He didn’t even get to kiss her.
But when the man started to get sloppy, Dryden moved in and got him into his hotel room.
Muzzle was on the hotel security cameras. All through this they’d experienced a technical glitch.
He had no clue Muzzle had that skill. But apparently, whereas most of the men worked as mechanics or HVAC techs or shit like that, and messed around with cars, bikes, or their trucks as a pastime, Muzzle had a garage full of wires and computer boards and tech and he fucked around with that.
It sure as hell came in handy.
Beck stared down at the man in bed.
Shit, men got stupid for pussy.
Only way to get smart was find a good woman to offer you her compass.
“You underestimated us,” Beck told him.
“Listen, I got money—”
“Griller.”
That was all he said before he pulled the trigger.
The suppressor muffled the noise.
The blood shot back into the pillow, not on Beck.
Eightball snapped on gloves, moved in and took the fuck’s wrist.
Only when he dropped it and nodded at Beck did Beck put away the gun.
The only brothers not with them were Spiderweb, Spartan and Rainman because they had families.
The job done, they didn’t hang around.
They moved out.
Time to grab a beer.
They were in Florida. They’d take the night, soak in a little of the local flavor, then get home.
Miami was a shit-hot place. Beck wished he could have brought Janna with him. But she was in cosmetology school. She couldn’t skip classes.
And anyway, they were down there to assassinate someone.
He’d bring her when she could let loose.
Up next when they went home was gathering all they had left of club money and getting it to Mamá Nana.
It had been worth every penny.
Right.
Now Sparkle was off the list.
One more down.
One to go.
Then they could stitch on their patches.
Rush
One week later . . .
“So there, I did it. Yes, I did it. And I don’t even care I shouldn’t do this because of why I did it,” Amy, sitting at Rebel’s kitchen table, announced before she shot her tequila.
“I don’t know if I should say I’m proud of you that you filed for divorce and forced Paul to put your house on the market or not.” Rush, standing with his hips to her counter, his boots crossed at the ankle, arms on his chest, watched Rebel say as she sat opposite her friend and didn’t shoot her tequila, but instead studied Amy closely.
Needless to say, Paul had not gotten his head out of his ass.
Rush was unsurprised.
Rebel was upset, but she was dealing.
And apparently, Amy was dealing too.
“Well, I’m proud of myself,” Amy declared. “Because I know my daughter. I know right now, if she hadn’t had what happened to her happen at that volleyball game, she’d be getting her PT degree. She’d be kicking PT degree butt. She’d be running 5K races and snowboarding and finding some guy who, okay, maybe he’d be older, but he’d treat her right and she wouldn’t stand for anything less.”
“That’s the truth,” Rebel murmured.
“And she wouldn’t expect anything less from her mother,” Amy went on. “So it’s a crutch. I’m leaning on that crutch. I’m going to think of how Diane would be, not what she became. It makes it easier. And that house of cards may fall, but I’ll deal with that if it happens. Now, it’s working. Now, I can move on. So I am.”
“Good for you,” Rebel said, finally lifting her shot, tipping it to Amy, and drinking her tequila.
“Okay, I can’t drink much ’cause I’m driving, so should we switch to wine?” Amy suggested when Rebel was done.
Rebel started to get up.
“Got it,” Rush muttered. “Red or white?”
“White, Rush. Thanks,” Amy said.
“Yeah, honey,” Rebel agreed.
He got them their wine.
Then he got the fuck out of there.
But as he was walking out, he heard Amy whisper, “I like him, Rebel. At first he scared me a little. But the way he looks at you, you’re his world. I love that for you, doll. I really do. I just wish Diane had lived to see it.”
This meant Rush was smiling when he hit her living room.
Not a shock, Rebel was all about Christmas and the tall narrow tree in the corner of her living room screamed it. Stuffed full of bright decorations, you could barely see the needles. So many, there were some sticking out. Precisely little branches that had small, bright-colored pompoms at the ends.
She had a huge wreath in the same theme on her door. Fluffy pompom garlands leading from foyer to living room through bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and back to the front door. Colored lights everywhere.
On the other hand, Essence’s pad was decorated for what she called “Yule.”
But it was a lot of the same shit. Just a boatload more of it.
He snatched his phone from her coffee table that had three doves in different patterns of purples, reds, pinks, blues and oranges sitting on it. It also had a big box wrapped in silver paper and tied with a big silver ribbon that was not for Christmas, but for that weekend. Elvira’s wedding.
He was supposed to wear a suit.
That shit was not happening.
He went to the bedroom and nabbed his headphones.
He had no idea how long it was before he watched her come in from where he was on his back on her bed under her pompom garlands and Christmas lights and year-’round ornaments, his stocking feet up on the back of one of the chests that wedged in the bed.
She just smiled at him as she collapsed on his chest and popped out one of his earphones, plugging in her ear.
And then he watched the beauty of her face get even more beautiful when she heard what he was listening to.
It was the song Hop was going to sing when she walked through the garden to him in six months.
The wedding was hers. He’d give her whatever he wanted. He’d told her that.
That song was the only thing he’d asked for.
And although the words might not be what someone would want for the first day of the rest of their lives together, Rush had learned pretty much since he could cogitate with his dad as the example that every day was the first day of the rest of your life and you had to live it that way.
But he wanted her to know, when it was all said and done, they would not live the time they had together as vampires.
He was going to hold her hand.
And give her every second he had to give.
His Rebel had immediately agreed.
When Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit ended “If We Were Vampires,” Rebel shoved her face in his neck and whispered, “I hope we have more than forty years.”
He’d take forty minutes if Rebel was with him.
“We will,” he whispered back.
She snuggled closer.
“Amy said goodbye,” she said.
“Hope you said goodbye from me,” he replied.
“I did.”
He was sure she did.
He then replayed the song.
They didn’t get through it before her phone rang.
She popped out her earbud, pulled the phone out of her back jeans’ pocket, looked at the screen, didn’t look at him, and because she didn’t, he knew what this was, so he turned his gaze to the ceiling and sighed.
His Rebel, of course, took the call.
“Hey, Naomi,” she greeted. “Unh-hunh. Unh-hunh.” Pause. Then, “Well, she has done this before. And she’s a nurse. So I’m pretty sure Tab’s taking her prenatal vitamins. But, uh, you know, you could just call her and ask.”
Rush looked at his girl.
She pressed her lips together, gave him big eyes, then unpressed her lips.
“Unh-hunh. Okay. I’ll call her and ask. Are you still going to the group?”
Within seconds, she sat up abruptly.
Shit.
“Naomi, we agreed you’d stick with that group,” she snapped. Paused to listen, then snapped on, “Okay, so during the sessions, all the rest of the women bitch about being raped. It’s a sexual assault support group. That’s supposed to happen. You’re supposed to be there for them and listen. And you are supposed to let your shit out.”
Her eyes cut down to Rush and they were squinty.
“Yes,” she bit out. “Misery loves company. That’s the point. You aren’t alone. They get you. For God’s sake, woman, let them get you.”
Her eyes got squintier.
Fuck.
“That’s it, Naomi. I’m coming up next Wednesday and taking your ass myself.”
Jesus.
His Superwoman.
“You don’t think I won’t track you down?” she threatened. “I’ll track you down, and if I have to sit on you to stay in that session, I fucking will. Am I understood?”
She looked pissed another beat before her face cleared and she went on.
“Cool. We’ll go out to dinner after. Rush can meet us. And I’ll ask Tab if she’s free to come.” Pause. “Yeah.” Pause. “Yeah. Mexican rocks. That’d be perfect. See you then. Later.”
With that, she hung up, more than likely knowing that all that bullshit from his mother was to get to the end of it and what she really wanted.
Rush coming up for dinner.
And Tab coming too.
But Rebel would do what she had to do to make beauty happen for the people she loved.
Even taking on Naomi Allen.