"Nope, never seen her before," Roman said.
"She's very pretty though," Seth said.
Both men were looking at a woman with long, wavy cappucino brown hair lying in their garden. She was sleeping and didn't appear to be hurt from what her black shorts and ash grey tank top were giving away. On her feet she wore a pair of black and white sneakers. She started stirring slowly and they kept standing over her.
"She's waking up," Roman said.
His voice traveled to the sleeping woman and her eyes opened wide. A pair of dark grey eyes were staring at them. She jumped to her feet, ready to make a run for it, but they grabbed her before she could get away.
"Not happening," Roman said.
"Are you gonna scream?" Seth asked. "Don't fucking scream, alright? We're not near anyone able to hear you but I would still hate having to gag you."
They dragged her inside the house, pulled out a chair, and forced her to sit down on it. They both crossed their arms and stood in front of her. They looked at her for half a minute but all she did was staring back at them.
"Speak!" Roman barked.
She remained quiet and didn't even appear to be scared of them.
"This is the part where you tell us who you are or at least try to make up a believable lie," Seth said.
She kept quiet and continued to stare. Roman cleared his throat, not knowing what to do about the stranger. Both he and Seth knew it could go either way with their way of living although a single woman sleeping in their garden was hardly a threat. She didn't look dangerous.
"She's the strong, silent type," Seth joked. "Maybe we can fuck it out of her."
Seth reached a hand forward. Before he knew what was happening, she grabbed his hand and pressed down on the pressure point on his wrist. He howled in pain and yanked his hand back.
"Try it and I'll castrate you," she said.
"I like her," Roman laughed.
"You can go back to not speaking now," Seth sulked.
Seth rubbed his sore wrist and looked at Roman who was still chuckling.
"It's not funny," Seth said.
"It was a little bit funny," Roman said.
"Just put a fucking bullet in her already," Seth said.
"You know we don't roll like that until we know whether or not she deserves it," Roman said.
"She deserves it," Seth held up his hand and pointed at his wrist. "Pain, Roman!"
"Cry-baby!" Roman laughed.
Seth cracked a smile and lowered his hand. He didn't actually mean to put a bullet in the woman but he was hoping to scare her into begging for her life. It would give him some sort of satisfaction after the pain she had just inflicted on him.
"Okay, you won't tell us who you are," Roman looked at her. "Will you tell us what you're doing here?"
Once again her lips remained sealed. She was watching them and they had no idea what to make of her.
"You didn't wander out here in the middle of nowhere by accident. Someone dropped you off or you got a car parked somewhere. What I can't understand is why you were sleeping in our garden. If you know anything about us, that's the most stupid move I've ever experienced which leads me to believe you have no fucking clue who we are. Someone either figured out where we are and dropped you off hoping we would end you for them, or you're here by complete accident," Roman said. "Which one is it?"
Once again she didn't give an answer. Seth threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Just leave her be. We'll drive her back to town and dump her somewhere," Seth said.
"Maybe we should dump her close to Dean and the old gang," Roman said.
There was a shift in her eyes. It was only for a split second but Roman caught it.
"You know what?" Roman smirked. "Grab one of the burner phones and let's call Dean."
"Are you insane?" Seth asked.
"We're just gonna ask him if he's missing someone. If he is, we'll strike a deal. We'll leave her tied up somewhere in exchange for something."
"Our freedom," Seth said.
"He'll never give that but he might grant us some time to get further away or some money. You know he won't be able to resist seeing if he can catch us picking up a bag of money somewhere. He loves the hunt," Roman said.
"Fine, I'm in," Seth said. "Let's call him."
Roman left the room and came back shortly after with a phone in his hand. He powered it up and looked at her briefly before starting to type in Dean's number.
"Wait!" She said loudly.
"Yes?" Roman smirked. "Something you wanna tell us?"
"Fuck!" She hissed. "Fine, fine. I get it. I can't play games with you, and for the record, I wasn't trying to."
"Sure thing, buttercup," Seth said.
"I was just trying to figure out if I can trust you or not," she said.
"Let's start simple," Roman said. "Your name?"
"Lupita," she said.
Roman looked at Seth who shrugged in return.
"I don't know any Lupita," Seth said.
"Me neither," Roman said.
"Codename: Wolf," Lupita said.
"Holy shit!" Seth blurted out. "We caught the wolf."
"I came to you, asshole," Lupita said.
"Do you have any idea how much money you're worth to the right people?" Seth asked.
"I'm well aware of that which is why I took my chances on you two," Lupita said.
"Why us?" Roman asked.
"Because you got out," Lupita said. "Your old gang has been searching for you since you left and they have no idea where you're hiding which is why they hired me. I earned my codename. I always find who I'm looking for. I can take anyone down. I sniff out the target and I send in the pack to attack. I don't get blood on my hands. I just cash out once a job is done."
Roman and Seth looked at each other. They were well aware of how the wolf worked. Everyone had heard the name but no one ever got to see her. They actually thought a man was behind that codename. She stayed well hidden and never met anyone in person.
"Something went wrong," Seth said. "You wouldn't be here unless something went very wrong."
"Dean found me," Lupita said.
"Like found you found you?" Roman asked.
"Yeah," Lupita sighed. "I found you and I looked deep into who you are. I couldn't give up your location. You saw where Dean was leading the gang and you got out. You chose to protect yourselves and I admire that. You're not sick in the head like he is."
"How did he find you?" Seth asked.
"We were communicating old school by leaving notes in a hollow tree. I had hired someone to be the carrier of those notes. That's standard procedure for me. I keep a watch on them from every camera I can and I don't go get those notes until I'm sure it's safe. Unfortunately my carrier had an accident that day. He fell out in front of a train. I had to get the note myself. I waited it out and watched the cameras until I thought it was safe. I had no idea how stubborn he can be and how smart he is. He had made it back unseen from the cameras and was waiting for me to arrive," Lupita said.
"That's Dean for you," Roman chuckled. "He might be sick but he's one stubborn son of a bitch. He always gets what he wants. Well, almost. He hasn't gotten us."
Lupita nodded and dried her sweaty palms on her shorts.
"I walked and ran for a day and two nights. I stayed off the roads to avoid being seen. My goal was to make it here to figure out if I could trust you or not. I kept running even though my lungs were on fire. I passed out from exhaustion in your garden," Lupita said.
"How did you escape?" Seth asked.
"Simple tutorial," Lupita shrugged. "You can find almost anything on YouTube, including how to unlock handcuffs with a bobby pin. I know a few survival tricks that won't draw attention. He locked my feet together and my arms to a pole in his basement, and then he went to sleep. He seriously thought I would still be there in the morning. He needs the basement window fixed now. I had to break it to get out."
"Cocky, old Dean got played," Roman laughed. "I love her."
Seth looked at Roman and laughed too. Lupita wasn't a threat to them at all. If anything, she needed their protection to stay safe.
"What are we gonna do?" Seth asked.
"We're not giving her to Dean," Roman said.
"We need each other," Lupita said.
"What have you got to give that we can use?" Seth asked.
"I can trap him," Lupita said.
"And we can kill him," Roman said. "I get it. No blood on your hands."
"Like I said, I only know some survival tips on how to escape certain things and how to inflict a bit of pain on the human body. I can't fight and I sure as hell can't kill. I've never even fired a gun in my entire life. My weapon is my brain, and you're gonna need that if you ever wanna get rid of your old gang. You already know they'll never give up until they find you. There's other people out there to hire. One day someone like me will find you. I'm not delusional enough to think I'm the only one this bright. One day someone else will enter the scene, and you'll be going down," Lupita said.
Roman stepped closer to Seth. They shared a look and nodded at each other.
"We need her," Roman said.
"And she needs us," Seth agreed.
"Alright, wolf," Roman smirked at Lupita. "You got yourself a deal. We'll be your pack for this. Trap Dean and we'll kill him."