Make It Right (26 page)

“I just told you that...” she trailed off as the bald man got out of the driver's side of the car.

“Send the guys out.” Danny started down the steps as Jillian went up. He wasn't sure that she'd heard him or why Joseph Miller was getting out of the car. “Joseph.”

“Danny.” The man nodded, the bandages nearly completely covering him almost glowed beneath the streetlight, which gave a surreal feeling to the moment. “Forgive me for showing up at your home unannounced, but I didn't want to wait until later.”

“What's on your mind?” Danny was still trying to figure out if this was a good thing or a bad thing. One thing was for sure, he never wanted to play poker with either man, because nothing was showing on their faces. He heard the front door open, the sound of heavy steps on the porch. Danny didn't need to turn to know that all of Nightshade was behind him.

“First, my condolences for the loss of your man, even though he wasn't really your man anymore.”

“We're sorry for the loss too.”
Buster spoke up. “Royal was a good man who lost his way. He seemed to have found it again in the end, though. We've got a witness who saw what happened.”

“So do I.” Joseph smiled. “Did you really think that I wouldn't have someone watching?”

“I expected that you would,” Buster replied. Danny knew him well enough to know that he was lying just from his tone of voice, but Joseph didn't. It had never occurred to him, either, that Joseph Miller would have someone keeping eyes on Missy, but it told him that the man hadn't wanted to make finding her easy on them.

“I like that about you. You're a thinker, I can tell, but I also feel like you're not afraid to act, either. I look forward to continuing to work with you all. We have much to be done. The things that Mark did, well, they've got to be made right.”

“We're looking forward to it as well.”

“Fantastic. Now, with Mark gone, I obviously needed to replace him. I'd like you all to meet Smoke.” He motioned to the bald man, who smiled. It was an exceptionally unnerving smile. Danny decided immediately that he didn't ever want to get on Smoke's bad side. “He will be my right hand from now on. Being given a job by him will be the same as being given a job by me. Unlike Mark, he is well aware of what lines should never be crossed.” Joseph glanced at his watch. “We must be going. My wife pitches a fit if I'm late for dinner.”

“We'll talk soon,” Buster replied. “Enjoy your meal.” They all stood there until the car had pulled away. “I think that he's probably crazier than Mark. It's going to be in our best interest to figure out a plan B.”

“If we ever make a move on Miller, we'll need to take out Smoke first. I'm not sure that's going to be an easy task, even for me. He's a special kind,” Train said with a sort of reverence to his voice.

“I think that we should all call it a night. Tomorrow will be another long day. I imagine that we'll have a visit from Harris, at the least,” Buster spoke up. “We're also going to need to see to arrangements for Royal. He may not have been wearing his leather when he went over the edge of that platform, but there's no question in giving his life that way, he saved all of ours.”

“I'll do it,” Train spoke up. “I know what he'd like and what Missy would hate. Gonna go really heavy on the stuff she'd hate. Let her seethe over it in Hell. Going to have to be a memorial, they're so mixed up right now we'll never know for sure that some of her wasn't in the grave. None of us want that.”

None of them did. Missy had nearly caused the downfall of Nightshade, had murdered a member and killed an innocent woman and child. None of them would mourn her. The image of Missy seething in Hell gave Danny extreme pleasure, and quite certainly she was in a special level of Hell.

“Edge, make sure that you take your sister home. She doesn't need to walk alone, this time of night, in this neighborhood. Hell, in any neighborhood. Why doesn't she have a car?” Danny questioned.

“I offered to get her one, but Jillian is big on taking care of herself. I'll offer to take her home, but if she doesn't want a ride, I'm not going to drag her in the car like a caveman,” Edge replied.

Danny realized if he had to name the Nightshade member he liked the least, it would be Edge, and not because he was more than willing to let his sister walk the dark Detroit streets in the middle of
winter. He realized the feeling had been brewing since he'd found the pills hidden in the man's boot. Even though he hadn't seen any indication of drug use since then.  Either way, it didn't matter, he was a brother and Danny would die for him.

“I'll drag her in the car like a caveman,” Ace told Edge. “It's stupid for her to walk. End of story.”

“Let's all do whatever we're doing quickly. I'm sure Danny wants us long gone so he's got some peace in his house.” Buster clapped him on the back. “Amelia went upstairs about ten minutes ago, she said that she was tired.”

It didn't take long for everyone to clear out. Danny took the dog out to run the yard for the last time of the night, locked the house up and headed up the stairs. He found the bedroom door shut, the room already dark. Quietly he stepped inside and began to undress. He could smell the scent of the coconut soap Amelia had used when she'd spent an hour in the shower earlier, and he followed it to the bed. One side was still made up, or as made as they ever managed, and he slid beneath the cover and the sheet as naked.

Skin met skin as he settled down next to Amelia. Her breathing was deep and even, her damp hair spread out on the pillow next to her. Danny knew that she was sleeping. She was calm, so she wasn't dreaming, or they were pleasant dreams. It was a relief because he'd worried that she wouldn't be able to find peace in sleep, that the day's events would replay over and over for her.

She stirred in his arms. “Stop thinking so hard.” Her voice was thick with sleep as she reached behind her and grabbed his hand. “I can hear you.”

“You can hear me think now? That's good to know.” Danny pulled her close to him, pressed his lips to her hair. “Go to sleep, Amelia, I love you.”