Chapter 10

Early the next day, Jo and Ash were awakened by Masha. She told them to have breakfast and a bath before they left.

Jo agreed and left the room without talking to Ash. Ash knew she was angry with him, and he actually deserved it for how rude he'd been to her the night before. He could still remember how surprised he'd been, when she'd said he had Gulden tastes. Although she'd meant it as a joke, it didn't make it nothing less than the truth.

First, she'd seen his tattooless torso, and then she'd found out about his tastes. What else would she be privy to if he let her?

It actually wasn't her fault that he couldn't keep his mouth shut when he was around her. Not Capo or Pascal, his most trusted men, knew most of the things he'd told her, but for some reason, he'd wanted to spill all his secrets to her. He knew that would not bode well for him.

* * *

Jo looked at herself as she put on the shirt Masha lent her. The shirt was loose and comfortable, which was just what she needed on the run.

Masha had balked at the idea of her wearing Rex's hoodie again, "Someone could identify you through it."

Jo had to agree with her, the hoodie was too conspicuous and many people had already seen her in it.

She entered the kitchen where everyone was, waiting for the bacon and omelets Masha was preparing.

She smiled as she greeted Umberto and David. Umberto, being his usual jovial self returned her greetings with élan and even complimented her visible tattoos.

Meanwhile, David looked guiltily away and made a sound at the back of his throat. Jo thought that odd, but explained it away as the ways of a teenager feeling embarrassed over the tantrum he'd thrown at dinner the night before.

Then, her gaze settled on Ash, who had the effrontery to give her a guileless smile.

She scowled at him before she looked away, too pissed to acknowledge the sunny good morning he'd thrown her way.

Umberto noticed the underlying tension in the room and tried to ease it by telling jokes about his funny colleagues in the factory where he worked as a meat packer.

Jo found his jokes funny and told him so. For some reason, Umberto reminded her of her own father. Not that they looked alike or anything, but both had a strong sense of familial love and would go the extra mile to protect their families. For the first time since she'd entered their home, Jo wondered the favor Ash had done them.

Masha dished their food, which they all ate with relish. Except for David. He ate sparingly, which was not the norm for a boy his age.

Masha noticed, and asked, "David. Why aren't you eating? You usually can't get enough of bacon."

David mumbled that he wasn't really hungry. Jo looked at him, and he averted his eyes guiltily. She wondered what that was about, but she didn't say anything.

They were almost finished with their meal when a violent knock sounded on the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Umberto asked Masha, who shook her head frantically.

As the knock sounded again, David started wringing his fingers.

Umberto noticed and scowled at him, "You've been acting funny all morning. Do you know who's knocking?"

Before David could reply, a voice said from outside, "It's the police! Open up!"

Ash and Jo jumped up, scared.

"I'm coming!" Umberto hollered at the person, then turned to David, "Did you do anything foolish? Tell me now."

David screamed, "I didn't do anything foolish."

"Then why are the cops at our doorstep?" Umberto asked.

"You have five seconds to open the door, or we'll kick it down!" The voice threatened.

Umberto gave David a look that said 'you better start talking'.

David began to sob, "Mum, Dad, I'm sorry. I called the cops on her."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Ash asked, furiously.

"I asked you if she was your shawty and she said no. I figured it would hurt you none if she got captured." David said.

"You foolish boy! I'll deal with you later! I'll go stall the cops, you two need to leave!" Umberto said as he rushed to open the door as the officer on the other side had counted to four already.

"Why would you snitch on Jo to the cops?" Masha asked in a heartbroken voice, ashamed at how her son had acted.

"Because I saw the bounty money. She's worth thirty k. That would buy me a really good phone and I'd still have a lot of money to spare."

Jo didn't blame the boy one bit, but she knew she couldn't remain in that house any longer. The cops might want to search the house.

"Do you have another door we could exit from without running into the cops?" Jo asked Masha impatiently.

Masha nodded and asked them to follow her.

David tagged along, apologizing profusely to Jo and Ash, "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to snitch. I just wanted a new phone, man."

Jo and Ash ignored the boy, they weren't about to let him off the hook for his stupidity.

Masha led them to a backdoor at the end of the hallway.

"Use this. And hurry, before the cops discover you." Masha advised, "And I'm sorry for what happened here. I think we need to teach David a lesson on the value of loyalty."

"Don't be too harsh on the boy," Jo whispered to Masha.

Masha smiled, "When this is all over, perhaps you two could visit."

Ash nodded and they hurried out.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the door, Lester wondered why the residents of Ganghaven were so daft. He'd spent the better part of the hour, convincing the burly man at the door that the police department had received a call from someone who lived in that house, and the person had promised to give him the whereabouts of Jo Taylor.

The man, who had called himself Umbro, Umber or something or the other had told him that he was mistaken and that unless Lenny had a search warrant, there was no way he was letting him in into his house.

Lester had told him that the thirty thousand dollars he would receive for helping the police arrest Jo would change his life forever.

The man was about to reply, when his teenage son who had an acne-filled face turned up. He admitted to having called the police, and apologized saying it had been done on a dare.

At that moment, Lester and his partner decided to leave, thinking that the lieutenant wouldn't like that it had been a false alarm.

* * *

Ash and Jo walked on, using back roads and alleys. Ash tried to start a conversation with Jo many times, but she refused to give him the time of day.

Ash decided he'd had enough of her cold shoulder and blocked her path.

"Get out of the way, Ash!" Jo growled.

"I won't until you start talking to me again!" Ash said.

Jo sighed, "I tried to talk to you, and you gave me the cold shoulder. I'm just giving you a taste of your own medicine."

Ash replied, "I know. I'm sorry for the cold shoulder. It won't happen again. I swear."

Jo nodded and kept on walking.

"Hey! I just apologized! Why are you still angry at me?" Ash asked.

"I'm not." Jo replied.

"Yes, you are."

"Honestly, I'm not angry at you. I just get angry thinking about the mess Masha and Umberto could be in at the moment." Jo said.

"Don't worry, Umberto is pretty smart. He has to be, to have lived this long." Ash assured Jo.

"This long? Umberto is probably in his late forties." Jo said.

"Exactly." Ash said, "Umberto and Masha were once drug dealers, representing a huge baron who operates out of Gulden."

"I hate how these barons make themselves comfortable in Gulden, and make life a living hell for Ganghaven residents." Jo said vehemently.

"Me too. One day, my gang and I confronted them, and gave them two choices; either they shut down their operation with immediate effect, or they get arrested by the police.

They could have chosen the arrest, the man the worked for was wealthy enough to have sprung them in less than an hour, but they chose to stop operating, on the condition that I got them and their son new identities, and a legal job for Umberto.

Apparently, they were tired of living life constantly looking over their shoulders for cops.

I agreed, and here we are." Ash concluded.

"Wow! They're an extraordinary lot." Jo exclaimed.

"Yup!" Ash said, happy to have gotten Jo to converse with him.

He was about to add something else when his phone rang. He checked the phone screen and it turned out to be Capo.

"Capo, what's up?" Ash asked as he answered the call.

"We've got something for you. Tell me are you still with Jo?" Capo asked cryptically.

"Yes. Who's 'we'? And what do you have for me?" Ash asked Capo as he tried to explain to Jo what Capo was saying at the same time.

"Text me your address. Matters like this shouldn't be discussed over the phone." Capo said, all cloak and dagger.

"Fine." Ash said and hung up.

"What was that all about?" Jo asked, her voice laden with curiosity.

"Capo just asked me to send him our address. He says he's got something for us." Ash said, looking confused.

No one said aloud what they were both thinking, that it could be a setup.

At last, Ash said with resolve, "Capo would never betray me."

"He could've made the call under duress," Jo suggested with a shrug.

Ash shook his head, "No. I would have known."

"So what are you going to do?" Jo asked.

"I'm going to trust him like I've always done, and send him our address." Ash said, as he brought out his phone and began to text Capo.

"I hope this doesn't come back to bite us in the ass." Jo said under her breath.

* * *

After half an hour, from their hiding spot, Jo and Ash were able to make out the lanky and bulky figures of Capo and Rex respectively.

When they were sure they weren't being followed, Jo and Ash made themselves known.

Ash and Capo pulled each other into a man-hug, while Rex and Jo had an actual hug, which Ash thought lasted more than it was supposed to.

"What are you two doing here? Together?" Jo asked when the hugs were out of the way.

"When we found out about the bounty, we decided to work together to see how we could clear your names." Capo replied.

"That wasn't what we asked you to do." Ash replied, sternly.

"No offense meant, but fuck that." Rex replied, in a tone that was actually meant to cause offense.

Ash narrowed his eyes at the giant and wondered what his chances of beating Rex's ass was.

"So, did you find anything?" Jo asked eagerly, distracting Ash from his violent thoughts.

"Yes, we did." Rex said, tucking a strand of Jo's hair behind her ear.

Ash gritted his teeth, and for the first time wondered if Rex and Jo were already in a relationship. Looking back, he realized that she'd escaped from his house, wearing his hoodie. Ash felt his need to punch the man double immensely.

"What do you have?" He asked instead.

"This." Capo said, producing a package from his jacket.

"What's this?" Ash asked as he collected it.

"It's a camera. We found it at a dumpster near the crime scene. Deep, deep down the dumpster." Capo said with disgust.

"Since the cops have you two on camera leaving the crime scene, we figured this could be another camera from the crime scene which the real murderer tossed out." Rex finished.

"Seems like a long shot." Ash said skeptically.

"From where I'm standing, bro, it seems like your only shot." Rex replied.

Ash ignored him and turned to Capo, "What are we supposed to do with this?"

"I was thinking you could take it to Jean." Rex said to Jo.

At the mention of the name, Jo brightened considerably, "Oh Rex! You're so smart!"

"Oh please." Ash muttered under his breath.

"Who's Jean?" Capo asked.

"Someone who can help us find out what's on that camera." Jo said cryptically.

"Why didn't you two go straight to her then?" Ash asked Rex.

"Because the only person who knows what Jean looks like, and where to find her in real life is Jo." Rex replied, as if he were explaining to a child.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ash said, eager to clear his name.

They exchanged goodbyes, and Ash felt he was going to have an ulcer when Jo and Rex shared another of their too long hugs.

When Capo and Rex were on their way, Ash turned and faced Jo, "So you and Rex, huh?"

"What?" Jo asked, confused.

"You and Rex have a thing, yeah?" Ash asked.

Jo was pleased with the way the word 'thing' seemed to choke him.

If she didn't know better, she would have thought the man was jealous. Yeah well, a girl could dream, she thought.

She didn't reply but walked off, with Ash close on her heels, demanding that she answer his question.