“I will.”
“And I’ll get a vote? Your guys will be okay with that?”
“They’ll get used to it.”
I stared at him for a few more seconds, trying to come to grips with this new path opening up before me, this new path I knew I was going to walk down.
I thought about fighting that junky. I thought about firing that gun.
I thought about Owain’s mouth on mine and his cock between my legs.
“Come inside and meet my mom.” I turned toward the house. “If you can impress her, I’ll come back. And you’ll make me partner. And buy me a new wardrobe. And give me a nicer room.”
I heard his chuckle, low and throaty. “Done.”
“Come on then.” I walked to the door and held it open for him.
He lingered as he passed me, his hand brushing across mine, and I felt my heart skip a beat. I thrilled at him being inside my house.
He greeted my mother with a big smile and a polite handshake, and as soon as he asked about the Adams prints on the walls, I knew I’d be going back into the city before the night was over.19OwainSmoke drifted in lazy circles through the room as Viktor smoked a cigarette and a few of the other guys puffed on cigars. The wood paneling around the private room was thick with age and varnish, and the chairs had intricate shaped carved into their backs. I passed out glasses of whisky, shook hands, laughed at bad jokes, and basically played the politician, because I knew shit was going to get tense in a few minutes. I needed to soften the guys up before dropping the hard news.
Leighs sat at the table away from the others. She eyed them like a caged animal not sure if they were about to come feed her or kill her. Not that I could blame her—my guys were about as civilized as wild boar. They laughed too loud, drank too much, smoked heavy black cigars, and liked nothing more than getting into trouble. That was the sort of man I needed in my crew, even if it made things a little unpredictable from time to time.
At the very least, I knew I could trust them.
Rolan talked in quiet tones with Viktor. The twins Ivan and Igor took turns slamming back glasses of whisky and shouting obscenities at each other in some bastard form of Russian they both claimed to speak, but nobody else could understand. Trey, Danny, Samuel, Martin, and Camillo had a card game going, but I couldn’t tell who was winning, and it probably didn’t matter.
“Alright, boys,” I said, standing at the head of the table, my hands in the air trying to quiet them down. I figured they drunk enough to be happy, but not too drunk that they’ll freak the fuck out when they hear what I have to say.
I glanced down at Leigh and gave her a tight smile as the boys started to settle.
“Boss, you’re generous as hell tonight,” Trey said, grinning at me. He was a young guy, dark hair, big smile. Despite his boyish looks, he was a killer, through and through—human life held little to no value in his estimation. “Makes me think you got some shit going on.”
“What, I can’t treat my crew to some drinks?”
“Not in a private club like this, you can’t.” Trey laughed and put his cards down.
“He’s got a point, boss,” Camillo said. “What do you have in store for us?”
“Something to do with the bitch, huh?” Danny laughed but I felt a stab of anger drift through me.
“First of all, don’t talk about Leigh like that.” I stared at Danny until he stopped smiling. “Second, I got some news for you boys, but we’ll get to that in a little bit.”
I felt the mood shift slightly. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of anger at the way more than a few eyes passed over Leigh like she was the cause to all their problems. Danny smoldered in his chair like a chastised little boy, and I had to make sure I didn’t lose them.
“Look at you little girls,” Rolan said. “Afraid of what daddy’s got to say.”
“Fuck you, Rolan,” Camillo said. “You know it’s not like that. We just know shit’s going down with the Jackals.”
“Some of us are having fun.” Rolan gave him a vicious grin.
“And some of us aren’t stupid enough to jump head first into a fire fight.” Martin’s voice was crisp and clear. He was an older man, black hair, bushy black eyebrows. I sometimes wondered what he saw in a life of crime, but he happened to be the best car thief I’d ever met, and so I kept him around in case I ever needed a ride.
“You want to talk about the Jackals? I’ll talk about the Jackals.” I let my gaze shift over the guys one at a time. “Five of them are dead. How many of you are?”