“He gave her keys back?” Hank asked.
“Yes, without a word. He’s not a demonstrative guy but he’s pretty big on PDA with her. He didn’t touch her. He didn’t even get near her. It’s so un-Hot-Bunch-like, it’s unreal,” I replied.
“Don’t worry about it,” Hank told me, sounding supremely unconcerned.
I tried to get through to him, why, I didn’t know. Probably because I thought he could get through to Mace. I thought Hank could do just about anything.
“You don’t get it, Whisky. Something bad happened.
Stel a told us that –”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Hank!”
“Sunshine, don’t worry about it and don’t tel anyone, especial y fuckin’ Al y, what I’m gonna tel you right now.” I went silent.
Hank correctly assessed this as my agreement and went on, “I spent the morning with Mace. He’s got the ful picture about Stel a. When he left Lee’s office this morning he told Lee and me that he was goin’ to get some keys cut.
Everything’s fine.”
I let out a relieved breath.
Mace didn’t give her back her keys.
He gave her back a set of her keys.
I smiled at the phone.
Hank kept talking. “I’m gonna be late but I want you to wait up for me. Boys are busy but they’re doin’ drive-bys. I stil want you checkin’ in occasional y.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t let Shamus out. I’l see to him when I get in.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
His voice went soft and I got another shiver when he said, “Later, sweetheart.”
“Later,” I replied.
“I love you,” he finished, my body went solid but before I could make a noise I heard the disconnect.
I stood stil with the phone to my ear, eyes staring unseeing at the floor in front of me.
“Roxie, you okay?” I heard Ava ask.
I didn’t answer.
Hank had never told me he loved me. I knew. Or at least I thought I knew. But he’d never said it.
And, because he never had, I hadn’t either.
Good God.
“Roxie? Are you okay?” Ava repeated and she was now close.
I lifted my eyes and focused on Ava.
“Hank just told me he loved me,” I whispered.
“Yeah? So?” Al y asked and she got close too.
“He’s never said that before,” I told Al y.
Both Ava and Al y reared back in shock and looked at each other.
“Jeez, he’s not a very fast mover, is he?” Al y asked no one.
“He didn’t give me a chance to say it back.” I kept sharing.
“Have you ever said it to him?” Ava asked.
I shook my head.
“You don’t move very fast either,” Al y informed me.
My eyes went to her and I felt them narrow. “I’m sorry Al y.
My eyes went to her and I felt them narrow. “I’m sorry Al y.
The last guy I said ‘I love you’ to took a sledgehammer to the door and eventual y beat the shit out of me, kidnapped me and stalked me. Maybe I’m a bit gun shy about this love business.”
“Hank’d never do that to you,” Al y returned.
“I know that,” I shot back.
“Then what’s your problem?” Al y enquired.
My body got tight. “What’s your problem?” I asked back.
“You’ve been in a bad mood al day. You upset Stel a!”
“Wel , excuse me. But I’m beginning to understand where Shirleen is coming from with al this shit. My brothers and my friends got a load of shit on their plate on a regular basis, mind you. They don’t need Rock Chick shit thrown at them al the time. It’s getting ridiculous.”
“Just you wait until it’s your turn, Al y Nightingale,” Ava, being a Rock Chick, went on the defensive.
“It isn’t going to happen to me. No fuckin’ way,” Al y retorted.
“What makes you so sure?” I asked.
“Because there’s only one left, not including Darius, who doesn’t fuck white women and who’s like a brother to me,” Al y answered. “And nothing is gonna happen between me and Hector, ‘cause I’ve known him since we were kids.
He’s like a cousin or something.”
“So, what you’re real y saying is,” Jet came up to our huddle and entered the conversation, “that you’re pissed off you aren’t gonna get your shot at a Hot Bunch guy.” I smiled at Ava and Ava smiled back.
Al y turned angry eyes to Jet. “No, what I’m saying is, I wouldn’t get myself into a shitload of trouble. And, if I did, I’d take care of my own business. I wouldn’t let some guy stick his nose into said business. I wouldn’t put up with that shit for a second. Some fuckin’ macho badass tel ing me what to do and fucking with my life and my head. I wouldn’t play those games. Some guy tried to do that to me, I’d put an end to it, pronto.”
I couldn’t help myself, I laughed. So did Jet. So did Ava.
“Seriously, chickies, not gonna happen,” Al y said into our laughter.
“I cannot wait for some guy to rip into your life and make you eat those words,” Ava told Al y.
“Not gonna happen,” Al y repeated.
“You are so going down,” I said to Al y.
Al y turned to me and snapped, “Can we stop talking about this?”