Miller, who the fuck was she calling Miller. That was a fucking nickname. Why was she using a handle? Didn't he already have a wife? Fuck, what if she is his wife?
"You and Fio are going to stay at a safe house with Malik, and we’ll have some people watching over you both until this is all taken care of," Malcolm said.
Good, she wasn't his wife, cause there was no way a guy like Miller would let his woman stay anywhere with another man.
"Who is Malik? Who does he work for?" Trudy asked.
"I work for you both," I said as I smiled. “I’m the fucker who gets paid to end the other fucker’s life,” I said.
The kid hacker was trembling as I said the words. I didn’t mean to minimize her predicament. I’d read her rap sheet on the way over. Pretty decent hacker who’d managed to pull out some shit on the Gabrielli crime family that the FBI hadn't in all the years they'd been trying. She had some of the biggest mobsters by the balls, and here she was shaking at my shitty hitman jokes. I couldn't help but feel bad for her. I knew all too well what it was like to find yourself in the middle of a group of monsters.
I smacked Fio on the back. “Way to go, cyberpunk. You cracked a code that’s been evading the best hackers for the better part of a decade. If you don’t get a scholarship out of this then I’m personally writing you a recommendation for MIT,” I told her.
“Thanks,” she said, eyeing me cautiously.
"So, you expect us to go off with someone we don't know?" Trudy sounded apprehensive.
"I know his brother," Malcolm said calmly. He sat back in his desk chair like he was some kind of Don.
"Well, I'm not just handing her over to someone we don’t know," Trudy protested.
"You're welcome to come with us, sweetheart," I said with a wink.
“As it stands now Trudy, we need you to go too,” Malcolm told her, his voice full of compassion. You’re in too deep already and it looks like the three of you will have to stick this out together.
“I did a preliminary search,” Fio said. She handed Trudy her phone. “He’s legit.”
"Fine," Trudy said, surprising the hell out of me. She put her hands on her hips and I couldn’t help but notice how her tits lifted as she did. "We staying at the clubhouse?"
"Fuck no!” I said. Then I realized I needed to backpedal. “The clubhouse isn’t really a good idea—too many people. If you have people always coming and going, there could be casualties. Wherever there’s a crowd, there’s a snitch, and this is one of those rare occasions where there isn’t safety in numbers. Fio is wanted and we have to, simply put, get those guys dead.”
"Where are we going then?" Trudy and Fio asked at the same time.
"My brother has a cabin in Nevada. We can go there."
"Nevada?" Trudy asked. “For how long?”
"Yes, Lamoille. The place has a population under a hundred. Anyone new coming in would be noticed and they’d notify us immediately."
"Won't we stick out like a sore thumb?" Trudy asked, her hand on her hip. I wanted to grab those hips, guide them where I wanted them to go.
"No, they know who I am. You're going to be my girlfriend, and she is going to be your little sister. The tracker is looking for a young woman, not a party of three. My brother’s there too, doing some work for the feds."
"Your brother works for the feds, and you're a hitman," the girl, formerly known as Tatum asked.
"A lot of outlaws work for the feds. They aren't really as clean as they pretend to be, and we aren't all that dirty. Life is way more complicated than that, kiddo, but I have a feeling you already know."
"Alright, let's hit the road," she said unaffectedly. “We do have the same hair, Trudy, so maybe they’ll buy it.”
"I have nothing to wear. The shelter needs coverage," Trudy said.
"We'll pick up some clothes on the way. Miller will cover the shelter and I’ll get my brother to pick up any sundries we need. But we really don't have time for you to run home and get your sleep mask," I told the goddess.
“I hate to tell you, Trudy, but Patriot informed me via text that they’ve already got a spotter on your house.”
“These pedos are fast as fuck,” Fio said.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I said. I opened the door for Trudy and Fio as they both walked through. One looking determined and the other looking dazed and confused.
Chapter 4
Trudy
The Valor club sent us off in a black SUV with tinted windows and Massachusetts plates. Fio and I sat in the back while our newly acquired friend drove us out of town at eighty miles per hour.