“Ahhh,” Hawk says, and grabs a handful of fries. They look so good I snatch a few myself. And he notices. I get the sense that he’s intrigued by my casual gesture. “So you’re attempting to hire us for a suicide mission, then.”

Ash shrugs. “If you think you can’t do it—”

“No one said we can’t,” Hawk says, and his voice is prideful. “But finding myself on the wrong side of Jag is the fastest way to end this life of luxury I’ve become accustomed to.” He holds up his fries as proof. Even though his voice is light, there is a serious undertone to it, a challenge.

Ash appears relaxed, but his eyes are laser-focused. “From what I hear, your crew took a hit from Jag’s assassins earlier this year.”

Something dark passes over the mood of the table, like Ash just spit in their food.

“You’ve got a hell of a way of asking for a favor.” Mary’s tone makes my heart pound, and to make matters worse, the other patrons are openly watching us.

“Not a favor,” Ash says, and his voice remains unaffected by the tension at the table. “A deal. Something that benefits us all.”

“When people say ‘all,’ they mean themselves,” Mary says, finishing her pint and roughly clanking the glass onto the table.

I wince.

Mary stands up. “I’ll be at the bar,” she says to Hawk, and doesn’t spare us another look.

Hawk frowns after her and I get the sense that losing Mary’s approval doesn’t bode well. As though someone flipped a switch, the rest of his crew loses interest in us, and they start talking among themselves as though we’ve already left the table. I glance at Ash and I can tell by the look in his eyes that recovery is unlikely.

“Well, that settles that,” Hawk says.

I immediately start to sweat. It can’t end like this, not this quickly, not after the risk we took in exposing ourselves by coming here.

“That settles nothing,” I say, loud enough for Hawk to hear but not loud enough to carry in the noisy room. It earns me a hard look from Hawk.

Ash picks up right where I left off. “I know that not only are you in desperate need of repairs to your vessel—let’s say sixty thousand euros’ worth?—but that you’re also not the type to forgive and forget.” Way to go, Ash. I’m not sure how much of this he got from his conversation at the Raven’s Nest and how much he’s just making up, but either way, Hawk has put down his beer and is giving us a serious look.