Page 42 of Seduction in Spades

“Creeps.” He takes my elbow and starts hurrying us away from the building.

When we reach the first intersection, I tug my arm away. “Trey. What the fuck?”

We’re surrounded by a throng of nine-to-fivers in a hurry to get home or pick up their kids, or whatever they do after work. Most are glued to their phones, but a few cast sideways glances our way.

“We’ll talk when I get you home.”

“Promise me.”

“Yeah.”

I grudgingly keep up with his pace until we reach the front steps of my apartment. I unlock the security door that leads us into a narrow hallway. My studio apartment is in the back. No sooner do I have the door unlocked than Trey is pushing me through it and closing the door abruptly behind him.

“Talk.” I toss my keys on the little strip of counter my minuscule kitchen has and cross my arms.

“I need you to be careful.”

“Of what? You? Because I’m ready to slug you if you don’t explain yourself.”

Trey rubs his hands over his face, and my shoulders relax.

“Are you in some sort of trouble?”

We grew up in a trashy area of New Orleans. We lived off plain rice and hot dogs for too many years to count. Our parents neglected us, loving their drugs more than their children, but I never felt unsafe. Maybe it was because it was all we knew. Druggies coming in and out of our shabby two-bedroom trailer.

Hiding out in our shared bedroom while I read my little brother books to distract him while our parents partied in the kitchen. Even as we got older and were aware of their illegal activities and the lowlifes hanging around, I’d never seen Trey as stressed as he is right now.

“Please tell me you’re not caught up in—”

“Don’t even suggest that, Aves. I’m not our parents.”

“Good. So, tell me what this is all about.”

Trey leans against the fridge, which is half the size of him. “The Irish crime family that has a lot of weight in Boston is not happy with... me right now.”

“Why?”

“I kicked a couple of them out of The Club last week.”

“And?” If one of them got their feelings hurt, that’s no reason for me to need to be in lockdown mode.

“And they’ve had it out for us for a while. This may have tipped them over the edge.”

“What aren’t you telling me? Is this about Nora?”

“Yes and no.”

“I need more words than that.”

Trey pushes off the fridge and paces my small apartment. I have a two-person couch, a dinette table with two chairs, and a full-size bed all in one cozy room. The only other doors in the place are to the bathroom and one closet. There isn’t much room for him to move.

“Most of their beef is with Drake. We’re not sure how much they know about us. The two guys I kicked out were outside the restaurant last night. They saw me with Drake. You with me.”

“Is that why you left so quickly after we got to the museum?”

Trey nods. “I didn’t want them around you. They followed me and Ryder.”

“That’s why you left me with Nolan.”

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