“It’s not like that.”
“This is how it’s like,” I tell him. “Ye came into our establishment. And ye touched one of our women without her permission. And that stripper? She’s also a mother. A damn good one at that. She works her arse off to put food on the table, believe it or not. It’s not for the love of cock.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it.”
The bloke just doesn’t get it, but they never do.
If there’s one thing I won’t abide by, it’s this kind of shite. My mammy raised me to be respectful of women. Even though my father was anything but. I didn’t stand for it then, and I’m not going to stand for it now.
“Look, ye have two choices,” I lay it out for him. “Fingers or arm. The arm will heal, eventually. But ye can’t grow fingers back.”
He doesn’t answer me, and I’ve grown tired of him already. So I grab hold of his arm and yank this time. It snaps in two, with a fair amount of squealing on his part.
“All sorted. Thanks for stopping by.”
When I walkinto the office, Crow’s there with his wife and baby daughter. I steal Keeva off Mack’s hip to give her some cuddles.
“Get your own kid,” Mack tells me.
“Nah, I like this one. Think I’ll just keep her for a wee bit.”
“How’d it go?” Crow asks.
“All sorted,” I tell him.
Even though Mack’s trustworthy, and she’s married to the boss, we still don’t discuss details in front of her. The less the wives know, the better. For their own protection.
I take a seat on the sofa and bounce Keeva in my arms while she tries to grab at my nose. Both Mack and Crow are watching us, the way that most parents do, with silly smiles on their faces.
“Are ye up for the task of babysitting next week?” Crow asks. “Mack’s been after me to take her out on a date.”
“Anytime,” I tell them.
I’m the brother’s go to babysitter, believe it or not. I don’t mind it. They know their kids are safer with me than they’d ever be anywhere else.
A shadow falls over the doorway, and it’s not unusual, since Crow’s office always has someone poking their head in. But when I look up, what I don’t expect to see is Scarlett. I rub at the back of my neck and study her carefully. Something must be wrong.
She doesn’t come here often, if ever.
Her eyes move straight to me and the baby in my lap before she swallows like her mouth is full of glass.
“Of all the gin joints in all the world,” she says.
Crow invites her in, but she declines.
“You got a minute, Mack?”
“Sure.”
They step out into the hall, and Crow gives me an odd look. He’s probably wondering the same thing I am.
When Mack comes in a few minutes later, she scoops Keeva up from my arms.
“She’s making a fast getaway through the back,” she tells me. “You better go if you want to talk to her.”
I don’t want to be so bleeding obvious about it, but they’re both just staring at me like they already know what I’m going to do anyway.
So, I go after her.
