Page 56 of Love is Blind

A little before Maverick called church, Wiz pulled me aside and I instantly knew by the look on his face I wasn’t going to like what he told me. It turns out he did some digging last night and discovered Birdie had been arrested on a drug charge. He tried hacking into the records, but they were sealed, which was another red flag.

Between the look on her face when I told her I had drugs on me the night I met her and declining the joint I offered her behind closed doors, I got the vibe drugs weren’t really her thing. Maybe she dabbled here and there, but no one is sealing records on a shitty little possession charge. Something didn’t add up. On top of that, there was the whole speech Emmy gave me playing on a continuous loop in the back of my mind. She was worried for her cousin and it wasn’t entirely because she was getting involved with the likes of me.

So I sent Wiz down to Charlotte to see what he could find out. I fully intended on paying Birdie a visit too, but then she showed up here.

“Charlotte,” Maverick repeats, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.

“I got him working on something personal,” I reply, bringing my eyes back to him. “I have his proxy if we need it and I’ll fill him in on anything he’s missed once he gets back.”

Maverick stares at me for a moment, quietly assessing my features. We don’t keep secrets from one another. If I got something going on, he’s the first person to know and vice versa. But this is different. How do I tell him I sent one our brothers to Charlotte so he could dig up information on a woman I just met? A woman I’m trying to purge from my system when all I want to do is feed off her light.

“Fair enough, we’ll talk later,” he says before he turns his attention to Torque. “I’ll let you have the floor first since you’ve been up north.”

A couple of days ago, Maverick sent Torque to New York. Ever since we joined alliances with Jack Parrish and the New York charter, we’ve been working to keep the Sinaloa cartel at a distance. Just because we took down one hit squad doesn’t mean we’re out of the woods. We’re on their radar and it’s just a matter of time before they strike.

“Did you send our love to the Mozzarella Kingpin and the cannoli loving knights?” Ink jokes.

“More importantly, did you bring home any of that sopressata?” Capone, the Chicago transplant, asks.

“Why don’t you let the man fucking talk so we can get on with it,” Leftie wheezes as he reaches into his denim kutte for his inhaler. “I’m not getting any younger and my lungs are on their way out.”

I watch as he takes a hit of albuterol, then I reach across the table and smack the cigarette out of Ink’s hand.

“He can’t fucking breathe as it is,” I hiss.

“I’m fine,” Leftie insists. “Torque, what do you got for us?”

We all settle down and give Torque the floor. He goes on to tell us that he met with Parrish and Wolf and they informed him of a new threat. Apparently the cartel isn’t the only one looking to settle an old score. A Russian gangster by the name of Yankovich has resurfaced.

Maverick leans forward, propping his corded forearms on top of the table and narrows his eyes at Torque.

“Parrish told me they killed him and his brother. Now he’s saying that ain’t true?”

“There was a third brother they didn’t know existed,” Torque says. “As far as I can tell, they’re biding their time—getting themselves prepared for battle. They need more guns, Mav, and they want to keep us on standby should this shit blow up in their face.”

I don’t like this. The last time we tried to supply guns to Parrish and his crew, Holly’s husband wound up dead. But everything happens for a reason and if we didn’t broker that deal with Parrish, we may never have found out what a backstabbing cunt King was.

“Yankovich was trafficking girls,” Shady says. Of all the men sitting at this table, Shady is the most familiar with the New York charter. Years back when things went south between him and Maverick, he did time in another charter. There, he met Wolf and one of his men. When we need help wrapping our heads around New York’s past, Shady is the guy we go to. “He took Wolf’s niece and put a bullet in his son, Nico. They’re just going on the fly with this one?”

Torque shrugs his shoulders.

“I told you all I know,” he says, sliding his gaze back to Maverick.

“We’re just replenishing what we lost,” Maverick starts then pauses for a beat. Swiping a hand over his bald head, he sighs. “I’ll call Parrish, set up a meeting and see what we can do.” He turns to Ink. “You take our cut from Sally’s?”

“By cut do you mean the bartender outside?” Hawk quips.

I swear to Christ, these guys are worse than a bunch of gossiping girls sometimes. I almost feel bad for opening my mouth, but if I didn’t this talk would be about me and Birdie and I’m not feeling that.

“The locker room bullshit is getting old,” Ink growls. “But don’t you worry, when I finally get around to fucking her, I’ll let you watch. Maybe you’ll learn something the next time that hot piece comes around here.”

I arch an eyebrow, as does everyone else around the table. Hawk is a loner for the most part. I’ve seen him hook up at Sally’s a couple of times, but he don’t bring anyone back here so I’m not really sure who Ink is referring to, but Capone is the one who calls him out on it.

“What hot piece?”

“The Booker in Booker and Mann,” Ink supplies. “What’s her name again?”

“Fuck you, that’s her name,” Hawk spats.

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