Zoe picked up the call and immediately started in on me, asking questions that could have gotten her killed if she’d known better. She didn’t know better, though. She was just another casualty in my war. I moved the hair from Lenny’s face and ran a hand through my own, trying to shut Zoe up.
“Look, Zoe,” I grumbled. “I’m glad you know how to work a search engine.”
“Fuck off, Vic. We were in the airport when the news came on. Gang fight in coastal California my ass. Over forty found dead. What have you gotten yourself into?” Zoe was sharp, but beyond that, she was keen. She saw things others discounted as coincidence. Because of that, we’d always had a “don’t ask, don’t tell” type of relationship.
When Dean came and was hell bent on fucking up Lennox, he started with Zoe. She had a concussion and some bruises, nothing serious, but I took care of her. I’d used GEM for her as well as for Lennox. After that, it was a little difficult to continue our “don’t ask, don’t tell” dynamic. Still, we tried.
Silence permeated through the phone as I refused to answer her question. Right then, Zoe wasn’t in any danger, and I could keep it that way if she stayed dumb. Zoe was stubborn like me, though, so she wasn’t giving up without a fight.
“We’re having a great time visiting family,” Lissie said, coming on the line. I heard Zoe sigh, but inwardly I thanked Lissie. “The grandparents haven’t seen Thea since the christening. They weren’t super stoked that she was christened as a wicca…” Lissie started to ramble about the christening—or “wiccaning”. Both Lenny and I’d been present, as it was the day they’d made Lenny godmother to Thea. I could still remember her freaking out about it.
“Does that mean I have to be the mother when you die? I’m not a fit mother, guys, I will fuck up your baby. You should choose someone else.”
“No, our parents will take over if we both somehow die,” they’d assured her.
“What does a godmother do?”
“It used to mean you raise them in the faith.”
“You guys are religious? I’m not religious. Again, maybe you should pick someone else.”
“We’re Wicca, but again, we don’t expect someone else to raise our baby. We’re going to do it all. To us, it means that we love you and you have a special place in our and Thea’s lives.”
I thought back on the memory and how they’d asked me to be godfather while Lenny had cried. She’d been understandably touched. I would have freaked the fuck out too, if she hadn’t already done all the freaking out for me.
“That’s fantastic,” I said absently.
“How’s the godmother?” At Lissie’s question, I looked over at Lennox. All of her wounds had been superficial. She had no broken bones and no deep bruising. Her cuts weren’t even that deep. I wouldn’t say she’d been lucky—luck didn’t happen in my world. They’d spared her. They’d set her aside for some other time, but it would be over my dead body before they got their chance again.
“Vic?” Lissie pressed, and I realized I’d been quiet for a few moments. Shaking free of the memory, I turned on my computer to get to work. The ABCs had kind of gotten fucked. I’d had a chance to assemble, but I’d had to skip right to clearing out, so I’d never gotten a chance to break. That meant my gear was out there, ripe for the taking. I needed to check and see if anyone was poking around.
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “She’s fine. Look I have to go. I’m glad you guys made it there safely.”
“Vic wait!” Zoe came on the line. “I just need to say before… It’s been…” She paused. “Take care of yourself.”
“I… Yeah.” I hung up and was dialing the next number within seconds. Eli’s low, smooth voice came clear over the receiver. For a second, I worried he hadn’t used the burner phone, but then I realized I’d dialed the damn number myself.
“Are you in a safe location?” I asked just as Lenny mumbled something in her sleep. Scowling, I looked over to see her toss and turn on the couch. I was just about to stand when Eli spoke.
“Yes we’re—”
“Don’t tell me!” I cut him off, frustrated. “I just needed to know you’re safe. Hopefully I’ll have this all figured out soon.” Lenny moaned and rolled to her side. I held my breath, watching her, waiting to see if she’d wake up. Our family was safe—for now. A stockpile of information, aliases, and codes was back at the apartment unattended because I hadn’t taken the time to break. Sure it was encrypted, but any company worth their salt could break it. It was too late to go back. And I still didn’t have a plan.
Yet all I wanted to do was get off my leather chair and wipe the sweat from Lenny’s brow.
“Is that all?” Eli’s pissed off question broke me from my stupor.
“Yep.” I heard him swear as I clicked off. Whatever he was going to say to me, I’d already said it to myself. Standing up, I went to Lennox and ran a hand across her forehead. She didn’t feel like she had a fever, but that wasn’t much comfort.
My medical knowledge was pretty fucking limited. I’d relied too long on GEM’s resources. For all I knew Lenny was dying of an overdose or infection. I mean her wounds looked superficial, but I wasn’t a fucking doctor. She’d stopped tossing, but that could mean any
thing. As I placed a strand of hair behind her ear, a number I didn’t recognize rang the burner.
I kept my hand on her forehead, answering, “Twenty-four-hour takeout. Do you want Chinese, pizza, or Thai?” Like I said, there are certain protocols and rules people in my line of work follow. If you’re like me, and you’re burned, you can’t simply answer an unknown call and say “Vic Wall, do you feel like murdering me today?”
So aliases, codes, and codewords were invented. Only a few select people knew how to respond correctly to my question. If answered incorrectly, you hung up and ABCd.
“Shit, people still do that?” I instantly recognized the cocksure tone of Seven, head of The Boogiemen. The way he responded, I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was playing Xbox, as if life was always filled with contract kills and those filling the contracts.