Page 83 of Jackal

“Go on inside, Lil Bird. And don’t forget your bag.”

“Oh, I may have left that in the car,” she said, patting herself like it would have fit in a pocket. Although, all the women made it a point to show off the fact that the bridesmaid’s dresses did in fact, have pockets.

“Hmm. In a few minutes, we can check that out.” I pulled her close, wrapping her up in my arms. I knew what was coming next was what was best, but it didn’t make me feel any better about not having her close.

She threaded her arms under my coat, splaying her palms over my back. “I love you,” she said against my chest. “I hope to tell you that again soon.” Her voice was wobbly.

Squeezing her and trying not to mess up her hair, I told her,“I love you, Lil Bird. You can tell me anytime you want.” Pulling back, I gave her a long, closed-mouth kiss on the lips, savoring the feel of her in my arms.

“Hey, you two! Don’t mess up my work,” Lacy joked from where she still was getting a last pose in.

Shivana let out a humorless laugh and waved her hand. “Sorry, boss! I’m going in now!” She turned back and her deep brown eyes looked up, her lashes even longer than normal. “If anything happens to you, I’m going to kill you.”

Knowing she cared was all the reason I needed to be sure that didn’t happen. “I told you, I’ll go straight to hell for you, but I won’t be meeting my destiny today. I love you.”

“I love you.”

She stepped away slowly, dragging her hand over me before she was finally too far away. After a few more steps backwards, she swallowed and turned, going back inside.

Peeking back around, I made sure there were three limos out front. Walking around, I found the attendant. “Excuse me,” I said as I got closer. “We need to keep these limos right here.”

He was practically a kid, maybe early twenties. “If everyone has been dropped, we prefer to have the vehicles cleared from the entryway, sir.”

“Won’t be long and we’ll get them moved. Just give us a few, okay bud?”

The clouds were rolling in faster and darkening everything, but I still caught a glimpse of a slight eye roll. “We need them moved in twenty minutes…sir.”

This punk…But I couldn’t start a scene. Everything had to go according to plan.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Sooner than expected, but not by much.

Here we go.

Chapter 46

Shivana

I’d left my bag in the limo as instructed on purpose, but my phone was in my pocket. Dresses with pockets were the best. I also had a small pocketknife that Jackal told me to hold onto, and a very small gun, I think he said a .22, in the other pocket. It had been a while, but I had taken classes at a shooting range back home when I was an undergrad, and again before going to medical school. I never did buy a gun, but it was nice to know how to use one, should I ever decide to make a purchase. I always dreamt of getting my own place away from my parents, but I assumed it would be near them. The thought of living alone in a city like Chicago was exciting and scary at the same time. A girl could never be too prepared.

Now I was living in a building full of armed men in a small-town hundreds of miles from my parents. The idea that I would need to recall my firearm training, and of all times, now, waspractically comical.

I grabbed one of the paper fans that had a cute little embossed eagle on it withEagle,Lacy, and the date on them to cool my face. The air conditioning was crisp inside, but knowing what was to come kept my face heated. It may be difficult to find the right shade of foundation for my skin, but at least I could hide when I was flushed.

Glancing around, my breath hitched. The room was all adorned in pink, teal, a touch of pale yellow, and white. A beautiful archway was centered against one of the walls with different white flowers and ivy woven through it. The chairs were basic foldable chairs, but each one was covered with a white seat-cover and the aisles all had bundles of teal, pink, and yellow flowers fixed to the end. It was all so beautiful, but we weren’t going to get to enjoy it.

“Hey,” Lacy called as she nearly bounced inside, coming closer. “Whew, it was hot out. Those fans are handy, right?” She was beaming but had a tinge of pink on her neck, even with all the makeup.

“They’re so cute. And yeah, the air feels great, but I love the little fans. Nice touch,” I said.

Daisy and the others filed in, with Mama Hen escorted by Hawk. Looking around, most of the guys were not inside. A few of the members I knew had shown up, but they passed through and went outside.

“The guys are doing guys shit,” Daisy said, grabbing a fan for herself. “Here.” She opened it and fanned Lacy a few times before turning it on herself, then back again. “It’s so pretty in here.”

“Right? I love it. Oh, that feels good,” she said as Daisy turned the fan back on her. “So I guess we hang out here for a few?” Lacy asked with a shrug.

Still fanning my face, I looked over and noticed Hawk lean intoMama Hen’s ear. His arm was around her shoulder, the other holding her hand. She nodded, then turned and hugged him tightly, her head buried into his chest.

“Aw, for such a serious guy, he sure loves his mama,” Daisy said.

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