“Izzy.” Mike put his hands on his hips and glared at me. “I love Mia more than anything. I quit fighting for her. Don’t you think I treat her like a queen at home?”
“I’m sure you all do. But right now, with Kat just starting, you need to be extra lovey-dovey. Shower your woman with so much love that it leaves little doubt about where her husband’s heart lies.”
“Got it,” Joe said with a quick nod. “I won’t let her out of bed all weekend.”
I held my hand up and closed my eyes. “I don’t need details. Just take care of your shit, and remember Kat’s a lesbian.”
Anthony shook his head and laughed. “This should be interesting.”
“Anthony, I think your life depends on it, buddy. Max can be downright scary sometimes.”
“I’ll handle her.”
That statement earned a laugh from everyone in the room. The only person who handled Max was Max. Anthony could try to sell that lie, but we all knew the truth. The woman had mighty big balls, and I totally girl-crushed on her for it.
The next few weeks at Inked were going to be real interesting. I wouldn’t let my sisters-in-law derail my plans for getting a little more tit power in the shop. I was sick of being the only female and done with having to deal with my brothers alone. In the end, they’d see the wisdom of my ways.
This weekend, we were heading to Jacksonville to hunt down Matías, and hopefully, all hell won’t break loose without me around to handle it. But more than likely, I’ll return to a shitshow, knowing my brothers. They’d never been good liars, and I’d never ordinarily ask them to lie to their wives, but I knew it was in everyone’s best interest if they followed the program and labeled Kat West our in-house lesbian.
James
Retand I carried the bags in from the cars as the girls settled into the hotel rooms. The sun had just disappeared behind the Jacksonville skyline, casting shadows in the parking lot and giving us some relief from the heat.
“Women pack way too much shit,” Ret said, hoisting Alese’s duffle bag higher over his shoulder to free his hands for her other two suitcases.
Izzy wasn’t a lightweight when it came to packing either. This time, she helped me pick out her outfits because she said she wasn’t sexy enough last time. She’d spent a few hours researching Forbidden and found it to be a trendier club than the old shit-in-the-wall Taboo. She wanted to look every bit the part of a pampered submissive.
“Shit never changes as they age either.”
We should’ve grabbed a cart with the amount of luggage we’d packed, but it gave us a few minutes alone to talk about our plan of attack tomorrow at the club.
“We have to meet Connor at noon to learn the layout of Forbidden. I don’t want there to be an inch of the club you’re not familiar with when we’re there with the ladies. Matías is too dangerous for us not to be prepared.”
We strutted through the lobby, looking like every other man in the place, heading to our rooms, shouldering the brunt of the work.
I jabbed at the elevator button with my elbow, not willing to put anything down because it wasn’t easy to balance everything to begin with. “Agreed. We’ll do a late breakfast and take the women with us. It’s important that they’re filled in because I’m sure they’re already nervous.”
Luckily, our rooms were near the elevator, and we didn’t have far to travel when we made it to our floor. “Meet downstairs for dinner in ten?” I asked before kicking open the hotel room door that Izzy left ajar even though I told her never to do that.
“We’ll be ready,” Ret said before his door opened.
Alese stepped into the hallway and plucked the smallest bag from his hands. “Let me help you.”
Ret looked at me and shook his head. The last two feet wasn’t the time we needed help, but at least she offered. Izzy was nowhere to be found, which meant she was probably talking on the phone, checking on the boys.
I dropped the bags as soon as I made it through the door, and Izzy turned around, giving me her signature glower. I jumped on the bed, trying to lighten the mood and wanting to relax for ten minutes.
Izzy walked out on the balcony, resting against the railing as she chatted on the phone. Based on the way her arm was flailing about, it was a heated conversation too.
“Fuckin’ Mike,” she said, walking back into the room.
“What happened?”
“He told Mia that Kat wasn’t a lesbian.”
“Um,” I mumbled because clearly, I was missing an entire piece of the conversation. “And that’s a problem, why?”
She sat down next to me and started to stroke my leg. “The girls are mad we hired a woman, so I told the guys to lie.”
