Hunt

Cain cleared his throat. “That’s okay. Pandora was just trying to work us all. She found a weak spot with you and poked at it.”

West added, “At least you got to fuck her a few times.”

Seconds later, I spotted Griff’s silhouette in front of the waterfall’s glowing liquid wall.

Griff reached his hand out and touched some of the water. “We should be standing some sort of watch. I’ll do it for the first hour. Then, we’ll take turns.”

“I’ll pull the next one,” West said.

Moving his hand from the water, Griff walked over to the cave’s entrance, leaned against the wall, and stared out into the blackness.

Cain hugged me and whispered, “Are you okay?”

“I am.”

“If you get too nervous about being in the dark, I’ll let you use the flashlight.”

“No way. I think you’re right about the police possibly seeing it.” I held him back. “Besides. . .after living in Victory Park for many years, I’ve found a friend in the darkness. It’s a wonderful place to hide in.”

“After this, you’ll never need to hide from anyone or anything again.” He slipped his fingers down my chin. “I’ll kill anybody that tries to hurt you.”

I stiffened, knowing that it was a serious promise.

“Consider me your pet monster, ready to sick on anyone trying to harm you.”

A sad smile came over me. “My pet monster.”

“Exactly.” He let go of me. Next, movement came from him. It sounded like rustling of clothing and a zipper.

I squinted through the darkness, trying to figure out what Cain was doing.

Then, he handed me a phone. “I assume you have Quin’s number memorized.”

“That’s the only reason I’m always able to get out of crazy situations.”

“Call her and see if we can get people watching the storage units. The plan is still on. Do you think she’ll do it?”

“She will. There’s just a few problems.”

“What?”

“She’s going to shoot you over Boss.”

“The dog?”

“Yes.”

“But, he should be fine.”

“She’ll still want to shoot you.” I shrugged. “The best compromise is to let her hit you in the face. She’ll take it.”

“Are you joking?”

“I wish I was. I’m just explaining the situation.”

“Okay. I’ll let her hit me, but I do want to clear something up.”

“What?”

“Quin will want to shoot me, but it won’t be over Boss. It’ll be about you. Her sister. She cares for you very deeply.”

I swallowed down sadness. “You’re probably right about that too. But I’ll explain. . .this new situation.”

“Okay.”

“There’s one more thing about Quin.”

“What?”

“She’ll want to come to Paradise, grab me, and make sure I’m safe.”

“We need her in Glory.”

“I’m just telling you what she’s going to say.”

“I don’t want her heading here. It’ll be a waste of time.”

“The truck will be gone. She’ll have a new vehicle for us.” I pressed the button to turn it on. It lit up the cave a little.

Cain got in front of me, blocking the light from reflecting onto the waterfall. “We’ll see. If you trust her. . .then I trust her.”

Quin is going to lose her damn mind.

I held the phone close to me. “And. . .”

“And?”

“Quin may love me deeply, but she’s not free. She always has a price, even when it comes to helping me out.”

He sighed. “You still want to split the storage money?”

“We will have to split some of it with Quin.”

West spoke in the darkness, “I also vote with Phoenix on that.”

Near the entrance, Griff raised his hand. “She has my vote too.”

“We don’t vote.” Cain growled. “I make the decisions for all of us.”

“That’s not fair, Cain.” I rolled my eyes. “Especially, when everyone will be risking their lives messing with Pandora and whatever new group of guys she has convinced to help her out.”

“Johnny wanted it for his family.”

“Consider us all family then, but we’re going to grab the money before Pandora, and we all get a cut.”

West spoke from the other side, “Phoenix is really growing on me.”

“Me too.” Griff nodded by the entrance. “Again, my vote is with Phoenix.”

“Mine too,” West said.

“There’s no voting!” Cain cleared his throat. “I’m the dictator in this operation.”

“How about this.” I smiled. “Johnny’s wife and kids will get a cut too. The largest cut. If there’s suitcases of diamonds, piles of money, and high-end art, then we’re talking about millions.”

Cain leaned against the wall. “His widow gets a really big cut.”

Griff turned around. “Well, how big are we talking?”

Cain sneered. “Very fucking big!”

Griff groaned. “Come on, bro.”

“Hey. That’s fair. They get a huge cut. We split the rest among us.” I plugged in Quin’s number and placed the phone to my ear. “She may not pick up the first few times.”

To my surprise, Quin answered on the first ring. “Hello.”

“Quin, it’s—”

“Holy fucking shit!” Quin sounded like she was munching on something. “Nix, is that you.”

“First of all, I’m safe and out of danger.”

“Are you sure?”