Page 24 of C is For Corruption (Horsemen #3)

Leighton

“Could you please stop drumming on the dashboard?” Az growled from the driver’s seat.

We’d been driving around our territory in Southside in a rusted-out Toyota all morning.

It wasn’t my fault that the streets were quiet, and I didn’t have another outlet for the energy pumping through my veins.

Shit was too quiet, and it was making me nervous, like we were about to walk blindly into a trap at any second.

“This shit is eerie, man.” I sighed. “It’s like the Jackals got raptured or something. They should be crawling all over the place to claim what’s ours. It’s not like they don’t know we aren’t dead, when they’re the ones who had us and they just walked the fuck off.”

“I know.” Az replied, one hand moving to tug at his hair.

I was seriously tempted to find Dawn when we got back to the Innocenti’s and tell her she owed me for the bet she set and then canceled.

And they called me the cheater for that one.

“Have you noticed they don’t even have girls on the street?

I’ve seen the freelancers, but not a single one of theirs. ”

“You think the Devils sent them packing?” I asked, trying to come up with anything to explain what was happening.

“Highly unlikely. Helen is handing over Candy day after tomorrow so we can add that to our little interrogation, but based on what Craig relayed, the bitch was undercover. Even if she found something big enough to make Helen put out the order, they wouldn’t have had time to wipe out an entire organization.

And as far as the Jackals are concerned, Helen has no reason to intervene on our behalf. ”

As my mind worked, I drummed out another mish-mashed beat on the dashboard, earning a glare from Az. “Fucking let me out, then.” I snapped. “You know I think better when I move. It’s this or you let me hit the pavement like I wanted to in the first place, Dad. ”

Surprisingly, he didn’t snap back at my comment, instead easing the sedan up to the curb. Putting the car in park, he turned to face me.

“Fine.” He sounded so fucking defeated I almost hugged him. “I want check-ins every half hour. If you miss one, I’m going to assume you’re in trouble, and by God, Leighton, you better fucking hope you are in that case.”

“You gonna take the belt to my ass if not, Pops?” I snickered.

“No. I’m going to make sure you’re restrained and can’t get loose and then leave you there, fucker.”

“Woah man, that’s harsh.” I replied, putting my hands up in surrender. I did not enjoy being left alone with my thoughts and unable to move. I’d rather have bamboo shoots stuck under my fingernails, and Az knew that. “I’ll check in. Scouts honor.”

“You were never a boy scout, L.” Az shook his head.

“Fine, I swear it on Ma Petit’s perfect pussy. You know I worship at that altar like my life depends on it.” I chuckled.

Az slapped the back of my head before leaning over me and opening my door. “Get the fuck out, Leighton. Before I change my mind.”

“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 just vanished ,” 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 missed whatever 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 of your 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’t that kind 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 exactly why 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 bet she’d be interested in the information I have about you . 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 I got 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.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, I’m glad I spotted you. I was actually about to call you with something I think you want to see.” Sarah glanced around the street as if searching out any spying eyes. “Come back with me to our spot and I’ll fill you in.”

I motioned for Sarah to lead the way before following her through the familiar alleys and twists and turns I’d learned in the time I spent with the Urchins.

It seemed she’d added a few extras in the years since I’d been with the Horsemen.

That or she was extra paranoid about someone following us back to the rundown warehouse the Urchins called home.

Sarah didn’t relax until we were inside the building, her people standing guard by the doors. Raising her hand to signal me to wait, she cupped the other around her mouth.

“Yo, Twist! Get your ass down here!”

Footsteps pounded on the metal flooring above us, echoing through the warehouse as a boy who couldn’t have been older than fourteen appeared at the top of the steps.

He held a stack of papers in his hand as he made his way down the steps, moving to join us.

I ran my eyes over him again, noting how young he was.

“L, this is my Second, Twist. Twist, this is L.”

“Let me guess, your real name is Oliver.” I snorted.

“Yeah, so what of it?” His voice was deeper than I expected, causing me to take a closer look at him.

“Wait a minute. I know you… You tried to get into Temptat!on last year and caused a scene when our doorman confiscated your fake ID.”

Sarah snickered, a sly smile forming on her lips.

“I’m twenty-three asshole, and your man stole my fucking license. You owe me forty bucks. I still haven’t replaced the thing after that shit.”

“No way you’re twenty-three.” I shot back, causing Sarah to bust into a full belly laugh.

Twist looked between us with a scowl before thrusting the stack of papers toward me. “Fuck both of you. I’m a grown ass man, not a fucking child.”

“You do realize I’m a fucking Horseman and you just told me to fuck off, right? I could have your head for that.” I drawled, crossing my arms in front of my chest instead of taking the papers from him.

“Yeah, well double fuck you, man. You still owe me a license.” He shot back, handing off the stack to Sarah instead.

The kid had balls, and instead of pissing me off like it should have, I was impressed. “How about a job instead of a license, Twist?” I grinned, causing Sarah to punch me in the gut.

“He has a job already, Leighton. Now do you want this intel or not? I’m happy to send it to your man that put word out y’all were looking for anything suspicious around Theodore Abrams if you’d prefer.”

“Give it to me.” I replied, rubbing a hand over my abdomen where she’d hit me.

Sarah handed over the stack of pictures printed off on regular paper.

I had half a mind to complain about the printing medium, but the photos were at least in color.

Good ol’ Uncle Theo was meeting on a street corner with a shady-looking guy I didn’t recognize.

There were several snapshots of him handing over something small to the guy, but I couldn’t determine what it was.

“How does this help me?” I asked Sarah, flipping through the pages again.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, moving to my side and jabbing her pointer at the shady guy in the picture.

“That guy right there is working with the Russians. He’s not a made man by any means as far as we can tell, but he’s still on their payroll.

Now, what mister prosecutor here is doing with a Russian mobster is anyone’s guess, but it sure is suspicious. ”

My eyebrows shot up, nearly touching my hairline.

I couldn’t help but wonder if this guy was connected to the same family my dearly departed parents had tried to marry me into.

As far as I knew, the Russians didn’t have any other business in Sacona, let alone business that required a clandestine meeting with a prosecutor.

“Fuck, that is suspicious.” I hissed through my teeth before glancing up at Sarah. “What do you want for this intel?”

“For you? Nothing. You may have moved on from the Urchins a long time ago, Leighton, but you’re still family and family looks out for each other.”