Page 99 of Bountiful
“Well…” My brother rubbed the back of his neck. “He hasn’t gotten any better behaved. Gage is responsible for the worst of the drugs in this county. I’m going to take him down. Really shouldn’t talk about it, but if you see his face anywhere you are, I want you to leave the premises andcallme.”
Shit. Now I was sorry I’d asked about his job. “Well, I guess I’d better change my sign to read: Open, Except forJimmyGage.”
Ben snorted. “Does he come into TheBusyBean?”
“No. I haven’t seen him for months.” But still, I was uneasy. I hated the idea of Benito tangling with him. Jimmy Gage had just replaced my near death experience at the top of my late-night worry list. Not only was that dude scary, but he made me remember an uncomfortable time in my life—my rebellious years, when I’d punished everyone. Including Benito. I’d been so angry at everyone allthetime.
Now I was justtired.
“It’s gonna be okay, Z.” He squeezed my wrist. “I’m going to nail his ass to the wall and send him away for twentytolife.”
“You could have become a tailor. Or a candlestick maker. Justsayin’.”
He laughed. “If I were a tailor, you’d still find something to worry about. Needles orshears.”
That might even be true. “But still.JimmyGage?”
“He’ll get taken down,” Benito assured me. “He's running a lot of product, and he isn’t careful. People talk. And customers are dying from his shit. I only have to catchhimonce.”
And he only needs one bullet to kill you, my worry-brainadded.
“How's it going with your man?” Benito asked, changing thesubject.
“He showed up today in the coffee shop,” I said casually. Hopefully Benito didn’t have truly creepy telepathic twin powers. In the first place, that would be unfair. And secondly, I didn’t want him hearing everything in my brain. Not the dirtyparts.
“To see you?” Benitoasked.
“For coffee. And to drop off paint chips—apparently I have to choose colors for the Tudor before theweekend.”
“Ah. That’s nice,right?”
“Definitely.” Dave was always nice. That didn’t make it any easier to keep my head on straight when he was around. Today he’d bought a cup of coffee from my surly part-time employee. Then he’d come back into the kitchen uninvited to give me a kiss so hot that I blamed it for the batch of cookies I’d burned. “He wants to hang out,” ItoldBen.
“Hang out, huh?” Hesmirked.
“Don’t judge me.”Even if I totally have itcoming.
“Fine. I liked him okay when he pulled you from the path of a speeding truck. But I liked him a little less when Alec said he spent the night after thewedding.”
I groaned. “One, Alec has a big mouth.Two, weddings make peoplecrazy.”
“That’s why I avoid them,” Benitoagreed.
“Let’s plan yours,” I said, just to rib him. “Black tieorno?”
He snorted. “Have youmetme?”
“No tuxes? Jacket andtie,then.”
“Nowedding. You’re a pain.” He took my soda can out of my hand anddrainedit.
“We are both going to be single forever.” At this rate, I was never getting married. And since I’d ruined the great romance of Benito’s life when we’d been eighteen, things didn’t look so good for him, either. “Between the two of us we have almost sixty years of bachelorhood,” Ipointedout.
“But notvirginity.”
“Well,duh.”
He nudged my ankle with his. “At least someone broke her recent dryspell.”
