Evin's Fight (Southern Charmers 3)

“Yes, but I’m not.”

“She shouldn’t come back to Cirque,” he admits lowly. “I say that because she’s never going to fly through the air without terrifying me. The sounds of those pops…”

My chest seizes, and I grind my teeth. “I need your help here, but if it’s too much.”

He straightens. “I’m good. I may not retire immediately, but you are giving my Pips her studio.”

The building comes into view with Pierce, Miller, Warren, and my dad waiting by their trucks.

“Good lord, the testosterone in your crowd is almost too much.”

I chuckle under my breath, parking in the front spot.

He jumps out, and I follow, letting us in.

He doesn’t wait for me, pushing by and taking his tour. The rest of us walk through, the Kendrick men explaining in depth the last appraisal report since I was in Vegas. The elevator sounds several times, each time it lands on the bottom floor. Dante steps out taking pictures, then disappears back upstairs.

A few minutes later, he comes down, his focus on me. “I have forty. Pips has about the same. My family will pitch in if needed.”

“You talking about money?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not taking your money.”

“I won’t do this without you taking my investment.” His eyes go steely, staring hard. “That’s the deal.”

Dad mutters under his breath. The other men move away.

“I am doing this for my wife.”

“Poppy Malone and I have a deal. This is our dream.”

“Her name is—”

“Her name is Poppy Malone to those in the industry.” He cuts me off. “She carries clout, popularity, and desirability around the country. People will come for her. You want her to be Poppy Graham, but I’m building my damn business plan on Poppy fucking Malone.”

A man I’ve never seen appears and I earn new respect for him. “She’ll work her way into Poppy Graham.”

“Probably, but get used to her stage name being our draw.”

“Got it, anything else?”

“Yeah.” He turns to Pierce and Miller. “You in charge of making this perfect?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Pierce answers.

He looks over at me. “This would be better with Poppy’s input.”

“Just give us an idea of what you think. Nothing is final until she agrees.”

“Down here can section into multiple studios. We’ll need a fully-functioning video system for choreography. This wall of windows facing the street would be a perfect place for the lobby. There’s a lot of potential for the upstairs.”

“I’ll take care of the upstairs.”

“Walk us around and explain how you see things, and we’ll get some sketches together,” Miller prompts.

“Okay, let’s start from the back door.” He stops mid-step and looks at me, his face full of approval. “If you pull this off, I take it back.”

With no other explanation, he spins and walks away.

The memory of my wedding night slams into me, and I chuckle, shaking my head. “Nah man, I’ll never be good enough for her.”

I snatch the phone, see the display, and bark out, “Tell me you have news.”

“Someone didn’t get their morning dose of happiness,” Scottie chirps. “I thought you’d be much more chipper.”

“I should be at home with my wife, and instead, I dragged my ass out of bed and was in the office at six a.m. to prepare for whatever clusterfuck is coming my way. Not to mention Marco continues to send me cryptic messages. Do you have news for me?”

The mood through the line shifts. “Unfortunately, I have little. But I can tell you Natasha Bindel left Africa. She’s keeping up the façade on her social media accounts, but our investigator said she flew into JFK two weeks ago. Since then, she’s been quiet. No credit card activity and no calls to her parents or friends.”

“I need that order of protection reinstated.”

“It’s going to be hard to prove your case. We still can’t locate her to serve the papers, and she hasn’t technically proved a threat.”

“Fuck me, Marco’s been hiding this shit.”

“I don’t know about that. Marco didn’t lie to you in Vegas. When he got back to Virginia, he was a changed man. In the public, he spun the story like a pro and kept up the family bond, but behind closed doors, he was vicious. Karen didn’t think he’d go through with the separation and certainly didn’t think he’d give up the chance for a Presidential opportunity. He set her straight. Natasha mistakenly thought she had clout. He stripped her of all responsibility and did it ferociously. Insiders report she begged for a chance to make things better, then she gave him an ultimatum—Poppy or her. He put her ass on a plane. As soon as she left, the truth came out about her tricks and games. Marco finally found out the lengths of her lies and manipulation.”

“What does that mean?”

“Tasha has her own money from years of working, but he’s cut her completely off.”

“You don’t think he knows she is back in the States?”