Page 101 of Root

So many fucking questions.

“My turn,” Jess says, twisting a strand of bright red hair on her fingers. She taps on the division and gives an address to Fred.

We exchange a look. Not our territory. It’s neutral, a pocket that’s close to our shit, but a natural bubble of no man’s land Nikolai allows to have natural growth and competition. I change to a street over.

“You said—”

“Same thing, Jessie,” I say. “Just right territory. And right now we want the right territory.”

“Fine.”

Fuck is she intriguing.

She’s flirted with the hard-edged underbelly most of her life, and the story in my head’s one Nikolai would smack me for.

I see a girl who grew up in a heartless system, tossed around, trying to protect her younger brother. Their mother was either unlucky or a bit of a good time girl to pop out two unwanted kids basically back to back. Make that a careless good time girl. Probably one into sex for money and drugs.

I see a girl who went into a rough life of sex and violence and survived, protected.

In my head, I see someone who recoils from gentleness because she finds it suspicious. A girl who fights because she doesn’t know how to do anything else.

I see a girl I want.

We cross neighborhoods, heading to the rough biker titty bars on Nikolai’s payroll. Places I have to visit to collect from tomorrow, anyway.

The bar’s high on sleaze and low on safety. Unless you’re Nikolai, Rose, or me.

A hot girl’s working the pole, and as we sit, I judge exactly how long to ignore Jess before she makes good on the threat of stabbing me.

About three minutes.

Then, I turn and kiss her and hold her hand like we’re at the movies.

It throws her completely off balance. Takes her five minutes to slowly relax.

Me? I fucking love holding her hand. “She’s pretty good, don’t you think, Jess?”

“She’s all right.” She sniffs and orders the house tequila from the topless waitress for both of us.

When it comes, it’s clearly top shelf and I cheers the burly, scarred man in leather with his hands all over a basically naked girl. She’s wearing a G-string, but it doesn’t cover much, and his fingers start digging around in there.

“Are you doing a drinks equivalent high five to a guy who’s finger fucking a girl?” Jess asks.

“Thanking him for the drinks. He’s the manager.”

“I’m not a perk, just so you know.”

“Said the pretty little venomous spider to the…wasp?”

“Because they sting? I’m sure a spider could take a wasp.”

I think about it. “Depends on the size of the wasp.”

“Depends on the spider.”

“Now, you’re fun at parties, I can tell,” I say, and I kiss her.

She melts, then pulls back, darting a look around.

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