“Do not be scared,” I say. “Parker won’t touch you or talk to you. He won’t even come near you. Bianchi will shoot him between the eyes if he tries.”
January doesn’t look reassured. “Doesn’t this, like, show Parker that he can be around us if he spends enough money? That the contract doesn’t really apply to him?”
All of us exchange glances. January’s right, as she so often is these days. Her honesty and perceptiveness unearth truths the rest of us shy away from. Not that it’s always comfortable to hear the truth.
“We’ll figure something out,” I tell her, reminding myself of my mother promising my father she was coming home soon. “You must be tired. Why don’t you go to bed?”
“Yeah, Tits,” Doc says, unexpectedly backing me up. “Bobby can take you for a bath.”
January looks doubtfully between us. “Okay…but are you guys alright? I know it’ll be a big deal for you to see Parker too.”
Adriano, Doc, and I plaster smiles on our faces.
“We’re fine,” I lie. “Go and enjoy the last of your birthday, my ruby.”
January kisses us goodnight then leaves with Bobby.
As the dining room door closes, I sigh. Along with everything else I have to deal with, I can’t give her my other gift. A unicorn saddle vibrator in beautiful pastel colors and a pretty little tail for her asshole. Sex could have provided some levity in a night severely lacking in it, but we need to address the Parker situation before that’s an option. Doc pours the three of us a fresh round of drinks and then sits at the table. “So, what are we gonna do?”
From the look in his eyes, I know he’s thinking of throttling Parker with piano wire at the wedding.
“We’re not violating the contract,” I say. “We need to call the Baskerville twins and see what they know.”
“So do it,” Doc says grumpily. He hates the Baskerville twins.
Archie Baskerville picks up on the second ring. “Evenin’ boss.”
I can hear a woman laughing in the background. “Where are you?”
“Keepin’ company with some women of loose morals.” There’s the sound of a door shutting, the crunch of feet on gravel. “I’m alone now.”
“Good. What do you know about Parker attending the Bianchi wedding?”
“Nothing.” Archie sounds surprised. “You gonna be there too? Doesn’t that violate the contract?”
“Apparently that’s of no concern to John Bianchi,” I say, a headache pricking at my temples. “We’re going to need round-the-clock intel on Parker. What he’s planning, who with, and when. If he’s coming to the wedding to hurt January, to do anything, we need to know about it.”
“Right,” Archie says, but there’s a bite to his voice.
“What?” I snarl, my temper straining at its leash.
“Nothin’, boss. We’ll get you what you want to know, but it’s been over a year and we’re still bowing and scraping to this asshole. Bill and I were hoping we’d be working for Velvet House by now.”
I sigh, rubbing the side of my head. “I understand your frustration, but it’s useful to have someone on his crew feeding us information.”
“And when is that not gonna be useful? Once Parker’s dead of old age?”
“Don’t push me, Baskerville,” I say. “We want to help you, but it’s not as easy as clicking our fingers.”
A moment’s silence. “Okay, I’ll get you what you want to know.”
“Appreciate it,” I say and hang up.
“He still pissy?” Doc asks.
“Mightily.”
Doc swirls the bottle in his hand, making a little vodka tornado. “Can’t say I blame him. If I worked for Parker, I’d have shot him between the eyes by now.”
