or he’s legitimately pissed someone used his docks to push something without his blessing.”
Liberty’s eyes narrowed. “You believe him?”
