Page 51 of Brew
She laughs too. “Yep. Best day of my life. Knocked that bitch out cold.”
“It seems like a lifetime ago.”
“We will get through this, no matter what,” Amber reassures me. When she says it, I want to believe it. But I also know howthe justice system works. Steven applied for leniency, blaming Vincent for being the mastermind and coercing him into a network he knew nothing about. I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know if he has a case, but I do know he’s having a retrial. “Me and Bronco told Cash about the hearing yesterday,” Amber says.
I nod. “Okay.”
“It’s best he knows, then we can plan for the worst-case scenario.”
I can’t hold back anymore tears. “What if he comes for Olive?” I shake my head, unable to fathom it. “He’ll want to see her, they might grant him access.” My worst fears could come true, and I live with that every single day.
“No, they won’t,” Amber says sternly. “No court in its right mind would do that.”
“You really don’t know these people,” I whisper. “They buy off judges all the time. Lawyers and cops are corrupt all over this city.”
“Not all of them.”
I wipe my eyes. That’s true. Mayor Cale Callaghan is doing an amazing job of cleaning up the sewer rats of this city, but even that takes time.
“You’re not running,” she warns, knowing the telltale thought pattern I have by now going on in my head. “You have a home here.”
I blink away the tears. I’m not strong like her. I can’t fight him, physically or emotionally. Maybe that makes me weak, but I don’t think I ever really processed the damage he did. I never dreamed there would be a chance he’d get out, either, so I’ve lived in this little bubble that was already fractured from the start.
“I know, but the damage he did, what theybothdid.” I shake my head.
“Brew once told me that he didn’t believe there was a happily ever after for people like him,” she trails off, looking around before adding, “I’ve also heard you say something similar, and I want you to know that it’s not true. What you did when you left Olive with me, while reckless, was a selfless act of love for your child. Please don’t ever forget that.”
I nod, forcing a smile. “It feels like so long ago.”
She smiles softly. “It does.”
I sit a little straighter, remembering why we’re here. “That still doesn’t help me with my Brew dilemma.”
“What Brew dilemma?” Manny makes us both jump. He piques a brow at me before setting down a Po’ Boy in front of me, then Amber, then he sets two smaller bowls of Gumbo next to them from the server behind him. “Girlfriend, I’m all ears. Is it man trouble? Is that big, hairy, pin-head giving you grief?”
I laugh, unable to help myself. “Something like that, but not in the way you think.”
He rolls his eyes dramatically. “Trust Brew to be a giant pain in the ass.”
If only that were the case. Instead, I find myself thinking about him every second of the day, and it’s becoming an unhealthy habit. Today, for example, he’s a distraction I don’t need when I’ve got work to do. But then, that little voice inside tells me to chill. Let him take you to bed. Enjoy it. There doesn’t have to be any strings attached.
Maybe I really do just need to take that giant leap of faith and step out of my comfort zone.
Maybe I really do have to let the wheels just fall off.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
Brew
“What the fuck?” Bane barks down the phone. “Gareth is in New Orleans?”
Haze and I share a look. Bane is on speakerphone, and clearly surprised by the news. It isn’t like Gareth dropped the hint that he was related to Bane Adler, and that makes me very suspicious. Clearly, if they’re on the outs, then that would make some kind of sense, but still. It isn’t like we weren’t gonna find out.
“Funny, he didn’t mention a thing about you,” I say.
“That’s just like G,” Bane mutters. “Always wants to try and get by on his own. Stupid fuck.”
