Things were tense on the walk out of the car up to meet the suppliers. Not because of nerves, though I did have a great deal of those floating around.
But because Cameron looked like he was ready to haul the first person to talk to him directly at the sun.
He didn't have his crutches as he walked with me on his right and Ben on his left. He wasn't limping but I kept close to him. Just in case. He was fine in the car as he went over things with Ben and I. The only time he pulled out his standard glare was when I called what we were doing in the car "briefing" and thanked him for including me in it.
He didn't like that.
Ben thought it was funny.
We had met up with Carlos in Melkin. From there, we took one car to meet the suppliers, with Cameron briefing us, Carlos driving, and Ben making sure the transmitter that was on the inside my bra strap was secure and out of sight. It wasn't weird with Ben. If anything, it was more like I was in a hospital getting looked at by a doctor. He was hyper focused on the task which, given the fact that I didn't really want to get caught, I was kind of thankful for.
Meanwhile, Cameron told us that the point of our meeting was to try to convince the suppliers to back out of their deal with the Caseys. Seeing as Dylan was killed, there would be more police showing up. Cameron figured it was a good time to get the suppliers to leave without them causing trouble.
I didn't ask what kind of trouble they would cause. I didn't want to add extra reasons to be nervous.
Assuming this meeting was supposed to be us convincing them, I didn't understand why Cameron looked so angry off the bat as we walked towards the meeting spot, with Carlos leading the way. Or why I had knives stashed all over my body and Cameron hadn't even once acted like it was a bad idea. I wondered what he had on him. Or what Ben and Carlos had on them that Cameron was turning a blind eye to. The knives were slim, making them hard to feel and they were out of plain sight - Travis made sure of it when he was frisking me about ten times before we left as a precaution to see if he could feel them until I told him it would be okay. But still, we weren't exactly showing up with smiles and some of grandma's family banana bread as a peace offering.
Annabeth and Finn were driving around nearby and if Ben had done everything right with the transmitter, would be able to hear us if they were close enough in case we needed help. The same went for Travis, only he was supposedly in one of the buildings close by on a top floor. The area we were meeting wasn't in the city, which made Annabeth, Finn, and Travis keeping near us but not being spotted difficult but they had managed to find spots that Cameron found close enough to call safe.
We walked along a gravel path until there the buildings started to get replaced by trees. I wanted to glance behind me to see where the nearest building was to see how far away Travis might be, but refrained. The buildings that were still here weren't much and were practically transparent they were so destroyed so I knew he wouldn't be in any of them. There was a shed or trailer in the distance and a few trucks behind that.
Carlos stopped.
The door of the shed opened and three men excited, causing my breath to catch. They walked towards us and Carlos fell in line with us, standing beside Ben.
I studied the men as they got closer. One was around Cameron's age. He was bald but I could tell he did it on purpose and what I could only describe as crazy, beady eyes as they darted quickly around at the four of us.
The other two men were older than Cameron, closer in age to Scully it looked like. They had the wear and tear on them that said they'd been doing this for quite awhile. One had a leather jacket, gruff beard, and long hair. He kept pulling at his beard as he studied us. The other had a leather vest and a grin on that made my stomach curl on.
I pictured Cameron's face as we walked up here and tried to summon that energy he had, tried to steal any of it from him. I thought about all of the times Travis had stared down enemies and how he was able to almost click on that switch that told others to back the heck off of him. I wanted that right now. Cameron was a fool for asking me to come along.
The younger, bald man stopped a bit in front of us while the two older men kept walking forward, getting right in our space. I watched as the bearded jacket one went right up to Ben and grabbed at him. I didn't have time to watch for long, because the other one was shoving me out of Cameron's space so he could grab at Cameron. My tongue caught in my throat until I realized they were checking the boys for weapons.
"Gentlemen," the younger man said in greeting. "Lady."
The four of us kept quiet. The only noise you could hear was the shuffling of the men moving Ben and Cameron this way and that. I watched the man checking over Cameron with an eagle eye, trying to catalog every spot he touched on Cameron so I knew what to expect. When he got to Cameron's legs, the guy looked up at me and grinned. He was missing two teeth. He also had grease or dirt smudged on his face.
I felt eyes on me and looked away for a moment to see the younger one looking at me with those beady eyes. I wanted to shrink into Cameron's side but settled for staring at his face again to try to channel his anger or strength or whatever it was that kept that glare on his face.
"Is she yours?" the young one asked. "I'm surprised you brought her here."
"We were meeting with Lucky," Cameron answered, not exactly answering the guy's question.
The young guy sniffed and rubbed his nose for a second. "Yeah, you will."
The toothless, vest wearing creeper finished assaulting Cameron and I was too focused on the younger man speaking to notice. Without warning, his hands were on me.
I stiffened as he pulled this way and that at my shoulders and his arms invaded my neck.
He smelled. Horribly. The smell of rotting eggs was surrounding me and I tried my best to hold my breath, keeping my eyes trained on the man until this was over. I had every intention of counting to a hundred in my head as I prayed he didn't touch a knife or the transmitter and suffered in silence until this was over.
But then his hand squeezed my chest in a way that wasn't necessary, especially given his smile, and was too close to comfort to where the transmitter was. He had the tip of one of my knives pressed against him before I knew what was happening. It was one of the knives against my forearm, under my new jacket and I hardly had to reach to get it. Maybe he should've started with my arms instead of groping me.
He'd frozen in place, with his hand still clutching me as I held my knife against his clothing.
"I don't recall you asking if you could do that," I said.
The guy offered a half smile, still sleazy, before glancing down at his pants, which currently had a knife pressed threateningly between his legs. "I twitched."
"I hope I don't," I warned.
I expected Cameron to stop me or the co-workers of this guy to step in and stop me but no one was doing anything so I kept my glare on the rotten egg guy, breathing as slowly as possible to avoid the stench. I wasn't going to move until he did. Instead, Cameron just cleared his throat. I figured he wanted me to back off first or look his way but what he didn't understand was I was in a very, very sensitive spot right now. As in, I had finally found a spot where the rotten egg smell was at about a four out of ten and I was worried if I moved at all, I would be hit with that full smell to knock me out.
Rotten Egg broke eye contact first, looking at Cameron. "Did you pay for her?"
I fought to keep any expression off my face at the guy's words because I was still dealing with with a hand on my breast, close to the transmitter, and I had a knife on him that I wasn't even sure if I was supposed to have here. I doubted it.
"She's a Casey," Cameron said. So he was speaking. Just not to me so I took that as a good sign. He was plenty capable of telling me to back off if he wanted to.
The young guy laughed like a manic, "She's got spunk. How much will you take for her?"
Rotten Egg smiled, this time right in my face and I felt like maybe the smell was coming from his mouth because oh boy, did it double. "We know a few ways to break that little attitude problem of yours."
"Does your lack of hygiene have anything to do with it?" I whispered politely.
The guy reared back like I'd spit on him but it at least got his hand off me. But unfortunately, it was only so that he could fling it back to smack me. My eyes clamped shut when I saw it his hand reach the peak of the swing, knowing I was too close to him to really avoid him. His arm was too long and I didn't want to stab a guy and be the first one to make someone bleed because I was pretty sure Cameron would actually be mad at that.
There was a slapping noise, but the sting never hit my face. I opened my eyes to see the noise had come from Cameron's hand grabbing Rotten Egg's arm in a death grip. I untensed my shoulders and slid my knife back into its spot against my arm.
Cameron had his slingshot-to-the-sun glare directed at the younger guy when he spoke,"We're talking to Lucky now. Before someone loses a limb."
The older men stepped away from us. Well, the guy who had inspected Carlos stepped away from him. Cameron kind of shoved Rotten Egg. The younger guy sighed and started walking back towards the shed. When he reached the door, he started banging on it.
"They're clean," he yelled to the door before running back towards us. I could hear one of the older guys snickering and the one with the beard looked at me.
"He means harmless, babe," he said to me slowly like I didn't understand why the younger guy had possibly said we were clean when I had already pulled knives out. When I had been training, I knew I didn't want to use guns. I practiced relentlessly with knives with the hopes of making Sterling Dacosta pay for what he'd done. I wasn't an amateur but I wasn't going to correct him.
Nor was I going to correct him that my boyfriend hopefully had a eye trained on my red jacket and was told not to shoot unless someone was bleeding. He should be happy we were being harmless, if anything.
A equally old man came out of the shed in black attire. He had a hat on with long, wavy hair spilling out of it and more rings covering his fingers than I could focus on. I wondered if he was a fist fighter like Cameron, who I noticed would sometimes wear rings for extra impact or if this man just liked them. His hands were covered in tattoos that disappeared under his leather jacket, which was covered in patches.
"Carlos," the guy, Lucky, said as soon as he was close enough to us, "Cammie."
My spine straightened automatically at the name.
Lucky held his hands out by his sides, like he was welcoming us to this lovely one-shed, pile-of-crap land.
"Who are these?" Lucky asked, pointing at Ben and I when Cameron didn't greet him back. Lucky looked at the three other men as if they knew but they shook their heads, not knowing either and so he turned back to Cameron, "You don't usually come to these meetings and you bring two fresh faces to me I don't know? Where's your cousin?"
"Busy," was all Cameron said.
"Hmm. Tom?" Lucky continued but Cameron was silent so he pursed his lips to the side. "Jay? Max? You couldn't bring anyone else with you? Busy I suppose?"
Cameron didn't say anything.
Lucky hmm'ed again but quieter this time while observing Ben and I. "And what do you two do?"
"We have things to discuss," Cameron interrupted.
Lucky's calm, almost thoughtful expression turned grim in the blink of an eye as he looked at Cameron. "If we're discussing things, I'm going to know exactly who I'm discussing them with, boy."
His voice was sharp and authoritative and it was unsettling to hear someone use that tone against Cameron. Even more, it was odd to hear it and have him say nothing in return. But that was what we were here for, right? Because we were quiet. To not make ripples. If he wanted to know what we did, we could do that.
"Ben knows tech and Lacey works with me," Cameron answered for us.
Not quite but okay. I guess that was better than saying I generally snuck around for him. And previously worked for the police.
Rotten Egg stepped forward and whispered something to Lucky, which made him laugh as his eyes darted between Cameron and I. But then Rotten Egg started touching his own knee and I wondered if Cameron had tensed when Rotten Egg was touching it and he knew.
Lucky sprung forward, a hand stretched in offering to Ben who reluctantly shook it.
"Lucky. It's a pleasure to meet you. What's your last name, Ben?"
"Acker."
"That sounds familiar, I don't know why," he said, letting go of Ben's hand and pointing at him as he walked towards me. "But I'll think of it, don't worry. I always do."
I was watching Cameron watch the exchange like Lucky was about to burst into flames. He came to me and extended his hand to shake. The rings made his hand cold to the touch and I resisted the urge to shiver. Instead of letting go, Lucky's other arm grabbed the edge of my jacket and pushed up, revealing one of my knives.
"Clever girl," he turned towards Rotten Egg. "It's always the women you need to look out for." Lucky practically gave me whiplash with how fast he turned his gaze back on me, "He doesn't know, he wasn't a Casey. They don't operate this way here. Forgive him."
Lucky stepped back and released my arm like it was nothing.
"Were you one?" I asked, baffled even as I sent a glare at Rotten Egg because I had no intention of forgiving him.
"Once upon a time as the saying goes," he began, ready to spew off more but was cut off.
"Scully broke out of jail," Cameron interrupted, not giving Lucky a chance to continue asking us questions.
Lucky's eyes lit up with recognition and Scully's name alone made me want to throw a knife at Lucky for knowing him.
"How is Sullivan doing?" the man asked.
"He killed a special agent officer who was investigating gang activity in Melkin," I said as controlled as I could manage.
"Oh, sounds like you guys are in quite a pickle," Lucky laughed, tapping his fingers against his lips as a small smile spread.
"There's going to be more cops coming. Melkin's going to be crawling with them. I came to suggest cutting shipment to us for the time being," Cameron suggested.
Lucky snorted, "Not delivering to you guys?"
"There's all of the cops that will be sniffing around and the Dacostas are still causing problems," Cameron said.
Carlos spoke up, "Remember the shipment they fucked up the other day?"
Lucky nodded, still tapping his lip with his ringed fingers, "Yes. More trouble. Less hiding spots. You've got one, two, three problems. Cops, Dacostas, Dog. Where is your dog?"
Cameron didn't say anything.
The man walked over and studied our small group, eyes dancing over each of us for a moment before he tilted his head and regarded Cameron. The other older men walked around us so they were behind us and my skin started to crawl with nerves.
Lucky brushed his hands over his jacket like he was cleaning it off before stepping into Cameron's personal space and then before I knew it, he had one arm around Cameron's throat and the other had one of my knives pressed against his Adam's apple. I grabbed blindly at my forearm before raising my jacket to see the knife he had glanced at before was missing.
Thief.
My movement must have caught his attention because he sent me a wink. "Where is your dog, Cammie? You think if I press a little bit harder right here I'll find your dog, coming to get me?"
"No," Cameron said forcefully but I could tell it was more towards Travis and whatever he could hear if he was listening than for Lucky. He didn't want Travis to react right now.
Lucky nodded to the older man behind us with the beard who was behind us and pulled a small metal rod out out from his the inside of his jacket. I watched with a clenched jaw as he lined it up with Cameron's knee.
"Hey, there's no need for that," Carlos said, trying to cool down the group.
Ben went to grab at the guy behind Cameron but Rotten Egg blocked his way. I watched as the man crouching took a few fake practice swings, not yet touching Cameron yet Cameron didn't flinch throughout it all.
"What about now?" Lucky taunted.
I narrowed my eyes because he was threatening my friend about my boyfriend with my knife. I grabbed the knife on my other forearm and held it, pointing it directly in Lucky's face and not carrying if Cameron got mad at me for it.
"Tell your man to back off," I ordered.
Lucky looked at me with a raised eyebrow. He still had the knife pressed against Cameron's throat, which was the whole reason I didn't just go for the man with the rod in the first place. Lucky's free hand released from Cameron's neck and went to grasp my jaw..
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cameron shoulder Lucky and grab the knife from his hand. I pushed my own knife out, aiming it straight at Lucky's throat but not willing to make a mark on him because Cameron said to behave. Lucky's cold, jeweled fingers were clasped onto my cheeks so tightly I thought I was going to start bleeding.
And it was at that moment, Lucky's hat went flying clean off his head. He let go of my face and dropped to the floor in surprise. We both stared at the hat as it settled on the ground behind us, a bullet hole straight through the front and back of the top of it that didn't quite touch his head.
Lucky grabbed at his own head while I grabbed at my cheek in confusion. I glanced at the others to see everyone else looking at the hat except for Cameron, who was shaking out his bloody hand, eyes on the buildings in the distance. The bearded leather jacket man that had threatened to hit Cameron's knee with a rod was now kneeling on the ground holding his face with blood coming out of his nose.
Cameron held the knife that he hadn't used but stolen back from Lucky out to me. I slowly put it back.
"Let's go. We're done here," he said and we all started walking away. I wasn't worried about the others being behind us. Not when I knew Travis could see us if they tried anything.
"Wait, wait!" Lucky was strangely excited.
Cameron sighed but stopped.
"How many dogs do you have, Cammie? Give me one." Lucky's gaze shifted quickly between his hat, Cameron, and me, again and again. "I'll talk to the boss. Tell him it's not safe for us to sell here for a little bit if you do me a favor."
"I don't do favors."
"Bring me Scully. We'll give you a break to get your cop problem under control. Even help you with the Dacostas if you want."
"I don't need help with the Dacostas," Cameron said.
Especially when we were planning on ditching the whole town but you know, details weren't important right now.
"Scully," Lucky repeated. "I need to have a conversation with that rat."
Cameron didn't say anything but nodded before turning back around.
How exactly were we supposed to deliver Scully to someone? He hardly seemed like he would go along with the idea or hold still long enough for us to put a big red bow on his head when we finally did get him.
When we were far enough from the suppliers, I leaned my head close to my chest and whispered a "Thanks" in case he was still listening.
On the drive back, Ben helped me disconnect the transmitter but all in all, we didn't talk much. I didn't know if it was because Carlos was in he car or Cameron wanted to wait until everyone was around. Instead, I looked out the window and the whole way back my eyes were stuck to the walls of the buildings and the abandoned cars. They were covered in graffiti with Casey tags and taunts and confidence and when we got into the main hub of Melkin, I noticed a plume of smoke rising in the distance.
"What's that?" I asked to the quiet car.
Ben opened his phone and showed me a picture message he'd received of a car on fire. "It's a Dacosta car."
I remembered Cameron had told the Caseys to have fun but... "Did you not tell them to back off? With the whole incoming Dylan problem?"
"The extra cops aren't here yet," was his answer. "They're having fun."
When we arrived at the spot we'd met up with Carlos originally, we got out of his car and he drove off. Our car was parked around the corner, hopefully not vandalized or on fire.
"Are you mad at me?" I asked quietly before we started to walk.
Cameron grabbed my shoulder for support and I let him. He grabbed Ben's with his other hand and we very slowly started to hobble to the car.
"No. I know what you're like."
I bit my lip as I looked at the ground, trying to figure out how to take that and if it was a good or bad thing.
"You did good," he said. "You both did."
"Of course I did. It's not that hard to keep your mouth shut, is it," Ben stated as confidently as he could but I could tell he was trying to joke around to lighten the mood.
When we finally got to the car, my heart soared at the sight of Travis perched on the hood of the SUV. His eyes found mind immediately and the intensity of them made my stomach flip.
He was still staring at me hard as he jumped off the hood and started walking towards us.
"Great job listening today," Cameron said to him but it came out strained and I knew he was in pain from standing for so long. I couldn't tell if his hand had any of his blood on it or it was all from that other guy. I just knew it was covered in dried blood at this point.
This caused Travis' eyes to leave mine and narrow on Cameron. "I did listen."
"That's what I said."
"I waited until I saw blood," he argued, coming between Cameron and I to support him so I wouldn't have to anymore.
"I know you did," Cameron said.
Travis looked like he was working out a math equation. "You're the one that caused the blood. I didn't even shoot the guy."
"I'm complimenting you," Cameron sighed. "I'm not being sarcastic."
Travis looked at him from the corner of his eyes and didn't say anything but a part of me felt like he still didn't trust the compliment from Cameron and I fought to roll my eyes. He practically dumped Cameron into the passenger seat, with Ben trying to be more cautious with him, before turning around and finding me behind them.
His arms wrapped around me and scooped me up off the ground, my own securing around his neck as he twirled me in a circle. He stayed upright, keeping me off the ground and holding me tight to his body with his head buried in my hair.
"I missed you, gorgeous," he whispered.
"I love you," I told him.
He pulled back just enough so I could see his smile before dropping down to give me a quick kiss. He put me back on my feet and when we were turning to go back to the car, Cameron apparently had gotten impatient because he honked the horn.
"Holy fuck," Travis complained loud enough so Cameron could hear as he walked me around to the driver's seat and opened the door. "Can you imagine what a grump he's going to be like when he's old?"
I ducked out of the way as Cameron threw something at Travis.
"We're not even going to know when he starts losing it," Travis muttered, picking whatever it was up off the ground before running to the backseat.
"Be nice," I said because Cameron was probably in a lot of pain and didn't need Travis irritating him any. "Besides, we have more important things to worry about other than Cameron's old age."
"Kiss up," Ben whispered under his breath as I started the car and I heard Travis snickering with him.
I banged my forehead on the steering wheel.
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