Page 11 of Gator

“There’s always next time.” I picked up his hand and placed a kiss on the back. “I really would feel better if you went and stayed with Mika or Caleb, though.”

“No need. I have a good security system, and I’m sure I’ve never seen them before, so I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll follow you home just to make sure.”

“That really isn’t necessary.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll feel better if I do.”

He shrugged. “Fine, whatever.”

Wolfe looked at me. “I’m going to go see what Jesse and Carmine have found. After you see Julius home, why don’t you check in with Kat and see what she’s found?”

“Sounds good to me.”

I followed Julius out to his car and watched until he got in and buckled his seat belt. “You really don’t have to follow me home. I’ll be fine.”

“I know. Drive safe, and I’ll see you there.” I closed the door and took in a deep breath. I really thought we were done with all this mess after Hawk took down Butch, but we didn’t know for sure if the information Snake had given them had been enough for them to take down the whole ring, and I didn’t believe in coincidence.

A few minutes later, we pulled up in front of Julius’s place, and I got out and went over to his car. “Let me go in first and make sure everything is okay.”

“Gator, seriously, I didn’t know those guys at all, which means they didn’t know me. I’ll be fine.”

“Maybe so, but just let me check, okay?”

“Okay, but if you hear someone screaming, don’t let that freak you out. It’s just Trixie.”

My brows furrowed, and I stared down at him. “Trixie?”

“My bird. She’s a little bit dramatic.”

“Hmm. Wonder where she might get that from,” I teased.

“Right? It’s a mystery.”

He opened up the door and took a step back, letting me go in first.

“Come inside, and shut the door behind you, but wait right here until I tell you it’s all clear.”

He nodded, so I flipped on the living room light and took a step when, just as he’d predicted, there was what sounded like a woman’s scream, then, “Intruder. Intruder alert. Intruder.”

“It’s okay, Trix,” Julius called out. “It’s a friend, not an intruder.”

The bird cocked her head to the side and looked at me.

“I’m a bird. Trixie is a bird.”

“She’s going to keep telling you that until you acknowledge that she isindeeda bird.”

I glanced back over my shoulder at him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“I am a bird. I can fly.” She spread her wings out wide like she was going to take off. The cage she was in was huge, but I didn’t think it was big enough for her to actually fly. I figured I had two choices. I could either ignore the bird or I could go with it.

“Yes, you are a bird. Look at you. Aren’t you a pretty girl?” At least I assumed she was a girl with a name like Trixie.

She fluffed up her feathers and bounced up and down. “Trixie is a pretty girl. Mmmhmm. Pretty, pretty, pretty girl.” She paused,and I thought she was finished but then she added another wolf whistle.