I clenched my jaw and wanted to go after him, but I held back. Jetter was a cunt, but there was nothing I could do about it. Going after him would just cause more problems.
No, the important thing was that Janine had just lied for me. We had never talked about her fears or why we had waited so long to tell everyone. We both knew the truth, and she clearly understood that we couldn’t tell them that. So she had lied for me, right to her father’s face.
I couldn’t decide how I felt about it, but that didn’t fucking matter. All that mattered was that we were past the difficult bit.
Larkin looked at me. “Tell me about what happened. Who were these guys?”
I went over the whole thing again, but this time in detail. I told him as much as I could about the guys, though I didn’t remember much or get a great look at them.
All that mattered was that they were Snakes, and there was no doubt that they had come after Janine.
When I finished, Jetter looked at Larkin. “I don’t like this,” he said.
“Clutch did a good job,” Larkin answered.
“True, the boy did well, but the Snakes clearly know what’s happening and want to stop it. They’re going to come again.”
“So what do you propose?”
“I want the girl. I want to watch over her. She is mine after all.”
There was silence in the room, heavy and deep. Larkin wasn’t answering right away, and I could sense Janine’s discomfort. Meanwhile, I was trying with everything I had not to cross the room and beat Jetter down to a bloody pulp.
“Larkin,” Jetter said, “remember, I claimed the girl, and you witnessed it.”
“Yeah,” Larkin grunted.
“No,” Janine said suddenly, with such force that everyone in the room stared at her.
She sat back in her chair. “No. I’m staying with Clutch.”
“You’ll be safe with me, darling,” Jetter said.
“He’s right, Janine. Jetter is capable of keeping you safe, just like Clutch is.”
“No,” Janine said again. “You want me to marry this guy? Fine. But until then, Clutch is watching me.”
“Careful,” Jetter said. “We might think you have a thing for this fuckhead.”
“You should go with Jetter,” Larkin said weakly.
“I trust Clutch,” she answered, not backing down. “I trust him. I don’t trust Jetter.”
Larkin looked at Jetter and sighed. “You heard the girl.”
“I don’t give a fuck what the girl says,” Jetter said, standing up straight. “She’s mine and she’s coming with me.”
I took a step toward him.
Jetter’s head snapped toward me.
“You got something to say about it, you fucking grunt?” Jetter asked me.
“The girl said she’s not going with you,” I said. “I don’t care who protects her, but right now I do what she says.”
“Come on, you little punk bitch,” he said to me, sneering. “Come closer. I’d love to fuck you up right here.”
I just stared at Jetter, my hand inching toward the knife I always kept clipped to my pocket. I’d cut the bastard’s throat here and now and be done with it.
There was a tense moment when my hand inched toward my knife and Jetter just grinned at me, daring me to go for him.
“Enough,” Larkin said finally. “Clutch, back down.”
I didn’t move.
“Clutch,” Larkin warned. “Back down now or I’ll have the boys teach you some fucking manners.”
Reluctantly, I took a step back, relaxing.
“That’s right. You’re the little bitch in this room,” Jetter said.
“Jetter,” Larkin barked. “Get the fuck out of my office.”
He stared at Larkin. “What?”
“Now, asshole.”
He shook his head. “I can still ruin this for you.”
Larkin stood up slowly. “You need me more than I need you. We can win this war with or without you. Now, get the fuck out.”
Jetter stared at Larkin for a second before turning to Janine. “You should change your mind, little girl,” he said. “You’d have more fun with me.”
He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.
Larkin sat back down, sighing. “I fucking hate that guy,” he said.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“You think that’s funny?” Larkin asked me. “My daughter is marrying that cunt.”
I stopped laughing and nodded. “Not funny, prez. Just releasing some tension is all.”
Larkin looked at Janine, frowning. “Are you sure you won’t go with him?”
“Positive,” she said.
“Okay,” he said. “Okay. Clutch will stay with you.” He looked at me. “And if you do anything like that again, I’ll fuck you up myself. Got it?”
“Yeah, prez, I got it,” I said.
“Fuck. This shit is going to give me a fucking ulcer,” Larkin grumbled. “Get the fuck out of here, both of you.”
Janine stood up. I followed her out, back into the main room.
I didn’t let her get far, though. Before she could join the other guys, I grabbed her arm and pulled her back toward the bathrooms.
She stumbled behind me. I pushed her up against a wall, pinning her there.
“You lied,” I said to her.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”