Page 32 of Roses Are Dead
Most of the guys in the club had given up on understanding me long ago. If I didn’t want to be read, they had a hard time with it. Barely an hour with Roishin, and she’d seen through my sexist comment for what it was. A way to rile her up.
And she chose non-violence. Which made sense, given my size and the number of times I’d threatened her tonight. Yet, instead of flinching in fear, my last threat barely registered on her radar. An eye dip to the knife I’d covered, and she plowed right on.
If it had been anyone other than Skinner with me? They’d have taken offense. Skinner was smart enough to see through it and warn me.
Was I going to listen?
Hell no.
The more I found out about this woman, the more I liked her. And that was a huge problem. My phone buzzed as I pointed out the particular important sections of the house. Bathroom, food, bedrooms… I had three. “Pick one,” I said and checked to see who was calling. “I gotta take this.” I ran my fingers across my lips reminding her to shut up.
“Hey, Jackson. What’s up?”
The noise in the background meant he was at one of the bars or the clubhouse outside Atlanta. There was another stop planned in Tallahassee before he, Hollywood, and Griz came back. Kate was smart to stay home. Those clubs were too close to rival territories to be safe.
“My wife tells me you’re playing hooky tonight.”
I glanced at Roishin and said to both of them, “Hang on a minute.”
I walked down the stairs and out the back and didn’t stop until I was deep in the woods that flanked the running path. “Sorry, had ears eavesdropping.”
“Kate said you had a woman with you.”
“Yeah, about that…” I really should tell him everything. But what could I say on the phone?
“Kate said she wasn’t wearing a shit ton of makeup like you usually snatch up. Where’d you find her?”
I cleared my throat. “Carl’s.”
There was a pause on the other end. Jackson was so quiet, I could hear Griz yapping in the background. Finally, he said, “Fill me in.”
“He got a ride home today from a cop.”
More silence.
“I went over to chat and met his girl. And… uh, weirdest thing, she came home with me.” That wasn’t the whole truth, but I really couldn’t say all of it over the phone, so I said what I could, “Carl wanted it that way.”
Jackson sucked in a breath. “He’s playing you.”
“No shit. Skinner said the same thing.”
His voice skipped into innuendo zone. “She any good?”
“I don’t fucking know.”
“Come on, man. Give me something. Ass shape, tit size, something…”
“You’re married now, bro,” I reminded him.
“So?”
Wow. If Kate heard him talking like that… “Kate’s going to have your nuts.”
“I don’t need ’em. Got Zoe, and Kate and I definitely shouldn’t make another one like her. Seriously, is Carl’s girl ugly or pretty?”
I hesitated.
“Woof?” Jackson laughed.
