Page 98 of Mensa's Match

“Yo, I was on my bike when—”

“Yeah, Nadia told me. Did you see anything odd?”

“No.”

“Did you watch for a tail?”

“Man, I did two tours overseas. I know what it feels like to be followed.”

Mensa ground his teeth together. “Now you’re cocky. It’s a yes-or-no question: did youwatchfor a tail?”

Hummer hesitated. “Not like I should have.”

“Cynic’s gonna kick your ass,” Mensa bit out.

“What?” Hummer scoffed. “Are you too much of a pussy to do it yourself?”

“No, Cynic has more anger to work off. Then I’ll pour salt in your wounds. You got one fuckin’ job. Make sure you do it.”

He ended the call, moved back toward his brothers, and heard Gamble say, “…think Hummer’s ready for his patch.”

Mensa prowled closer. “The fuck he is. Admitted to not watching for a tail. Claims he knows what that feels like.”

“It does have a feel to it,” Gamble said.

Mensa widened his eyes at Gamble. “You gonna trust that shit if Vickie’s got an asshole like Rod gagging for her?”

Gamble’s expression turned stony.

“Yeah. I didn’t think so.” Mensa looked at Har. “Like I told him, he’s got one job and he needs to do it. Hell, he’s on his second chance since he missed Whitney’s brother making an approach.”

“You didn’t mention that,” Gamble said.

Mensa tipped his head at Har. “I told him and Block.”

Har dug his phone out, but didn’t engage it. “Lucky for you two, we aren’t voting on any new patches for a while.” He aimed his phone camera at the door and took a picture. “Gamble, we need to get back to the shop, let them handle this shit. We’re having church in the morning.”

Cynic turned to Mensa. “You can help me set up the dehumidifiers Block brought over here. Water was all over the back hall. We’ll be lucky if we don’t have to rip out the dry wall.”

“You probably will anyway, but this might help hold it off for a week,” Block muttered.

“Lead the way, ‘Nic,” Mensa said.

Mensa approached Whitney’s door and realized his mistake: he didn’t have a key.

A dim light could be seen behind the blinds. He knocked softly, then tried the handle. If he found it unlocked, he’d finda way to drive it home how important her safety was. The knob didn’t turn and relief swept through him.

He heard the click of what he assumed was the security bar lock, then the deadbolt clicked, and she opened the door.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked, closing the door and locking it.

She chuckled quietly. “It’s only midnight, Kenneth. I’m used to getting only six or seven hours of sleep.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. His tongue slid over hers and he tasted hints of dry white wine… and if he wasn’t mistaken, Skittles.

With a groan he ended the kiss. “You been eating Skittles, Blume?”

Her coy smile went straight to his dick. “Maybe. Now when I pair them with wine, I can’t help but think of you.”

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