Page 4 of Iron Princess
Giles doesn’t deserve to live.No man who raises his hand to a woman in anger does. The image of the makeup-covered bruise on my mama’s cheek and her split lip was burned into my memory like a cattle brand.
If no one else in this town would take out the almighty judge from the all-powerful family, then I had no other choice I could live with. I’d disappear, go AWOL, maybe head down to Mexico and live on a beach for the rest of my days, drinking Corona and keeping tabs on Ma from long distance.
I pulled the trigger and the pistol clicked.
Empty.
I looked down at the box of ammo.
Empty.
That meant it was time.
I made my way down the hallway behind the empty lanes and back through the heavy metal door into the store, but Jeremiah wasn’t alone.
I ducked my head, pulling my hat lower to conceal my identity from whoever was with him. The fewer witnesses, the better. “I’ll get out of your way. I can take the back door out.”
Before I could take two steps, the man standing at the counter in his slick suit turned to me.
“You’re just in time, Savage.”
Who the fuck is this guy? And how the hell does he know my name?
The back of my neck prickled with warning as I glanced up. “Don’t think I know you.”
His penetrating black stare didn’t intimidate me, but it sure as fuck unsettled me.
“Name’s Mount. I understand we have a mutual interest in Judge Giles.”
I looked to Jeremiah with betrayal burning a hole in my gut. “What the fuck did you tell him?”
Jeremiah held up a hand. “Before you go tossing out threats or doing something rash, I called in someone who could help.”
“Who? A hit man? Because I ain’t got a dime to pay anyone, and I’d prefer to handle this on my own.”
The man studied me closer. I wasn’t sure what he was seeing, but I felt like he was drilling down to the very marrow of my bones.
“I don’t do wet work anymore. Too many stained shirts. Pissed off my tailor.”
“Then feel free to forget whatever Jeremiah told you, along with my name and Giles.”
“Now, hold on, boy,” Jeremiah said. “Mount’s got a proposition for you. You might want to hear him out.”
“I ain’t your boy,” I snapped.
“No, but your daddy and I served together, and I promised to watch over you. So get your ass in here and listen up. This kind of offer doesn’t come around twice.”
Jeremiah had never sold me out before, so this betrayal stung more than I expected, but I didn’t have much of a choice. I shoved the empty .45 in the back of my jeans and let the range door close behind me.
“What kind of offer?”
Mount pulled a thick envelope from his pocket and dropped it on the counter. “Fifty grand. Half now, half when you finish the job.”
My gaze cut from him to Jeremiah and back. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He pushed the envelope toward me with a finger. “Twenty-five K. Half of your fee. You get the second half when Giles is dead.”
What he was saying finally clicked. “You want to paymeto kill Giles? The man I already want dead? What the fuck kind of business is that?”
