Page 9 of Property of Chaos

“I sure do know,” Theresa says with a hitch of one eyebrow. “Pot of coffee?”

“Kentucky. How we like it,” Fang croons, glancing up from his phone to blind her with his panty-dropping grin.

“Of course.” She ruffles his hair and heads back to the counter to make the club special—a liter pot of black coffee spiked with half a flask of bourbon.

I shift focus to where Jinx spreads the pages of the sale agreement out on the newly cleaned table. “Thoughts?”

He sighs. “Give me a minute to get through some of it, yeah?”

Fang shrugs. “I think the place seems good. Those small buildings out back will be good for storage.”

By storage, he means the cars that come in hot and leave a version of their former selves with owners keen not to ask any questions in trade for a cheap ride.

“Think the fields will be any use?”

He shrugs. “They’ll need a few rounds of fertilizer before we can plant anything since they’ve been barren for a while. But first glance seems promising.”

I shift my gaze slightly over his left shoulder. The girl from behind the counter picks at a muffin, popping tiny crumbs of the fluffy baked goods into her mouth. Her attention seems fixed on the paved sidewalk. Distracted. Dead.

“There’s no mention of any caveats on land use,” Jinx states. “You’ll probably want to check that with Marianna.”

“Or you could.” I lean forward and rest my elbows on the table, picking at the edge of my painted nails.

He fixes me with a hard stare. “Guess you won’t be using your history to any advantage to get a better deal then?”

One side of my lips curl. It’s as close to a smile as he’s gonna get. “Got no plans to revisit that hell.”

Fang sets his phone on the table and raises his hands. “Hey. Even I have no plans to go there.”

He’s the biggest manwhore in the club, and yet, somehow, he’s managed to avoid the honey trap that is Marianna: the Homecoming Queen.

Fucker is smarter than we give him credit for.Then again, maybe not.

The new girl lifts a hand to flick her wayward bangs out of her eyes.

It was a given that Jinx would try his luck. Knew a pretty alt girl like her would be too much of a temptation for the perpetually single fucker the second I laid eyes on the rebel. What I didn’t expect was to feel a stab of frustration when he leaned on that goddamn service door, ensuring his muscled arms popped and gave her his best bedroom eyes.

She doesn’t need his emotionally closed-off ass using her for a quick thrill.

She needs… fuck, something else. That needling thought has me watching her as she grips fluttering pages between her hands.What do you need, sugar?What is it you want out of life?

“You hear me?” Jinx snaps.

“You saying something worth listening to?”

He gives me an unamused glare and gently shakes his head. “Fuck you.”

“What you got?” I smirk, leaning a little his way to show I’m interested.

Fuck knows what has me so goddamn grouchy today, but there it is. Can’t do much about my mood, but ride it out and hope for a better tomorrow.

“There’s a wide strip where the farm borders the river, which is government land. It’s earmarked for conservation measures. Might need to check if that’ll limit our access to water for irrigation.”

Of course.Conservation measures, my ass. Could guarantee a ranger hasn’t stepped foot on that land in decades, but if I wereto put a pipeline to the farmland, there’d be a fucker standing on the porch within a week demanding payment for the privilege.

“Make a note of it. Darko can make some inquiries.”

“Sure.” He scribbles in the margin as Theresa returns with the pot and three mugs.

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