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“Prez set you up in the room four doors down on the left,” I told him.
“I’m gonna…” Gianna gestured down the hall as Deacon stepped in, Ella behind him. And I could see that she was reacting to the crowd trickling in.
“Good idea,” I replied.
“Gia,” Deacon greeted, carrying two boxes.
“Hi D,” she replied, not making eye contact.
“Hey,” Ella said, coming up behind him walking past smiling at her with a lamp in her hand. “How are you?”
“Oh, hey.” She looked away from Ella, biting her lip. “Good, yeah. Thanks.” She nervously toyed with her hair.
Deacon, Ella, and Brady filed into Brady’s room with the gear they had.
“You need help carrying more in?” Bront called out.
“Not sure, Bronto; I think Scoot and Skip are gettin’ some but not sure if that’s the last of it,” Brady called back.
“I’ll check.” Bront headed out.
So, Skip hadn’t gone far. At the mention of his name, Gianna looked tweaked.
“Door to the swamp is unlocked,” I told her.
She hurried that way.
“Brother,” Brady came back out and grabbed the cat cage. “You might wanna keep her behind your door. Lotta ‘ol ladies around tonight. Some of ‘em won’t react well.” He slapped my arm with affection.
“Roger that,” I said. “You know why she’s here?”
“I do; we all do. Couple are still bein’ assholes about it though, so for her sake I’d make sure she keeps a low profile. Tender soul on that one. Wouldn’t mind catching up with her.”
“She’s under my watch. Don’t ask me to send her to your room, brother,” I warned.
He raised his hands defensively, “All right, Jesse.” Then he snapped his fingers with a pout, before laughing.
I wasn’t amused.
“Catch some pool later?” he asked.
“Sounds good.”
He slapped my back and moved away.
A few minutes later, I was at the bar with Bront. Spencer walked in, holding Pippa’s hand.
The vibe in the space shifted.
“Be cool, brother,” I muttered under my breath before greeting, “Yo.”
If Bront wasn’t cool, Spence would make his life harder.
“Hey man,” Spencer answered, eyes skating across the both of us.
Pippa smiled brightly.
“Got five?” I asked Spence. “Step outside with me?” And then I reminded Bront, “Watch,” before heading for the door.
***
“What’s Gianna’s story?” I asked.
“Why’re you asking me?” Spence replied, taken aback.
“Bront said you two are close.”
Spence shrugged. “Wouldn’t say that. We hooked up a couple times last year. Club bunny. You know.”
“What’s her deal? Anyone else closer than you?”
“She’s bounced a fair bit, though Edge might know more than most. Spent time with her more than anyone I can think of. Heard she was doing him exclusively for a while, though that ended when Jet was killed. Why?”
“How about her and Skip?”
“Why’re you asking, Jess?”
“Doin’ my research to make sure I’ve got shit in hand. Didn’t like the way he acted with her in the hall earlier. Or how she reacted. Real proprietary and she wasn’t down for it. In fact, seemed afraid of him.”
He leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. “Not sure but thinkin’ back, might’ve been Skip was the first to bring her around. Maybe he thinks he’s got a claim for that reason. But she’s been around the block. Though not as much as Skip has.” He rolled his eyes.
“What’s your sense about her?”
He took a pull on his smoke and seemed to think about his answer. “Sweet girl. Believed her yesterday when she said she wanted to get that intel to us, so nobody’d get hurt. I don’t think she’s a double agent. Though, all the shit that’s been goin’ on lately, never a bad idea to tread careful.”
“Your intuition tells you she’s on the up ‘n up?”
“Pretty much.” He nodded. “Like I said though, wouldn’t classify I know her any better than any other bunnies from the mother charter. That it? I wanna get back to my woman.”
“You seal the deal? She yours?” I asked. And I only asked because I had the feeling I knew the answer before he smiled wide.
“Yeah.”
“Nice, brother.” I shook his hand, then put my free hand on his shoulder. “Go easy on Bront, eh? Poor fucker’s in a sad state.”
“Not a fuckin’ chance. He overstepped with Reardon the other night and he needs to fuckin’ get that she’s mine.”
I lifted my hands in defense. “Your woman, your situation. Just sayin’, he’s a lovesick pup.”
He wanted to beat Joe Reardon to a pulp himself. Bront took that from him.
“Yeah, well too fuckin’ bad for him. He needs to not be a lil’ bitch about it.”
“She seems like a nice girl. Pippa. Looks at you like she can’t believe you’re real. Like she wants to jump your bones. Possessive-like, too.”
“Yeah?” He looked surprised.
“Absolutely.”
He looked off into the distance for a minute and then when his eyes hit mine, his throat bobbed. “She’s… it for me. Found what I’ve been lookin’ for, brother. Not gonna fuck this up.”
