CHAPTER SIX
Joseph was as small as his brother was large. Though both were tall, he looked like he had been stretched out over his wiry frame, his limbs all long and thin. But his eyes were keener, even more intelligent than his brother’s. For the moment, though, they were narrowed in anger.
He never took his eyes from Jay’s. He took a measured step forward as he kept both of his hands out of sight behind his back.
“Jayden Roe. I believe you weren’t owed any more favors.”
Jay managed to hitch up a convincing smile, even as Elliot shifted, clearly blocking his retreat should he suddenly decide to run. “Hey, Joe. I’m not owed anything, but I have come to ask for a favor. I want you to set me up with tech, like you did before.”
Joe took another deliberate step, his walk lithe like some hunting beast. “Oh? And what are you willing to pay for this favor?”
“Anything.”
Elliot smothered a laugh, but Joe only raised one eyebrow and continued to stalk forward. Jay felt a wave of unease wash over him at the thought of what Joe might be holding behind his back. He shoved the useless thought away and maintained eye contact. He had hoped his open offer would have made Joe at least pause but it had not.
Suddenly, Joe doubled over and started laughing hard. When he looked up, he had a toothy grin covering his face. “You should see your face, Jay. You really think I’m that petty?”
Elliot was laughing too, deep booms beside his brother’s lighter trill.
Jay sagged with relief and muttered an oath, before adding his own rueful laugh to the din. His eyes flashed between them, and he swore again, though his insult held no sting given the humor clear in his tone.
Joe sobered and suddenly grabbed Jay in a hug, his arms surprisingly strong for their wiry build. He put one hand on his shoulder. “It is good to see you. I followed your work closely. Couldn’t believe our ears when we heard you’d been arrested for murder.” Elliot nodded seriously behind his brother. “Then we realized who you’d helped take down, and it all made sense. But, damn, Matthew Goldstein? I still don’t know how you got to him.”
Jay shrugged, still smiling, swimming in the relief that their hostility had all been a prank. “It’s good to see you too. What about my request?”
Joe let his hand fall and exchanged a glance with Elliot. “If we do this, everyone will know you owe us. Won’t that tarnish your lone wolf reputation?”
Jayden chuckled. “I don’t care about that. Besides, most of my reputation went to hell the moment I went to prison.”
“And the payment. What if you don’t like what we want?”
“What do you want?”
“For the moment, nothing. We have everything we need. All is running smoothly. But one day, we’ll come for what we’re owed,” Joe said, walking back and sitting on the edge of the desk. “Have you ever thought that we might come when your life is all perfect and ask you to risk losing it all?”
Jay took a deep breath then let it out in a gust. “It doesn’t matter. I can’t wait to try and decipher another solution. I’m on a tight clock so can you do it or not? I will repay you a favor whenever you come for it.”
The brothers exchanged a look, and then Joe sighed. “We’ll do it, man. Elliot here sent me a message soon as you two set out. I’ve already started setting you up.”
Jay followed his gesture and spotted a laptop off to the side, as well as two phones and a series of other gadgets. He felt a genuine smile spread over his face. “Thank you.”
Joe shook his head. “I hope whoever all this is for is worth it.”
“She is.”
Joe threw him an incredulous stare but Elliot burst out laughing, talking as he did so, “A woman? You’re indebting yourself to the Serpent Twins for a woman?”
Jay nodded, then threw Elliot a glare. “Before you go on about love making me soft, it is more than that. I owe her.”
“Stella. It’s Stella Haraby, isn’t it?”
Jay felt his gaze sharpen and took a step forward. “What do you know?”
Joe’s eyes had gone wide and all disbelief or amusement had vanished. “El, fill him in. I’d better get back to work.”
Jay watched Joe move over to the laptop and start typing at a speed that made his fingers seem blurred, then shifted his eyes back to Elliot, who had taken his brother’s perch on the edge of the desk.
“Back then, you had hinted at a lawyer you trusted above all else. It wasn’t hard to find out who she was, though it was quite a meal to get her to accept a contract.” He paused but the urge to laugh was beyond Jay at the moment. “Well, long story short, she helped us out a bit a few times. Legal aid for some of our lower members, sorting out this house and others like it, showing us the loopholes.”
“So you owe her, then,” Jay thought he understood Joe’s eagerness to return to work. The Serpent brothers were well known for many things, some to frighten, like their ties to dark magic and rumored ability to be able to kill with their thoughts alone, as well as better things, such as their honesty to their word. If the Serpent brothers gave their word, then that word was law. Their system was a simple one. All deeds must be balanced. If you did them a favor, they owed you one in return and vice versa. Favors were measured by the amount of impact they had on the person’s life. A favor of equal value was
