“Well, no. You see, the wedding was here, in Las Vegas. I stole Pappa’s car and drove into the desert. I ran out of fuel, it was night, and I had no idea where I was or where I was going. He came out of the darkness like a ghost, scared me witless, and then…” She flutters a hand. “He took me away. And now, I am here.”
“Well, I for one am glad you are.” Myka hugs her. “Have you eaten?”
“Oh yes, we have only just come from eating.” She seems to be relaxing a bit. “How did you meet…Rev? Is that the correct name?”
Myka and Anjalee move away to the couch and immediately begin chatting like old friends, although it’s mainly Myka going out of her way to make Anjalee feel welcome and comfortable, when she was clearly very nervous.
Chance has finished making his food and joins us at the table. His eyes go to me. “So. Spill.”
I shrug. “You heard her.”
“Nah, bro. That was the flyover version. Spill.” Chance points at me with his fork. “The juicy stuff.” He swipes his fork up and down at me. “You’re different. Something happened—something big.”
I nod. “You’re right.”
I hear a throat clear—Inez.
I grin up at her; she’s in her usual uniform of a slim, tailored black pantsuit with a white button-down and low-heeled shoes. She’s got her black hair in a tight bun, as always. No one knows much about her—she’s only a few years older than us, maybe in her mid-thirties, but she’s The Boss’s righthand woman, the manager of Club Sin and everything that happens inside it, including us Broken Arrows, Fisticuffs, and the girls that contract out of Hel. She’s a cold woman, a control freak, a master multitasker, and a badass in her own right. Like us men, Inez exudes icy competence, and there’s a darkness in her black eyes that says she’s seen the worst the universe can hand a person and she’s bested it. I don’t know if she’s a killer, but I wouldn’t fuck with her, and there ain’t many folks in this world I’d say that about. Plus, she’s gorgeous, if you go for the viperish ice queen thing.
“Kane.” Her voice is raspy, dry, and low, a rattlesnake hiss. Damage to her throat, once upon a time, perhaps. “Welcome back.”
“Thanks, Inez. Ya’ll make it okay without me?”
She doesn’t smile at my joke, but the ice crystals in the air that come with her presence warm up a touch. “I believe we managed.” She looks at Anjalee for a long moment. “Your conversation with her father was less than a success.”
“He’s a dick,” I say. “He’s a colossal jackass of the worst kind.”
“So now she’s here.” Her cold black eyes come back to mine.
I nod. “Now she’s here.” I eye Anj. “She’s been…sheltered isn’t even close to accurate, Inez. Cloistered. Shut away her whole life, every aspect of her existence totally controlled.”
There’s a subtle softening of Inez’s features, regarding Anjalee. “Such a life barely counts as existence.”
I check the question burning on my lips. You just don’t ask Inez personal questions. “Right.” I watch Anj and Myka talking—they’re huddled together on the couch, murmuring back and forth. “She’s never worked, and not because she’s lazy. She’s not. I had to convince her to come here, and she’s insisting that she’s going to earn her own way.”
Inez cuts her eyes to me. “She requires purpose.”
I nod. “She’s got no clue. She’s buggin’ about it.”
Inez nods. “I will see to it.”
I eye her. “When Rev brought Myka here, you freaked.”
She eyes me, eyebrow arched. “I donotfreak, Kane. It was outside the accepted parameters. I’ve had a conversation with your employer. We agree that while this is not a bachelor bad where you can bring a different conquest every night, Rev’s situation is different. And I can see that your situation with Anjalee is different.” She looks at Chance, Lash, and then at the brothers, who are nearby in a huddled cluster, blatantly listening in. “You do not bring someone here without a damned good reason. You are expected to do your job. You are expected to remain loyal to your brothers above all, no matter what—hold to your oath. And I expect if you bring a woman here, she understands the nature of your loyalty, and privacy of this group and these quarters.”
I nod. “Speaking for myself, I get it. I wouldn’t bring her here if there was any other choice, but she’s got nowhere else to go. And this isn’t some frivolous bullshit. She’s not a conquest or a random piece of ass any more than Myka is for Rev.”
“That said,” Chance puts in, grinning, “it is a nice change of pace, havin’ a woman’s touch around here.”
Inez arches an eyebrow at him.
Chance laughs. “Inez, you know I don’t mean shit against you. But you’re nothere. You show when you’ve got somethin’ to say to us, but that’s it. And yeah, you’re female, but you gotta be aware that you’re more like a superior officer than one of the guys, and that’s how we see you.”
Inez dismisses the topic without a word, or even a gesture. She glances back at Myka, then to me. “Introduce us.”
I slide off the bench and head toward the women. Anjalee and Myka break off their conversation as we stand behind the couch, facing them.
Myka gives a small, half-circle wave. “Hey, Inez.”
