Declan’s phone bings once and then twice. I watch out of the corner of my eye as he sets down his glass and pulls his phone out of his pocket. Whatever's on the screen makes him roll his eyes.
“Everything okay?” Kenji asks.
“Do we need to go rough some people up?” I ask, still feeling a little stabby from earlier when everyone showed up and I had to put sex on the backburner.
I look over and see Callum studying his right-hand man. What does he see?
Declan shakes his head. “Nah, it was just Tristano.”
“He’s interesting,” I say as I set my cigar down, not interested in it.
In all honesty, I hate cigars, but they are part of the life. I’ll hold one and take a puff or two when I need to for appearance’s sake, but that’s it.
“You have no idea,” Declan mutters.
“Killian is fond of him. Says he doesn’t give Greer much trouble and is good at what he does,” Callum adds.
I hum, not having anything to put in.
“Is his woman doing okay after everything?” Kenji asks.
Declan nods. “Yeah, Serena’s doing well. Therapy and all that shit.”
“Good,” Callum says, and I can’t help but agree.
We fall silent once again. Unsure of what to talk about. While on paper we might have things in common, it’s nothing we can actually talk about. I know Callum doesn’t want me to pry into his organization, and I don’t want him digging into mine. We operate very differently from what I can tell, and that’s okay.
While yes, we’re competition, he stays on his side and I stay on mine. Just the way I like it.
ChapterEleven
Cleo looks at me with a look I can’t quite name.
“What?”
She shakes her head. “Sorry, I just realized you never mentioned what Callum got you for Christmas.”
Even though I know she’s lying, I can’t help but smile.
“He totally surprised me.” I take a deep breath. “He bought me my favorite apothecary.”
“No way!” Miya nudges my arm with hers. “That’s fucking awesome.”
“That’s a fantastic purchase,” Cleo adds.
I think back to this morning when he handed me the envelope. Callum is always confident and sure of himself, but this morning he couldn’t help but sway side to side. Hell, he slid his hands into his pockets and started rubbing the stone I gave him that he doesn’t think I know that he carries.
“I couldn’t have been more shocked,” I tell them.
“What is an apothecary?” Nikita asks.
“It’s like a pharmacy but with medicinal herbal remedies. They also sell crystals and all sorts of things. Like the candle and bath salts I got you,” I tell her.
Cleo leans in close. “Autumn’s our family witch.”
I roll my eyes and smile. “I’m not a witch.”
“Sure you aren’t,” Miya quips.
