Snow Blind - Lori G. Armstrong [87]
“Why?” I exhaled. “She Jackal’s weakness?”
“No. Meth is Nyla’s weakness. She’ll surface when her supply runs out. Our sources swear she hasn’t 309
made a buy since the night you saw her at Dusty’s.”
“So? Why couldn’t someone else be buying it for her?”
“See, that’s a logical assumption. But crank heads ain’t logical. That’s why they’re addicts. We’re thinking she’ll make contact with the supplier tonight or tomorrow night. The other thing; Nyla trades sex for extra hits. The main supplier she uses is into kinky shit and Nyla gets off on being the only chick around who’ll do the nasty stuff. It’s another drug for her.”
I bit my curious tongue. Nyla’s need for kink wasn’t my business. “How’s this work? You get the call, I’ll go to where’s she’s being held and grab her?”
“No. The suppliers agreed to help us only if the shit don’t go down at their place. She’ll take her first hit at the suppliers, then take her stash back to wherever she’s been hiding. If she’s high she might not pick up on the tail. But we can’t take a chance on multiple vehicles in pursuit, especially ones she recognizes, because she’ll definitely notice that.”
“Might not?”
“Don’t ever underestimate her. Drug addicts are paranoid, so again, this is why she’s been so slippery.”
“Or you have someone on the inside feeding Jackal information on your plans.”
Big Mike’s jaw flexed. “Had being the operative word. I ain’t gonna tell you who. But at least we know why it was so easy for the shooter to get at Tony.”
Had to be someone working at Bare Assets. An 310
Hombres pledge? A bartender? A bouncer? A cocktail waitress? A couple of months passed since I’d slung drinks at the strip club as a favor to Martinez. I’d made more enemies than friends with the staff. Throwing in with Jackal was stupid and the snitch deserved whatever punishment had been—or would be—meted out.
“You still haven’t told me what I’ll do with Nyla once I track her.”
“Keep her under surveillance. We’ll see if Jackal shows. If he doesn’t, then you’ll go in and grab her.”
“Right. A paranoid, hopped-up meth-head is
gonna just open the fucking door to me? You trying to get me killed? Or just arrested for kidnapping?”
“You’re tough as shit, Julie. Knock her ass out if she fights you.”
“Why me? Why not use a Hombres member who’s trained in this stealthy crap?”
“Because you volunteered, remember?”
Me and my big mouth. I had said I’d do anything to catch Jackal.
“Besides, we’re not sure Jackal doesn’t have someone else inside the Hombres working with him to tip him off. That’s why we’re keeping this between you and me.”
“Let’s say I’m successful and I grab her. What next?”
“Then you’ll bring her to me. We’ll detain her until the drugs in her system wear off. She’ll be so 311
desperate for her fix she’ll tell us what we want to know.”
After sucking down the last bit of my own fix, I crushed out my Marlboro. “There’s a flaw in that line of thinking.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because Jackal wouldn’t blab his secrets to a crack whore and he wouldn’t give a shit what you did to her.”
“He would if the crackhead was his sister.”
“Get out. Jackal and Nyla are related? How come I didn’t know that?”
“It’s not common knowledge. In fact, Jackal don’t know we know. Sick deal because they use a sexual relationship to throw everyone off, but they’re both so fucking perverted they get off on it. So see, he’s counting on the fact we’ll discount her as nothing to him but a stupid meth-head chick he fucks and beats up from time to time.”
“Jesus. That’s disgusting. Who knows this?”
“Me. Martinez. Now you.”
“How’d you figure it out?”
He smirked. “Interested in my investigative technique, PI?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Nyla showed up two weeks after Jackal was installed in the enforcer’s position. Bugged me she’s always had inside info she shouldn’t and she seemed to be around even more after we put Jackal in lock312
down. One night, I . . . ah, took one for the team, so to speak.”
“Eww.”
“Yeah. Made sure she wouldn’t remember me asking the questions, just the false info I planted to see