My bugged out eyes swung to Jules. “Vance was watching?” I breathed.
“Yeah, I didn’t know that, neither did Luke. Vance installed cameras in my house during my troubles and he was on duty in the surveillance room the night Luke and I... um...” Jules stopped then started again. “Ava, you have to know, it didn’t go very far.”
“Vance was watching?” I breathed again. I didn’t know Vance very well (read: hardly at all) but I figured Vance was a lot like Luke. “Did he throw any lamps?” I asked.
I saw Jules relax before she grinned. “No, but he wasn’t too happy.”
“I’ll bet,” I said, thinking she got off easy.
“Did Luke throw a lamp?” May asked.
“Yeah, after he caught me with Ren,” I told her.
May looked at Jules. “Who acts like that?”
I thought this was a good question but I didn’t share. Instead I said, “Jules, listen, I don’t want you in on this operation.”
Both Jules and May looked at me. May’s eyes narrowed. Jules looked surprised.
“Why? She’s The Law. Right now, way I see it, she’s the best thing you got goin’ for you,” May said.
I looked at Jules. “I can’t explain it now but I think Jules understands.”
I saw the light dawn on Jules. It didn’t dawn on May. Therefore I reckoned May wasn’t in on the pregnancy news.
“You can’t cut her out of the action just because she made out with your boyfriend,” May protested.
In any normal situation a girl would be obligated to cut out another girl because she made out with her boyfriend.
This, however, wasn’t a normal situation.
Still.
I ignored May, it was up to Jules if she wanted to share that I was protecting her because she was pregnant. Instead, I looked for a compromise.
“Can you be the information person? Operate a Command Central? People can check in with you, you can keep tabs on things, where people are, what they’ve learned. I don’t know, that kind of shit?” I asked.
Jules smiled. “I can do that.”
“Hang on a second, Jules can drop a guy twice her size. I don’t –” May cut in.
“I’ll explain it later,” Jules interrupted her.
“But –” May went on.
“May, I’ll explain it later,” Jules repeated.
May looked from Jules, to me, back to Jules.
“You’re keepin’ somethin’ from me,” she accused.
“I’ll explain later,” Jules said again.
“Hon, you better explain later,” May snapped, really not happy to be out of the loop but she said no more and moved away.
Jules and I watched May retreat then Jules turned to me. “It isn’t that I don’t want her to know, I just want to be further along before I tell her. I don’t want her to get all excited and then... it’s just that, I have a history of... if I lose it, I just want Vance and me...” Jules stopped and looked away.
I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
She looked back at me and said quietly, “Thank you for keeping it a secret. There aren’t many of those in this tribe.”
I’d noticed that.
Instead of answering, I pulled on her hand to bring her closer and I hugged her. I hugged her because I was happy for her and Vance. I hugged her because she obviously didn’t think I was a screaming dork for my freak out the day before. Lastly, I hugged her because she was proof that Luke had good taste in women and he had settled on me which said a lot about both of us.
“Is there gonna be lots of huggin’ and carryin’ on or we gonna get this shit done?” Tex boomed from somewhere close.
I sighed. So did Jules.
We broke our hug and I looked at Tex.
“Let’s get this shit done,” I said.
*
Indy Ally, Tod and Stevie went to go talk to Brody, a friend of theirs and an employee of Lee’s. Apparently he was a computer genius and Lee’s hacker. They were going to pump him for any information he had on the Noah Investigation.
Jet, Roxie, Daisy and Smithie went to get provisions including stun guns, Tasers, pepper spray and handcuffs.
May and Jules went to Jules’s house where we were all going to meet later.
Shirleen, Tex, Duke, Sissy and I went to my house so I could get my Range Rover.
We trooped in my front door, Duke first. He stopped dead barely clearing the doorway from the entrance hall to the living room.
Shirleen slammed into his back, I slammed into Shirleen’s back, Sissy slammed into me and Tex boomed, “What the fuck?” from the rear.
“What the fuck is right,” Duke growled, staring into my living room.
I looked around everyone in front of me and saw through the doorway that Uncle Vito was sitting in my armchair.
Shit.
What was Uncle Vito doing there? I did not need this.
Time to run interference.
“Hey Uncle Vito,” I called, pushing my way through even though Shirleen tried, and failed, to hold me back.
Duke was more successful. His arm wrapped around my upper chest and he hauled me back against his body.