Spun (Kings of Chaos 1)
Stone is standing beside Breezy. “You okay?” he asks.
“I’ll live. He doesn’t look like himself.” I shake my head. “I know he would want me to keep things going with the store. I’ll continue to oversee everything and spend as much time here as possible until he’s back to his old self.”
“We don’t know how long that might be, Nevy,” he cautions.
“I’m willing to wait,” I say, answering the questions I see in his eyes.
“And I respect that. I want you to take prospects with you when you go somewhere. I’m having you trailed.”
“Am I in danger?” I tense. It’s been years since we had a lockdown. They’re unpleasant and stressful. It’s the last thing I need to deal with on top of this medical emergency.
“We’re not sure. But we sure as hell aren’t taking any chances.”
“Okay.”
“Breezy, she’s yours to shadow until I give you further notice, understood?”
“Yes, Pres,” Breezy states.
He follows me out of the building and I resign myself to his presence. It’s par for the course.
* * * *
I glance at my watch, then peer out the front door and crane my neck looking for signs of Shannon, my relief for the day. I haven’t seen Wizard today and I’m anxious to get to the hospital.
He’s been doing well. His brain swelling went down on its own over the course of a week. It’s been a few more since and still, he slumbers. He responds to some things like light and sound. They believe he’s healing, but there’s no exact science to consciousness.
The waiting is killing me. I tell myself I see signs of change with every visit. That he seems more alert, and he’s actually hearing my words. The bell above the door rings. Trixie’s frame makes me scowl.
This is the last thing I need right now.
“Are you lost?”
“Oh no, I wanted to see you and I know that you have no protection.”
“I always have protection. Not that I need it from you.” I wonder when Breezy will return from lunch. We just got the shop up and running. The last thing I want to do is get a bad rep. It was the whole reason we opened the place up on a different side of town, with no club affiliations. “If you’re here to shop, your money spends as good as anyone else’s. Otherwise, I want you out. You should know better than to show you face around anything related to Kings of Chaos. You know the rules.”
“How does it feel having everything that matters taken away?” She flashes me a vindictive smile and suddenly I know. Somehow, she was behind Wizard’s accident.
“Who are you working for?” I growl.
“You’ll find out soon enough. Chaos is going to burn to the ground and I’m going to have a front seat.”
“I’m going to kick your ass.” I come around from behind the counter.
She laughs. “You can try. But it’ll do nothing to stop what’s about to happen.”
I want to snatch her blonde hair bald, but right now, the most important thing is alerting Stone.
“Aren’t you wondering where your bodyguard is?” she whispers.
“Son of a bitch.”
The girls step up and form a semi-circle around me. “Is there a problem here?” Jenna, who’s become my right-hand-woman, asks.
A loud explosion goes off out front. We hit the floor.
Trixie rushes off.