Broken but Breathing (Jinx Tattoos 2)

“Hmmm,” he said.

“Tonight you rest. Tomorrow you go back and make things right, yes?”

“I think that’s the best way to do things,” he said as his eyes grew heavy.

“You tell me what you need and it’s done.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my very best friend.” He felt a feather-light brush against his lips before he let the blackness take him.

§

Estelle

How did I get myself into this?

“Sign here and here please,” the small man with grey hair, and dark eyes that didn’t seem to miss a thing said. Jim Arbuckle was one of the top lawyers in Cincinnati. She knew because she’d seen his name fly around high-profile cases. How the Wild Ones could afford him, she didn’t know.

She gave her signature and made a mental promise to throat chop Snake the next time she saw him. He’d left her early telling her he’d be contacting her to get the ball rolling. She hadn’t known that would mean signing power of attorney papers to give her the right to sign his name while he was off searching for Jocelyn. Kali sat beside her in the clubroom offices.

“Excellent. I’ll make a copy. Keep this on you when you’re doing any sort of business transactions and refer people to me if you have any problems.”

“Thank you so much, Mr. Arbuckle.”

“It’s what they pay me to do.”

She watched slightly dazed as he made a copy, handed it to her, packed up, and walked out.

“What the hell did you do to Snake? Is your pussy made of gold?”

“What? No. We’ve never even done that.”

“So your mouth is magical?” Kali said.

“Jesus, Kali, no. He wants me to look for some property.”

“He gave you the power to fuck his shit up if you want to.”

“I would never do that.”

“Clearly he knows that. Look, it’s not like any of these men to do this. Why are you different?” Kali asked.

Irritation loosened her tongue. “I get that you’re the den mother here, but I’ve had enough of your shit. I can’t speak for any of these other men, but I can tell you what Xavier and I share is real and potent. I was lucky to find him and I’m not about to let him down because you want to ride my ass. You need to step back.”

Kali nodded. “Good girl.”

“Excuse me?” Estelle snapped, exasperated.

“I’ve been trying to see how far you’d let me push you for weeks. You’ll need a strong backbone to stay around here.”

“Seriously, Kali, it’s nine o’clock in the morning, I’m exhausted, and worried I might fuck this task I’ve been given up. I don’t know what the hell Snake likes, and his ‘I’ll live anywhere as long as I have a place to sleep, eat, and shit’ isn’t helpful.” She lowered her voice, mimicking Snake.

Kali laughed. “Sounds about right. Look, he’s used to living in a dorm, so when he said that he meant it. Use your own discretion. Besides, I get the feeling you’ll be spending a lot of time there.”

“Yes, because I have to decorate it, too.” She threw her hands up in the air.

“No wonder he gave you access to his money. It makes it easier on him. The lazy bastard,” Kali scoffed.