“Still with a tongue of silver and a spine of steel,” Elliot looked him over again. “But this request, are you sure you will be willing to pay the price for it?”
“I will pay.”
“You know we’re not talking about money, right?”
Jayden forced a chuckle and feigned ease as he leaned back in his seat. “I know very well that being in your debt will never have anything to do with money.”
“Well then, Jayden Roe, follow me.”
***
They had left the relieved staff and restaurant far behind. They got into the waiting car and took a circuitous route through the town. Jayden stepped from the car and turned to face a big and luxurious house that still spoke nothing of the kind of wealth and power the man who lived there wielded. His keen eyes spotted a few armed guards concealed about the place in its large, landscaped garden. Anyone arriving here on foot, even after jumping a wall, would not be able to see these guards until they were attacked. In the same vein, the house itself commanded the high ground, and its dimly lit windows likely held a few guards, too, just out of sight.
Jayden kept his hands in clear view while Elliot paused to say a few words to a rough looking, middle-aged man who had approached the car. Whatever this night brought, he wasn’t going to fail because a careless move earned him a bullet through the skull.
His heart beat still hadn’t quite settled, but he was certain of two things. One, he owed Stella everything he was now risking, and two, even if he changed his mind, there was no turning back now.
Elliot approached him, and Jay, used to being the tallest in the group, felt an automatic wave of unease as he was instantly shadowed by the giant.
“If you wanna stay alive, you will not go anywhere without me. You will leave these premises only when I say you can. Whether alive or dead isn’t up to you. Or me. But it will go better if you follow the first two rules.”
Jayden swallowed hard and nodded, holding tight to the small hope those words offered. “I understand.”
“Good.”
Jay hastened to follow Elliot as he headed off while still being careful to use movements that could not in any way be misconstrued as violent intentions.
They moved through elegantly decorated rooms, the dimly lit interiors mostly empty, although a few held people talking and drinking. All stopped to give Elliot a respectful salute and eye Jay askance. He recognized a few faces and felt a little better as their whispers and small smiles showed that they remembered him and, more importantly, remembered him in a good light.
Elliot cast him a half smile. “Don’t get complacent. They,” he said, eyes darting back down the long corridor, “are not the ones you publicly embarrassed.”
Jay bit his tongue. What else was I meant to do?
Elliot laughed as if he had heard Jay’s thoughts. “Don’t think you can pass it off on me if he is still angry.”
Jayden winced. “Is he still angry?” he asked in a muted voice, though he didn’t really see how knowing would make any difference now. It was probably an answer he should have worked to figure out earlier.
Elliot’s face became a dark carving once more, and Jay fought down the instinct to flee. He had been in tight spots before. Admittedly he had not ever walked into them willingly.
They stopped before a door which Elliot knocked on twice then pushed open. He gestured Jay inside, and a figure rose to greet them both. The man locked eyes with Jay and that answered the question easily. Yes, Joe was still angry.
CHAPTER SIX
Joseph was as small as his brother was large. Though both were tall, he looked like he had been stretched out over his wiry frame, his limbs all long and thin. But his eyes were keener, even more intelligent than his brother’s. For the moment, though, they were narrowed in anger.
He never took his eyes from Jay’s. He took a measured step forward as he kept both of his hands out of sight behind his back.
“Jayden Roe. I believe you weren’t owed any more favors.”
Jay managed to hitch up a convincing smile, even as Elliot shifted, clearly blocking his retreat should he suddenly decide to run. “Hey, Joe. I’m not owed anything, but I have come to ask for a favor. I want you to set me up with tech, like you did before.”
Joe took another deliberate step, his walk lithe like some hunting beast. “Oh? And what are you willing to pay for this favor?”
“Anything.”
Elliot smothered a laugh, but Joe only raised one eyebrow and continued to stalk forward. Jay felt a wave of unease wash over him at the thought of what Joe might be holding behind his back. He shoved the useless thought away and maintained eye contact. He had hoped his open offer would have made Joe at least pause but it had not.
Suddenly, Joe doubled over and started laughing hard. When he looked up, he had a toothy grin covering his face. “You should see your face, Jay. You really think I’m that petty?”
Elliot was laughing too, deep booms beside his brother’s lighter trill.
Jay sagged with relief and muttered an oath, before adding his own rueful laugh to the din. His eyes flashed between them, and he swore again, though his insult held no sting given the humor clear in his tone.
Joe sobered and suddenly grabbed Jay in a hug, his arms surprisingly strong for their wiry build. He put one hand on his shoulder. “It is good to see you. I followed your work closely. Couldn’t believe our ears when we heard you’d been arrested for murder.” Elliot nodded seriously behind his brother. “Then we realized who you’d helped take down, and it all made sense. But, damn, Matthew Goldstein? I still don’t know how you got to him.”
Jay shrugged, still smiling, swimming in the relief that their hostility had all been a prank. “It’s good to see you too. What about my request?”
Joe let his hand fall and exchanged a glance with Elliot. “If we do this, everyone will know you owe us. Won’t that tarnish your lone wolf reputation?”
Jayden chuckled. “I don’t care about that. Besides, most of my reputation went to hell the moment I went to prison.”
“And the payment. What if you don’t like what we want?”
“What do you want?”
“For the moment, nothing. We have everything we need. All is running smoothly. But one day, we’ll come for what we’re owed,” Joe said, walking back and sitting on the edge of the desk. “Have you ever thought that we might come when your life is all perfect and ask you to risk losing it all?”
Jay took a deep breath then let it out in a gust. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t wait to try and decipher another solution. I’m on a tight clock so can you do it or not? I will repay you a favor whenever you come for it.”
The brothers exchanged a look, and then Joe sighed. “We’ll do it, man. Elliot here sent me a message soon as you two set out. I’ve already started setting you up.”
Jay followed his gesture and spotted a laptop off to the side, as well as two phones and a series of other gadgets. He felt a genuine smile spread over his face. “Thank you.”
Joe shook his head. “I hope whoever all this is for is worth it.”
“She is.”
Joe threw him an incredulous stare but Elliot burst out laughing, talking as he did so, “A woman? You’re indebting yourself to the Serpent Twins for a woman?”
Jay nodded, then threw Elliot a glare. “Before you go on about love making me soft, it is more than that. I owe her.”
“Stella. It’s Stella Haraby, isn’t it?”
Jay felt his gaze sharpen and took a step forward. “What do you know?”
Joe’s eyes had gone wide and all disbelief or amusement had vanished. “El, fill him in. I’d better get back to work.”
Jay watched Joe move over to the laptop and start typing at a speed that made his fingers seem blurred, then shifted his eyes back to Elliot, who had taken his brother’s perch on the edge of the desk.
“Back then, you had hinted at a lawyer you trusted above all else. It wasn’t hard to find out wh
o she was, though it was quite a meal to get her to accept a contract.” He paused but the urge to laugh was beyond Jay at the moment. “Well, long story short, she helped us out a bit a few times. Legal aid for some of our lower members, sorting out this house and others like it, showing us the loopholes.”
“So you owe her, then,” Jay thought he understood Joe’s eagerness to return to work. The Serpent brothers were well known for many things, some to frighten, like their ties to dark magic and rumored ability to be able to kill with their thoughts alone, as well as better things, such as their honesty to their word. If the Serpent brothers gave their word, then that word was law. Their system was a simple one. All deeds must be balanced. If you did them a favor, they owed you one in return and vice versa. Favors were measured by the amount of impact they had on the person’s life. A favor of equal value was needed to pay the debt.
Elliot shook his head. “Not anymore.”
Jay tilted his head to the side, sensing that they had hit the core of the matter.
“Three years ago, Stella came to find us. Looks like some loyal sycophants of the Goldsteins had gotten in their head that the best way to get back at you was to kill Ruby Wei.”
Jay cursed loudly, feeling the sudden, intense desire to hit something.
“We helped her protect the girl and eliminated the threat.”
Jay nodded, a sharp jerk of his head. Stella had told him nothing of this. Anytime he had asked about Ruby, or Frank Morty, Stella’s answers had always been very brief. Ruby was well. She was getting beyond the loss of her grandmother, beyond her hatred of Jay. She was growing up mentally, catching up with her physical growth. Morty was still with her, doing a good job of keeping Ruby grounded and not returning to his past life as a drug dealer.
He looked up to find Elliot still watching him closely and sighed. “Thanks for letting me know. Did you hear from her since clearing all that up?”
Elliot glanced over at his brother, who vaguely waved one hand, never taking his eyes from the code streaming on the screen in front of him.
“We kept an eye on her, much like we kept an eye on you.”
Jayden felt his heart quicken. If they had been watching her, they might have something better for him than Hector’s folder. “And?”
Elliot’s gaze held a hint of sadness at his clear desperation. “And, well, we knew she was chasing this Miranda Williams, like most. We also know one of Stella’s father’s people hounded her when she came here for you, followed her all the way to Shreveport. She finally caved and agreed to go see him. Last we knew of her, she had been on her way back to Washington.”
Jay’s eyes had narrowed. What had her father been after?
“Her father also spoke to Miranda’s personal assistant around about the same time Stella was being trailed in Shreveport,” finished Elliot.
Jay shook his head, not in denial, but irritation. Had her father and this Miranda colluded on something that had backfired? In truth, he didn’t know much about Mr. Haraby, other than he seemed to be of a similar mold to the senior Mr. Goldstein. As that person had ended up murdered by his own son, he didn’t think it wise to underestimate such a person, or those he interacted with.
“We also know that Miranda had chosen Stella to represent her and invited her to a meeting to settle things.” Joe spoke with his head still bent over the laptop, his fingers flying across the keys as if they had a life of their own.
Jay turned toward Joe and asked the question, even though he was certain he already knew the answer. “Where were they supposed to meet?”
“Salisbury, Maryland.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jayden left Elliot and Joe’s mansion two days later with a whole case full of tech and an open window to request more favors, if needed. It would all go on his tab.
He snorted at the idea. The Serpent Brothers only ever did one favor at a time. Now he was racking up a tab, a debt he may well spend the rest of his life repaying.
A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what they might ask for, but he pushed it away. Whatever the cost, he had meant what he had said. He owed Stella for her loyalty during the whole Matthew Goldstein business.
“Are you alright?”
Jayden glanced to the side, where a young man with strawberry-blond hair, green-blue eyes, and freckled complexion looked up at him in concern.
That had been his final surprise. A phone call from Dave Tiller telling him he wanted the job. Initially Jay had told him that he would meet with him in a few days to a week, because he was currently down in New Orleans. At that, Dave had laughed and said he knew.
“I’m fine,” he replied. “I will often look like this. Thinking things through. Don’t make a habit of interrupting.”
Dave chuckled but nodded. “Yes, boss.”
Jay shook his head. “Seeing as you did interrupt, I may as well get the answer to the question I asked earlier this morning when I came to pick you up.”
Dave grinned. “You mean how I knew you were in New Orleans? Oh, that’s simple. Your friend, Stella Haraby, had left a Natchitoches address for the residence of the car’s owner. I went there and found nothing but an empty plot with a ‘For Sale’ sign.”
Jay held up a hand. “Wait, why didn’t you just call me when you decided to take on the job?”
Dave flashed him a sheepish grin. “I worried you might have changed your mind. I figured that if I turned up at your doorstep, you’d be impressed.”
Jay huffed a surprised laugh and shook his head. “Okay, you’re a little weirder than I thought but, to be honest, it sounds like the kind of thing I would do myself.”
Dave gave him a lopsided smile and continued. “Anyway, I stood there a while, not sure what to do next, wracking my brains over everything Ms. Haraby had said. Then it hit me, and I remembered that she had gotten a phone call from some Detective Piers, and said she’d be in Natchitoches the next week.”
“So you tracked down Hector?”
“Yep. Went to the police station, asked for a Piers. Told him I was trying to find you. By the way, are you two friends, or not? I mean, when I asked after you, just your name seemed to make him angry, but then, when I asked how to find you, he suddenly became cautious, as if protective of you.”
Jay only shook his head, trying to hold back a fit of laughter as he imagined Hector’s face. Slowly the mirth faded and he shrugged. “Our relationship is old and very complicated. How did you convince him you were safe to be told about my whereabouts?”
Dave nodded in a thoughtful way and then his look became sheepish once more. “I, uh, I didn’t.”
Jay raised an eyebrow in question, and had to carefully keep his emotions, which were mostly the desire to laugh some more, well hidden.
“I was told to call you if I wanted to know where you were and sent on my way. As I was leaving, someone called out to a Dr. Piers, and I spotted her wedding band.”
Jay shook his head in wonder, “So you got the information out of Natalie instead?”
Dave nodded, looking a little guilty. “I told her that the Detective Piers had sent me to her because he was too busy to deal with more Jayden Roe nonsense. She seemed to believe that and quickly told me that you had said only that you were popping down to New Orleans for a few days. She seemed eager to be rid of me.”
Jay burst out laughing. “I’ll bet she did. I understand that you worked off Hector’s initial irritation, but what if she had proved cautious too?”
Dave flushed and shrugged, “I guess I would have had to high tail it out of there.”
Jay chuckled. “Would you have given up then?”
Dave shook his head forcefully. “Nope. I would have asked around town.”
Jay paled and wondered how long it would have taken for some group with a grudge to beat him up for daring to mention the name Jayden Roe. “Well, I’m glad it didn’t come to that, or you might have missed me.”.
“Me too. I tried looking for you after I arrived in New Orle
ans, but other than a hotel booking, I could find no trace of you. The concierge said you’d dropped your bags off then collected them that same night, paid the tab, and left.”
“That’s when you called?”
“I tried asking around a bit more, and someone threatened me to shut it. That was when I called.”
Jay shook his head in amazement. “Well, you were right. Your efforts have certainly convinced me that I picked the right man.”
He heard their flight called and got up, wheeling his bag behind him as Dave preened then shot up after him. The Serpent Brothers had agreed to keep his car in their garage while they flew out to Salisbury to see if he could track down this Miranda Williams everyone was still gossiping over.
It was a four hour flight, and Jay took the opportunity to read over what he had already compiled while staying with Joe, plus bringing Dave up to speed. He had Stella’s case file, with her letters to him, the emails she had sent Hector about his land and her timeline as best he knew it. He hadn’t yet had time to actively hack into her blocked email account, but had set one of Joe’s ghosts working on it while he made this trip. He refrained from telling Dave about his under-the-radar means of gathering intel, thinking that it was better to see how the man dealt with this all once the novelty wore off. He looked over the young man. He was younger than Jay by a couple of years, had no family, and had seemed to just float from job to job. However, he was well-educated and had proved resourceful already.
I’ve not had a partner before. Informants and contacts, yes, many of them. Perhaps it is time I stop being such a lone wolf.
Along with Stella’s folder, there was one for her father and another for Miranda Williams. Miranda Williams had gotten into trouble over some drug allegations, but as this was also linked to a potential homicide, it was going to be a hard case. Unlike many heiresses of their age, Miranda took no pains to be beloved by the people. She was selfish, quick tempered, and petty.
Jayden Roe Mystery 02-The Final Lie Page 3
