“You’re a fuck—” Tully started.
“I heard him.” I rolled my eyes. “Did you hear my first question? I need to find a place called Gilmore’s.”
I lay down in my bed and closed my eyes. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. A loud squawk rang out from the other room, and I lifted my head to snatch a pillow and toss it at the door to close it.
“What the hell is that?” Tully asked.
“It’s a fucking bird. What do you think?” I snapped.
“You got an animal? Why?”
“I called you with questions, not the other way around,” I reminded him.
“Right. Gilmore’s? That’s in New York. Hold on, Dante, get over here.” I could hear him asking our fellow Sin brother about the place in question.
“He thinks it’s part of Ginata’s territory.”
“It’s nice. But good luck getting to see her,” Dante said from behind Tully. “She’s too busy to entertain these days.”
“Yeah, we had to call Corrine to host us until we could find a new place to settle down in. The humans weren’t as amused as you were about the fire.” Tully complained.
“You know how much gear I’ve had to move in the last two months?” Dante shouted. “A fucking lot!”
“Why would you keep your arms business right next to Tully’s shit? That’s on you,” I argued.
“I told him the same thing,” Tully smirked.
“What is Ginata even doing?” I tried to focus on the phone call rather than the bird who never shut the fuck up. It was proving difficult.
“You know, that’s a good question. I can’t even get her on the phone,” Tully whined.
“Anyway,” Dante’s voice was suddenly louder. He must have stolen the phone from Tully. “It’s in New York. Nice place. I’m sure you can get a table, but you wouldn’t be seeing Gina. Why?”
I didn’t know how to answer that. How did I even begin to explain that I was seeing Scout in my dreams? I wasn’t sure if it was her past or present, but it was real, and she was there.
“You want a friend to go with you?
“Nah, I’ve got this. Just business.”
“Be careful. You know how she gets when she thinks you’re stepping on her toes.”
“Oh, I remember.”
Ginata was almost more spoiled than Ludovica. Take what she thought was hers, and there would be hell to pay.
Good thing Scout isn’t hers.
“God damn, does it always sound like that?” Tully asked. I sighed. The bird that I decided was now named Tippi was still fussing.
“He does. I can’t get him to stop unless he’s sleeping.”
“Put a blanket over him.”
“Oh, thanks for the tip. I didn’t think of that one!” I faked enthusiasm and hung up.
New York, why was I surprised? Ginata was born and bred in the city. I shouldn’t be shocked she took some of it over.
I got up and went to the bird. “What the hell is your problem?” I moaned. “It’s almost morning. Go to sleep!” His curtain had fallen, so I bent down to pick it up. I covered him, and finally, there was some semblance of quiet.
