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The next day, I spend all morning in a quiet Pigsty. No one is around until the afternoon when Armor shows up. He walks around the Pigsty, checking on each room as if we might forget to turn off the lights or leave the doors open without his supervision.
“Where is everyone?” Armor asks while joining me on the back deck.
“Long night partying.”
Armor settles next to me on the back steps. “Life got busy after the bullshit at the park. I couldn’t take my mind off Yazmin and Gavin. Being so focused on them means I haven’t made time to see how this thing with you and the Irina chick is going.”
“She was locked down at the Rogers estate until this weekend.”
“And is that a thing that might stick?”
Studying his blue eyes, I search for danger to my relationship. “Why?”
“You seemed bummed by her behavior. Like she only liked to party, but you wanted more. Is that still a thing after she showed up here on Friday?”
“We’re on the same page now,” I reply, wondering if Armor’s really making a social call.
My VP ran the Pigsty since we moved into the place. He was like everyone’s dad, bossing them around and keeping order. I’ve liked him better since he hooked up with Yazmin. The old Armor was uptight. Sometimes, he’d get so pissed at stupid shit that he’d remind me of my stepdad.
Unlike Asshole Lloyd, Armor is loyal and helps people out. So maybe he’s here because he actually gives a shit about my situation. The man can be difficult to read.
Armor looks out over the quiet day. “Irina’s all tied up with the Rogers family.”
“Just the daughter. Irina doesn’t care about the rest of them.”
“Think they can use the daughter to manipulate Irina against us?”
“What would be the point?”
“To get her to spy.”
“On our party nights? Anyone can do that. We’re wide open every Friday night. Random people sleep over. This place isn’t secure. But what can anyone learn? We drink too much and smoke pot and like to fuck? All the club’s plans are locked up in Ruin’s head. Maybe yours, too. But they’re definitely not here with Walla Walla’s bare ass or Tomcat’s flirty bullshit. You worry too much.”
Armor studies me before pushing back with, “Todd Rogers is the club’s ally. And you’re right that the Pigsty is often open for trouble. But I’m still worried, okay? Marky came close to killing my wife. His family isn’t known for their ability to let shit go.”
“What you really mean is Todd is the club’s ally, but he doesn’t have control of his boys anymore.”
“Larry and Jimbo are just variations of Marky.”
“Why not kill them? Not right this minute, sure. But in a month or two, make shit look like an accident. Take out Jimbo in a car wreck. He drives like an asshole. Larry is a cokehead. Fake like he OD’d.”
“The worry we have is that Todd is an old man,” Armor says like he’s losing his patience. “He can’t take his power and wealth with him when he dies. If he has no heirs to leave shit to, he might want to burn everything down on his way out.”
Shrugging, I admit, “Well, you and Ruin know better than me. I’ve only been in the same space with Todd Rogers a handful of times. He doesn’t know me, and I certainly don’t know him.”
“Does Irina know him?”
“She lives in the guesthouse with Fiona. Todd doesn’t like his daughter any more than he does his boys. Hell, he probably likes her less since she can’t intimidate anyone. Point is Irina doesn’t know Todd well, but what she knows, she doesn’t like.”
“She told you that?”
“Sure.”
“I feel like you’re holding back.”
“What do you want from me? How would you have felt if someone bothered you about Yazmin last summer before you made shit real?”
Armor’s blue eyes narrow, giving me a dirty look. After a minute, he exhales hard.
