Page 138 of Dark Surrender

So… This is where I tell you I’m back in town. No. Not just me. We’re back in town. Thanks to Angel’s cousin, Pops has a new van that we’ve been living out of for the better part of ten days. We’re running some recon on our women. My woman. Kali. The whole fucking lot of ‘em. For two days now, we’ve been stalking them on the down low.

From what I gather, my woman has opened a little shop down from Kali’s.

Iris After Dark.

Fuck. That name is a punch to the gut, and I’m not about to talk about what it’s doin’ to my heart and shit. This woman owns me and has owned me far longer than I care to admit.

Parked down from the shops next to an overgrown tree, in front of someone’s yard, Pops uses old-school binoculars to get a solid look at what’s doin’ on an early Friday night.

“I dunno who that man is, but he’s awfully friendly with your lady.” Pops hums and hands me the binoculars to see what he’s talking about.

Sure enough, we’ve got ourselves a fuckin’ dead man. Hand around Iris’s shoulder, locking up the shop next to her, then walking with her down the street to Kali’s like they’re in love.

Jaw clenched, I grip the binoculars until my knuckles ache. “He’s dead.”

“Yep.”

“He’s mine,” I declare, so my father doesn’t get any ideas. If Kali’s got a man, he can handle him.

Pops huffs just as if I stole from him. “Noted.”

A strange noise comes from the back. Once I hand the binoculars to Pops, I turn around to see what Sal’s up to, just as the van’s back door swings open. Thankfully, before I can even get a hand on my gun, a big, bald Mexican fills the doorway, climbs in with a grunt, and slams the rear door shut.

“What the fuck are you doin’ here, Angel?” I tease, takin’ in the sight for sore eyes, given that I haven’t seen this asshole in ages. Fuck. It’s good to be home.

He flips me the bird. “You two need to work on your stalkin’ skills.” The entire van rocks as he lumbers closer and clasps me on the shoulder. “Nice to see you too, cabron.” He grins, all teeth and cockiness.

“Good to see you too, brother. But how the fuck…”

“You think you’re gonna live with my family and someone wasn’t gonna tell me you were there?”

Alright. He’s got a point. “Who else did you tell?”

“Prez.”

“Prez as in Big?”

He nods. “Yeah. To keep him from sendin’ out a search party. Don’t worry. He kept quiet. So you gonna say why you fuckers are sittin’ here instead of goin’ to see your ladies?”

“We’re makin’ sure… ya know.” I gesture toward their shops, and all that implies hangs in the air between us.

“They’re both single,” Angel says with a knowing smirk.

“Then who the fuck’s with Iris?”

“Her employee.”

“Friendly guy,” I growl, remembering his arm around her and how buddy-buddy they were as they headed down to Kali’s.

“I think you mean gay.” Angel bounces his eyebrows and gives me a hot second to let that little tidbit sink in.

Ah.

That makes sense.

He was wearing rainbow Converse.

Pops and I nod. A gay guy workin’ in a floral shop. Or whatever you wanna call that place. Then again, he could be a plant… No. Penelope’s dead, and so is my former life. She couldn’t send another Todd. Not from the grave. Or wherever Dee and Iris dumped her body. Good riddance, as far as I’m concerned.