Page 36 of All Your Hate
“Calm down, pretty boy.”
“Do not call me that.”
“You liked it plenty the last time you were in here with me,” he scoffs and I’m hit with a wave of shame. How fucking low did I get to be with this sleaze of a man?
“I like a lot of nasty things when I’m high. Right now I’m stone-cold sober.”
“You, sober? Don’t make me laugh.”
Straightening up, I glare down at him.
“Shit, you are,” he laughs in surprise. “No wonder you’re so on edge. I’ve got plenty here if you want to indulge.”
That offer shouldn't be tempting. It’s been a trying few days, but I need to keep a clear head. "No, I do not want to get high with you.”
“I heard Carver was in the hospital again. How’s he holding up?”
“He’s fine. He always is. Now stop avoiding the question. Did you know there was someone chained up in that house?”
He tilts his chin up weighing the words on his tongue before saying them slowly, “No, I didn’t know.”
“Carver and I have done plenty of jobs with you over the years, you’ve always been the most reliable guy to work with, but this shit doesn’t sit well with me. You don’t send us in anywhere that blind!”
“It’s not up to me how much information the client divulges in their contract.” He leans back as he shrugs me off. “What sort of captive are we talking about anyway?”
“That doesn’t matter. Just give me the client’s name and I’ll sort it out with them myself.”
“You know I can’t do that, Bones. I have a reputation to uphold just as much as you do. Yours is still upstanding, although it wasn’t your finest work.” He tilts his head and flashes me his gold teeth before scratching his chin as he says, “Anyway tell me about who you found. You’ve got me interested now.”
My answer comes too quickly. “There’s nothing to tell. We completed the kill and left.”
“You just left them there? You and Carver left a witness?” he asks incredulously as he leans forward.
“They were drugged. Unconscious. They didn’t see anything that happened.”
Jax stares at me for a long silent moment. “I’ve heard the shit you’ve done to my girls, seen the marks Carver’s left on them. Why would you not take full advantage of a find like that?” He frowns and taps his fingers on his desk.
“Who said anything about it being a girl?”
“So it was a girl!” He laughs, pointing a finger at me. I should snap it off.
“You’re missing the point. This isn’t about what we did, it’s about whatyouchose not to do.”
Jax doesn’t need to know anything about her. If someone else planned on having her for themselves then they’re going to want blood or money to get her back. Neither of which I’m willing to give.
She’s mine already. I don’t need to pay someone to prove that fact.
When he doesn’t answer I push on, but I only feel like I’m digging my own grave. “We left since it wasn’t our problem. And we pay your girls for consensual sex if we want something, not kidnap and torture them.” The words feel bitter on my tongue. How true are they at this point?
“Then why are you here asking about it?” There’s a look in Jax’s eyes that tells me he’s not buying my story.
“Because that’s never happened before. We don’t go into a place without knowing what we’re coming up against. There was no way for us to know there would be any sort of prisoner there and you know that. So who put the hit out?”
“You got out of it, mostly unscathed, and the money should be in your account already so drop it, Bones. The majority of contracts I get are anonymous for a reason. I’m not changing the way I do business because you’re feeling hurt that I didn’t tell you everything. Now are we done? I do have a business to run.”
By business, I’m sure he means snorting coke off someone’s tits.
I could beat more information out of him, but I don’t see why he’d hide anything from me. He’s always been reliable enough to work with so why ruin that relationship now?