“Bye, little monkey.” She leans forward, and smooches one of the baby’s fat cheeks. “Be good for Daddy.” A pause. A frown. “Actually, no. Be a little menace. Raise hell.”
Then she throws me a “Later, Ghost” and walks away.
I sigh and look down at the wiggleworm in my arms. It seems Mama’s habit of using silly nicknames rubbed off on Layla.
“Your mom’s as stubborn as an ox. Good luck with that, Monkey,” I murmur.
“Is Sketch hitting on Layla?” Joker hisses the second he’s near.
He’s looking behind me, and I look too. Sketch has his arm slung over Layla’s shoulder, and they’re laughing. I turn back to Joker. He’s glaring lasers. Crap. Can’t say I don’t get it.
“I don’t know, man,” I say then promptly scowl. “Shit. Take your spawn. Something smells foul.”
He looks at the baby and grins wide. “Come to daddy, little monkey,” he coos. “The ugly man doesn’t know what he’s talking about. You could never be nasty. You’re perfect.”
He kisses the little stinker's head and murmurs darkly, “And daddy’s gonna teach you how to piss all over Sketch’s face. Yes, he will.” But the moment he pulls the baby closer, he gags. “Fuck. Gotta deal with this,” he mutters, grabs the bag Layla left, and walks off without another word.
I frown, watching him go. Tossing one last glare over his shoulder at Sketch.
It won’t be turf wars or street shit that tears this club apart. It’ll be women.
Adora
“Okay, what the fuck is that walk, Domino?” I stop dead and glare at the perpetrator.
He came to my room earlier to drag me to the party downstairs. Said he wanted to practice staying close. Said it’s his first time playing bodyguard. Not gonna lie, my anxiety spiked like a bitch. Until I remembered there’s a backup guard, and instantly calmed down. Which only pissed me off more. I don’t want Ghost being the reason I feel safe. Fuck that.
“What walk?” Domino blinks at me, all fake innocence.
“The sideways crab-shuffle you’ve got going on.” I step sideways to mimic it, scowling.
“Oh. That.” He shrugs, deadpan. “Balls are stuck.” Then keeps walking like he didn’t just say that out loud.
“Curse my curiosity,” I mutter, following him.
He chuckles. “You going to the bookstore tomorrow?”
“Nope.” I pop the “p.” “I’m taking the next three days off. I need to unfuck my brain before I let customers anywhere near me. I’ll open Monday. Shipment’s coming in with some new releases.”
“Oh, hell yeah.” His voice lights up. “I’ll help you unpack. Maybe snag something for myself.”
I hum. “There’s a few good ones I think you’ll like.”
“It’s settled then,” he declares, then stops walking. I stop too. He turns to face me, eyes gleaming. “There’s poker tonight. Rumor has it, you used to clean the tables back in the day. That true?”
I shrug, casual. “Maybe. What’s it to you?”
He grins and leans in. Drops his voice. “Princess, I need you to fuck up Fang for me.”
I narrow my eyes. “What’s in it for me?”
He puts on a wounded expression. “My eternal gratitude. And Fang’s cash.”
“Hmm.” I tap my chin, playing it up. “I’ll take his money either way. Let’s say…” I pause. For the drama. “You’ll owe me a marker.”
His eyes widen like I just asked for his soul. “What, you want me to kill someone for you? ‘Cause I gotta say, VP’s kind of off-limits. That’s, like, super frowned upon.”
“What?!” I squeak. “No, I don’t want you to kill anyone! I meant you owe me a favor!”
