14
Mercy
Wylder cameinto the apartment with a scowl I was starting to think had become permanently plastered to his face. “Hey,” he said gruffly, tugging me to him for a quick kiss, so I didn’t think his bad mood was anything to do with me this time. But as he flopped down on the loveseat, his expression didn’t lighten.
I glanced toward Kaige and Gideon, who’d come in after him. “What’s up with him?”
Gideon sat down at the little table, setting his laptop on it. “Wylder’s convinced Axel saw us leave.”
“He’s getting too hard to avoid, the way he’s keeping an eye on us,” Wylder grumbled. “Like he hasn’t got better things to do.”
“Even if he did notice us heading out, he can’t know where we’ve gone,” Gideon said in a matter-of-fact voice. “I checked carefully across our entire—very roundabout—route. There’s no way he could have followed us all the way without me noticing.”
“Right,” Kaige said, slinging his brawny arm around my waist. “And Axel’s being Axel. He’s all talk, no action.”
“I’m not so sure this time,” Wylder said. Agitation was clear on his face. He sprang off the loveseat again to peer out the window, but I already knew it offered nothing but an up-close view of the brick wall of the office building next door.
Rowan came out of the shower, rubbing a towel over his hair, which was even spikier when damp. I smiled at him, resisting the urge to go over and run my fingers through it, and he grinned back. Whatever tension that’d remained between us had completely vanished. A flare of heat shot through me at the memory of his cock buried deep inside me.
But I wasn’t going to be led around by my pussy when we had bigger issues at hand. “What happened with the arcade? Did the cops crack down on the Storm’s people?”
Gideon grimaced. “There’s good news and bad news. Police followed up on the tip and raided the business. They confiscated the drugs and took the men on site in.”
“And the bad news?”
“The Storm’s overall drug operation doesn’t seem to have been significantly affected. They’re still dealing it out on the streets—we saw people on a few corners when we were driving in today, blatant as ever.”
Kaige grunted. “At least it should get the cops off our backs about Glory now that they’ve got clear proof of these other guys dealing.”
“And we weren’t going to topple the Storm overnight.” I rubbed my hand over my mouth. “What about the Red Shark’s people? Have they been up to anything new?” The image floated up in the back of my mind of the gaping jaws spray-painted on the telephone pole outside my old house.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about that,” Gideon said, his fingers flying over the laptop’s keyboard. “A few days ago, I was able to place bugs near a couple of places where we’ve seen the Red Shark’s people getting together. I’ve recorded several conversations since then. None of them have revealed anything we could use against them, but I did hear something that gave me pause. Since you know the Bend best, I’d like to hear what you make of it.”
I squeezed Kaige’s arm and stepped away from him to sit down at the table across from Gideon. He ramped up the volume and hit play.
There was a faint scratching noise, followed by static. Then a man’s voice filtered through the tiny speakers. “Quiet night, huh?”
“Color me relieved. Maybe we won’t have to risk our guts being blown out for once,” said a second guy. They obviously had no idea anyone was recording them.
“Damn right, man. This place…it’s not as quiet as it looks. I definitely didn’t expect us to get this kind of pushback.”
“Neither did the boss, I think,” another one said. “He would have thought twice before coming in.”
“Hell, yeah. The invitation we got might as well have been torn to pieces before we even showed up. I don’t know why we even bothered coming when the people who sent it have been taken out of the picture. What’s the point in sticking around? Especially when we’re dealing with that psycho the Storm has on his payroll.”
The other guy made a derisive sound, but I could hear the nervousness in his voice. “Yeah, his own fucking men are afraid of him.”
“I say we should get the hell out of here before things get worse, but who the hell will listen to me?”
Gideon paused the recording and glanced at me. “What do you think?”
I shook my head, reeling from what I’d just heard. “Someone invited the Red Shark into the Bend? Why would anyone do that?”
“Colt invited the Storm, as far as we can tell,” Wylder pointed out from where he was still staked out by the window. “Maybe someone didn’t like how much he was taking over and wanted to balance the scales.”
By turning this place into a full-out bloodbath? I winced. “I’m not sure I agree with their strategy.”
“But whoever called them in, they’re gone now,” Rowan said, frowning. “Who’s been ‘taken out’ who was a major player here other than Colt and your father?”