"I want her in the ground," Julio was saying. "That bitch and her trained Shifter."
"You're going to leave her alone," Pablo said sharply. "What the hell did you go in there for? You were going to get, what, maybe two grand, tops?"
Julio shrugged. "I'd get what I'd get."
"What you got was a trial for armed robbery." Pablo balled his hands until the skin pulled against his knuckles. He'd promised their mother he'd look after Julio, even though the kid was a big screw-up. Pablo was fifteen years older than Julio, and he swore that Julio was part of the reason their mother had died of the heart attack.
Pablo had learned on that cruel day that all his money and all his success couldn't keep him from losing the one person in the world he loved. Now he was stuck taking care of Julio and trying to make the best of it.
He continued. "First of all, you didn't scout the place. There was a Shifter in there, a big one. The guy had to be seven feet tall, and you never noticed him? Dios mio, what do you use for brains?"
"I scouted plenty. I watched that bitch every night for two weeks. I know where she lives and what kind of truck she drives, and what she does after work--which is nothing--she has a boring life. Shooting her would be doing her a favor. I did everything I was supposed to, Pablo."
"Yeah, well, that Shifter didn't just grow in there. You are telling me you never saw him walk in?"
"No. I bet he was there in her back room before I got there. I bet she was f**king him. I bet she gets off f**king Shifters in her office."
Pablo held on to his patience with effort. Julio liked the F-word and enjoyed opportunities to use it.
"So what if she does?" Pablo asked. "The point is, he was there, and you didn't know it. It would have been justified if he'd killed you."
Julio looked offended. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying you screwed up. You decided to pull a smalltime job and then you messed it up by being careless. You're an idiot."
"I want that bitch to pay!"
"And she will. But my way. I'm trying not to draw attention to myself, and you are very definitely drawing attention. Killing her obviously will only make it worse, so don't even think about trying it."
Julio looked pensive. "What do you mean, killing her obviously?"
"A drive-by, an execution, even a car accident--anything suspicious will point back to you, and then I'll be up to my ass in cops. I don't want to be up to my ass in cops. Understand?" Pablo stopped at Julio's guilty expression. "Why? What have you done now?"
Julio's voice was so quiet Pablo had to strain to hear him. "I sent Menendez and his brother to wait for her and follow her home."
Pablo rose, fists on his desk. "You know, Julio, if anyone else in my crew acted like you, I'd lose them. You get away with this shit because you're my brother, and I promised Mamita I'd take care of you. Get on your phone and call them back."
"What the f**k? Damn it, Pablo, if you override my order, I'll never have any cred."
"Cred. You watch too many movies. Get them back here, now. I can still bust your ass, and I'll do it."
Julio said a few dark things, but he took out his cell phone.
Pablo sat back down and started making calls of his own. He needed to do something about the woman with the store, because she was a witness against Julio, and Pablo couldn't afford to have his brother going to prison right now. He'd put the bitch in her place, but he'd do it more subtly than Julio ever could. As for the Shifter--well, Pablo knew how to take care of Shifters. The Shifter would be the least of their problems.
He ignored his sulky little brother, gathered the reins of his power, and went to work.
Chapter Seven
Spike came back in to report around three. Ronan talked to him alone in the office, Elizabeth busy out front. She had expressed concern that people would stay away when they found out there'd been an attempted robbery at her store, but apparently, curiosity was a greater motivator than fear.
"Saw a car with two guys," Spike said. "They went by a couple of times, slowing down to watch the shop. Fourth time they went by, one of the guys was on the phone, then all the sudden, they take off. Haven't seen them since."
"Did they see you?" Ronan asked.
"No one sees me if I don't want them to."
"Anything else?" Ronan asked.
"No, just those guys. I'll keep an eye out for them."
"Thanks."
Spike shrugged. "Hey, it's my job." He went out the back door to the alley, his movements spare and quiet.
Ronan watched from the office doorway as Elizabeth went about her business. She was a natural at selling, he decided. He watched her greet her customers, talking to them in a friendly way without getting too personal. This was a novelty store, which meant she sold everything from T-shirts with funny logos to plastic handcuffs. Nothing distasteful, just fun stuff that people mostly bought as gifts for friends. The customers tended to be upbeat, laughing with each other over the zany thing they'd give whoever for a birthday, retirement, anniversary, bridal shower, bachelor party.
Elizabeth had a way of putting people at their ease, helping them find exactly the right thing. Ronan saw, though, that she maintained a distance. That made sense while she sold things to perfect strangers, but he'd noticed it at the house too. Elizabeth didn't let anyone get too close. She was friendly, yes, but any personal question was deftly turned aside or evaded.
Ronan had asked Sean to run her name in the database. Sean had access to a vast network, built by Guardians over the last two decades, which contained more information than any non-Shifter could possibly imagine. Humans didn't know about this network, which ran on a lot of technical know-how coupled with a little bit of magic. Only Guardians knew how to access it, and only Guardians were allowed to use it--Guardians being those Shifters who stuck their swords into the bodies of dead or near-dead Shifters to send their souls to the afterlife.
Sean had run Elizabeth's name but turned up nothing. She had no police record, not even a minor traffic ticket, and neither did Mabel. Elizabeth was thirty, according to her driver's license, and had lived in Austin for about six years, owning the store called SoCo Novelties for five. She'd bought the business as a whole from the previous owner who'd retired.
Ronan thought about how she'd skillfully plucked Kim's card from his pocket, and wondered again. Elizabeth Chapman had picked pockets before, and she fought like a street kid. Juvenile records were sealed, sure, but not to the Guardians. They could hack anything.