Ivy
I did everything I could to hide my shaking. I felt like the last autumn leaf in the icy first winds of winter. Holding my hands hard in my lap, I tried to ignore the swirl of dangerous people around me.
Josh was sitting close by, his eyes pointed at nearly anything in the room but me. I wanted to comfort him, to say something that would put him at ease, but we were pretending. Pretending that we didn’t know each other and that Creed wasn’t anything to me. It sounded easier than it was; even little things could have given us away.
“Do you think they are going to hurt us?” Josh asked finally. He seemed unworried, but he was fidgeting less than usual. It had me worried, but I did my best not to look worried.
“That Carlos guy said they weren’t. Are you scared?”
Josh turned and looked at me, a fake little smile on his lips. “I’m not scared of anything, lady.”
“How old are you?” It was a question I honestly didn’t know the answer to; I’d never thought to ask Josh or Creed his age. I was pretty sure he was about nine, but I’d never actually asked.
“Eight and a half,” he proclaimed proudly. I was surprised again. Only eight years old and Creed expected so much of him. I wondered what little Josh would be like when he was his father’s age. Probably just as much of a criminal as he is. And that thought made me profoundly sad.
“Are you tired? You can come lay by me if you are.”
“I think I’ll be okay. I’m not a baby who goes to bed as soon as it’s dark.”
I chuckled. “You certainly are not a baby.”
The man watching over us, different than the one Carlos had beat up, looked back and forth between us. He didn’t seem to know what to make of our little conversation.
“Either way, there’s plenty of room up on this sofa, if you are interested in taking a nap or something.”
“I won’t need it,” Josh said confidently. “My dad will find me soon, then he’ll take me home.”
There was a little wobble in Josh’s voice as he said it. He wanted so much for his dad to come and save him, and save me too, but I wasn’t sure it was going to happen. I doubted Kelly would let him.
After a few minutes of silence, the door swung open with a groan. The hinges sounded like hadn’t been oiled in years, and I winced at the sound. It grated on my already-frayed nerves like lemon juice over a cut.
Carlos entered, and our watchdog got to his feet. “Sir,” he said, bowing his head a little. I was amazed at the discipline and respect this man Carlos got from all of his people. The Edge was nothing like this; they didn’t run with military precision like the Carrion Club did. But both groups were still dangerous. I should have never gotten caught up in either.
“Ms. Ivy.”
I tried not to show how frightened I was of this man, of his ice cold black eyes. I sat up, looked him right in the face, and squared my shoulders. “Mr. Carlos.”
He looked amused for a second, the first emotion I’d seen on that stoic face of his. I smiled tentatively in return. “You have lived at that motel for some time?”
I shook my head, running my fingers through my curls nervously. “No. I just moved in several weeks ago after I lost my apartment.”
“How did you lose your apartment?”
I wondered what the harm of answering that question might be and thought through my answer completely before giving it. “I was naive,” I answered finally, feeling my shoulders droop a little. “My business partner took advantage of that. Stole my business out from under me, little by little, until she could take it from herself. Then she burned all of the evidence that I was ever part of the store. So I lost my job and my life savings all in one day. Had to sell everything I owned and moved into a cheaper place.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he answered, his eyes narrowing.
“Are you?” I retorted, surprising myself. “You don’t look it.”
His chuckle was dry and humorless. “So, you live on the same floor as Creed Carver?”
“This little boy’s father? Yes. But I do my best to stay out of his way.” Not entirely a lie.
“Have you ever met anyone else from the Devil’s Edge?”
I shrugged. “Maybe? I met a lot of people.”
Carlos cleared his throat, obviously annoyed. “Did you know that the Devil’s Edge is bringing in a cartel’s goods from Mexico to try and one-up the market here? Did you know they are trying to start turf wars with the other gangs in the area to gain the upper hand and wipe us all out?”
I shook my head. I hadn’t thought of it like that. I didn’t have to pretend to look horrified and surprised. “Why would they do that? Couldn’t bystanders be--” I swallowed hard. Perhaps I should tell him the truth, especially if he’s trying to stop the cartel from moving in.
He nodded. “I doubt very much that the cartel moving in will care much for the local lives of civilians,” Carlos answered coolly. He sat down across from Josh in one of the metal folding chairs, crossing his right leg over his left.
Nausea rose in my gut. He was right, of course. There was no denying it.
“We believe that there is some dissent inside of the Edge, and that Creed might be one of the men who is willing to listen to reason. We want to help him rise to power over Kelly and send the cartel packing before they get a foothold.”
“Why do you think my dad would help you?” Josh asked, crossing his arms over his chest. “Especially after you broke into my house and kidnapped me.”
“We believe your father to be a reasonable, if angry, man,” Carlos leaned back in his chair, his unnerving eyes still locked on me. “He’s not stupid, and I know he must hate the idea of letting the cartels in as much as I do.”
I took a deep breath, fidgeting on the couch under Carlos’ gaze. “What does this have to do with me? I’d rather just leave.”
“I think you know Creed better than you say you do. I think you can convince him to meet with us. If he becomes leader of the Edge, Creed will have Carrion Club’s full support and peace treaties, better than even Kelly has them now. Mostly because we don’t trust this Kelly with his wild ideas and power grabbing.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, holding them tightly to try and hide their shaking. “And so what? What makes you think a big tough guy would listen to someone like me anyway? I don’t think anyone cares for my opinion; this Creed guy won’t be any different.”
“I don’t believe that. You were in his home, protecting his child.”
I took a deep breath to refute him before pausing. No, he’s right. I want this to end as much as anyone does. Creed, I believe, doesn’t want this cartel thing to happen either. And if he had a say, I think Josh would also fight against this drug running thing. It’s dangerous, and it will hurt the neighborhood. Carlos, even if he is the leader of a gang, seems to be in the right, at least this once.
Uncurling from the couch, I leaned toward him. “No matter what you think, Creed doesn’t listen to me.” Josh blinked up at me, his chocolate eyes confused. I smiled down at him. “I just watch his son sometimes. There’s no point in lying if you already know; Creed pays me to watch Josh. We slept together, once, but he hasn’t claimed me as a part of the Edge. But if you let me go, I will do my best to convince him to come meet with you. This seems too important to not try.”
I had a flashback to negotiations classes I’d taken in preparation for becoming a business owner. Tell them your end of the bargain, then wait them out. Most people hate silence. So I tried it out. It felt odd to sit in silence when Carlos was obviously waiting for me to continue.
Josh made a noise in the back of his throat.
“Ms. Ivy. I don’t think we can let you go. I’ll make a bet with you, however. If Creed comes in here and doesn’t even attempt to rescue you, you’ll win the bet and I’ll send you on your way. I just never want to see you again in my town. If he does try to rescue you, however, I will win the bet, and you will convince him to meet with me. And we can both continue to live here, happily ever after.” He was grinning again, and I didn’t like the look of that smile one bit.
I thought through what he said. “Either way, you’ll let me out of here? Alive?”
“Either way, I will let you out of here alive,” he repeated.
There had to be a trick in there somewhere. Something I was missing that would cause me no end of trouble later. “And you won’t come after me?”
Carlos’ face didn’t change a bit. “I will only come after you if I win and you don’t convince Creed to meet with me.”
I gulped audibly, my mouth suddenly as dry as cotton. “Do I have a choice here?”
Carlos pressed his lips together and shook his head. I ran my eyes over that stoic face, the empty black eyes, up to the buzz cut black hair and back down. He didn’t seem to be trying to trick me, but he seemed like he would have no trouble lying to anyone. It was that emotionless expression, the precision placement of every muscle in his face.
But if there was a loophole somewhere, I could not see it.
“Alright, Mr. Carlos. We have ourselves a deal.” I held out my hand and he shook it, much to Josh’s obvious dismay.