us. Thankfully, Shepherd’s sense of direction is a whole hell of a lot better than mine because he wanders down winding roads until we end up on the bad side of town. The yards are overgrown and the people lingering outside give us looks that Shepherd ignores. No one fucks with us, though, which might be in part due to Shepherd. Even though he’s not overly muscled, he just exudes this aura that tells you to back off. He looks like he knows what he’s doing and I think it’s more than just a look.
The house Shepherd walks up to is back past a large overgrown patch of land. The landscaping looks better than most of the houses, but it still appears run down. It seems like out this far we aren’t as readily noticed, but I’m sure that in this neighborhood, most people just look the other way no matter what’s happening.
Shepherd walks up to the house and hammers on the door. There’s silence for a few minutes as he impatiently waits, glancing behind us every few moments. When the door opens and a woman looks out, she’s clearly surprised by our presence.
“S-Shepherd, I didn’t know you were coming.” It doesn’t seem to be a pleasant surprise, but she’s not acting hostile. I wonder if she already knows what’s going on.
“Sorry, I didn’t have a phone to call. Can we talk?”
“Yes! Of course.” She stands in a way that keeps the door closed around her, like she isn’t sure she’s planning on letting us past it even if her words are agreeing with us.
“Inside,” Shepherd says.
She hesitates before pulling the door open and waving us inside. Shepherd turns in a way that keeps him from ever turning his back on her as I wander in with the dog that Shepherd made me lead. He told me that I was basically useless, so I could at least hold on to the dog.
“What can I do for you, Shepherd?”
“Is anyone else home?” he asks.
She shakes her head. “Just me.”
“Okay. Great. I would like you to keep my presence quiet, and I would love it if you could get me a gun and two IDs.”
She folds her arms over her chest as she stares at Shepherd. I’m not sure if she necessarily fears Shepherd, but there’s something to her look, like she’s wary of him. Like he’s a snake that could bite at any moment.
“Do you know who is after you?” she asks, as if we could be uncertain about the predicament we’re in.
“I’m aware.”
“You shot Tony? Are you losing your fucking mind? And all for some fucking police chief’s son?”
“He was going to kill him for no reason beyond trying to prove a point. Killian’s done nothing wrong.”
She looks at me and I feel like she can see right through me. “That you know of,” she says.
And I realize she’s right. How much would Shepherd hate me if he knew what I know—what I’ve done? Would he leave me? Would he kill me? I feel like those are the only two options and for some reason, I find myself fearing the former the most. I know I barely know Shepherd, I know I can’t just throw everything at this man who is probably only in it for the money, but I also know that I need him to help me. I need him there for me because I’ve lost my fucking way and I feel like with him, I’ve finally figured it out.
“So?”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. I don’t want to get in trouble over your fuck up.”
“I’m willing to pay double,” he says.
She bites her lip as she rocks back on her heels. It’s clear she could use some money.
“You can tell them I held you at gunpoint, I don’t give a flying fuck. You wait long enough for us to get on the first flight out of here and you can give them the ID names or anything you fucking want.”
“Tony’ll just follow you. No matter where you go, he will find you. You know Delta’s like a fucking hound dog. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s watching us now.”
“Danielle, I need this.”
She stares at him, but I can’t tell if it’s stubbornness or something else. “Three times as much.”
“Two and a half,” Shepherd says.
She nods. “I’ll have to work on the computer.”
“That’s fine.”
She heads back to a hallway, which she goes down as Shepherd follows her closely. I lead the dog after them, but about halfway down