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Chapter Twelve
Maceo
It’s nearly midnight when Gauge and I arrive back at headquarters. I’m beat, sore, and tired from being awake for almost two days straight. And I’m pissed—so over-the-top pissed, I could spew fire.
I had Esteban—fucking had him. For one blissful moment, he was dead until he wasn’t anymore.
Fucking doppelgängers.
Gauge and I were fast to get back on Esteban’s trail, but it went cold. Like a rat, Esteban knows when it’s time to go underground and hide in the shadows. He won’t be resurfacing anytime soon.
I’ve barely crossed the threshold when Hades launches into my arms and lathers me with sloppy kisses. “Hey, big boy. I missed you too.” He whines for more love ‘till I squeeze him in a big hug.
Some of my men are still awake and shooting the shit in the billiards room. Still, it’s relatively quiet for a Saturday evening. I assume some of our brothers went out to Mickey’s, one of our local bars, for a casual hookup. The bunnies have been holding out lately, forcing the guys to find willing partners elsewhere.
Not that Opal was on the market to the rest of the guys, but she and Gauge are official now. Tony’s unrequited love for Ebony has made the men give her a wide berth, much to Ebony’s displeasure. Tony is a big fucker, and nobody wants to be on his bad side. Red, the quiet and leggy red-head, only goes for the burliest of my men, leaving a lot of my brothers out of the action. And Candy has been strangely absent from her usual scene.
I don’t dwell on it for long when I notice Punk sitting alone in the main living area by himself, nursing a stiff drink. I crash on the opposite end of the couch he’s on.
Punk turns to me. “You want to talk about the operation some more?”
“Fuck no,” I mutter. “You know everything from the text messages. No reason to repeat it.”
Gauge steamrolls past us, taking the stairs two at a time. “None of you assholes better bother me for the next twenty-four hours. I’m going to be too busy givingallmy attention to my girl.”
Punk groans and lays his head back against the couch. “I need to get laid.”
I swipe his drink from him and throw it back, savoring the slow burn. “Go out and find a sweet little thing. I’m home now—you’re off the hook.”
My brother rubs at his eyes. “After today, I’m too tired to go out and put the energy into convincing anyone to take me home. Ebony used to be my go-to bunny, and now she’s off-limits. I’m not bulky enough for Red. And Candy…full stop. No, it’s Jill and me tonight.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Jill?”
Punk raises his left palm to me, outlining the letters ofJillon his fingers. I shake with chuckles.
With a sigh, Punk settles deeper into the couch. “Everyone in our group is partnering up. You, lucky fucker, have Jo. Gauge has his precious Opal. And Chase is going to have his hands on Simone soon enough. Kind of hate how the dynamic is changing, but I’m happy for all of you.”
I feel a little sad for him. Punk had a woman once who he was willing to move heaven and earth for, but she did him wrong in the worst way—with his brother. The family sided with his younger brother, and Punk settled for a new family—ourfamily.
“You ever consider finding someone else?”
Punk snorts loudly. “Why the fuck would I do that? Look, what you and Jo have is special and rare—hold on tight to her, because they don’t make them like her very often. I tried my luck at a forever kind of love, and it wasn’t meant for me. Not all of us are destined to wind up with someone.”
He curses and adjusts himself through his pants. “Fucking wood.”
I side-eye him. “Why are you tenting your jeans?”
Punk looks to the ceiling and shakes his head before looking me straight on. “If I tell you what’s all happened since we last spoke on the phone, you need to promise me not to flip the room. Jo will kill you if you trash the place.”
Great.I rub a hand over my face and nod, prepared for the worst.
Punk tells me the events of the day.
A mixture of emotions is running through me. One, I’m dying to get a look at the picture of Punk prepped out in the GAP. Two, I’m angry Josephine inadvertently slipped away from the guys in the mall. Three, I’m intrigued about this pheromone oil. Four, I’m both pissed off at my brothers and feel sorry they were under Jo’s spell. Five, I’m livid with Bianchi forcing himself on my woman, but fucking proud of her for beating his sorry ass. Six, I feel let down by Quire and the police for not issuing a restraining order. And seven, when I get my hands on this fucking hacker…
I hang my head in my hands, unable to process all of this at once. “I’m not sure if I should laugh, cry, or kill Bianchi.”
Punk nods, understanding. “Imagine trying to process it in real-time with your woman smelling like a fucking fantasy. Dude, I’m sorry about whatever I said or acted like around her—it wasn’t me. I’m mortified—she must think I’m a creep.”
