Heresy, p.11
Heresy, page 11
“There better be a good goddamned reason you’re bothering me this early in the fucking morning.”
“Because I miss your company.”
Priest hangs up on me, the sudden silence forcing a burst of laughter from my lungs.
I call him back immediately.
“For fuck’s sake, Shane. What the hell is your problem? It’s—”
I hear the blankets of his bed shuffle as he’s most likely twisting around to check his alarm clock.
“It’s only six in the damn morning. What kind of brain damage do you have that makes you stupid enough to think you can call me this early? I’m going to beat your ass with a fucking tire iron next time I see you.”
Ignoring him, I push up to sit on the side of the bed, my legs swinging over the side and feet dropping to the floor. I’m feeling oddly chipper for this ungodly time in the morning.
“I need you to get to the shop and call Brinley in.”
A few second of silence before, “It is six in the fucking morning, you piece of shit. What do you not understand about that?”
Holding the phone away from my ear for his response, I just barely prevent my eardrums from bursting. When Priest gets mad, he gets loud.
I put the phone back too soon, my ears ringing when he yells, “Fucking six, you bastard!”
Apparently, Priest needs a second or two to calm down.
I wait patiently while his grumpy ass groans and grumbles, the blankets shifting more before the sound of his neck cracking is followed by what I assume are other joints doing the same.
Prior to being a mechanic, he was a stunt driver who wrecked cars for a living. While he lived to tell about it, the job didn’t do great things for his body.
“Okay, I’m better.”
Tentatively, I bring the phone back to my ear. “You sure?”
“Not really, but I’m up, so tell me why that is exactly before I start yelling again.”
I hate to sound like a broken record, but there really is only one reason I can give him. “Because I need you to get to the shop and call Brinley in.”
More yelling. I pull the phone away in time.
“Why? Why does it have to be this early in the morning?”
Briefly wondering who would win in a screaming match, Tanner or Priest, I bring the phone back to my ear and explain, “For my convenience. And so I can get this shit over with and send her on her way as soon as possible.”
Don’t get me wrong. Brinley is adorable, especially when she’s mad. How I’d forgotten about her completely before seeing her again last night is beyond my comprehension. I’m usually better than that. And keeping her around for a few days, or maybe even a week, wouldn’t be a bad thing. But there are a few problems with that already.
Number one: She’s a target.
Number two: She apparently hates me.
And number three: If things don’t go as smoothly as I want them to today, she’s going to hate me even more.
I’m hoping three won’t be an issue. But there’s always a chance.
It’s difficult to get a woman in bed when she’s as pissed as a spitting cat and is trying to rip your eyes out. And there is always a possibility that’ll happen.
Maybe I’ll just play it by ear. Leave all options open. It would be a dick move, but I’d still be able to sleep well at night regardless.
The thought crosses my mind to have Priest handle the rest of this job since he and Brinley got along when he drove her home last night. At least from what he told me after dropping her off, they had. But involving Priest any deeper than I already have is a risk for him. It would be one more task drawing him into the bullshit with the Inferno … and with our fathers.
I’m not willing to take that risk.
Plus, let’s face it… If Brinley doesn’t act the way I’m hoping she’ll act, new tactics will have to be in play, and I’m not quite sure Priest is enough on the wrong side of what’s acceptable to handle what needs to be done.
He has rules, regardless of how much he’s willing to bend them.
I don’t. And that makes me the best player for this particular match.
“It has to be this early because I’m leaving in the next few minutes to meet Tanner at the office.”
“So fucking what?”
Priest is yelling again.
I pull the phone back to my ear.
“Which means I’ll be on that side of town.”
Phone away. My arm is getting a workout.
“And your point?”
Phone back. “And my point is that if she’s already on her way into the shop, then I can haul ass there from the office, get what I need and this thing is done before noon. Your life returns to normal and so does mine.”
I start pulling the phone away again, only to stop when he lets out a low grumble, curses under his breath, and finally relents to what I’m telling him.
“Fine,” he says, his voice scratchy from lack of sleep and irritation. “What do you want me to explain to her is wrong with her car?”
It occurs to me I never asked him what he did to the car in the first place. “How did you disable it?”
“Disconnected the starter.”
Seems easy enough. “Then tell her she needs a new starter.”
Another couple of muttered curse words before the audible scratch of his fingers over his beard. “Whatever, asshole. I’ll take care of it. But you owe me after this.”
The words are familiar. Priest is sounding more and more like the Inferno every damn day.
“What’s the price for the favor?” I ask, only because it’s amusing to have the game turned around on me for once.
He thinks it over. “I don’t have one yet. Just know that you owe me, and it will come due eventually.”
Yep. He’s just like us.
Laughing at that, I end the call and push to my feet to grab a shower and get dressed.
Within a half hour, I’m walking off the private elevator onto Tanner’s floor of the office, ignoring Lacey when she tries to stop me passing her desk. Why she’s here on a Saturday is anybody’s guess, but I’m sure it has something to do with Tanner not giving the first fuck about what he does to that poor woman.
Then again, for the amount she’s getting paid now that Gabe has given her several ridiculous raises to keep her as an employee, I’m sure a few Saturdays in the office here and there are totally worth the new yacht she can afford on our dime.
I don’t bother knocking before bursting into Tanner’s office, my steps a rhythmic thump against his stone floors as I approach him.
From where he sits with his feet kicked up on the desk, he turns his attention away from the computer screen to plant it firmly on me.
“It’s about time you finally get here, I called you over an hour ago.”
I drop my weight into a chair facing his desk. “Why the fuck are you here so early in the morning?”
Sighing, Tanner taps a few fingers over his keyboard before relaxing back in his seat and pinning that moss green stare on me again. “Because Jase has been losing his shit all night, and I needed to get away from him before I fucking killed him.”
Remembering the text we’d received about Everly while we were at Myth last night, I nod in understanding. “But why come here?”
A silent laugh shakes his chest. “Because it’s the last place anybody would think to look for me. I fucking hate it here.”
He has a point.
When it comes to the daily activities of the law firm, the Inferno member firmly in charge of the grind is Gabe. How he accomplishes it is anybody’s guess, but perhaps it has everything to do with him feeling comfortable in a business that runs on a web of lies.
“So why am I here?”
Tanner taps a pen against the surface of his desk. Hair disheveled and dressed in a simple black shirt, he looks like he just crawled out of bed.
“I’m sick of hearing Jase’s fucking voice, and you…”
He points the pen at me.
“Are exactly who I need to shut him up.”
It’s not like I haven’t thought of strangling Jase before and putting him out of his misery. So far, this conversation is headed in a good direction.
“Should I kill him first, or save myself the trouble and just bury him alive?”
Dark green eyes narrow on me. “We’re not killing him, Shane.”
“It would be the easiest solution.”
He taps his pen again. “And you’re right. I’ve considered it myself when he acts like a whiny, little bitch, but he’s family, and we don’t kill family.”
Like I said earlier, Tanner and Gabe have rules.
Fuck rules.
Another tap then Tanner pulls his feet from the desk and sits up straight in his leather, executive chair.
“Everly has reappeared. I know you know that because everyone received texts about it last night. Everyone responded. Except you. You ignored them. I’m not surprised.”
“I was busy at the club getting Brinley under thumb.”
Jesus. How many things am I supposed to juggle at once for this asshole?
Rolling the pen between his fingers, Tanner refuses to ease up on the barrage of questions. He’s spitting them out rapid fire.
“And how did that go? Do you know where Jerry Thornton is? Where is Brinley now? Do you have her locked away somewhere? When do we get to interrogate her?”
“I haven’t gotten that far yet,” I yell, interrupting him.
He sits back in his chair. Eyes me. That damn pen still rolling between his fingers.
“So you fucked up is what you’re telling me. Why am I not surprised?”
I’m about to snatch that pen out of his hand and stab his eyes out with it.
“No. I haven’t fucked up. After I leave here, I’m going to the shop where Brinley will be, and I’ll get the information out of her then.”
His eyes narrow. “Why will she be at the shop?”
Stabbing a hand through my hair, I run it down the back of my neck and squeeze the tense muscles. It’s always frustrating as hell to deal with Tanner when he’s like this.
Which is most of the time.
“Because Priest and I were able to steal her car last night and take it to the shop. Priest has already called her in and lied to say her car needs repairs that she needs to sign for. I’ll get the information out of her while she’s there.”
Seemingly satisfied with that, his expression returns to normal, and he taps his pen against the desk again.
“I need more information than just her dad. After thinking about it, Gabe and I are under the impression that Brinley may know about Everly’s whereabouts too. It only makes sense considering the governor was on the phone with Brinley’s father when Everly was mentioned. At least according to what Ivy told us at the cabin. It means those three are somehow connected, and therefore, Brinley may also be connected.”
For once, I’m already one step ahead of Tanner. It feels good.
“Already thought of that,” I tell him, pride edging every word. “And that’s because I know something you don’t.”
I pause for dramatic effect, but the mere seconds of silence drive Tanner up a wall and back down again. No patience, this one.
“And that is?”
Stretching my legs out in front of me over the floor, I hook one ankle over the other.
“Brinley was at Emily and Mason’s engagement party. I ran into her near one of the inside bars and spilled my drink on her. She was pissed, which is why I remember it. The chick has a mouth on her.”
Another pause which only drives Tanner back up the wall.
Rolling his hand through the air, he motions for me to continue talking.
Fuck it. Might as well stop celebrating my victory of knowing more than him and spit out what I’m thinking.
“The fact that she was there that night makes me wonder if Jerry running off with those servers had everything to do with the governor and nothing to do with Luca calling him. He may have planned it all along. I’ll admit, I didn’t make the Everly connection until you mentioned it just now, but possibly it’s all connected.”
Tanner throws the pen at me. I barely dodge it.
“Exactly, asshole! I was just explaining that to you a few seconds ago. So now that you have Brinley in a place where you can get to her, you need to drag information out of her about both her father and Everly.”
He stops, grabs another pen then taps it on the desk.
“Actually, you know what? Maybe you shouldn’t go deal with this. I’m not sure I can trust you to get the job done. Maybe Gabe and I should deal with it.”
“You can eat my ass for that statement. I haven’t failed the Inferno yet. You just don’t like my methods. If anything, I get the job done faster than any of you fucks.”
He balks at that, his eyes rolling as he leans back in his seat.
“You may get the job done, Shane, but you keep us in the dark about it until the last fucking minute. And by then, so much destruction has occurred that we usually have a bigger mess to clean up. Why can’t you just follow instructions for once?”
Because I’m Heresy, I don’t say.
We stare at each other for what feels like a few minutes. Really it was only seconds. I break the silence.
“Just because you tell me how something should be done doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with you. Give me the task, Tanner, and leave it up to me from there. You’ll get what you need when I’m done.”
Irritation paints the tops of his ears red, his blood pressure through the roof.
“Just get it done, and don’t fuck up. If we lose hold of Brinley, we lose Jerry Thornton and possibly Everly. I mean it, Shane. Play this one right and don’t fuck it up.”
With that, I feel dismissed, his attention back on his computer.
“Consider it done.”
Pushing to my feet, I leave his office on quick steps.
Sometimes, I can’t get away from that asshole fast enough.
Brinley
“Wow. You guys certainly are quick. I’m shocked you figured out the problem already.”
And a little annoyed, I have to admit.
What mechanic is up this early in the morning on a Saturday? I mean, sure, he told me I would hear from them this weekend. But six thirty in the morning?
“Do you all sleep?” I ask, my voice still gruff from the rude awakening of my phone ringing.
It’s the same tow truck guy from last night. I can tell by the odd accent to his words. American, for sure, but I can’t quite decide where in the States.
“Yes, ma’am, we sleep, and trust me, I’m not happy about being up this early either. It’s just the problem with your car was an easy diagnosis. We’re going to need you to come into the shop and sign off on the repairs before we can start the process.”
“Is it a quick fix?”
I send up a silent prayer to the universe that I’ll be driving my car home in time to get Ames to work tonight.
He laughs, but not in a funny way. More in the you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you way.
My heart sinks before he can even get the words out.
“If we can get the part today, it would be an easy fix. But it’s a Saturday, and parts suppliers are touch and go as to their hours.”
Fuck.
“Touch and go?”
Another chuckle. “Yeah. They might be working, or they might be sleeping off a three-day bender. You never know. But the immediate issue is you signing the paperwork. We can’t order the part until that’s done.”
This is such a pain in the ass.
“Do you have any idea what the repair is going to cost?”
He’s quiet for a second, the sound of paper shuffling in the background.
“Can’t tell you that until we order the part. The tow fee was one hundred and fifty bucks. And for us to lift it up and diagnose was seventy. Hourly rate for labor is seventy-five an hour. If repairs take two hours, you’re looking at roughly $375 before the cost of the part itself.”
Groaning, I sit up straight in my bed and pull my knees to my chest. There’s no way I can afford that tonight, with or without the part. I mean, maybe, but it will wipe me out.
Then again, what choice do I have?
“Why do I need to come in before this is all finished? I can authorize everything over the phone. I’m good for it.”
I can’t tell, but it sounds like an annoyed sigh blows over his lips.
He’s quiet for a few seconds before finally explaining, “Ah, yeah, well… we used to do that, but then people started authorizing stuff, we put in the work and they pay for it by credit card. Next thing we know, they dispute the charge, claiming we didn’t have prior authorization in writing, and we’re out whatever we made on the job.”
“That’s horrible.”
It sucks that people have to be so shitty. It makes life harder for the rest of us.
“Yep. The entire situation is a pain in the ass, and nothing against you, but I’d like to get it over with. So if you can just come in and sign—”
There’s urgency in his voice, and I feel bad for keeping him on the phone so long. He probably has better things to do, and I’m slowing him down.
“Okay. I can be up, dressed and ready to go in a little under an hour. But I don’t have a ride there.”
Adding a taxi bill on top of this is impossible, not with what’s left in my account. I think I can still barely manage it without having to ask for extra if the price stays within range of what he’s already told me.
More shuffling of papers, this time a little more urgent.
“Actually, we have a valet service that can pick you up. It’s free, if that helps.”
Glad that this mechanic was first on the list I searched last night, I can’t help but think they have amazing customer service.
“Perfect. I’ll be ready in an hour.”
“Yep,” is all he says before the line goes dead.
Now I’m absolutely sure the poor guy was in a hurry.
