Page 40 of Wrecked

“Let them through,” Jimmy said, lifting a hand.

“Hey, Jimmy, this is Crow. He does what I do.” Rebel waved his free hand to indicate Crow and then tucked it into his pants pocket.

“Is that right?” Jimmy looked at their linked fingers and lifted one eyebrow.

“Well, he’s also my boyfriend, but yeah.”

At Crow’s urging, Rebel slid into the booth opposite Jimmy, and Crow crowded in next to him.

“I’m not taking on any new hires.”

Crow held the guy’s eyes across the table.

Jimmy Lincoln was pissed and Crow knew immediately why. It was written on the man’s face. The ticking of the guy’s jaw at their held hands, and when Crow slid his arm around Rebel’s shoulder, he thought the man would blow a fucking gasket.

“Go get me a drink, Rebel,” Jimmy said, the order was clear in the man’s smooth tone of voice. The threat was also clear and Crow squinted.

Rebel smiled, and when Crow scooted out to let him out of the booth, Rebel headed to the bar that was two deep with customers.

As he sat back down, Jimmy stared at him with ice in his eyes and Crow smirked. As if that would intimidate him? Jimmy sure did have a lot of muscle with him—men smartly dressed in black suits and white shirts, with hands held at the ready. No dark glasses though, that would have been overkill in the nightclub.

“Let me be frank, here,” Jimmy said, as if talking to a toddler.

“By all means.” Crow sat back and crossed one leg over the other. He was glad he’d chosen to wear his tailored Havana suit in midnight black. While it was nothing compared to the Kiton in his closet back home, it was pricey. Jimmy ran his eyes over his suit and his relaxed poise.

“Do you think you can come in here and take what’s mine?”

Crow studied Jimmy. The words were measured and spoken with a low, hard tone. Each one was filled with an entitlement as if the guy owned the fucking city and the people in it.

The man irritated the fuck out of him.

“May I be frank?” Crow said, volleying the words back.

A muscle ticked in Jimmy’s jaw and his hands moved from where they rested on the table. Crow suspected Jimmy had a weapon out of sight.

It wouldn’t matter what kind of weapon was hidden beneath the table, the guy was too close.

And up this close?

Well, Crow could eat the fucker for a snack.

Jimmy seemed to weigh his options and come to the same conclusion. When the man nodded, Crow continued.

“First, Rebel isn’t an object you own, and second…yes, I can.”

It took a moment for the words to register—and by the time Jimmy realized that Crow had just told him hecouldtake anything he wanted from him—Rebel returned.

“Man, oh man, that line was long.” Rebel placed the drink in front of Jimmy and handed him a water.

Never taking his eyes off Jimmy, Crow stood to let Rebel back in the booth, then eased back down.

Crow twisted off the cap and took a swallow. Jimmy hadn’t looked away from him and Crow smirked and placed the bottle on the table.

A weird light filled Jimmy’s eyes and the man’s lips suddenly curved upward.

A sudden knot grew in Crow’s gut.

“I need you home tonight,” Jimmy said, turning his attention to Rebel.

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