Smiling faintly, Saint mimicked me by caressing my cheek. “So do I.”
Our gazes held for another moment then I sighed. “I’ll see you tonight.”
His fingers lingered before he finally stepped back. As I left the parking garage, my mind raced with memories of the last twenty four hours. In fact, I found myself missing him by the time I got a block away.
Chapter Eighteen ~ Saint
Guys like Lenny were common within the illegal communities of the world. He was an insecure asshole who crushed other people as a way to feel better about his sad self. I’d bet he started out bullied as a kid before becoming a bully when he got big enough. Now he spent his life searching for new victims.
Logic dictated Lenny shouldn't start shit with the guys Memphis brought to Ellsberg. These killers were more valuable to the bosses than Lenny was. Yet apparently, the idiot wasn't a big believer in logic.
I saw him hounding Shadow. While the guy was huge, he was also basically mute. Lenny figured the giant wouldn’t squish him. I spotted Cowboy whispering to Shadow, likely mocking him for taking Lenny’s shit. As the assigned babysitter for these idiots, I walked over to make sure punches didn’t fly.
Cowboy wasn’t mocking Shadow though.
“Stomp him like a bug,” he whispered to the silent man in the middle of a staring contest with Lenny. “No one will care. Do it and I’ll give you twenty bucks.”
Lenny rolled his eyes, but deep inside, he was probably nervous. If Shadow fell on top of him, he’d be lucky to break free with only a few broken bones.
“You two,” I said to Cowboy and Shadow, “go play with Dutch. Learn to work together and stay away from Lenny. He’s on my team. If anyone gets to crush him, it’ll be me.”
Cowboy gave me a nod, happy to keep his pretty face intact. Shadow possessed only one facial expression, so he went from staring blankly at Lenny to staring blankly while walking away.
The guys worked with the paintballs rifles, getting the feel of them. Keeping an eye on the men, I imagined Cooper’s guys prepping for the match. Not really his guys, just Harlow. Was she training with them right then?
“Should we have a game plan?” one of the Rutgers twins asked.
I needed a minute to figure out he was the less horny brother Camden. “Such as?”
“The goal is to take out Cooper’s groups, right? So who are the weak links?”
“The girl,” Vick announced. Mikey’s main muscle continued, “She’s gonna slow them down, so we take her out first.”
Like the pro I was, I hid my irritation. “You’d think that, right?”
“Or,” Dutch said, looking tired, “you leave the weak link in the game, so she’ll slow them down. Why take out their liability? It’d be like them taking out Lenny minutes into the game.”
Lenny glared at Dutch who pretended not to notice. I wasn’t the only one wearing masks.
Camden jumped in with his two cents, “Maybe the girl is their ace. She’s smaller than the rest of us and can hide in spots we can’t. They know the landscape better than we do and they've been training together for months. Let’s not make any assumptions about them.”
Dayton rolled his eyes. “Show off.”
“Your syphilis is showing.”
While the brothers beat on each other, I focused on Lenny who looked ready to say something stupid. I hoped my dark glare would inspire him to keep his mouth shut.
“I don’t care if she’ll slow them down or not,” Lenny said, immune to my signals, “First thing off, I’m dropping the bitch.”
Dutch smiled at those words while the rest of the guys looked relieved they hadn’t said them. Lenny noticed their signals, irritating me even more. Hell, the bastard even looked shocked when I pinned him against a car.
“I’m shacking up with that bitch,” I said calmly as my knife shined just over his throat. “If anyone shoots her anywhere besides the outer thigh, I’ll shoot them in the face and I won’t be using a paintball gun. Are we all understood?”
The guys behind me muttered affirmatives, but Lenny was a special kind of loser. He hated me for being stronger and better than him. Looking into his blue eyes, I saw a lifetime of feeling like the victim of others. He knew he was vile, but figured it wasn’t his fault. The world fucked him over, so he was only fighting back against the injustice.
“There’s no shame in backing down to a man like me,” I said, returning my gaze to the blade. “It doesn’t make you weak. In fact, it makes you smart. A survivor doesn’t start fights he can’t win. Only a fool challenges someone who kills for a living. You’re not a fool, are you, Lenny?”
“Naw, I ain’t.”
Letting him go, I stepped back. “Then you stay away from my woman and focus on shooting someone worthy of your attention like the Reapers’ enforcers.”