“It was blush pink,” she said, not that the color mattered. “You spend a lot of time thinking about that dress, don’t you?”
Ryske didn’t even hide the truth. “An inordinate amount of time.”
“I could wear that. It’s tight… It’s sort of demure though, isn’t it? I have a white halter that goes to about my knee, but shows a lot of side boob.”
“Works for me.”
“Or I have a loose fitting shift dress that’s backless… I have an LBD with a plunge neckline and mesh panels and… You’re not really listening to me, are you?”
“No, not really,” he said. “I’m thinking about what will be under the dress.”
She squeezed herself closer and returned to the plan. “So, you’re making nice. Maybe I’m acting a little jealous.”
“Maybe.”
“At the end of the night, you’ll make sure she goes ahead with the card game. Everybody’s in, and…”
“We play a few hands, keep it friendly,” he said. “Then we start to up the stakes. When it’s appropriate, I ask for the deed to the club.”
“You going to spend the night complimenting it?”
“Probably… Not hard to compliment a place with a hundred bedrooms in it, stacked high with hookers.” She tightened her grip on his arm. “And, the gorgeous woman I love in there too of course.”
Her smile fell to the sidewalk. Her love never forgot to toss in a compliment. That was why he was so good at what he did. Even though she knew he was sort of sassing her, he still managed to make her feel good.
“I don’t come with the deed.”
“No,” he said and took his arm from her embrace to coil it around her shoulders so he could snag his thumb into her necklace. “But, if I ever write one up for you, I won’t be signing it away.”
That was sweet. Harlow slid her arm around his waist, hooking her finger into his belt loop. “You said you were going to give yourself to her. Are you thinking of doing an exchange?”
“It’s typical that I should offer her the chance of a rematch, so I have to play another hand.”
“To let her win the deed back?”
“She can request anything she wants,” he said. “She might ask for that, but Maze will be there, looking unimpressed, as he does. He’ll goad her into asking for something else… if she doesn’t ask for it straight away.”
“You.”
“Right.”
“She asks for you, you lose. I have to walk out of there without you. She’s going to want sex.”
He pulled her closer. “Don’t underestimate my skills, baby,” he said. “Yeah, she might try to go for gold, but it won’t be hard to put her off.”
“What are you going to do? Be a slob? Pick your nose?”
The question was genuine, but he laughed. “No… I didn’t fall in love with you because you opened your legs for me. Anwen did and I didn’t fall in love with her.”
The man was a pro. Harlow was impressed. “You’ll talk her out of it… Make her think that she needs to do more if she wants to keep you for good.”
“Yep.”
“And, so, what? You’ll just be her slave? Following her around? Beating people up or intimidating them… Doing what Brash and Animal do?” She shivered. “God, you’ll have to spend time with them too… What if Animal tries to hurt you?”
While Harlow was petrified by the idea, Ryske was anything but. She was shocked to hear the smile in his tone. “Best part is, Ophelia won’t let them. I’ll be golden, cock of the walk, ruler of the roost, the big kahuna—”
“I understand, baby,” she said. “She’ll give you the authority to control them because she loves you. You’re not afraid because you’ll be their superior…” Harlow drew in a breath. It wasn’t so easy for her to rely on Ophelia’s logic. “The point is, you want to be close to her. You’ll get the inside scoop on what she’s up to and what’s important to her.”
“And we can sabotage from the inside.”
“She’ll know it’s you.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “We know she loves me… I won’t be obvious. Initially, we won’t take action. It will be eyes and ears only. All we need is a crack, a way in. Something that will help us take her down… It could be a side deal or a maybe she’s in deep with the wrong person, who knows. But, I’ll find something.”
“What will you do with it? Take it to the cops?”
“Depends what it is,” he said. “We need her out of our lives. That’s the ultimate goal.”
“She threatened to pin Hagan’s murder on you. Don’t forget that. If she doesn’t think she’s getting what she wants, she’ll take you, and everyone else, down with her.”
His swagger was undeniable. “I know how to keep a woman happy…” His confidence dwindled. “Every woman but you.”
Turning her face up, she gave him more of her weight. “You keep me happy, Crash… Hey, if I was a straight forward woman who always said and did the right thing, you’d be bored with me already.”
He inhaled and blew out the breath in a sigh. “Yeah,” he said. “You’re probably right.”
“Let’s just get home, heat up some of this food, have a drink, and go over the plan with everyone one more time. Will Noon be outside Windsor’s tomorrow night?”
“All night.”
They went a few more steps before she got curious. “What do you think he does when he’s stuck sitting in the car all night? He never seems frustrated or fed up. He’s always quite chilled.”
“Baby, take a lesson from me… don’t ask,” he said. “I’ve never met a man so close to his vehicle in my life… I don’t like to think that he might get personal in there.”
Laughing, she nodded. “Fair enough.”
Noon was a great guy with a kind nature, she didn’t think he got intimate with his car. Even if that was how he passed his alone time, she wasn’t going to judge him. He was who he was, and she loved him. Harlow loved them all.
Despite what he thought, she loved Ryske too. She was happier with him than she had ever been. His plan for the future was inviting; Harlow just had to decide if the universe could stand to lose what them being together might cost it.
27
The electricians had been in to rewire Floyd’s. Harlow hated that they’d left the place messy. Seemed crazy given that the whole place was being remodeled. But she’d spent the better part of the morning putting the apartment back together because she was ready for the upheaval to be over… Not that it would be any time soon.
Coming down the spiral stairs on another mission, Harlow was delighted to find a friend. “Felipe!” she said and ran over to pull the boy into a hug.
“Nightingale,” he said, squeezing her in return, though he didn’t seem too happy to see her.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, pushing his hair away from his face to examine his expression.
“Nothing,” he grumbled but moved away from her and kicked at the ground.
The stroller in the middle of the room drew her attention. She went over to say hello to Tiffy who was chewing on her teething ring. “Oh, sweetie, are those nasty teeth coming in?” But Tiffy seemed happy and flashed her a gummy grin. “None through yet, huh?”
“She is always awake,” Felipe said. “Always. All the time.”
“Oh, honey, I know it’s not a lot of fun,” Harlow said, going over to put an arm around him. “Soon, it will be much easier. She’ll start sleeping through the night and then she’ll be running around. When she’s a little bigger, you’ll be able to play real games with her.”
“I don’t want to play stupid games with a stupid baby.”
The teenage years never failed to turn perfectly pleasant children into moody terrors. “You don’t mean that. She’s your cousin.”
“She’s my stupid cousin.”
“Come on now, this isn’t you. What’s wrong? Is your mom still talking to your dad?”
Felipe nodded, though he stayed fixated on the
floor. “He’s getting out soon.”
“Is he coming back to yours?” Felipe shrugged. “You only have two bedrooms, right?”
He nodded. “He won’t like the stupid baby crying all the time.”
If Felipe’s dad went home, it wouldn’t be to sleep on the couch. At the moment, Felipe was on the couch. If his father came home, he wouldn’t be asked to vacate.
“She’s not stupid,” she said, but had concerns of her own.
Felipe’s father was violent; his crimes were linked to violence. The youngster’s reticence made sense for his own sake, but also for that of his mother, aunt, and little cousin. From what Harlow knew of Pablo Soto, he wasn’t a patient man. It wouldn’t hurt to get another look at his files, just to see if there were any real concerns.
“I’m always looking after her,” Felipe said, throwing his hands up at the baby. “Always me! I should be out there… with the men, doing the men’s work… This baby stuff is for women!”
Though she knew he’d been raised a certain way, Felipe wasn’t an intolerant kid. His attitude made her smile.
“How about,” Harlow said, curving an arm around his shoulders again. “I take Tiffy to the store with me and Ryske will find you something manly to do, huh?”
He nodded, but didn’t seem a whole lot happier. Something else was on his mind. She would need to spend more time with him to get to the bottom of what it was.
Guiding Felipe out of the den while pushing the stroller, they found Ryske up a ladder in the corner of the main bar. Already the room was starting to look a lot cleaner than it had a few days ago. Ryske noticed Harlow wheeling the stroller with Felipe at her side. Sticking his screwdriver into his tool belt, he descended the ladder to meet them.
“Where have you been?” he asked, using her necklace to pull her in for a kiss.
“Upstairs,” she said while he smudged the baby’s cheek.
“She’s getting big, huh?” Ryske said, smiling at Felipe who barely tried to reciprocate. “What’s wrong with your mug?”
Ryske gave the kid a shove. Felipe slipped his hands in his pockets and dipped his focus.
Harlow rested her shoulder on Ryske to lean in and stage whisper. “He feels left out,” she said. “Wants to do man’s work.”
“Man’s work?” Ryske asked. “It’s a man’s work to keep the women happy.”
“I said I’d take Tiffy to the store. He’s been left on baby duty a lot.” It was nice that Ryske was concerned in his observation of the quiet kid. “Will you find him something to do? I’m going to make lunch for everyone; Tiffy won’t be a bother to me.”
“Okay,” Ryske said and whistled, drawing the attention of the half dozen people around the room who were doing various jobs. Noon was the one in his focus. “Felipe’s gonna show you how to do that right.”
The men exchanged a look of understanding and Noon held up a spare mask. Felipe perked up some and darted over to see what he could learn about sanding.
“Keep an eye on him,” Harlow said. “Looks like Pablo might be coming back home after all.”
“Shit,” he said. “Why does Martina do that to herself?”
Tipping her head back, Harlow smiled up at him. “Love does strange things to otherwise sane people,” she said. “Maybe when you’re all grown up some nice girl will catch your eye.”
“My girl caught more than my eye,” he said, trying to turn her into his arms, but she resisted. “Fuck, baby, when you gonna let this go… Will you relax?”
“Relax? You want to get laid, Ryske. Call it what it is. You want to fuck.”
Glancing at the baby, he checked Tiffy wasn’t watching them before he spoke. “I want us to get back to normal. Nothing’s different than when we were at your parents. You were happy to tell your mom I was gonna be a permanent feature. Since we’ve got back, you’ve done nothing but push me away.”
“I think some distance is smart given your plan to give your life over to another woman,” she said. “I trust your skills; you’ll hold her off for a while. But, this is about more than sex. I’m protecting myself, Ryske. Tonight, I’m coming home without you… I don’t know when I’ll see you again—”
Her voice broke, so she averted her gaze, pissed at herself for showing weakness in such a ridiculous way.
Dipping down, he buried his face in her hair. “Trink,” he said, sliding a hand flat onto her belly. “You know that no matter what happens, I’ll always be yours.”
“You don’t know what it’s like,” she whispered, not responding to his caresses, but not pulling away either. “To be powerless to protect the person you love. I feel useless and pathetic and weak… I should be able to protect you.”
“From what? Fi? She doesn’t want to hurt me. We talked about this. I’ll command her minions; I don’t fear them.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I do,” he said, rubbing her stomach and coiling his other arm around her to stroke one hip while her other rested against him. “Because it’s exactly how I felt when you were in jail.” That made her glance up at him. “I didn’t know what was happening to you in there. They were keeping you from me and I was stuck out here, powerless.”
Except he’d taken action to free her. Maybe that was why. Ryske didn’t do well with being told no.
“That’s why you arranged the…”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding, though he started to frown. “They weren’t going to keep my girl caged. Nothing keeps us apart.” Letting himself smile, he touched her lips. “That’s how you can be sure that this isn’t forever. Trinket, I don’t care if I have to climb out the window like a teenager sneaking out, I’ll find a way to visit you.”
“It’s not the same,” she said, shaking her head.
Sinking a hand into her hair, he cradled the side of her head, and brought it upward to join their lips. “Pulling away from me isn’t protecting yourself. It’s punishing us both. We’re strongest when we’re a unit.”
“How can you say that and then give yourself to her? How will I walk out of there tonight?”
The pain that had hung in her gut grew into a tight ball of anxiety. Ryske would be alone. Yes, he was capable, but she didn’t want another wall between them.
“Whatever she wants me to do,” he said. “We’ll still have Pothos every week. We’ll see each other then.”
Opening her fingers on his on her hip, she welcomed his digits coiling between hers. “Do you remember what it was like at visitation?” she asked. “When you’d come to me in jail and that guard would make noises at us if you tried to touch me?”
“Yeah, I fucking remember,” he said and his quick scowl made her think he still wasn’t over it. “I should track that fucker down…”
Harlow grazed her thumb across his lips and let her hand move to his jaw. “Ophelia will be ten times worse,” she said. “Watching us every minute. The first thing she’ll do is make you promise never to touch me again.”
He snorted out a laugh. “You think I’ll agree to that? Even if I do, you think it’ll stop me?”
“She despises me, and wants you to despise me too.”
Combing her hair from her face, he kept stroking her. “How do you think she’ll do that?”
“I don’t know… She’ll find a way.”
Maybe that was her real fear. Ophelia wanted to drive a wedge between her and Ryske. She’d go to any lengths to do it.
“Baby, it’s not possible,” he said, confident and relaxed in his smile. “There’s nothing she could do or say that would make me care less about you; that could make me love you less. You know that.” Squeezing her closer, he kissed her hair. “She doesn’t have the power to change this.”
Trying to think of what Ophelia might use, Harlow searched her memory, and made eye contact. “I haven’t been with another man,” she said, feeling a sudden urgency to clear up any misconceptions she’d ever given him. “Since I met you, you’ve been the only—”
He laughed and pre
ssed a finger to her mouth. “Would you relax? She could tell me you fucked the whole neighborhood; do you think that would make me not love you? You think I’d believe her?”
Anything else awful, Harlow was sure he already knew. He’d heard the recording of what happened on the night Hagan died. He’d been eavesdropping when Ophelia had discussed them sleeping with Parratt and Yarker. Everything from the past, Ryske knew.
“I love you,” he murmured into her hair and opened his hand on the side of her head to bring her focus up to him. “Whatever happens, Trinket. I love you.” She nodded. He winked and smacked her ass. “Now go get the food, we’re starved. It’s not a good idea to have the baby in here with all the dust.”
He kissed her and gave her a nudge toward the door. Nothing was going to make her feel better about that night. Ryske was going to be Ophelia’s. It didn’t matter that it was the plan; Harlow couldn’t console herself to the idea of being parted from him.
Any obstacle between them was unwelcome. She resented barriers. Especially those erected by others. Given her existing feelings for Ophelia Hagan, this night wasn’t going to mend any rifts between the women.
Ryske might be hers in his heart, but what difference did that make when they were being attacked, manipulated, and kept away from each other?
28
Getting ready for their first Pothos night had been a somber experience. During that time, Harlow existed in her own head. Her crew seemed to respect her need for distance, so hadn’t pushed her to get out of her zone.
Anwen was high as a kite, which was understandable. She’d been locked away from the world for so long. This was her chance to be in a social environment again.
Harlow, Ryske, Maze, and Anwen arrived at Windsor’s together. Noon parked in the back alley and no one said anything as they got out and went into the building.
In a strategic move, Harlow took Maze’s arm, and Anwen didn’t hesitate to take Ryske’s. As soon as they’d entered the main floor and spotted Ophelia at one side of the room, Ryske split away and went to her.
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