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“It’s not selfish bruh, the heart wants what it wants. Just make it known. Don’t lie to anyone about it, be up front. You might not be the only one curious, just the only one with enough balls to admit it.”
Hmmm. I mull over his words, and oddly enough he might have a point. Arsenal is basically a caveman 90% of the time, but every once in a while, he actually makes sense.
“Alright kid, what do you got?” Travis’ voice filters through the speakers of my Mustang.
Switching lanes, I drive quickly but carefully through the salted streets, still slick with melted snow and ice.
“That shit Darren and I were dealing with? It’s big, Travis. Really big. I mean, I have it under control, but you need to know.”
“Fuck, don’t make me wait, kid,” he snaps.
“Pete stole dope from an ex-Reaper.”
“Who?”
“Dante Knight,” I sigh.
“Fuck, Dante? He’s out of lock up?” he asks.
“Yeah. I just finished meeting with Arsenal. Apparently Dante stole the dope from the brothers. Must still have an in with his old crew. They pressed his woman and she didn’t fold. They think someone is hiding him.”
“Traitors?”
“Yep,” I reply, speeding up and turning off the highway. “So everyone needs to lay low. The Brothers are smoking him out of hiding, but in the meantime they don’t know who’s switched sides, so we need to be on our game, ok? Anyway, I’m heading to the bar now to drop off this box of equipment Zeke ordered for the new security system.”
“Keep me posted Riot,” he replies just before disconnecting.
It makes my heart swell just a little that Travis trusts me so much he didn’t second guess a single thing I said to him. I know I’ve earned my place here, but with these people also becoming my family, I’m constantly afraid I’ll do something to fuck it all up.
And here I am, withholding information like a snake. From my fucking family.
Pulling into the empty lot behind Rico’s, I park my car and quickly hop out, making my way to the back of the car. Popping the trunk, I pull out two boxes of equipment Zeke left out for me to drop off. He had something to pick up across town tonight for the studio, and said he would meet me back at his place sometime after midnight. Closing the trunk and locking up, I make my way to the doors, but they are already locked. The lights are dim, but Cole is inside, and I can hear the music through the closed doors.
Balancing the boxes on one hand, I knock on the glass, and when he doesn’t look up from the floors he’s sweeping, I knock again. Louder this time. His eyes flick up meeting mine, and he smiles, sets the broom against the wall and jogs over to the door. Backing up a step, I move out of the way as he pushes the door open.
“Hey,” he beams, “I didn’t know you were coming tonight, I thought Zeke was bringing the supplies in tomorrow?”
“Eh, he had some shit to do tonight, and I told him I could handle dropping the stuff off for him, no big deal,” I shrug as I walk into the bar and Cole pulls the door closed behind me.
“The office is unlocked if you just want to drop them on the desk back there,” he motions as he walks back to retrieve the broom from the wall he placed it against.
“Thanks. So did she leave you to close up by yourself again tonight?” I yell over my shoulder, trying to talk over the blaring music, but Cole lowers the volume as I’m yelling and I end up sounding absurd.
“Sorry about that,” he laughs. “Yeah, Gigi and Brigit both had a shift at Afterlife tonight, and Spencer had a late dinner planned for Travis, so I volunteered. Not like I have anything else going on anyway.”
“I mean, aren’t you still working on some pieces for your website though?”
“Eh, no rest for the wicked I guess.”
Kicking the swinging doors to the kitchen open, I pass through them and into the open office where I set the supply boxes down on the floor next to the desk. As I turn to leave, I hear the music filtering through the main bar area, and I hear Cole’s voice over the music.
Quietly, I make my way out of the office, back through the kitchen doors, and as I step back into the main room, I hear Cole singing along with MAX at the top of his lungs. And the thing is, it actually sounds really fucking good. He’s gliding effortlessly through the empty space, flipping the stools over on top of the high top tables, and crooning the most seductive melody that makes my body tingle.
Smirking, I wander over to the end of the bar and lean over, resting my forearms on the shiny cherry wood as I watch the performance, wondering how long it’ll take him to notice I’m standing right here.
I’m sort of impressed as his voice hits a high note as he spins around in my direction. The stool slips from his grip hitting the ground with a loud clatter, and he turns several shades of red as he fumbles over his words.
“I - uh, I’m sorry, I just - I figured you would have left out the back, I had no idea you were… how long were you standing there?” he asks, flustered in the most adorable way as he bends over to pick up the stool and place it back on top of the high top table.