Family Matters

Chapter 6

Not immediately leaving Happy's, Rory lingered in the kitchen with her gun still raised, inwardly debating with herself.

"This is getting old," Happy growled

Her dark eyes darted toward him. "Tell me about it. I've been looking for this dude for a while."

"Who is he?" Happy looked at the photo again.

"A piece of shit," she hissed. "He's a South African working in Cali, mainly smuggling, but one of his crews kidnapped my client's fifteen year old daughter and is trying to sell her off as some teen bride sex slave."

Happy pulled a face, judgmental and disgusted despite the things he'd done in his lifetime. "You trying to get her back?"

"That's not my job," Rory explained. "I have to find him, his whole set up, but there's someone else working on bringing Dana home."

"If he's such a big deal why can't you find him?"

"I don't do that," she laughed. "I find people by gathering bits and pieces, I work my way up, cause busting in guns blazing isn't going to get me anything except a bullet." She shrugged. "Besides he's well padded and even though he's a badass he's elusive and crazy secretive."

"Or you're shit at your job," he scoffed. "Get out of my house."

"Happy, your sister," Rory was suddenly serious. "I think she's involved with him. Elvira is why I'm here, on my way to him you were my next stop. That's why I was at the Nord's place the other day."

With a blinding rage, Happy reached out with his injuries and still bloody hand and grabbed her gun. Rory didn't panic, she kicked him in the stomach and sent him back against the cabinets but in the struggle the gun had gone off. The bullet tore through the fridge and was lodged in the drywall behind it.

"Jesus," he shouted. "Psycho."

"You're the one who came at me," she spat. "I'm just giving you a heads up. Your sister is off the grid, she's not easy to find but you were."

"She's not that stupid," he said quickly.

"Trust me, Bastian is a charmer. You think South Africa and you don't think of this suave motherfucker. She might not even know the shit he does, not all of it, at least."

"He's in Cali?"

"Yep."

"She's been all across the country for the last few years," he shrugged. "Guess it ain't her."

Rory pursed her lips and shrugged. "Yeah, guess you're right." Pulling a cash roll from her jeans she slapped a few hundred dollar bills on the counter. "For the fridge."

"If I get a line on this guy how do I contact you?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Really?"

"Yeah," he shrugged. "Teenage sex slaves are a fucked up business."

Rory nodded and grabbed a pen off the counter. She scribbled her burner number on one of the hundred dollar bills and pushed it toward him.

"Thanks," she cracked a small smile. "Good luck with your sister. From what I read she's a goddamn handful."

"Get out," he ordered again but with less hatred than before.

Winking, she slipped out, the gun never leaving him until she pulled the door shut behind her. Happy growled, throwing his fists into the already ruined refrigerator until his knuckles bled.

"She's gonna get me killed," he grumbled as he pulled his phone from his pocket. He called his sister but unsurprisingly she didn't answer. "El, call me back. We gotta talk."