Page 63 of Exile & Lula

“That’s right. She shoved a kid into the world,” Zodiac said and rubbed his jaw. “Not a dealbreaker.”

“Charming,” Lula sneered, refusing to hold back. “Don’t say shit like that in front of my daughter.”

“Or what?”

“Or I’ll kick you out of my house and tell Elle you talked shit about her droopy vagina.”

Zodiac balked. “I said her droopy vaginawasn’ta dealbreaker. Then again, why would I expect a lawyer to tell the truth?”

Clint rested his hand on Lula’s shoulder. “Are Exile’s sister and kids running around unsupervised in your house?”

Zodiac instantly asked, “Are you saying they can’t be trusted?”

“No, he’s hinting that I should leave,” Lula muttered, hiding none of her anger. “But it would be best to get them settled before Dillon comes home from debate club.”

“Will your kid bully Nova’s kids?” Zodiac asked, and I frowned at him. Noticing my irritation, he shrugged. “You know I never back down. Why expect me to start now?”

Lula decided she needed a break from my president’s mouth and walked inside. Clint watched her go before sizing up Zodiac.

“Any word on the Void?”

“No, but I would guess they’re rattled,” Zodiac replied, losing his smirk.

“What happened to your snitch?”

“They’ve gone quiet to protect themselves, no doubt.”

Clint nodded. “And this person works with the Void?”

“Presumably.”

“And they found you or you found them?”

“If I found them, I’d know who the fuck they are.”

Clint smiled at Zodiac’s irritation. “So, this person called you up and said they wanted to snitch out the powerful mob they work for?”

“It was after the assholes shot Nova. You know, she fucked up the shooter, right? Attacked him with groceries, even as she was bleeding out. Real tough bitch,” he said and nodded at me as if I was responsible for Nova’s steel spine. “But the guy got away. We had feelers out all over the state, looking for a guy with a fucked-up eye.”

Zodiac noticed movement around Ford’s house. His gaze lingered, likely looking to ogle Clint’s sister again.

Focusing on the conversation, he said, “That’s when we got a call from this guy, saying he didn’t approve of the Void hitting civilians like Nova. So, he told us where the shooter was hiding. We obviously assumed we’d get ambushed at the location. But instead, we found the guy.”

“Did he say anything of use? The shooter, I mean.”

Zodiac gestured to me, so I explained, “He was a common thug from New Orleans hired to do the shooting. He claimed a prostitute paid him, but we couldn’t find the bitch he named.”

“After that, we got tips from this snitch,” Zodiac said. “He told us about any activity in our territory. He’s also the one who mentioned the connection to your club.”

“And he told you Lula would get attacked?”

“Don’t get your drawers twisted,” Zodiac said, inching closer to Clint in a threatening manner. “This snitch doesn’t know shit ahead of time. He found out about the hit on your Rawlins meth house as it was going down. That’s why we got there quickly. He found out about Lula’s attack after it went down while the hired guns were headed toward the handoff location.”

“Why do you think the Void is rattled?” Clint asked after a long moment of eyeing Zodiac.

“They must know someone within their inner circle is talking. Until they can shake out the rat’s identity, they’d be wise to lay low.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to make a move to smoke out the snitch?”