Before I could figure out how to explain any of it, my phone buzzed against the nightstand.
I grabbed it, checking the caller ID. My eyes narrowed.
Virginia.
Of course it was.
I stared at the screen, jaw tight, then thumbed the answer button.
Her voice came through, rough as always. "Bael says you're out. I need one last favor."
She said it like she was asking me to pick up milk, not step back into hell.
"So here's where we're at," she continued. "You and Bael had a deal. But you insisted on working for me. That agreement?" A pause. "Nothing to do with me. So I don't owe you shit. But I talked to my son, and I agreed to call it even. One last thing. Then you're done."
She waited.
I wanted to laugh. One last favor. There was no such thing.
But I'd never known how to say no.
"Yeah. I can do that."
I didn't trust it, though. That it would actually be the end.
I hung up and called Bael.
"Your mother called me. She telling the truth?" I asked the second he picked up.
"Yeah. I would've told her to fuck off, but I know you. You can't just walk away. So I told her — one last errand, then she leaves you alone." He paused. "But be careful."
"You think it's a setup?"
He paused just a second too long. "I don't know. But I wouldn't go in there alone. Egypt's got me on kid duty, or I'd slide with you. I'm sending someone to watch your back, though."
It might have been a setup. But then why would she call Bael first? Part of me wanted to say fuck it. But another part needed this closure. And if Bael said he was sending someone, that was enough. I'd known him too long to doubt him now.
So I was going.
I texted Virginia for the address.
I didn't wake Jamie up to tell her where I was going. Didn't even look at her when I left. Just grabbed my keys and walked out.
I drove fifteen minutes to a warehouse in Channelside.
It was three in the morning, and the air outside was still hot, clinging to my skin. The smells fucked with my senses — rust and wet rope, something rotting under the docks.
I ran my tongue over my teeth, pushing down the urge to spit, as I pulled open a big metal door.
Virginia was already waiting.
"You came," she said, smiling like we were old friends.
My hand stayed close to my waist, fingers brushing the grip of my Glock.
"Where's everybody at?"
She shook her head. "It's just me and you."
