The blonde heads into the kitchen, gasping when she sees all of the blood. Carnie escorts us through the hallways, giving me the impression that Julio told him to make sure we came, or else he was to physically make us come. That thought is rather entertaining. I’d like to see the bastard try and move me. And if he even touched Sloane…
“In there.” Carnie jerks his head into Julio’s study; on the other side of the door, Julio, Michael, and Cade are waiting, sitting awkwardly around a large polished oak table. Cade and I barely got to speak before all hell broke loose earlier, but he did have time to tell me that Rebel is his friend. That he’s been a Widow Maker his whole life. I have no idea what to make of that. I’ve thought we were on the same wavelength, Cade and me, and yet this revelation turns that concept completely on its head.
“Come join us,” Julio says, gesturing to the empty chairs at the table. There are three of them, one each for Sloane and me, and then an extra one. “I hear you’ve had quite an eventful morning, Ms. Hawthorne?” Julio asks. He bridges his hands in front of him, spearing Sloane through with an arctic gaze.
“You could say that,” Sloane answers. She looks like something out of a fucking horror show. There’s blood all over her hands and up her arms, as well as speckled all over her face. It’s all down her shirt and in her hair, too. The clipped, dry response she shoots at Julio doesn’t hide the fact that she’s not impressed by his glib remark. “We’ll be leaving soon. To take the girl to hospital.”
“Oh, I don’t think so, Ms. Hawthorne. Sophia’s a strong girl. She’ll be just fine.”
I was right. I knew he would say that, of course, but I’d perhaps hoped… I catch the look of fury on Cade’s face, and the sight of him cuts off all thought. He’s so angry that a tideline of crimson is slowly rising up his neck.
“The girl’s going to the hospital, Julio.”
The bloated Mexican tilts his head toward Cade, smiling ever so slightly. “You’re just a mouthpiece, Signor Preston. Please remember that you’re a guest in my home, huh?”
“I may be a guest, but Rebel’s on his way. What do you think he’s going to say when he gets here and his girl’s dead?”
So Rebel’s not here yet. But on his way… This could be a good thing. Sloane sees the opportunity, too, and grasps it.
“If we leave now, we can get her to a private practice in San Bernardino. I know them there. They’ll keep her off the books if I ask them to.”
Julio plants his hands face down on the table, considering them for a moment. When he looks up, there’s a cold malice in his eyes that makes me think he doesn’t give a shit what Rebel is gonna do to him when he arrives. But I’m mistaken—this look isn’t about Rebel. This look is all for me. “You lied to me, ese. I had a very enlightening conversation this morning with an acquaintance of yours.” Julio nods to Teo, who does as his master bids him and brings a single sheet of paper to the table. He puts it down in front of Julio.
“And he told me some very interesting things about you. See, I’ve thought you were here to spy for Charlie this whole time. I didn’t expect you to have come here to steal what belongs to me.”
Julio slides the paper across the table, and this time I know there’s no point in bullshitting. Rick, who I left in Anaheim fishing for information on the DEA bitch investigating Charlie, is tied to a chair, while the fuzzy silhouette of a man partially out of shot lays into him with a tire iron. I push the photo back to Julio, raising my eyebrows.
Shit. Shit, fuck, shit. I don’t really care all that much about Rick taking a beating, I have to say, but this means everything is over. The whole ploy goes up in smoke. “You got me.” I hold up my hands. “I wanted to take one of your girls. She’s currently dying in your kitchen right now, so you might as well let me have her. I’ll take the whole mess right off your hands.”
“You’re not taking shit, ese.” Julio nods to Teo; the guy comes and stands behind me, gun held loosely in his hand. In a moment, I imagine Julio’s going to tell him to blow the back of my brain out. I have to admit having Teo lurk behind me with a gun is a whole lot less appealing than Sloane doing the same thing. “Sophia isn’t my mess. Rebel bought her ass off me years ago and she’s been sticking her nose in here, riling up my girls ever since. If she dies, it’ll be because she’s a nosy bitch who gets caught up in things that don’t concern her. You, on the other hand, are going to wait here with your fine little piece of pussy until Charlie arrives. Then I’m gonna let him take care of you. He seems highly motivated toward that end. He was especially pissed off when I sent him a shot of your little friend here.”