tell me you’re leaving.”
His tone and the pleading in his eyes said Jas couldn’t take another blow. Not today.
Maureen’s dimpled smile widened. “Like you could get rid of me that easily, handsome. I figured you must’ve heard by now.”
The amusement in her eyes dimmed as she nodded towards the TV mounted on the wall. “I guess not. Hang on.” Even in anger and frustration, his gaze lingered on her ass when she turned to grab the remote and unmute the TV.
That meant he wasn’t anywhere close to the breaking point. Yet.
Maureen cranked the volume on the TV closest to our table and Jasper groaned as the story aired.
“Parochial Vicar, deputy to beloved local priest Bishop Dietrich Mueller was found murdered earlier today in an alley off of Seventh Street and Liddell Avenue known for drugs, prostitution and crime. Authorities say robbery does not appear to be the motive as he was found with his wallet and valuables. Is this part of a recent crime spree or another hate crime against members of the clergy? Tanya Torres has more. Tanya?”
Jasper grabbed the Jameson’s with fire in his eyes. “Fuck me, this shit doesn’t end!” He pulled the cork on the bottle and poured until both glasses were filled to the brim. “Thanks Mo.”
“No problem. You boys want something to soak up the booze?” Her gaze bounced between us, a haunted look now in her eyes.
“Fish and chips with extra tartar for me, thanks Mo.”
She glared at me. “Mo now, am I, Ter?”
I shrugged. “Extra fries too. Maureen.”
“That’s better. And you Jasper, what’ll it be?”
“Just the stew of the day and biscuits. Lots and lots of biscuits. Please.”
Her lips quirked into an amused grin that Jasper missed and she shrugged. “Coming up soon. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I figured you wanted to know.”
“You did the right thing, and I appreciate it.”
“Yep.”
As soon as Maureen was out of ear shot, Jasper turned to me with a look of disbelief on his face. “What the fuck?”
We both knew exactly what the fuck, or rather who. “Another dead priest isn’t exactly a reason to mourn. I’m just sad it’s not Mueller. That would make both our lives a little easier.”
“A lot fucking easier,” he growled. “But this is close enough to Mueller to be seen as a threat.” And the Ashby family was the only group brave enough to take that fucker on, and it was no secret in certain circles in Glitz.
It wasn’t a threat so much as it was a promise that more dead priests would turn up, and soon, until the matter was solved. Until then, every so-called man of God should be worried. “What do you want to do about it?”
“I want you to keep an eye on Kat. She’s not gonna like it, and she’ll probably fight you every step of the way, but I need you to keep her safe.”
“You know I will.” There was nothing I wouldn’t do for the Ashby family and Kat especially, but Jasper didn’t need to know that. He had enough shit on his plate as it was. “I’ll head over to Emerald Isle as soon as I finish my fish and fries.”
Jasper shook his head. “Another dead priest means the Feds will show their heads around again. And soon.”
And when law enforcement started digging around, they always found a reason to stick around until they found something to justify their digging.
“Fucking Feds,” I grumbled. “You have any idea who’s killing the priests? Isn’t Rhymer in with them?” I took one last shot of whiskey just before Maureen arrived with the food. I needed to be clear headed to keep Kat safe, and to avoid any stupid mistakes that might make shit weird between me and my best friend.
“No idea. But I’ll get to the bottom of it.” Jasper took another long drink and said, “These fuckers think they can get over on us, but they have another think coming.”
I just nodded.
We finished most of our meal in silence, both of us lost in thought about too much shit to voice. We had done as much talking as either of us planned to do, so we let the carbs and the grease soak up the alcohol until I stood, ready to see Kat. Again.
“We should have Cal look into who purchased that green Lambo,” I said, “just for peace of mind.”
Jas looked up from his pool of troubled thoughts. “He’s already on it. Brendan had to get it from