Page 21 of Mob Knight

I just want to make sure she’s safe. And I guess she is, if she and Pablo are talking.

“That really chaps your ass, doesn’t it?”

I haven’t looked away from Pablo since I turned my attention back to him after Joey walked back inside.

“What chaps my arse? It turns out she doesn’t have as good taste as I thought she did. What’s it to you, Pablo?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?”

I shrug and look past him to Ignacio, who’s standing in the doorway now. I cock an eyebrow, and Pablo twists to look over his shoulder. I don’t know how he isn’t already sure it’s Ignacio since there’s no one else who’d be standing there. But he double checks because just like any of us, no one’s fond of people standing behind us who aren’t family or our men.

It leaves us too exposed, and that’s just asking for trouble. Pablo’s grin drops, and his face morphs back into the scowl. It’s the one I expect from him. He looks back at me, and now it’s my turn to grin.

Ignacio dropped off an envelope at one of our strip clubs last night. It’s the last part of what inevitably became his last payment. At least it’s better than a swift kick up the backside, as my granny used to say. She wasn’t as full of expressions like that as my nana, but she definitely had a few.

“What do you want, Ignacio?”

Pablo speaks to the bodega owner, but his gaze remains locked on me. That just makes my smile even broader. He wanted to goad me earlier. Now I’m returning the favor.

“I thought I’d offer you horchata,el tigre.”

The tiger. It’s one of Pablo’s titles because of his seniority. There’re a few others he could go by, but it’s the one he favors. People sucking up to him usually call him that. I prefer the title of arsehole. I find that the most fitting.

“Not right now—but thank you.” He tacks on that last bit as an afterthought.

I look at Ignacio and shake my head, still giving him a smile. The man’s brow furrows in confusion because I know he wasn’t offering anything to me, but Pablo doesn’t need to know that. Lethim think his little bodega owner still fears me or believes we might do business, so he’s offering his hospitality to me, too.

“Pablo, I got shite to do that isn’t getting done standing here with you.”

“Then you should go finish whatever crap you have. Wherever it is, it isn’t here. We both know that.”

“The sooner you let me collect the outstanding balances, the sooner I’ll leave the neighborhood, and I won’t come back.”

“What? You don’t want to see me with Jocelyn?”

“I already told you. You can have her. If she’s interested in you, then who am I to stand in the way?”

“How very altruistic of you, Cor. I’ve never known you to be that way.”

“I am with people who’re worth my time. I can spare a minute for you today.”

I am not eager to turn my back on him like I did the other day as I crossed the street to tell Joey it was safe for her to leave. But it looks like I’ll be doing that again. I turn to my right, ready to head to the first business on my list.

“Did you know she has this little quirk where she squirms when?—”

Dramatic much? Pablo stops before he says whatever it is he thinks will piss me off. Hell. There might not even be anything at all he plans to say. He leaves the thought dangling to make me curious—or suspicious.

It works, but I won’t let that bother me. I noticed Joey came back outside again when I turned away from Pablo. She’s trying to sneak away while we’re focused on each other, but I’m certain Pablo notices her just as easily as I do, and he proves it.

“Hola, Jocelyn.”

I turn to face her as she stops dead in her tracks. She’s not thrilled to see him either. She doesn’t seem to appreciate his attention in public. Are they more than what she said, andthey’ve been keeping it a secret? She doesn’t look fearful. She looks annoyed. It doesn’t match what she was doing the day I met her.

Did they work things out between then and now? Did the piece of shite charm her?

I watch her. Then I notice Pablo’s shadow shifts. I turn back to where he stood, but I’m forced to watch him cross the street toward Jocelyn. She looks more than uncomfortable.

Her gaze darts to me, then she pivots a second time and dashes back into the building. Now I’m pissed.

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