“Well, I’m sure you have a lot to catch up on,” I say and lean close to Isabelle to whisper in her ear. “Don’t disappear or your lesson of earlier will be repeated.”
She faces me when I draw back, puts her hands on my shoulders and rises on tiptoe.
“Don’t jerk off too hard while sniffing my panties.”
I wrap an arm around her lower back and tug her closer.
“I’ll let you do the jerking later,” I say and lightly bite the shell of her ear.
“In your dreams,” she whispers and smiles sweetly.
I smile back because hell, this is fun.
But I glimpse Carlton Bishop’s ugly face beyond Isabelle’s shoulder and release her. I have business to conduct tonight. I walk away from Isabelle and her cousin, signaling to Dex who is standing subtly in the shadows to keep an eye on Isabelle then walk out into the courtyard where Marco and Zeke are waiting.
Zeke makes a point of checking his watch. “I wasn’t sure you would extract yourself.”
“Fuck off,” I tell him and turn to Marco. “I hope I didn’t keep anyone apart from my brother waiting.”
“They just got here,” Marco says.
Zeke and I follow him through the courtyard to one of the small private rooms. Once we enter, he closes the door, and the two men stand to greet us.
“Jericho,” Lawson Montgomery, also known as Judge, says. He extends his hand.
“Judge.” I take his hand, shake it. “It’s been a long time.” Judge and I crossed paths at Harvard years ago.
“We’ll remedy that. It’s good to see you again. Ezekiel,” he says and the two shake hands.
I turn to the other man whom I only know by name and watch as my brother shakes hands with him, the two exchanging pleasantries. My brother has kept up appearances over the last five years, but I don’t know how far his friendships go.
“Santiago, this is my brother, Jericho. Jericho, Santiago De La Rosa. The man I told you about.”
“Santiago,” I shake his hand as I take him in, the half-skull-face tattoo impressive even though Zeke warned me. “Good to meet you.”
“Same,” Santiago says. We sit on the leather Chesterfields, and I see the folder on the coffee table.
“I’m sure my brother filled you in on the ugly details,” I say to Santiago and Judge.
“Your family history is interesting,” Santiago says.
“As interesting as yours.” I study Santiago. He is a Sovereign Son and a force to be reckoned with. For years after the explosion that claimed the lives of his brother and father and left him scarred, he lived a life of solitude plotting his revenge. That revenge came in the form of Ivy Moreno, the daughter of the man he believed had orchestrated the killing of so many Sovereign Sons. Things didn’t go the way he planned though. She recently gave birth to their second child. Looking at him, I wonder about her. Because she’d have to be something else to have turned this man’s head.
“We have a lot in common,” he says.
I think about Isabelle, about how right he is. But I can say one thing for sure. I will never let Isabelle become to me what Ivy has become to him.
Santiago grins as if he’s reading my mind.
“How are your daughter and mother?” Judge asks. “Zeke tells me they’re home.”
“Adjusting,” I tell him. “My mother, as you know, is recovering.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Thank you.” We had thought for so long that she would die. That the cancer would beat her. But she’s in remission and slowly regaining her strength.
“And Angelique?” Judge asks.