Page 39 of Bourbon & Blood

I looked off to the side, distant.

“Feels like I’m cashin’ in all my chips on this,” I said, and it was true.

“How’s that?” he asked.

I shook my head. I didn’t want to say it out loud. Just how much I fuckin’ wanted this for myself. Just how much I wantedher. Just how much I felt out of my depth and how fuckin’ vulnerable and alien that feeling was.

Silence is better than bullshit,I thought, and it was far too tempting to bullshit to hide my honest answer and true feelings which I wasn’t about to share.

Hex cleared his throat, knowing when not to press, and dropped his boots to the concrete floor.

“First thing’s first. We call the boys in. Find out how much help they willin’ to put in on this. Second thing, you an’ me? We figure out the girl and how to magic make this work. Awright?”

I looked to Hex and nodded slowly. He shot back a look that was nothing short of ride or die, and it put me at a little bit of ease. No matter what, I could see plain as day he had my back on this thing.

“Thank you,” I said, and he nodded.

“Brother, we’re in this together. We made that decision together a long time ago and I mean to honor it.”

I nodded again; glad we were on the same page. I had a lot of trouble trusting anything out of anyone. Had never been given a whole lot of reason to believe anything anyone said. I watched what they did, instead. Hex had ever been even keel and steady with me; and yet, even with him, I had trouble truly believing.

“I want to call them in now,” I said, and he laughed a bit.

“I don’t think that’d help your cause much, bringin’ ‘em in at the ass crack of dawn like that.”

I felt my lips quirk up in a rare smile. “I said Iwanted to. Don’t think I’m stupid enough to do it. I want this, I wanther, more than I’ve wanted anything in my life.” I let the confession out.

“I’d ask if she had a magic pussy or something, but I know you ain’t hit it,” he said. At the look on my face, he cocked his head to one side and searched my expression with an expression on his own face of open curiosity.

“Interesting,” he said, and I didn’t say nothin’. I think my face said it all. I didn’t like the way he talked about my little Alina like that. I didn’t like it one bit… and no, you couldn’t ask me why. I didn’t have an answer for you.

Still, that was good enough for him, and seemed to tell him all that he wanted or needed to know.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Alina…

My phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize and I frowned at it. I usually didn’t answer, but it could finally be the police or something, so I did.

“Alina?”

His voice was deep and sent a shiver down my spine despite how warm it was in my room. I’d turned the air conditioning to something warmer since I didn’t know what was going to happen. I mean, I certainly couldn’t afford it on my own…

“Yes,” I said softly then, “Wait – how did you get my number?”

“One of the same ways I’m gonna use to help find out what happened to your friend,” he said, and I sat up.

“You need something from me?” I asked.

“If you’re up to it. I need you to let me in.”

“You’re here?” I asked, getting up out of my bed and going to my front door.

“I am. Downstairs,” he said.

“Did you buzz?” I asked.

“No, I called you,” he said and I could hear his smirk over the line – which I could almost visualize but I couldn’t remember. I hadn’t seen him smirk, ever,had I?

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