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“Exactly,” he practically purrs in his thick accent. “But now we are even for your bitch killing my man.”
My eyes widen at his words as I take my seat around the table, all of our eyes on Ace’s frowning face.
“What does that mean?” I mouth the words to Ace so Arturo doesn’t know he has an audience.
“Does this mean the green light on her is now red?”
“Ah, I see where your priorities lie. Family is a bitch, no?”
“It can be,” Ace says slowly. “But that isn’t an answer.”
“Yes, the bitch is fine. For now. But I could change my mind at any minute. Do not fuck with me or my men.”
“As long as you don’t fuck with me or my men, Arturo.”
He laughs. “I am glad we understand each other. I will text you later with a time to make the swap. If my product is in poor condition, there will be trouble.” The call ends abruptly, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Do we believe him?” Shades asks the most important question, and his tone says he thinks Arturo is full of shit.
I agree with him.
Ace shrugs. “Of course not. But if we get Aria in exchange for his product, we have the bargaining chip we need to partner with Geoffrey Morgan. If he’s on our side, we can use that against LTC.”
“And if we don’t get Aria back?”
“We will.” Ace’s certainty is just what we need as an MC right now. “He wants his product more than he wants to kill her. Besides, he has to know who she is.”
“I agree,” I say quickly. “But why hasn’t he reached out to Morgan directly?”
Dix shrugs. “Maybe he doesn’t know who Morgan is? They could have made all their deals through Santos and Nogales. Only finding out about Aria because she was home alone.”
Ace nods. “Fuck. My. Life. Wild Man, go check on the probies and see if the fire’s out? Once they get that shit gone and buried, have them come into the bar. The rest of us can go have a few beers and enjoy spending time with our women and our brothers. I expect Arturo to do something unexpected, so we need to be ready for anything.”
Dix slaps the table as he stands, his frown morphing into a tight-lipped grin. “So drink but don’t get fucked up. We’ll have plenty of time for that later, boys.” He looks around the table at each of us to ensure we all understand his message.
Party but not too much. “Got it,” I say and look to Ace. When he releases us, I make a beeline for my girl. I need to make sure she’s all right, and if she’s not, I will make her all right.
I spot Willow immediately. She’s swaying to the music in the middle of the room. Her eyes are closed, her arms above her head, and a bottle of Altos tequila in one hand. She’s mouthing the lyrics to some song I’ve never heard before. She’s beautiful, but she’s also sad, and I fucking hate that.
“Hey there, beautiful.”
Her lips slowly curve into a half-smile, but her eyes are still closed. They take longer to open, but when I see those sapphire gems staring back at me, my fucking heart stops for a moment.
This is it.Tonight I’m celebrating with my brothers and with the woman I love. We’re all still alive, and we won the war. The next war can wait.
“Hey there, you handsome devil.” Her hand lands on my shoulder and curls around my neck, pulling me close. She takes a drink from the bottle and shivers as she swallows the alcohol. “See somethin’ you like?”
I nod. “You know I do,” I say. “How much have you had to drink?”
She blinks at me, holding her thumb and forefinger a few centimeters apart. “I’ve had some,” she says, trying for another smile that falls flat.
“You wanna talk about your friend Sandee?”
Willow’s body goes completely still, except for her rapidly blinking eyelids. “Nope. Not right now.” A soft shake of her head and a sad smile is all I get before she takes another swig and starts swaying to the music again. “I’m sad, and I’m angry as hell, but right now, the last thing I want to do is talk about it. Later. Maybe.”
“Okay, then.” I nod slowly and wrap my arm around her lower back and pull her even closer so we’re chest to chest. Heartbeat to heartbeat. “Wanna go home with me tonight?” It’s not a question. She’ll definitely be in my bed tonight but flirting with Willow is always a thrill.
Willow’s smile turns coy, and that makes me want to bend her over the table and fuck her, damn who’s watching. She takes another drink from the bottle and sets it on the table, shaking her head.
