And I was unsure if I was happy that it seemed they were realizing things were shaky, or the other way around.
I didn’t want them dead either.
But I did want them to disappear.
“Do you know about the feud?” Shanti asked him as the server came back with a beer for Tex.
Titus shook his head, but said, “I do now. But Rocco doesn’t play it that way. Inside business stays inside. You let it be known you got internal issues, you’re vulnerable. Miracle of that is, the other side of the Chambers clan thrives on mess. So I’m stunned he’s been able to contain it.”
He wasn’t sharing anything surprising. Knox had essentially already told me this stuff.
“You gonna eat yours?” Tex asked, and this time, I looked to him to see the question was again directed at me.
“I’m thinking caviar isn’t my?—”
I didn’t finish, because Tex did a squat over the table, grabbed his empty plate, leaned my way, reached long and exchanged his plate with mine.
He sat back down and the two remaining blinis on my plate were wolfed down in about ten seconds.
“You have a sophisticated palette, my brother,” Titus remarked.
Tex slugged back some beer, swallowed, beat his chest with his fist, let out a burp that was not loud, but it wasn’t silent either, and replied, “Never waste free food.”
Titus was grinning. We were all grinning. Because Tex was never anything but himself, and that was awesome.
But I was wondering if I’d have the chance to talk with Dimitri privately about sending a message to Gypsy.
I’d have to ask when he came back to have a drink with us.
We descended into chitchat. The drink server came back with more champagne and topped us up with bubbly and vodka. Raye started devising a plan to rally some of the Hottie Squad as last-minute designated drivers. The caviar plates were taken away, and bowls of soup were brought in.
And that was when it happened.
The soup was borscht. I wasn’t a big fan of beets (could take them or leave them), but it smelled delicious.
I was able to down one spoonful (confirmed: delicious) before I heard Joey say, “What the…?”
And Harlow say, “Oh dear.”
And Shanti say, “You have got to be joking.”
And finally, Tex say, “Ah, hell.”
Which meant my attention went to the table, then it went to where everyone was looking at the opening to the VIP section, only to see Cheyenne, with four girlfriends, bearing down on our section.
“What on earth?” I got out before she was in our VIP room, her furious gaze glued to me.
She didn’t make me wait.
“You broke my car!” she shrieked.
I felt the attention of most of the patrons of the restaurant turn our way.
But I looked to Tex.
He shrugged.
Shit.
