“Thanks, Hope. Appreciate the reminder.”
“I don’t mean it in a bad way.” She points to herself. “As the oldest “new mom” at the play groups, I feel I can speak with authority here.”
“But I bet you’re the prettiest one too.”
“Aw, Z, you’re so sweet. Seriously though, you’ve done a lot of living. You already know what’s out there. I mean, you must have volumes upon volumes of experience—”
When someone you actually like and respect puts your life in perspective, it’s a lot less entertaining. “All right. I get your point.”
She grins at me. “You don’t have to worry whether you’re ‘missing out’ on something. I don’t think you’ll be bored. Or if you are, you’ll be grateful for it because you know what really matters.” She reaches up and taps my chest over my heart.
“We should have you teach a class for prospects, ‘there’s more to life than fresh pussy’ or something.”
She rolls her eyes. “Don’t deflect because I touched on a vulnerable area, Z. It’s beneath you.”
“Actually, I think it’s exactly my thing.”
Another eyeroll. Shit, growing up would’ve been a lot more entertaining if I’d had a sister instead of the two dumbfuck siblings I ended up with.
“So, you still have no regrets about this?” I nod at the front door to Crystal Ball. “The club, everything?”
“Zero regret, Z. Absolutely.”
“Rock doesn’t drive you crazy with all his overprotectiveness? I’m kinda shocked he let you drive here on your own today.”
She snorts and doesn’t disagree. “Oh, he makes me nuts. But I love him and I know it comes from a good place.”
“It does,” I agree.
“I think you were the first person to point that out to me. Wrath might have tried, but—”
“His message is a little harsher?”
“Just a tad.”
The door opens and Rock finally steps back outside. “Jesus Christ, I forgot all the petty bullshit that goes on here.”
“What’s wrong?”
“My ears are still bleeding. Jasmine stole Pepper—”
“Poppy?”
“Whatever. Someone stole some expensive eyeliner from someone, so someone else flushed another girl’s shit down the toilet. Kill me.”
Hope giggles into her hands. “I’ve told you guys, you really need a female manager or something to handle this stuff before it gets out of hand. Someone who will understand their concerns without belittling them, but also lay down the law.”
“I laid down the law,” Rock says. “I told them to both go the fuck home.”
“Jesus, Rock, it’s Thursday night,” I remind him.
He shrugs. “Willow said Swan’s coming down later. She needs the extra money.”
“Did you ever think of having Swan manage the girls?” Hope asks.
“I have,” I answer. “She’s gotten better at sticking up for herself, but I don’t think she wants to dance much longer.”
“Yeah, she’s trying to get her yoga teaching going.” Hope shrugs. “Well, I guess the place has been successful this long the way it is. Ignore my advice.”
“No, it’s good advice, Hope. I’ve just never found the right person.”
Rock finally seems to shake off his annoyance and he slides his arms around Hope, pulling her against him. “What’d you bring for dinner?”
“It’s in my car.”
“Why don’t you two go out for dinner? I’ll watch things til you get back.”
“You don’t have to do that, Z. Don’t you need to get—”
Rock cuts off Hope’s protest. “Thanks, brother.” He plucks Hope’s car keys out of her hand and tugs her toward her car. “Be back in an hour,” he calls out over his shoulder.
“Bye, Z!”
Laughing, I duck inside.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Z
Since things are calmer downstate, now that I’m not looking over my shoulder constantly, another trip to Empire shouldn’t hurt.
Asking Loco for a favor isn’t exactly high on my list of favorite activities. Hell, I’d avoid it for the rest of my life if I could.
Rock gave our favorite eccentric pimp a head’s up that I’d be stopping by. Not the smartest idea to roll up on Loco without warning him.
Malik opens the front door to the brothel or whatever you want to call it. Usually one of the girls answer, so that’s a sign something’s off.
Malik holds out his hand and pulls me in for a quick slap on the back. “How you been, brother?”
Here, I’ll call him brother. When he’s at our place wearing his prospect cut, then he’s only prospect.
“Not bad. Not bad. Headed to CB in a few. You’re missed, Z. Missed a lot. When you coming back, Z?”
“No clue yet.”
“You said, yet. So at least that means you’re coming back.”
“Fuck yeah, I am.”
“Zee-roh!” Loco stands to greet me when I walk into his ridiculous office. I can’t describe it any better than French whorehouse meets the Pope. Lots of gold, velvet, and three-dimensional wallpaper.
“How you been, Loco?” I let him pull me in for a quick hug and slap on the back too. Loco has relentlessly irritated Rock for years, but I’ve always found him more entertaining than annoying. Usually. We’ll see how today goes.
“Wow.” He steps back and drags his dramatic gaze over me from head to toe. “Never thought I’d see the day you’d be wearing a president patch. Crazy times we livin’ in.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“How’s Rock taking it?”
I shrug, not comfortable discussing my club’s dynamics with an outsider. Especially after what’s gone down lately.
“Sit, sit.” He gestures to one of the blue velvet chairs in front of his gilded desk.
Once I’m seated, he leans in. “How’s Sway doing?” He holds up his hands before I have a chance to answer. “I know it’s probably club business, but I’m worried about the guy too.”
Loco does business with Sway sometimes and his condition isn’t exactly a state secret. “He’s doing better. Seems stronger every time I visit.”
“That’s good. Damn, that’s gonna be one amazing comeback.” He hesitates and frowns. “Where’s that leave you?”
“Free to return upstate.”
“No shit? Really? After you’ve had a taste of prez power, you gonna give it up? Just like that?”
“Not interested in power, Loco. Upstate is home.”
He nods and strokes his hand over his chin. “I can respect that, Z. You’re a rare breed.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“What brings you by?”
I’m sure he wouldn’t mind dragging this social call out the rest of the afternoon. We could play ‘have you ever’ and dance around the senato
r’s name, but I don’t have the time or patience for those games. “You ever send any girls to see Senator Kelly?”
“Whoa.” Loco sits back against his chair with a dramatic thump. “You going right for it, huh?”
“I don’t have time to waste.”
“And I appreciate you not wasting my time. Since your club has always been such a good friend to my crew and we work together, I’m not gonna run you around.”
“Appreciate that.” I’m starting to understand better why Loco irritates Rock so much.
“Yeah, I know the ex-Senator fuck.”
Well, all right then.
“His trial’s still going.”
“I watch the news, Z.”
“Figure he’s gonna be feeling lonely. Maybe a little anxious since his wife left.”
“Yeah.”
“Since you’re the only game in the area, I need you to let me know if he calls looking for a girl.”
It’s not a difficult request, but Loco looks away and taps his fingers against the arm of his chair a few times before answering. “Are you planning to intercept the transaction?”
“You mean, go instead of the girl? Possibly.”
He stares at me for a few seconds. “You plannin’ to have some sort of personal chat with him?”
“Maybe not a chat.” I can’t afford for Kelly to see me again and connect me to Loco. What I’m really after is access to the man’s car when no one else will be around. Can’t think of a better place than the large, private garage behind Loco’s place where the more high-profile clients usually park. I’m not sure I want to let Loco know that I might be planting a bomb in one of his customer’s cars.
“I’m gonna be totally straight with you, Z. He roughed up one of my girls. She was scared, so she didn’t tell me about it right away.” He holds up his hand and shakes his head as if I questioned him. “She was new. Didn’t realize I won’t tolerate anyone putting hands on my girls.” He smirks. “Well, handling them in a way that hasn’t been negotiated in advance.”
“And?”
“Because she didn’t tell me until he’d been arrested, I couldn’t do anything about it. But I was planning to have a serious conversation with him if he came back here.”