Page 35

“Alright!” I shouted, unbuckling my seatbelt and moving to get out of the car. “I’m going, I’m going. I’ll talk to you in thirty snookums.” I blew Az a kiss as I shut the door behind me. He rolled his eyes and slowly pulled back onto the road.

I pulled my hood up and stuffed my hands in my pockets as I strolled down the street. Even on foot, it was still too damn quiet for my tastes, and every street I turned down made me a little more unsettled. I didn’t see any of the usual players that worked these streets; there were no branded or marked sellers, muscle, or sex workers that littered the corners. There were freelancers, small-timers, and street rats who flew no colors and wore no brands.

“No way Southside’s roach problem justvanished,” I muttered as I turned down another street. I stopped, stepping off the sidewalk and into the shadow of a house, as I spotted a pair of sex workers that I recognized as freelancers talking to another pair of women I didn’t recognize.

They weren’t streetwalkers or dealers, and I spotted the tell-tale sign of holsters under their arms. I narrowed my eyes, moving closer. I had to move up several houses before I spotted the Golden Devils tattoo on one of their arms—Helen’s muscle and recruiters. I crept close enough to eavesdrop without drawing attention to myself as I leaned back against a brick wall.

“Things may be flush right now, what with the Jackals up and taking off, but unless you know something we don’t about why, I can guarantee they’ll be back.” One of the Devils said, pulling out a business card and holding it out to the sex workers. “If you change your mind, or wind up in trouble over using their corner, you give me a call, yeah?”

It was evident under the doublespeak that the Devils had been ordered to suss out what was happening with the Jackals’ disappearance. They might have been doing it under the guise of offering protection, but they were digging like us. I missedwhatever the worker responded before the Devils moved away, heading further down the block.

I waited until the Golden Devils were well out of eyeshot before I stepped out of the shadows. I rolled my shoulders and plastered a grin on my face as I approached the women.

“Pam, baby!” I started.

“Don’t you come over here ‘baby’-ing me, Leighton,” She said, dramatically tossing her dark hair over her shoulder as she turned away. “You don’t come and see me for, what’s it been, some months now. I know I wasn’t one ofyour girls, but you ain’t even been around to ask questions about the goings on.” She turned to face me, pointing one long, manicured nail toward me. “You know I got babies to feed. None of us out here can lose a reliable John.”

“Pam, I ain’t your John.” I said, quirking a brow.

“It don’t make no difference to me how you use your hour, you pay for it. That makes you a John. You think you’re the only one who pays me just to talk?”

“Who the fuck are you giving information to besides me Pam?” I snarled.

“Psh. It ain’tthatkind of talking, dummy.” Pam rolled her eyes at me. “But since you wanna go there, I done missed out on a decent amount of money holding out for you. Which is exactlywhy you ain’t gonna come over here all ‘baby’-ing me and shit. The only thing I want from you is what’s in your wallet.” Pam thrust her hand out palm up, curling her fingers so her nails clacked against her palm in demand before reaching in her tiny purse for a stick of gum and popping it in her mouth.

I looked between her face and her palm for a moment before shrugging. “Fair enough.” I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and opened it. I thumbed through it and sighed before handing it over, earning me a raised eyebrow and a frustrated look.

“Leighton, what the fuck is this?” She demanded, popping her gum loudly to punctuate the question.

“Look, I wasn’t expecting to come buy information, this is just what I have on me. I can get you more in a little bit. You know I’m good for it.”

“Well you fucking better be. Because I know about that girl you been shacking up with, and I betshe’dbe interested in the information I have aboutyou. Especially how you left that last girl.” She snapped, folding up the money and putting it in her bra. I snorted a laugh and shrugged.

“Want me to call her for you so you can tell her? She already knows what I’m like. Oh!” I grinned, pulling up my shirt. “Look, she did this herself! It’s a little shaky, but it’s the thought that counts! And it’s all because I found out Igot feelings!”

Pam stared at me for a while, just blinking, before she shook her head. “Guess it takes all kinds.”

“Anyway, what does $400 buy me?” I said, pulling my shirt back down.

“So, the Jackals ain’t been seen on these streets in… How long has it been Janny?” Pam turned to her corner partner.

“I couldn’t tell you the date, but I remember the last time I saw anyone with their tattoo was when I had that virgin that had to be like… in his 50s. That was a couple weeks back.” She shook her head, lighting a cigarette. “It was kinda sad, he needed Vitamin V to even get it up and it was his first time.”

“I remember that. Anyway, it’s been since then that we’ve seen any of those little corner hogs. I heard a rumor they’ve all moved on to different pastures, but that’s all I got for $400.” Pam said, just as a silver van pulled up on the opposite corner and flashed its lights. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some actual money to make.” She brushed past me with Janny on her heels, sauntering to the van with a grin.

“Well, that wasn’t very enlightening,” I muttered, shoving my hands into my hoodie pocket and starting back down the sidewalk.

The longer I walked around the streets of Southside, the more the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Pam said the Jackals had moved, but I knew how much they pulled from the corners in the area, and it was too much for them to leave on the table for anyone to take. That thought played over in my mind, leaving me with the sinking feeling that I was definitely about to walk into a trap at any moment.

“Stop acting like such a little bitch,” I scolded myself, rubbing a hand over my face trying to shake my growing paranoia.

A tug on the back of my hoodie caused me to jump. The hand I still had in my pocket jerked free, pulling along the pocket knife I always carried on me as I whirled to face whoever was stupid enough to try and attack me from behind. I had the blade at their throat at the same moment I recognized them, and my breath whooshed out of me as I dropped my hand.

“Fucking hell, Sarah. Are you trying to get yourself killed?” I practically shouted.

My old friend from the Urchins smirked. “I did call your name a few times first. It’s not my fault you were lost in whatever is going on in that pretty head of yours.”

“Try getting in front of me next time or else I might not realize it’s you before it’s too late.”