many variables. Too
many things to consider, work out and mitigate - and all before they even
occurred to her to think of. My mind was hurting from only two journeys with
the girl - I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
So as I slipped out, I
decided to take her at her word - here, at least. She had been honest-to-god
scared of the men we’d seen around here, and I could use that. It would give me
one less thing to worry about.
I gestured her over to
me, and we walked quickly towards the building on the opposite side of the
street. I opened the gate on the white picket fence that fronted it and led us
through into an overgrown front garden. Jay might spend most of his time here,
but he didn’t seem to care about his front yard any more than the other rough
bastards in this neighborhood.
Instead of walking up to
the front door, I strode through the tall grass towards the side of the
property, offering an arm to Alessa as she started to struggle with her heels.
She grimaced at it but accepted anyway, and I tried not to notice the way it
pressed her body up against mine as we walked over to the bulkhead door built
into the side of the house. As far as I knew, Jay did actually live in the old
house above, but since I’d only ever seen the basement of this place, I
couldn’t exactly be sure. He certainly confined his business dealings to the
large, underground space.
I knocked sharply on the
door and then opened it without waiting for a response, walking down the stairs
with Alessa following behind. I took in the large, open space at the bottom as
I moved through the different sections of it. The corner that formed a
makeshift office - complete with filings cabinets and cupboards - was almost
enough for it to appear an ordinary basement at first glance. But then that
disappeared the moment you glanced to the side and saw the weapons lining the
walls around a small training area. My fingers lingered on the punching bag as
I passed through, looking for Jay between the organized clutter of the large
space.
I’d only sparred here a
couple of times, but it was enough to remember the endless days of training in
my youth. Jay might not have always been kind, but he was effective - and
though the jobs I’d done for him for years were more than enough to return the
favor, I still held an appreciation for what he’d made me.
The other parts of the
basement held various items I could only guess the purpose of, reminding me
that Jay was a lot more than a simple killer for hire. It didn’t surprise me
that he’d always been able to have his pick of the mafia and mob groups around
- even I didn’t know the real extent of his skills.
“Jay!” I yelled when I
didn’t find him in the main room of the basement. He might let me in this far
without objection, but he wouldn’t be so generous with the few rooms that
branched off from this space.
There was noise from up
ahead, and then one of the doors past the office section swung open, Jay
grunting as he came out. He looked much the same as when I’d seen him a couple
of months earlier - brown hair lined with streaks of silver, an unkempt growth
of stubble across his chin and a face carved with strong lines. I didn’t think
that face had changed since I was a kid, and it narrowed in on me now.
“Leo. Want to tell me
what this is all about—” He stopped as he spotted Alessa, who was hanging back
behind me, then his eyes went wide as he turned to stare at me. “What the fuck
is Alessa Santini doing with you? Fuck. Don’t tell me you’re caught up
in—”
“Jay—”
“And why the fuck did you
bring her here?! ” Fury swept over his face, and I took a deep breath.
Yep, that was about the reaction I’d expected for turning up like this.
He strode forward as I opened
my mouth to speak, taking my arm and interrupting me.
“No. Not here. Come with
me, and we’ll talk about this.” His tone made it obvious just how pleasant that would be, but at least he was
many things to consider, work out and mitigate - and all before they even
occurred to her to think of. My mind was hurting from only two journeys with
the girl - I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
So as I slipped out, I
decided to take her at her word - here, at least. She had been honest-to-god
scared of the men we’d seen around here, and I could use that. It would give me
one less thing to worry about.
I gestured her over to
me, and we walked quickly towards the building on the opposite side of the
street. I opened the gate on the white picket fence that fronted it and led us
through into an overgrown front garden. Jay might spend most of his time here,
but he didn’t seem to care about his front yard any more than the other rough
bastards in this neighborhood.
Instead of walking up to
the front door, I strode through the tall grass towards the side of the
property, offering an arm to Alessa as she started to struggle with her heels.
She grimaced at it but accepted anyway, and I tried not to notice the way it
pressed her body up against mine as we walked over to the bulkhead door built
into the side of the house. As far as I knew, Jay did actually live in the old
house above, but since I’d only ever seen the basement of this place, I
couldn’t exactly be sure. He certainly confined his business dealings to the
large, underground space.
I knocked sharply on the
door and then opened it without waiting for a response, walking down the stairs
with Alessa following behind. I took in the large, open space at the bottom as
I moved through the different sections of it. The corner that formed a
makeshift office - complete with filings cabinets and cupboards - was almost
enough for it to appear an ordinary basement at first glance. But then that
disappeared the moment you glanced to the side and saw the weapons lining the
walls around a small training area. My fingers lingered on the punching bag as
I passed through, looking for Jay between the organized clutter of the large
space.
I’d only sparred here a
couple of times, but it was enough to remember the endless days of training in
my youth. Jay might not have always been kind, but he was effective - and
though the jobs I’d done for him for years were more than enough to return the
favor, I still held an appreciation for what he’d made me.
The other parts of the
basement held various items I could only guess the purpose of, reminding me
that Jay was a lot more than a simple killer for hire. It didn’t surprise me
that he’d always been able to have his pick of the mafia and mob groups around
- even I didn’t know the real extent of his skills.
“Jay!” I yelled when I
didn’t find him in the main room of the basement. He might let me in this far
without objection, but he wouldn’t be so generous with the few rooms that
branched off from this space.
There was noise from up
ahead, and then one of the doors past the office section swung open, Jay
grunting as he came out. He looked much the same as when I’d seen him a couple
of months earlier - brown hair lined with streaks of silver, an unkempt growth
of stubble across his chin and a face carved with strong lines. I didn’t think
that face had changed since I was a kid, and it narrowed in on me now.
“Leo. Want to tell me
what this is all about—” He stopped as he spotted Alessa, who was hanging back
behind me, then his eyes went wide as he turned to stare at me. “What the fuck
is Alessa Santini doing with you? Fuck. Don’t tell me you’re caught up
in—”
“Jay—”
“And why the fuck did you
bring her here?! ” Fury swept over his face, and I took a deep breath.
Yep, that was about the reaction I’d expected for turning up like this.
He strode forward as I opened
my mouth to speak, taking my arm and interrupting me.
“No. Not here. Come with
me, and we’ll talk about this.” His tone made it obvious just how pleasant that would be, but at least he was
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