Southwest Nights (Semiautomatic Sorceress Book 1) by Kal Aaron (large ebook reader txt) 📕

Serafina looked disappointed. “That’s boring.” Her eyes widened, and the interest returned to her face. “Hey, you interested in having a doll when I get these worked out? You can have a partner. Ride around with him. Hecate and the Silver Man! Well, I have no idea how to get one with decent long-lasting autonomous power, but I’ll figure it out eventually.”

The idea of Kawatsu-chan puttering around at her home returned. An image of the mascot bashing Lyssa’s face against the wall and chasing her with a kitchen knife killed the desire.

Lyssa grimaced. “I think I’m okay.” She lifted the boxes. “And I really should get going.”

“Okay.” Serafina waved. “Let me know if you change your mind.”

Lyssa backed away slowly, half-convinced the tiny dolls would malfunction and swarm her. Picking up supplies wasn’t supposed to involve fights. It wasn’t an auspicious beginning to this job.

Chapter Seventeen

Lyssa lay on her bed in her regalia. Her mask was on her nightstand. She had spent most of the day in bed, trying to heal her ribs. Between the Night Goddess and healing herbs, they were now in one piece, though she still needed painkillers to do anything useful.

She would be fine by tomorrow. Any thoughts she had about luck giving her more time to recover died when her burner phone rang with the expected call.

Lyssa grabbed her mask and put it on since the vocal filter wouldn’t activate without it. “Reed, I’ve had a crap day, so I hope you have something useful for me about Alvarez and the shards. I don’t want another ‘Hey, I totally led you on’ deal like last month.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Reed replied. “I’m here to help you out. You have to trust me.”

Lyssa snorted. “I trust you to give me information in exchange for money. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Then we’re on the same page.” Reed laughed. “I ain’t gonna piss off a Sorceress, especially one with a temper like yours.”

“Until you can make enough money doing it.”

“That would be an interesting day.” Reed clucked his tongue. “But I get you, and I’ve got you, so let’s get down to business.”

“That would be nice.” Lyssa sat up. There was something ridiculous about being in her full regalia, including mask, in bed, but it wasn’t like Reed could see her.

“You know about the Lone Five Stars?” Reed asked.

“A little.” Lyssa frowned. “They’re a big organized crime group out of Texas. I don’t know much about them other than that.”

“All you Sorcs have tunnel vision,” Reed whined. “It’s always about the magic for you. It’s going to bite you in the ass.”

His observation applied more to her than to the Society in general. The Society had had its hand in many aspects of the Shadow community in the past, including using influence on certain criminal groups. She’d found it repugnant, but through the centuries, the argument had always been that no one could eliminate all corruption, so it was better to have a hand in guiding it to minimize its excesses. The Society had allegedly pulled away from such groups by the twentieth century, but most people doubted that.

“Get to the point before I eat your soul,” Lyssa said.

“You’re joking, right?” Reed asked.

“Maybe,” Lyssa growled. “Do you want to find out?”

“You ain’t gonna do that over the phone. You can’t.”

“Says who? You? You’re a sorcery expert now?”

“Okay, okay. Calm down.” Reed let out a mirthless laugh. “The Lone Five Stars ain’t just about Texas anymore. Yeah, they’re from Texas, but their reach stretches all over the Southwest. Some of the guys at the top are as smart as they are ruthless, and the word is they’re trying to grab the best of the best from other gangs. They don’t care about where you’re from or who you are, just that you can take orders and keep your mouth shut and do your job.”

“They’re the UN of organized crime. Got it.” Lyssa shifted her phone. “How is that relevant to Alvarez? He’s not a member of the Lone Five Stars. He’s a cartel boy connected to worse people down south.”

“Now you’re thinking like me and not a Sorc. Good for you, Hecate.” Reed coughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Alvarez was loyal to his cartel, but his cartel uses connections with the Five Stars to move all sorts of crap. You got it all wrong.”

Lyssa hated not being face to face to intimidate Reed. Things always worked out better that way.

“You just said I was right,” she replied. “Before saying I’m wrong.”

“Not about it all. Just about some things. You see, the Five Stars ain’t the UN. They’re the UPS of big crime in the Southwest. Ain’t that always the way? The smartest way to get rich is as a middleman.”

“Am I supposed to be impressed?” Lyssa asked. “I don’t care about where criminal scum are located on the ladder of depravity.”

Reed snorted. “Just saying. You ain’t got to work harder, you got to work smarter. Criminal business-to-business services, you know? The Five Stars have been hooking up with everyone to expand. You a large street gang? They want to deliver to you. Cartels in Mexico? They want to help. They’ve even been trying to get some stuff established with Russians in Texas lately, but that ain’t the most interesting part.”

Lyssa scoffed. “I hope ‘interesting’ is the same as useful. These people aren’t delivering pizzas and PlayStations. They’re helping facilitate misery.”

“Oh, Hecate, you’ll love this then because it’s what you self-righteous types want: a reason to feel good when you’re beating a man up.” Reed chuckled. “The thing is, the word went out that you don’t just use the Lone Five Stars for smuggling anymore.”

“Dealing?” Lyssa asked.

“Got it in one, but this is where it gets weird.”

“Weirder than me?”

Reed snickered. “The word is also they’re going into the direct supply business for people interested in being less than legal, but they’re playing it close to the chest as to what they’re selling.”

Lyssa chuckled. “Maybe you don’t know, but that doesn’t mean no one