“But… I don’t understand, Santi—”
“What’s so hard for you to understand, huh? You’re out past your bedtime, little girl, and I have some adult shit I’d like to do tonight. Let’s go.” I grabbed Lennon’s hand and towed her out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
Priest was dancing with some girl on the patio, and I briefly glimpsed Cricket making out with Reid’s cousin against his family’s grandfather clock as I tugged a seething but silent Lennon behind me. I buckled her into my truck and drove us both back to the LC compound, where her dad had a single-family home. She refused to even look at me as I drove, glaring out the window with a jaw clenched in anger instead.
I pulled into her dad’s driveway and walked around the truck to open Lennon’s door. She threw it open right as I came over, catching my leg with the edge and making me swear. She stormed away from me, and I hated knowing that I had to hurt her this way in order to protect her from wasting her time on a man like me. Lennon stopped halfway to the door and stormed back to me, her curls bouncing and eyes hot with frustration.
“You can lie to me, but you need to stop lying to yourself, Santiago. You feel something for me. You want me. I know it. You don’t kiss someone like that and not feel something more than friendship.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, gatita,” I said in a cold tone, hating myself for hurting her. “That kiss was acceptable at best. I’ll have forgotten it by morning, and so should you. I like women with more experience. You’re just a horny kid who can’t take a hint. Now, go home to your dad and behave. I don’t have time to babysit.” I turned around and threw myself back into my truck, ripping out of the compound like I couldn’t wait to get back to the party when, in reality, I couldn’t stand to see Lennon’s devastated, tear-streaked face.
I struck my steering wheel over and over, frustration and angst and guilt eating at me for the lies I’d had to tell. Lennon deserved better than me, and I needed to make sure I stayed strong so I could protect her. It hurt her now, but eventually, she’d move on and fall in love withsomeone whose love wouldn’t come at a cost. I, however, would always love the girl with wild hair and caring eyes. Always.
Chapter 11
Indigo
“But Bones said I couldn’t ask. I regret not asking, though, because who knows when or if I’ll ever see Hyde again! Now I’ll never get to hold his eyeball,” I said with a sigh. I patted Sheila’s steering wheel fondly, comforted by her amazing listening skills.
“For the love of bloody Christ, are you done catching your van up on current events? Some of us are sweating our balls off while you procrastinate in the parking lot!” Cricket called out from beside Sheila’s passenger side window. He obviously didn’t understand the importance of girl talk. Sheila and I rolled our eyes (hers figuratively, and mine literally) at Cricket’s dramatics. I got out of the driver’s seat and walked over to my conscience’s side.
“Sorry about your balls,” I said as I looped my arm through Cricket’s. We walked over to where Bear and Lennon waited for us by the door to the casino. The Goldfinch was the newest and most modern-looking resort and casino in Reno, according to Bear. And he would know. Dueto his unique position as the manager of Savage Delights, an underground fighting ring in the city, he rubbed elbows with people from all walks of life. Savvie D’s drew mobsters, bikers, gang members, politicians, lawyers, and bankers. So basically, all sorts. Bear filled us in on what he knew of the Petrov interests in Nevada and how Los Cuervos had managed their relationship with the bratva until now.
Bear and Lennon fell behind Cricket and me, and we all entered the building. The room we were in was tastefully decorated in muted shades of gray with pops of gold accents woven throughout the space. To one side, we could enter the casino portion of the resort, which also housed Allure, their nightclub. On the other side of the grand foyer, or whatever you called this fancy room, was the entrance to the hotel and restaurant. That was where we were headed.
Cricket and I didn’t even make it to the reservation desk before a statuesque redheaded woman with thick-rimmed cat-eye glasses and a sleek, black sheath dress approached us. “Miss Indigo Evans? Hello, my name is Astrid Vaughn. I’m Mr. Petrov’s personal assistant.” I gazed up at my conscience with an awestruck grin.
“No one’s ever called me ‘miss’ before!” I elbowed Cricket when he snickered at my excitement and turned my smile on Astrid. “Hi, Astrid! Or should I call you Miss Vaughn?”
Astrid smiled at me warmly. “Please, call me Astrid.”
“Only if you call me Indigo,” I insisted.
“Of course,” Astrid agreed. “If you and your guests would like to follow me, I’ll show you to the penthouse, where Mr. Petrov and his family await.” Without waiting to see if we followed, Astrid strode purposely toward an elevator tucked discreetly behind a pillar. With the press of her hand to an electronic pad on the wall, the elevator doors opened. We followed her into the elevator, where she used a key card to activate the lift. There were only two levels the elevator stopped on: the forty-second floor and the P—for penthouse. Or pool.Oh my Bob, I hope P is for pool. I wasn’t entirely sure I could swim, but I’d always wanted to give it a try. Floaties looked fun!
It turned out P was for penthouse, and the sound of the elevator doors closing muffled my muttered, “Boo!” when a short hallway ending in a single doorway met us instead of a refreshing pool. Standing between usand the door were two guards. Astrid walked to their side and turned to face us. “I’m afraid you won’t be allowed any farther until you’ve disarmed. Please leave any weapons here with Pasha and Yuri, and you’ll be able to collect them when you depart.”
I narrowed my eyes at Astrid. “Riordan didn’t say we had to be unarmed. I call shenanigans.”
“This is nonnegotiable. No one comes armed before thepakhan,” she insisted. My brain must have leaked my feelings all over my face because Astrid didn’t look as confident as she did when she asked for our weapons. However, I was not an unreasonable person. She was just doing her job, no matter how stabby her job was making me feel in this tiny hallway with two armed guards. I wouldn’t stab her, though. It was calledpersonal growth. I was an inspiration to stabby women everywhere who had to smother the urge to snap at middle management.
“Okay. I get it. It’s a fair enough rule.” Bear shifted uneasily behind me, like I’d actually willingly give up my favorite knife. Astrid smiled in relief until I opened my mouth again. “It was nice to meet you, Astrid. Please tell Riordan I said ‘hey’ and that his hotel is pretty, but it would look a lot cooler if there were a pool up here.” I turned my back on the three strangers, trusting my friends to give me a heads-up if fuckery was underway. “Time to peace out. Anyone else feeling snacky? I saw a McDonald’s on the way here.”
Lennon shrugged. “I could go for some nuggies.”
“You’re not leaving, surely?” Astrid asked in an incredulous voice.
I turned back to smile apologetically. “I’m afraid thatthisis nonnegotiable. I never go anywhere unarmed.Pakhanor Pope, my knife stays with me.” Sighing in irritation, which made the prim PA a little more approachable, Astrid pulled a slim phone out of a pocket I hadn’t known her dress had and made a call. She began arguing with someone in Russian, so I turned slightly toward Lennon and raised my eyebrows. Gesturing with my head at Astrid, I muttered, “See?Pockets. Are. Key.” Lennon rolled her eyes and gave me a playful nudge with her shoulder.
Astrid ended the call and said something in Russian to Pasha and Yuri. “EveryoneexceptIndigo must disarm. Indigo will be permitted her knife, but no handguns or other weapons cross the threshold.” Astrid waited to see what I’d do. I turned my back on her once more. “Teamhuddle! What do you guys say? Go get nuggies, or stay and see what happens?”
Bear and Cricket thought about it for a second, but Lennon jumped in with both feet.
“We’re modern women, Indi, we can have it all. Let’s go in, see what they say, and we can get nuggies on the way home.” Lennon raised her hands up at her sides. “Win-win. Plus, we all saw Indi on Clover’s security footage. Armed or not, my money is on Indigo if things go tits up in there.”
“It’s up to you,” Bear said quietly at my side. “From what Duke and Priest said, we don’t anticipate any conflict with the bratva. It seems like their interests might align with ours in more ways than one.” Bear didn’t seem too worried, but then again, I’d never really seen him anything but calm and collected. It made me wonder briefly why his road name was Bear, but I didn’t feel like I should ask him the story behind it in mixed company. Bratva and biker being the mix.
“What’ll it be, love?” Cricket asked.
