Needing to add my part to the conversation, I walk into the room.
“Hey.” Both heads swivel my way immediately. “I overheard the end of your conversation, and I’d rather not take any meds.”
“You need to sleep,” Ghost says.
“I’d rather have a massive brandy. That would help me sleep.”
Ghost sighs. “Alcohol will make you even more anxious when it wears off.”
“No meds,” I repeat.
Jack shrugs. “The lady has spoken.”
He turns his gaze to assess me, and I want to shrink back under it but stop myself.
“I’ve called Church, so we will be gone for an hour or so. I’ve asked Ace to come sit with you.”
“Church?” They’ve never struck me as the God-fearing type.
“Oh, it’s a meeting for the club,” Ghost explains.
“Okay, but I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Yeah, you do.” Jack’s tone doesn’t allow for any arguments.
Ghost’s foot taps against the floor as he sips at his Coke, and I wonder if he still gets that anxious, wanting to rip off your own skin feeling, too.
A loud banging at the main door has my heart skipping a beat. God, I need to calm down, or I’ll end up giving myself a heart attack.
“Yeah?” Jack shouts. “It’s open.”
Footsteps travel down the hallway, and then Ace’s head pokes into the living space. His gaze flicks to me, and he throws me a wink.
“Good to see you back, Princess.”
Jack clears his throat. “You need to watch Camile for an hour or so.”
“I’m not invited to Church?” He raises his eyebrows.
“Someone needs to stay with Camile. If you’d prefer, I can ask Rook, though I don’t exactly trust him after last time.”
I want to stick up for Rook. I still feel bad that he got such a hard time when he was only trying to do something nice for me. It wasn’t his fault those other three guys were assholes.
“No, no,” Ace says quickly, holding up both hands. “I’d rather hang out with Camile.”
He throws me another grin, displaying those dimples, and I can’t help but smile back. Okay, maybe Ace freakedme out by climbing into bed with me last night, but it seems he’s harmless. Not that helooksharmless. He could melt a girl’s panties just by smiling at her, but he hasn’t been mean to me the way both Jack and Ghost have.
“Did you stay away from those three idiots?” Ghost asks.
I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“I saw Paulie, but he said he wasn’t sure where the other two went, so I guess it was their lucky day.”
“And does Paulie still have all his limbs, Ace?” Ghost asks this as if he’s talking to a child, his eyebrows raised questioningly.
“Yes, Ghost.” Ace uses the same tone, like Ghost is an idiot. “He has all his limbs, and all his digits. I may have held his hand down and shown him which finger I will take if he keeps fucking up, then asked him to pass the message on to his friends.”
Ghost rakes a hand through his hair and blows out a frustrated breath. “You’re fucking lucky we’ve got a meeting to prep for. I swear to God, Ace, you keep acting as if you’re the Sergeant at Arms, and it won’t be the Numbnuts who lose an appendage. It will be you, and I won’t just take a finger.”
