Page 43 of Up in Flames

“Yes, sir. We’ll give them six men,” I reply, moving to close the door.

“We’ll give them five. Now…get the fuck out of here,”Boss yells, and I don’t hesitate in closing the door and taking a step back, taking a moment.

I let out a long breath and shake my head. “Idiot,” I mumble to myself. I should have made the call. The problem with Boss is you never can tell when he will go off for making your own call, and then you may very well end up in a meat grinder.

Sometimes, I wonder about this world I am entangled in.

Shaking my head, I turn, walking back out into the parlor to see Trap’s wife, Selene, and Maxxy glaring at each other like they’re about to go full-on hair-pulling, face-slapping, bitch fight in this place. I pick up my pace to get to them as quickly as possible.

“What the fuck are you doing here, Maxxy? Never thought I’d see you again,” Selene snarls.

A look crosses Maxxy’s face, like she knows Selene, like they’ve met before. Like they have history. “I’m part of Defiance. We’re here on business.”

“You joined an MC? Figures! You needed saving when we were in the slammer, so no-brainer that you need protection on the outside.”

Holy shit.I knew all about when Selene was in jail. I know because Trap wouldn’t shut up about it and how Selene took the fall for her cellmate when she stabbed another inmate.

Hoodoo turns to Maxxy. “You were in jail together?”

So Hoodoo obviously doesn’t know the story.

“Selene was my cellmate—”

“You’re telling me this istheMaxxy, baby? The one who left you?” Trap asks, and Selene crosses her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, that’s my little ladybug.”

Trap stands, staring daggers at Maxxy. Then he turns to Selene and ushers her away from the Defiance horticulturalist. “Go stand by the bar. Letmehandle this,” Trap states.

Selene inhales deeply through her nose, her flinty eyes lingering on Maxxy before she leaves.

Trap leans into Maxxy so close I begin to jog because I know he’s threatening her, and shit could go south real fucking fast.

“You left her torotin jail. I spent an extra three years without my woman by my side because ofyou.You think because you’re Defiance that gives you safety? I wouldburndown the world for my woman. If Selene wants to watch you suffer like she did…” he takes a deep breath through his nose, “… thenIwill make that happen.”

Hoodoo pushes past Maxxy, stepping right up in Trap’s face. “You sure you want to threaten a member of Defiance? We might be on good terms with the Bachelors right now, but if you want to start a war because of something that happened years ago, then bring it the fuck on because my guys will stand behind Maxxy until every last one of your men is bleeding out on the Baton Rouge blacktop.”

Trap smirks as I step up, my eyes wandering over the tense as fuck standoff. “Something going down I should know about?” I ask, pretending I didn’t just overhear the whole damn thing.

Trap chuckles, though forced, as he slaps Hoodoo’s shoulder a little harder than necessary. It instantly makes him grimace. “Just shooting the breeze. We’re all good… I’ll leave you to it,” Trap states, then turns and walks to Selene, who’s still glaring at Maxxy like death would be a pleasure to deal out.

Exhaling, I run a hand through my hair. “Trap giving you shit? Because I’ll happily have him removed from the premises and thrown into the Mississippi. I’ll even provide the concrete boots myself.”

Maxxy smirks as Hoodoo raises his brow. “I feel like there’s more of a story there between you and him. You looking for a reason to drown him in the big muddy?”

There’s tension between Trap and me, for sure. The way he makes no qualms about wanting my rank in the Bachelors and that he will do anything to rise to the top hasn’t gone unnoticed. I can rely on him to do shit around here, but to have my back—nah, I couldn’t trust him as far as I could throw him. “If only I could…” I chuckle. “Anyway, if he or Selene cause trouble, tell me. I will deal with them. In the meantime, Boss says we can spare five of our soldiers. You good with that many?”

Maxxy’s eyes widen as a bright smile lights her face. “Fuck! Are you serious?”

I shrug. “Not enough? I could get a couple mor—”

“No. That’s awesome. Thank you, Cain. I really appreciate the help. It’s five times the number Hoodoo’s been able to get me,” she teases him.

Hoodoo scowls at her playfully. “Watch it! It was my idea to come to Cain, so you should be thanking me,” he taunts back.

Yeah, they’re definitely into each other.

“Thankyou?Pfft, Hoodoo, you’re a pain in my ass. Why would I be thankful for that?”

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