Page 8 of Griffin
“Brought home a stray,” Griffin said, hiking a thumb over his shoulder.“Unfortunately, I didn’t have much to do at the club.By the time I got there, the place was fully engulfed.Found this one escaping out a window and, let me tell you, she really knows how to cause a ruckus.”
The tall woman with the braid caught my eye again.She gave me an encouraging smile.The smaller woman edged closer, close enough that I could smell the faint scent of vanilla on her skin.“Nobody here is going to hurt you,” she said.“Whatever happened tonight, whatever you saw, you’re safe now.”She smiled at me.“I’m Pippa.My husband is the vice president.Gunnar.”She nodded to the man standing behind her far enough away I didn’t feel threatened.“The big guy over there is Kiss of Death’s president, Knuckles.He’s also my father.So, yes.I have sway.So does Hannah.”She nodded to the woman with the honey-colored braid.“Hannah is Knuckles’ old lady and Gunnar’s sister.”
“Seems like a pretty closely connected group.”I didn’t know if that knowledge made me feel better or worse about this club.
Pippa smiled.“We are.And we have each other’s backs.”
“What’s the situation, Griffin?”Knuckles got down to business.
Griffin shrugged.“Things kind of went sideways, but it wasn’t my fault.”
“Christ, Griffin.”Knuckles scowled.“When you lead with it wasn’t your fault, it’s usually your fault.”
“Yeah, OK.I’ll give you that.But this time, it really wasn’t my fault.”
“So?What’s going on?”
Griffin sobered.“We might have a bigger problem than we first thought.”
“What’s she got?”Knuckles crossed his arms over his chest.
“Everything,” I said, answering Knuckles for Griffin.No way I was going to sit on the sidelines.Now that I was here, I was going to play an active part.And if these guys tried to fuck me over, I’d do my best to give as good as I got.“I managed to get Iron on video killing three people, as well as ledgers and the hard drives fromEnclave Éclipseand several connecting businesses they have operating under the radar to help clean their money.I’ve managed to connect them all together.Iron was cleaning house because he knows he’s in danger of being caught.He just isn’t sure who’s on to him.”
Knuckles stared at me.Hard.This looked more like the men I’d been expecting in a place like this.His eyes were flat and cold.“You got a death wish, girl?”
“No.I’m looking for my sister,” I said.
Something flickered across his face and he glanced at Pippa, then to Gunnar before glancing back at Griffin.“Show me.”
“I ain’t seen it either,” Griffin said, glancing at me.“What do you need for Knuckles to look at what you have?”
“Just a computer.”
Knuckles grunted and turned to the heavily tattooed man from the Bronco.Even the whites of his eyes appeared to be colored in with ink.“Knight?”
“Give me a second.”Knight set a laptop on a workbench and opened it.He powered it on, then held out his hand to me without looking away from the screen.“I’ll need the drive, please.”
I hesitated, then passed it over.Knight opened a small compartment at the end, removed the micro SD card, and slotted it into an adapter.The room went quiet while everyone fixed their attention on the laptop screen.
Knight pulled up a video player and clicked the first file.The footage was shaky but clear enough to see Iron and the men with him.The angle was low, the camera obviously hidden somewhere near floor level.The back office ofÉclipsefilled the screen.
On screen, Iron walked into frame, followed by Carl and two of Iron’s men.I knew what came next, but watching it play out on screen made my stomach churn and I had to swallow back bile.
“That’s Iron,” Knight said, pointing to the screen.“Steel Serpents’ enforcer.Works directly for their president.”
Knuckles nodded once, his eyes never leaving the screen.“Keep going, Knight.”
The footage continued.Iron confronted Carl, accused him of skimming.Carl denied it, his voice high with fear.Then Iron slammed Carl’s face into the desk, once, twice.I flinched with every blow.On the third impact, something gave.Carl slumped to the floor, and the camera caught the moment when Iron realized there was someone else in the room.
“The manager’s dead,” Griffin said.“But Iron knows there’s someone else.Look.”He pointed at the screen.“He sends his guys to clear the building, but he stays in the room.He’s waiting.”
On screen, Iron paced the length of the office, checking his phone, looking at the door.His face was blank, but there was something in the set of his shoulders that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.He wasn’t just angry.He was hunting.
The other men returned with two workers bound with zip ties -- the same two people I’d watched Iron execute against the far wall.The woman tried to speak, her words slurred through what was probably a broken jaw.Then Iron raised his gun and I looked away.I didn’t need to see him kill a second time.
“What about the ledgers?”Knuckles still studied the screen.
Knight opened the file and clicked through several pages.Columns of numbers filled the screen, along with initials, dates, and what looked like business names.
