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She sounded tired but happy, and I was glad I never had to worry about Maisie doing her job. The big spenders had nothing but good things to say about her, and she brought in more every quarter.
“Sounds fucking stupid.”
She laughed, and I could almost picture her rolling her eyes at me. “Sounds like people with a lot of money and very exacting standards and incredibly specific expectations. Almost like someone else I know.”
Me. “Who?”
She laughed again. “What’s up, Jas?”
“I managed to piss Mo off somehow. Can you arrange a nice gift for her?”
After a long beat of silence, I frowned. “Maze?”
“I’m here, just thinking.”
“About?”
She let out a sigh. “Never mind all that. A thousand bucks nice? More? Less?”
“Fuck if I know,” I growled. “Just make it something she would like. Something nice.”
Maisie laughed at me. Again. “Sure. You want to give it to her yourself?”
“No,” I growled.
“Yeah, I think you should too. I’ll have it sent to you at Midnight Mass.”
I could have argued with her, but I was too fucking tired and not in the mood. “Thank you.”
“No problem, brother. None at all.” There was laughter in her voice as she ended the call.
That was my final fucking task for the night before I headed home. I washed down a sleeping pill with a glass of whiskey and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep because drugs were the only way I could fall asleep these days.
Nothing tasted better after a solid night of sleep and a few glasses of Velvet Fire than buttery toast and scrambled eggs with pepper. A lot of fucking pepper. It was the perfect cure to keep the hangover away because I had too much shit to do to deal with a fucking hangover.
“Jasper.” Thomas entered the dining room, where I was enjoying my breakfast. In peace.
“What?”
Thomas dismissed my tone and said, “We need to talk.”
I shoveled another forkful of eggs into my mouth. “About what?”
He let out a long-suffering sigh as if it was his breakfast being interrupted. “Lucky Lopez, obviously.”
His tone pissed me off, and I dropped my fork with a loud clang. “It’s way too early for your bullshit, Thomas. Say what you need to say and get the fuck out.”
“There’s too much security at the club. That’s fine for the tourists, the weekend warriors who like to feel like they’re in a bit of danger. But the big money guys, the gangsters, they feel antsy. They’ll stop coming if we don’t scale back.”
He was right. I just had the same fucking conversation with Provo, but dammit, I just wanted to enjoy my fucking breakfast. I smacked a hand against the table, angry as hell.
“Just because you’re fucking Sadie doesn’t mean you’re in charge. Stay in your goddamn lane.”
The motherfucker laughed at me. “It’s more than that, and we both know it, but if it makes you feel better to minimize things between me and your mother, fine. I’m talking about business, Jasper, not personal shit.”
“This business isn’t yours to talk about.”
“No?” He folded his arms and arched a brow. “Then why even let me manage the club in her absence? Because you’re already spread too fucking thin, and you need the help, even if you are too fucking stubborn to admit it.”
“I don’t need help.”
“Right, I forgot, you’re a fucking magician. At all places, at all times. Then I hope you’re not too tired to take tonight’s shift since I’m not in charge.”
“Cut the shit, Thomas.” I pushed away from the table and went to the bar. Yeah, it was early, and I was about to down three more fingers of Velvet Fire before I even finished my eggs.
“Shit? I’m just trying to do my best to abide by Sadie’s wishes. That’s all. We want the same thing, Jasper. When she’s out of the hospital, she’ll be happy to see Lucky Lopez exactly how she wants it.”
“If she gets out,” I growled, and I realized what had me on edge. What if Sadie didn’t wake up? What if she never woke up but instead drifted off into a permanent fucking sleep, never to rise, to talk shit, never to light up a joint in her salon ever again?
Thomas gave me one of his looks of steel while still a badass gentleman. “She will. Sadie is stronger than even she knows underneath all that bluster and steel. And when that happens, you will have wasted your time trying to change things that she’ll only change back.”
Thomas raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Just listen. You used to be able to do that pretty well.”
“I’m not a kid anymore, Thomas,” I snarled at him, pissed off that he was reminding me of the kid I was before I found myself. My strength.
Thomas smiled, but it wasn’t filled with amusement or pride. “You’re all grown up, but lately, you’ve been acting like a petulant fucking brat.”
