"Why? I know Helen Mallick, she's a pretty headstrong woman herself."
"There's headstrong women and there's homicidal, batshit crazy chicks. Today, honey, you're the latter of the two."
"Ew," I said, looking over my shoulder at him. "Don't call me honey, honey."
The inside of Chaz's was more upscale than the outside, thanks to Chaz's son Hunter who no longer worked for his dad. He got out a couple years ago, choosing instead to spend his life doing tattoos and making furniture in his spare time. He married a woman named Fiona who ran a phone sex center in town and they had settled down and started a family.
Everything inside was dark, but in a sophisticated, not seedy way. To the right was a bar and a pool table. To the left and back, were tables and booths.
At one of those tables, as was usual, sat Charlie Mallick and his son Ryan. Now there's something everyone knows about the Mallicks, aside from them being trouble with a capital T, and that was that they were all hot. As in hot. Each and every one of them was a towering wall of muscle and tattoos. Each of them had chiseled, masculine faces and midnight black hair that just begged you to run your fingers through it. On top of that, as if that wasn't enough, they all had these impossibly light, almost see-through blue eyes. That against the dark of their black lashes and brows... yeah... they were all panty-droppers to be sure.
Charlie was a perfect example of what all his sons would one day look like, still tall and strong and proud, his face no less striking with a few creases near his eyes, his hair no less touchable with a trace of gray at his temples.
"Hailstorm and The Henchmen today," Charlie said, tilting his head to the side. "You two make a good couple."
I made a noise of disgust and Repo let out a vehement 'no' at the same time. "Hey," I said, lowering my eyes at him. "That was rude."
"And your ick sound wasn't?" he countered.
"Passion makes for a good relationship," Charlie pressed kindly, but it hadn't escaped my notice that his other sons had moved in from wherever they had been, like they needed to present a strong front against us.
"She's Wolf's," Repo clarified and Charlie's eyes widened.
"Sorry to hear he got himself locked up, though I'm not sorry about why."
"I need to borrow your son for the day," I said, cutting through the crap.
Charlie smiled, waving a hand around him. "Which one?"
I met Charlie's eyes and my tone got heavy. "Eli."
"Aw, girl," Charlie said, shaking his head, "I see where your mind is going. I can't say I want to get one of mine involved though."
"If this was you, Chaz, and this was someone you loved being locked up for killing someone who the law failed to get off the streets for years..."
"I understand how you feel, Janie dear, but you're risking one of mine getting in the same position as your Wolf."
I sighed, looking over at Repo for a second, but seeing the TV flash with breaking news. I felt myself smile. They weren't even waiting for five.
"Turn the volume on," I called to the bartender who immediately complied. I moved to the side, folded my arms against my chest, and watched.
The newscasters delivered the story I spoon fed them with looks of absolute horror and I knew they must have seen the images before they got edited for air. They saw all the gory details that the general public could only imagine. They did exactly as I expected them to, detailing the reign of terror Lex had inflicted on the women of Navesink Bank, covering the ineptitude of the NBPD, then seamlessly launching into the story about Lex's violent murder, at first thought inflicted by a wild animal, and then talking about the man who took him out. There was an image of Wolf on his way to the court house that morning, standing flanked by two officers and a glowing Marco, his honey-eyes looking right at the camera, his chin lifted. There wasn't a repentant bone in his body.
The news story moved to a close, promising an investigation further into the actions of the NBPD and I felt myself smile, wondering how hard Collings was scrambling to get those rape kits over to the lab.
"You've been busy," Shane said, walking in from the front of the bar, leaving me to wonder how long he had been standing there without me noticing. I was losing my touch. Shane was the biggest of the Mallicks, tall and broad, the kind of strong that came from owning a gym and taking liberal use of it. On his tail was his woman, Lea, who was just about the prettiest person I had ever seen, tall and womanly, with a mass of wavy brown hair and a sharp face.
"You don't fuck with what's mine," I said, lifting my chin.
"Hate to get on your bad side," he said, giving me a wink.
"Don't need to worry about getting on her bad side," Lea said, raising a brow at him. "Right now, you're on my bad side and, believe me, that's bad enough for you. So," Lea went on, seamlessly losing her anger as she gave me a small smile then turned to Charlie, "what does she want from us?"
"Eli," Shane supplied, watching me with keen eyes.
"Yes. Eli."
"For Marco," Shane went on, starting to freak me out with how easily he was reading the situation. I never pegged him for the brightest bulb, figuring he was all brawn, no brain. I guess I had to reconsider that stand.
"Yes," I agreed.
Lea pursed her lips for a second, then turned to Charlie in a way that tossed her hair like the chicks in movies that I didn't think happened in real life. "If you don't let her have Eli, I will go and kick that bastard's ass myself."
Something about the way she said it made it sound like she was capable. I made a mental note to look into her when things finally blew over. I knew so little about Lea and how she came to Navesink Bank. All I knew was she used to work for Fiona Mallick's phone sex business and live in the slums, almost across the street from the Third Street gang's headquarters. Next thing anyone knew, she and Shane were a thing, fighting and fucking and creating relationship goals for everyone they crossed paths with.