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THEY SAT ON the couch, beers in hand, and let the silence fight for them. Karl had picked her up from the police station only an hour before, and though he hadn’t said a word, she knew he was annoyed with her. He rarely spoke anyways, but he hadn’t met her eyes once, nor could she find the hint of smile under his mustache that she had learned to track.
Leo winced as she lit a cigarette, the knuckles on both her hands already bruising and swollen. The cops hadn’t asked her too many questions, hadn’t really cared that a scrappy girl managed to rough up a guy who apparently was drunk in public more than he was anything else. She’d been in a holding cell for eight hours, and then she’d been let out to meet Karl in his anemic car. It had been an abnormally difficult eight hours; not only did it piss her off that she could have avoided the whole thing altogether if she’d just used her words, but she also hated the fact that Karl felt he could tell her what to do as she was carted away to County. She’d only gotten maybe two hours of sleep and spent the rest of the time wondering why the fuck she made so much money using her words only to be ordered not to, especially at a time when they would have been far more helpful than not.
“I was doing my job,” Leo said, looking at the man beside her and hoping he’d acknowledge her presence somehow. Karl grunted. “And I didn’t say a thing to the cops.”
Karl only chugged his beer and lit another cigarette. They started early at just before noon, but Leo wasn’t going to complain. She just wanted an explanation for the silence and what so obviously felt like blame. When another few minutes passed, she realized she had either fucked something up really bad, or Karl was in another world altogether.
“What the fuck did I do wrong?” she asked.
He leaned over and held the beer bottle between his legs. “Nothing, Leo,” he sighed. She could hear his heavy swallow when he looked up at the ceiling. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I know you didn’t talk to the cops, didn’t use your words. It’s just...” He stopped to run a hand through his hair, his head hanging almost between his own knees. Leo thought he looked really fucking tired. “This happened in front of the Purple Lion. We just have to be careful about our connections with people... and how they’re made.”
“With Louis?” she asked. Karl leaned back to give her a short-lived but pointed glance out of the corner of his eye. “Why?”
A loud knock rapped on the door. Leo stared at Karl, hoping he’d give in and tell her something, but whoever their visitor was had already distracted him too much. He still didn’t return her gaze when he stood from the couch.
She didn’t find any recognition on his face when he answered the door. As soon as it opened, a giant chest barreled Karl out of the way, followed by the gaudy velvet and overindulgently slick hair of Louis. The Lord of the Beat retained his usual, flippant composure, but he wore a scent Leo thought smelled like fear. His eyes burned as he caught sight of her, though that was his only giveaway.
“Had a lovely visit with the city police, did you?” His voice was as silky as his clothing, though it failed to conceal as much. His companion, a giant of a man, wore a shiny silver vest over a dark blue oxford shirt, the buttons of which strained to hold in his chest and giant belly beneath. He seized a metal folding chair, jamming it upon the floor in front of Leo, and Karl was left to close the door behind them. Louis approached the chair, swiping at the seat with a manicured hand before setting himself upon it like a dainty housewife.
Leo glanced at Karl, who leaned against the rim of the sink, arms folded across his chest. Then she noticed the knife there, at his left elbow, just in case. He didn’t say a thing. She took another drag of her cigarette and met Louis’ gaze again.
“Something makes me think you might enjoy their friendship more than mine.” Louis plucked an invisible hair from his shoulder, sprinkling it to the side. She didn’t respond. Louis tucked his already plastered hair behind his ear and met her gaze with purpose. “Tell me.” He spoke through his teeth. “Tell me that you and I are still friends.”
She took another drag, letting the smoke out toward their visitors. She’d cater to the man at his club, when she worked for him. But she was off the clock, and this was where she fucking lived—for now. “I tell stories, Louis,” she said, and the sound of her voice instantly triggered the fog in his eyes. “But I don’t talk to cops. And I did my job. You and I are square.”
A lopsided smile split his tidied face, and he nodded. Then he took a deep breath, smoothed his oiled hair again. “Yes.” He sniffed. “You and I are right with one another.” His bodyguard shook his head, her short beat having affected him as well. Louis turned very slightly in his chair. “But Karl and I are not.”
Karl’s eyes widened only a little, and he raised his head. Nothing else.
“Karl and I have unfinished business, left unattended for quite some time. I believe you, Leo.” His eyes did not leave Karl’s face as he addressed her. “Your... mentor, however, must also clean up the mess you’ve made. How many drinks have you had today, Karl?”
Karl only nodded at the half-empty beer bottle beside the couch, his jaw flexing in defiance.
“Not enough to keep you quiet this afternoon.” Louis crossed his legs. “Let’s hear it from you, too.”
Karl uncrossed his arms and stood straight. “Hold on, now.” He glanced at Leo, discomfort and guilt flashing in his dark eyes. “You know the reason I don’t—”
“I know the reason,” Louis said. “But your girl here has put me in quite an uncomfortable position, dogs on my trail and all. You owe me, Karl. Spin a beat for me now, for the sake of Leo’s loyalty, and I will continue to pay you, let you work for me. Refuse me, and I will turn you both in. How long have you been running, exactly?”
Karl swallowed, his beard bristling as his jaw worked in anger and forced composure. He glanced at Leo again, who could only frown at him. She couldn’t do a thing, had absolutely no idea what Louis was talking about. Leo hadn’t done anything wrong, except for maybe taking her job a bit too seriously the night before. Sometimes she snapped like that. Rarely, but it still happened. But that had nothing to do with Karl, and she’d already been turned in and released. So what the fuck were they talking about? She stared back and forth from one man to the other in the next few moments of silence.
“I got the call from Melissa earlier this afternoon,” Karl began, glaring into Louis’ face as his words took hold.
Leo had never felt anything like it, the warm sensation blooming in her stomach, spreading through her shoulders and arms, tingling in her feet. Sighing, her head drifting backwards, she sank into the couch. She heard the lilt of Karl’s voice, his short pauses, but could not place the words. All the world had become a warm fog, melting her, and she was vaguely aware of the beer in her hand tipping out of her grasp. The lived-in garage faded away, and all that existed was Karl’s humming voice and the magic in her veins.
When he finished, there were a few long minutes of silence before the light returned to Leo’s eyes, and she sighed. The fog lifted, the warmth faded, and she felt it leave with a sweet longing. She opened her eyes to find Louis smoothing his oiled hair back onto his head, wiping a single bead of sweat from his brow.
“Oh, yes.” His voice was a sigh, and he straightened his jacket. His eyes were still hazy when he opened them, but his toothy smile was sweeter than usual. “Karl, I have so missed your words. It’s a pity you’re so adamant about keeping them to yourself.” He leaned his head back, breathing deeply through his nose and shaking his oiled curls.
Karl leaned against the sink again, knuckles white at his sides. His nostrils flared as he stared at the back wall, never looking at Louis, or at Leo. The bodyguard by the door snorted, shook his head, and a thin, dopey smile spread across his dull lips.
“Leo.” She swallowed at Louis’ voice. “Your friend has won you back my trust. You owe him for what he’s just done.” He stood, again brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves, and nodded at his companion. The giant man swung the door wide and waited for Louis to skirt through it, who called over his shoulder. “I’ll see you two soon.”
Karl’s home felt quieter than usual, despite the hum of the minifridge. Leo remembered her beer and righted it. Half of it had drained away, leaving a sweet stain on the cushion beside her. “I had no idea that you—”
Karl’s eyes caught hers in a flash of anger and pain, cutting her off with their knifelike intensity. His lower lip trembled, and for a moment, she thought he was going to tell her everything. Instead, he shouldered his way through the door, pulled it firmly shut behind him, and left her alone in the yeasty smell of beer.