Page 99 of Bourbon & Blood

Instead, we decided to play it smooth – anonymously report it to theTimes Picayuneand a couple of the leading television news outlets and see who bit first.

As for the hired gun? We called in the big dogs to sniff that trail and cashed in our chips on a big favor with The Kraken who had more computer know-how than us, who in turn cashed in some chits of their own with the crew they was friends with up north – an outfit far bigger than the Voodoo Bastards and The Kraken combined. The Sacred Hearts.

They was working on it, and we’d have our assassin by the time they was done, come hell or high water.

That just left dear ol’ daddy dearest for right now, and boy howdy would we handle his ass.

That left just one thing for me to do for right now, and that was go to my lady and hold her tight.

I walked across the street and looked up, catching a glimpse of her in her window as she whirled to go for her door. She was just on the other side of the glass as she took the last couple steps to open the lobby door for me to fly into my arms.

I held her tight, her shelter from the shitstorm a brewing out here.

“Come on upstairs and we’ll talk,” I told her. She nodded quickly and gripped my hand in some desperation as she led the way back up to her apartment.

“What’s happening?” Dorian asked, standing up from the window seat my girl so loved.

“Will you let the man get in the door, baby? Jesus…” Marcus rolled his eyes and turned the page of a photo book in his lap as he sat cross-legged in a skirt on the floor.

“Thanks,” I grunted at the fabulous queer and he smiled happily and wiggled back and forth in a little dance before turning another page.

I dropped onto the couch and pulled Alina down onto my lap, sighing hard.

“I can’t tell you when, or how, but shit’s gonna get really real in the news and real soon. We’re just waiting on some callbacks.”

“The media?” Alina asked astonished.

I nodded. “Things are in the works,” I said. “We don’t want just Daddy and the hired gun to pay. We want ‘emallto pay, and the best way of goin’ about it is gettin’ the truth out there as far and as wide as we possibly can and givin’ ‘em no place left to hide.”

Alina looked thoughtful, and Dorian looked shocked. Marcus looked pleased.

“Maya would besoproud,” Marcus declared. “She could be a petty bitch. The pettiest of petty bitches, and this is gonna makeallher petty bitch dreams come true. I can’t tell you how much I amso here for it!” He snapped out a rainbow-colored fan and fanned himself and I smirked.

“There was a Louisianasenatoron that list,” Alina said. “Like, a currently sitting Louisiana senator,” she said.

“Shit, you don’t think dear ol’ dad’s gubernatorial seat was bought and paid for?” I asked. “This weren’t no election,” I said. “This was his just rewards.”

Dorian looked sick.

“I can’t believe she didn’t tell any of us,” he said.

I shook my head. “And put y’all in danger? No. I don’t think that was your girl’s style.”

Alina shook her head too. “It wasn’t,” she said in agreement.

The boys stayed a little while, but then had to get going to get to their respective evening jobs. It was Dorian’s night off, but he was going in anyway to cover Alina’s shift to quote, “Head Clyde’s bitching off at the pass.”

I liked him for that, but don’t think for a minute ol’ Clyde was off my radar, either. I’d see if I could keep it to just barkin’ for now, but I still had my bite I’d keep in reserve to make that bark have some meanin’.

Finally, after the boys took their leave, it was just me an’ my girl – we were alone. It felt both strange and exciting to be up here in what was her space for so long, and now it was again. She laid draped over the top of me on me on the couch, and I massaged the back of her neck where it met her skull while she did.

“You gon’ put this place back to the way it was, or you gon’ do something different?” I asked.

“I mean, it pretty muchisthe same except for the better heavier bookshelves along that wall instead of the cheap ones from the big box stores that were there,” she said, lifting a finger and pointing vaguely.

She sighed. “My bedroom is the same,” she said. “I can go back to taking the bus to work and catching a ride home like I did before.”

“I can get you,” I murmured.

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