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“Yep.”
“I love you, too, you know. I loved you before I was allowed to love you, when you were still forbidden.”
“I had no idea, but looking back, I can kind of see it.” She took another long drink. “I’m glad you were my first. My second didn’t really know what to do with me, and I could kind of show him, because what you’d done worked.”
Nick had a feeling Lauren would regret telling him this once she was sober, but he didn’t care enough to stop her from talking.
“I’m glad I was your first, too.”
Nick saw the four Drake Security employees go to alert status simultaneously, and heard Panda say, “Copy that, good copy.”
Mira stood and walked to them as Panda said, “Charlie two, need you to create a disturbance while we exfil our charge.”
Nick had worked for Drake security a little, so he knew the teams were named based on who they were watching. The team watching him was Charlie team, the C meaning cat, and the one watching Gavin was Bravo, with the B meaning boss. They stuck with calling Lauren princess, though, and Nick had a feeling that was just Nathan annoying Lauren — and possibly playfully retaliating for her referring to him as her mother’s kitty cat in front of a huge crowd of people a few years back. Within the teams, they were numbered. So Panda would be Princess One, and Mira would be Princess Two. Each Drake team usually had six people.
Mira slid into the booth beside Lauren and said, “Nathan tells us you can sober up quickly. I need you to enlist Cally’s help to do that, Lauren.”
Lauren rolled her eyes, muttered something about fucking up a good buzz, and then closed her eyes and spent a good minute inhaling and exhaling three times. When she opened her eyes again, they were clear and sharp, and she told Mira, “I’ve a good mind to kick someone’s ass for messing up the nice drunken stupor I had going. What do we need to know?”
“Five wolves are approaching. I’d like to get you out the back door so we don’t have a public spectacle to deal with.”
Lauren gave a terse nod. “Fine, but I’m ordering Panda to tell them to announce themselves to the palace bellhop in thirty minutes, and they will be directed to an area where we can parley in private. We can bring the beta and the wolves he brought with him up as well. I’m open to a conversation with them, and if they want to fight, I’ll give them that as well, but they need to rethink that decision because I’m in the mood to hurt people.”
Nick heard Panda say, “That’s a good copy, Princess Two,” and Mira nodded to Lauren. “He will. You good to go?”
“Yes.”
A bar brawl broke out behind them as Mira walked Lauren and Nick to the rear of the restaurant and out a back door, and Nick telepathed Gavin to let him know what was happening. Mira ushered them into the back seat of a black SUV, and Lauren said, “I can’t believe Nathan still hasPrincessas your call sign when you’re guarding me. I mean, Nick’s here, too. What is he, chopped liver?”
“The Charlie team was handling the outer perimeter,” Nick told her. “Panda became the lead for both teams as a unit since we’re together, but they kept their original Princess and Charlie call signs.” He looked to the driver. “Charlie three, right?”
The driver nodded, and Mira said, “Nathan has wanted to handle security for the three of you all along. Gavin brought people with him from Branson, but he’s been relying an awful lot on the staff already in place.”
Nick sighed. “He’s been in their heads. He reassigned or fired anyone who’s loyalty to the previous master would interfere with their job performance.”
“The Casino indeed has a world-class security staff,” the driver said, “and Gavin picked the best of them to act as personal security for the three of you and Queenie. They’re good, but we’re better.”
Traffic was insane, as it almost always is on the strip, so it took them ten minutes to travel the three-quarters of a mile to the main entrance of the palace. Somehow, Panda was already there, and he opened Lauren’s door and helped her out. Another guard shadowed Nick, though he didn’t help him out of the car, thankfully.
Nick telepathed Gavin,This level of security is going to get really old, really fast.
Agreed, but if we don’t allow it for us, Lauren isn’t going to put up with it, either.
I’m not certain she’s going to even if we do. She is right now because she’s feeling guilty about putting you in a tough spot with her poor decisions earlier, but I don’t think that’s going to last.
Gavin was waiting for them when they got off the elevator, and he pulled Lauren into his arms while he leaned to the side to kiss Nick’s cheek.
“I’m sorry your outing was cut short. Would you like to start over with the margaritas?” Gavin asked Lauren.
“No. I want to put jeans on and prepare to talk to the wolves I’ve invited for a parley.”
“And a fight?”
“If that’s what they want, isn’t it better to give it to them when I’m expecting it, rather than allow them to surprise me when it isn’t convenient?”
Chapter 49
Gavin looked down at his clothes. He’d taken off the jacket, shirt, and shoes, so he was only wearing the leather pants from the party.
