The tomb raider snorted. “I just need to know who it was.”
Carver eyed the money for a long while, running his tongue inside his cheek. “The Demon Generals.”
Shay blinked. “What the fuck? Them again?”
“Again?”
“Don’t worry about it.” She waved a hand. “I just don’t get why some punk street gang is suddenly executing lightning raids for artifacts. Something doesn’t add up.”
“Haven’t you heard? They’re under new management.”
Shay frowned. “New management?”
Carver grinned. “Remember the Nuevo Gulf Cartel?”
Shay’s stomach tightened. “From what I heard, they’re done. Someone raided a big meeting of them, killing all the leaders. They then hunted down the rest. After that, they were in complete chaos, and other criminal groups and law enforcement dismembered them. They don’t exist anymore, not really.”
“Yeah, that’s all true, but it’s not like every last guy in the cartel was killed. Just all the leadership. More than a few talented foot soldiers survived. They couldn’t save their cartel, but they’ve been working for a serious professional criminal organization and have experience. Some of them melted into other cartels, but some of them are taking their chance to be a big man in a smaller group.”
She blew out a breath. “So, some ex-cartel douchebag is trying to turn the Demon Generals into an artifact-smuggling group?”
“Among other things. It’s a guy calling himself Tío.”
“Tío? As in uncle?”
Carver shrugged. “He picked the name, not me. He’s pushing artifacts, weapons, and drugs. High-end distribution, not petty local shit. I think the guy’s being a little too aggressive, but I can’t argue with his results so far. Without the Nuevo in town, there are still a lot of opportunities to expand territory, and some of the newer arrivals, like the 25K, don’t know this city like the Demon Generals do, so with good leadership, they might become a serious threat.”
“Do they have some sort of warehouse where they store artifacts? They’ve just grabbed the shit, so I doubt they’ve had time to move it.”
Carver laughed. “You planning to take on an entire gang?”
“Not if don’t have to, but they stole something from a friend of mine. There’s a reason I’m with Brownstone. We both don’t tolerate people fucking with us or our friends.”
The Wood Elf arched a brow. “I know they have a big deal going down in a couple of days at the ARCO Tower. They’re planning to sell stuff off to the highest bidder. If you want a chance to get your friend’s shit back, that’s your best bet.” He shrugged. “But that’s going to be very heavily guarded. Demon Generals, and I hear the buyer is Russian Mafia.”
Shay blew out a breath and stood. “Good to know.”
“Your funeral if you go. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
I have a little planning to do. We need to hit that place tomorrow before everybody and their fucking mother is there.
Chapter Fifteen
Shay leaned against her Fiat as she waited for Lily to emerge from the tunnel. She’d explained the plan to raid ARCO Tower over the phone the previous night, and the girl seemed more than a little enthusiastic. Bloodthirsty, really.
Not that I can blame her. Those assholes took the last link she has to her dad. They’ll only get what’s coming to them.
The tomb raider frowned as two people emerged from the huge pipe in front of her—Lily and Harry. She pushed away from the car and marched toward them. This was the time for professional ass-kicking, not tunnel rat improv.
Shay looked at them and crossed her arms, waiting for Lily to explain why Harry was with her.
Lily sighed. “Harry wants to come.”
Shay snorted. “No way in hell.”
He frowned. “It’s not just Lily’s stuff that got taken. I’ve got a responsibility to help get it all back. I’m the leader.”
Shay shook her head. “This isn’t going to be a running-around-at-night-trying-to-avoid-some-beat-cops deal. This is going to be a careful infiltration into a guarded tower. If everything goes well, it’ll be easy, but if it goes badly, there’s gonna be a lot of shooting and dying.”
Harry narrowed his eyes. “You don’t think I have what it takes?”
“I don’t know if you have what it takes. Frankly, I don’t give a damn if you do.” Shay shook her head. “I only go on jobs with people I trust with my life.”
Harry nodded toward Lily. “She can vouch for me, and it’s not like you haven’t seen me on my feet in a dangerous situation.”
“That’s not how this works. I don’t know you well enough to know how you’ll react when bullets start flying, or you take a hit. At least with Lily, I know she’s received enough training and learned the right lessons that I won’t have to distract myself keeping an eye on her. This shit is simple. Either you stay, or neither of you goes. I’m going either way, but this isn’t a babysitting job.”
The boy frowned and looked at Lily. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
Lily sighed and averted her gaze. “Maybe she’s right, Harry.”
He blinked. “What? How can you say that?”
“It’s just, I couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to you. I just keep thinking back to Casey and all that blood.”
Harry frowned. “Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
Lily took a deep breath. “I’ve already seen some strange and dangerous stuff in my time with Shay. I know she can take care of herself as long as I don’t mess things up, and it doesn’t matter anyway. There’s nothing I could say to convince her to let you come, so either you stay, or I can’t go.” She shrugged.
Shay nodded. “Exactly.”
Harry looked at the women for a moment, a deep frown on his face. “Damn it. This isn’t fair.”
The tomb raider snorted. “Harry, you of all people should know that life isn’t fair.” She nodded toward the car. “Lily, your tactical harness is loaded up and in your seat. Come on, we have some ass to kick and some artifacts to recover.”
Shay and Lily emerged from the entrance to
