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She presses her lips into a fine line to stop a smirk as we stand awkwardly. “So,” I mutter, stuffing my hands in my pockets.
“So,” she repeats. “I’d invite you in for coffee, but . . .”
I’m already shaking my head because I decided on the walk here that I wasn’t gonna repeat the same shit I always do. This time, I’m playing it right. “As much as I want to,” I tell her, looking her in the eye so she can see I’m genuine, “I want to see where this could go.”
She chews on her lip and gives a nod. “Okay.”
“So, I’m gonna ask you again, and this time, I want an answer. Can we do this again?”
Her smile shines through. “I’d like that.”
I bring a hand to her jaw and lean down to place a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Great. I’ll talk to you tomorrow to arrange it.”
I watch her walk up the path and go inside the house before I leave with the biggest smile on my face.
I head straight over to Luna’s place, enjoying the short walk to clear my head. I knock on the door. It’s a minute before it swings open and I’m faced with the sulky teenage babysitter again. I frown. “She didn’t come home?”
The babysitter checks her watch. “It’s only eleven. She’s never home before at least midnight.”
I push inside, ignoring her protests. I’m relieved to see the boyfriend’s gone and Ivy is sleeping in her basket. “Okay, you can go.” I pull out a twenty and hand it to her. She scowls at it like it’s poison, and I sigh, adding another twenty. She stuffs the notes in her pocket and grabs her coat.
“Tell Lu her brother stopped by.”
“What’s his name again?” I ask.
“Nate.”
“Do you know him?”
She gives a nod, and I follow her to the door. “Everyone knows Nate.”
“How come?”
She gives me a look like I’m stupid for not knowing this prick. “He’s just a wrong un,” she says, and I frown. “Yah know, always in trouble and up to no good.”
“Drugs?” I guess.
“And the rest. He thinks everyone likes him when, actually, everyone thinks he’s a proper weirdo. He only gets respect cos of who he works for.”
“Who does he work for?”
She rolls her eyes. “Are you a copper?”
I pluck at my kutte. “Do I look like one?”
She gives me another wary look before saying, “The Kings.”
My frown deepens as she leaves. The Kings MC have their own patch on the other side of Manchester. Why would they be on our side? We’ve never had any problems with the club. In fact, last year, their President, Reaper, tipped us off that one of his members had gone into business with one of our bookmakers and they were skimming money from us.
I decide I’ll raise it with Axel tomorrow, but right now, I need to find Luna. I call her mobile and she doesn’t answer, so I immediately redial. I do it several times, and each time, she ignores my call.
Ivy begins to stir, and I scoop her up. “Be kind to me, kid. I have no idea how to make a bottle.”
I head into the kitchen and find the powdered formula. I don’t wanna get it wrong, so I put a call into the only woman I know will answer. “What?” Lexi mumbles sleepily.
“Hey, Lex, I need your help.”
“Who the fuck’s calling you?” comes Axel’s voice.
