Page 62 of Smooth Sailing

Hugger and Pete stayed on the balcony.

Hugger didn’t fuck around with starting it.

“What are you thinking?”

Big Petey shook his head and shrugged at the same time. “Got a bad feeling, son.”

“What kind of bad feeling?”

“There’s more to that girl,” Pete said. “I can understand she’s terrified after what happened. I can understand she’s shrinkin’ into herself for the same reason. But there’s something deeper. Darker.”

“Like what?”

Pete looked him right in the eyes. “Like she thinks she’s already dead. She just happens to still be breathin’ for a while.”

“Stands to reason, since it’s been made plain Babic isn’t gonna let her take him down,” Hugger bit out, with a tilt of his head indicating the courtyard that didn’t have Babic’s lackeys in it now, but they both knew they’d be back.

“Yeah. Maybe.” Pete didn’t sound convinced.

“Diana’s dad withdrew as Babic’s counsel,” Hugger told him.

Pete’s bushy gray brows shot up. “No shit?”

“She asked him to. He’s making moves to sort what’s broken between them. And it seems the man isn’t afraid of grand gestures,” Hugger said. “I gotta talk to Eight and wanna call Rush. Diana’s freaked because she thinks Babic is gonna be pissed and he might do something about it. We need men on Nolan Armitage.”

Pete dipped his chin sharply in assent. “Agreed. Aces got a business to run. They can cycle men through, but if we need more, could put the pinch on ’em. We’ll get on that and get some more asses down here as reinforcements.”

“Can you take Eight aside?” Hugger asked. “I’ll call Rush while I’m out here.”

“Got you on Eight and you do that with Rush. Then you call Tack,” Big Petey ordered.

Hugger’s brows inched together. “Tack? Why?”

“’Cause, son, you don’t know what hit you yesterday. Years ago, the same thing hit him. Took him a while to get his head out of his ass to see it, and it pissed her off so bad, she was dead set against him. He had to scramble to get back in there. You talk to him, he can give you the wisdom so you won’t make the same mistake.”

“What are you?—?”

Big Petey lifted a hand. “Don’t bullshit me, Hug. I don’t give two shits Nolan Armitage stood up for a rapist and all-around piece of shit and got his ass in a sling extricating himself from that relationship. But you do. Because she does. And we’re gonna cover him. For you. And for her. Because she’s yours. And you know how that goes. She’s yours, means she’s ours.”

Hugger felt his throat get scratchy on the inside.

Normally, Big Petey pulling the dad act didn’t bother him. He was a good man, he had a big heart, he cared about his brothers, and he cared about Hugger’s ma.

Now, though, it was ticking him off.

“Big Petey—” he started.

“Don’t,” Pete sighed. “Just don’t, son. Promise you, if you do, you’ll regret it.”

“It’s not what I want.”

He said it even if he didn’t mean a word of it, but he wanted to.

It was a mistake because it opened a door Hugger took pains to keep firmly closed.

Pete waltzed through that door and laser focused on him. “I’m glad we’re talkin’ about this because I never got a lock on it. What is it you want?”

Hugger told him the truth. “Nothing.”

---