Page 111 of Tony

“I’ll handle this,” Tony says, straightening his shirt and tipping his chin up like he’s putting on his brave face.

“Good idea, Mr. Dumas,” Midnight calls. “Because I’m here for you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - TONY

“What the…,” I mutter, looking over my shoulder at Soshee. “What the hell does that mean?”

Soshee’s eyes go wide. “The little dog is coming back to bite you. But don’t worry. We got you. It’s four against one.”

I look at Belinda, feeling pretty confident that she and Vann do not ‘got me’.

“Hey,” Belinda says. Planting both hands on her hips. “There’s no way this is not all connected. Which means Tara is probably involved too. I’m not stepping away from that fight.”

“We should probably stop talking now,” Vann says. “She just admitted there was a bug in here.”

“I’m still waiting,” Midnight calls through the door.

I glance at Soshee one more time and she nods. “We’re in it together. I’m your sister’s brother-in-law’s cousin. We’re blood, for fuck’s sake.”

“Soshee,” I wince. “That’s not even funny.”

Soshee smirks at Belinda over my shoulder and shrugs. “It’s a little bit funny.”

“This isn’t a joke. There’s a blue-haired witch called Midnight on the other side of the door asking for me by name.”

“I can ask for all of you by name if that makes you feel any better,” Midnight adds.

“Bro,” Vann says. Coming forward to place a hand on my shoulder. “This town might be crawling with dirty FBI and leftover Company, but my team is the one in charge. If these people want to fuck with the Vaughn family on our home turf, we’re ready to roll. My sister will even get in on the action. We’re one phone call away from a total Sons-of-Anarchy moment. OK? We got you. Open the door and let’s get this show started.”

Vann really does have a way with words. He might’ve watched Easy Rider a few too many times, but he makes me want to believe him. I can see why everyone thinks he’s charming. “OK,” I whisper. Taking one last look at the four of us. We are kind of intimidating in our own way. Vann and I are big tatted up dudes, Belinda can shit-talk her way out of almost anything, and Soshee is the supervillain in disguise.

Maybe we really are all on the same team? Maybe… I was even looking for this when I decided to make the trip up to Colorado? Belinda and I aren’t meant for each other. Not that way. And I really did owe her an apology. The minute I realized that and said those words to her, everything in my life got lighter. Like all the pieces of the puzzle finally fit into their proper places. Me and Soshee. Belinda and Vann. And everything that comes with being connected to the Vaughn family.

If you find yourself thousands of miles away from the safety of home you could do a lot worse than having these three on your side.

So I nod and take a deep breath. Then walk across the room and open the door.

The girl on the other side of the door does not have blue hair. It’s blonde and pinned to her head with a thousand clips. But she is twirling a blue wig on her finger. She smiles at me, then pushes past me. “Be a peach and close the door, will ya?”

I close it and turn to find her standing in front of Belinda, Vann, and Soshee with her hands clasped behind her back, sorta rocking on her heels.

“So?” Vann asks. “What do you want?”

“I’m here to give you a friendly warning.”

“Is that right?” I ask, pushing past her so I can stand between Belinda and Soshee.

“Why do you think we need a warning?” Belinda asks.

“Bug. Remember?” Midnight points to the ceiling. “We bugged you weeks ago.” She turns her attention to me. “I lost the bet, by the way.”

“Bet?” I ask.

“That you would show up here.” She juts her chin at Belinda. “But apparently there was a lot of unfinished business.”

“You were listening to our private conversation?” Soshee asks. And she doesn’t ask it nicely.

“Calm down, Soshee,” Midnight coos. “It’s just a job. I don’t judge. And I don’t care. At least, not about your personal lives. Though I will say they are not boring.” She pauses for a moment. Makes a big deal about pretending to think. “All this personal angst might’ve actually saved you though.”