The Rules of Survival (Mercer #1)

RoS Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Justice came back at three in the morning, looking haggard and distracted.

Gin wasn't with him, something Sal picked up on immediately. He sat straighter in his chair and craned his head, like one glance around Justice would answer his next question.

"Gin?"

Justice blinked at Sal, and I could see the word sink in slowly. "I dropped her home so she could sort out some things. She'll be back in the morning."

Sal breathed out a very audible sigh of relief. The action alone set me on edge; if he was so certain something had happened to Gin while they'd been visiting the mysterious Callahan Cordero, what did it mean that nothing had gone down at all? Because although Justice appeared to be in need of a good night's sleep and some recovery time for previous injuries, he didn't seem too worse for wear after his outing.

Just to be sure, I asked, "Do I need to grab the first aid kit?"

Justice snapped his head around to gape at me, clearly startled. "What? Why, are you bleeding?"

"Uh, no. Why would I ask you about the first aid kit if it was me bleeding? The last time I checked, I didn't need your permission to help myself."

"Then why..." his voice trailed off and he pivoted to face Sal, who was still seated in the arm chair. The picture of innocence, Sal raised his eyebrows.

Justice's face blanked, his voice carrying a razor sharp edge. "You're walking a fine line, Black. Keep gum flapping about shit you shouldn't be, and it won't be me who comes down hard on you. I won't have to."

Rising to stand, Sal took heed of Justice's warning, but had something of his own to add. "I haven't broken any rules, and besides that I've only been talking to one girl, not the entire city." He glanced at me before focusing on Montoya again. "I told Ioney nothing more than she needed to know; nothing more than I could reveal."

Sighing, Justice sat down on the sofa beside me, so close our thighs touched. "Just keep it that way. After tonight, I'm thinking things are going to get a little... complicated."

"Qué quieres decir?" Sal said, switching to Spanish. If I wasn't so tired myself, I would have made the effort to scowl at him. Or hunt down a Spanish to English dictionary.

"Despues hablamos," Justice replied, aggravating me that much more. Where I could only speak one language, he could speak fluently in three.

"Dimelo ahora!" Sal exclaimed, and while I had no idea what he was saying, I could detect a hint of stubbornness in his tone.

"Eres muy tonto. Hablamos más tarde." Justice was about to say something else and stumbled over his words. Startling us both, he switched back to good old English. "God damn it, you know I hate speaking Spanish. Since we're not about to have this conversation anyway, speak in a language I don't have to think twice about."

Sal gave him a wan smile. "Sorry, hombre, I don't know any Italian."

Justice was not amused. He glowered at Sal in a way that suggested he might get violent and hit him before the night was out. "Right now, all you need to know is that Gin is fine. I'm fine. And Callahan's happy."

Sal wasn't ecstatic over the news. On the contrary, he blanched and swore in disbelief. "What did you do?"

"I said not now," Justice barked, and his body tensed like he was preparing to get physical.