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“Yeah. A, right? Andres, I think?”
“Yeah. But the way I hear it, A is from the general area that your girl was in Mexico. The way I’m thinking, maybe A could help you figure out how to handle that shit.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked, shaking my head.
A was a major player in the area who also happened to be an almost complete enigma to most of our organizations. But what mattered to most of us was that he minded his own business, and his problems didn’t spill over onto our turf. Which had been the way of things since he’d come into town.
“He’s inclined to help sometimes. I mean, he helped Fallon and Danny hide a body a while back. For no reason and without any expectation. Think maybe you could get him to at least give you some information that might be valuable. Doesn’t hurt to try,” he added, shrugging. “You got nothing to go on now, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, nodding. “I’ll call him for a meeting.”
“Bring dog treats,” Niro suggested before clamping a hand on my shoulder and moving away.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about involving one cartel leader to try to take down another. But Niro was right. I had nothing else to go on.
It was worth a try.
So I added a trip to the pet store to my list of shit I needed to pick up before heading back to the apartment to talk it over with Abigail.
Who would probably be dazed from her little get together with some of the club princesses…
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Abigail
I felt a little dizzy.
That was the best way to describe it.
It was like these women came in and knocked the world a little off-kilter.
Maybe it just felt that way because it had been so long since I’d been around any women, let alone a group of them. And I wasn’t sure I’d ever been around a trio like Layna, Violet, and Hope. All of whom were strong and opinionated, who were connected in a way I wasn’t sure I’d ever actually connected with another woman before.
I was instantly jealous of their bond.
“So, wait,” I said, interrupting Vi. “You’re not actually related?”
“No,” Layna said. “Well, I mean, some of the cousins are related. Like Andi is actually related to Luna because their fathers are blood brothers. But most of us are just honorary cousins. Club cousins, if you will. We all grew up together.”
“One giant, loud, badass family,” Layna agreed as she grabbed another slice of pizza.
“So, Hope,” Vi said, and something in her tone made Hope immediately tense. “Care to tell us why you were suddenly available to come hang out with us when none of us have been able to see you in over a month?”
“She did take the time out to scream at Fallon,” Layna interjected.
“I mean he needs to get his cocky ass scolded from time to time, so that doesn’t count,” Vi said, shrugging.
“I’m just not busy right now,” Hope said, and even I could see that something was off with her, and I’d barely known the woman for half an hour.
The three women were very similar in their style choices. They were almost utilitarian with their clothing that neither clung nor hung too loosely. You could tell they had womanly curves—including Layna’s enviable ass and Vi’s impressive chest—but didn’t overly advertise any of it.
Hope was a little more petite than Layna and Violet with black hair that, oddly enough, almost seemed to have little highlights of red in it somehow.
Where Violet and Layna seemed a little more extroverted, more open, Hope seemed to like to play her cards close to her vest, and didn’t go out of her way to share too much personal detail. It was possible that was just because I was an outsider, but I got the feeling it was just how she was.
The way she looked away from a direct question like that further confirmed my suspicions.
“Come on, Hope,” Vi said, head cocking to the side. “You can tell us. We won’t tell anyone else.”
“I’m on suspension,” Hope admitted, a muscle ticking in her jaw from clenching so hard.
I didn’t know Hope, but I knew from what Dezi said about her that she was a workaholic, and that she was trying really hard to prove her worth at her job. It must have been gutting to be put on suspension.
“What?” Vi snapped.
“Alright, whose balls am I chopping off?” Layna offered.
“It’s my fault. I couldn’t get the information we needed. The case went cold. We lost a big contract.”
Layna and Violet shared a long look before Layna looked back at Hope. “Is that actually the case, or is it that your asshole boss gave you an impossible job just so that he could shove it in your face that you couldn’t do it?”
