Page 183 of Lovers Like Us

I don’tshift.

This guy nods to me, about my height. “You think you’re hotshit?”

I chew my gum. “I know I’m hot shit.” I can feel Oscar’s harsh glare drilling into this guy from behind me, the rest of Omega minutes away from a real fight,too.

The bearded dipshit takes one step towardsme.

My jaw hardens. “Don’t get in my face,” Iwarn.

“Farrow, Oscar!” Akara calls out. He’s wrangled our two South Philly guys, plus Quinn, into a booth and the other hecklers loiter back at the bar. Impressive. And one reason why I’m not the Omegalead.

Before the dipshit can hook me into a fight, I back up and take the long route to the booth with Oscar. We slip in the cracked leather seat, and Akara stays standing at theend.

“I’m not gonna miss that about the tour,” Donnelly says to Quinn. I catch them mid-conversation, and he picks through a bowl of half-eatennuts.

“What?” I ask for thetopic.

He pushes the bowl aside. “Laundry.”

I chew my gum into a smile. “You can’t miss something you neverdid.”

Donnellylaughs.

“That was the worst,” Oscar tells me. “If I never have to see another laundromat or hotel laundry bill again, I’ll die a happyman.”

The bartender squeezes through and leaves us six bottles of beer. “On the house for not starting anything with those guys over there,” she says. “Manager thanksyou.”

As she leaves, I pick up a bottle, and in my peripheral, I notice the bearded guy trying to capture my gaze at the pool table. The more beer he chugs, the less likely he’ll let this shitgo.

“Okay, listen up.” Akara steals everyone’s attention, still standing. “I have three announcements tomake.”

I bet I know one of thethree.

“First,” he says, “if you haven’t heard already, Luna is moving into Maximoff and Jane’s townhouse. Which means Quinn is now back at security’s place with you two.” He gestures to Thatcher andme.

Knewthat.

I raise my beer to Quinn. “Welcomeback.”

He clinks my bottle, plus the other guys who start to cheers. We allswig.

Akara sets his bottle down. “We decided that since Luna is staying with her brother, it makes more sense to have her bodyguard remain onOmega.”

I figured that Quinn wouldn’t be shifted to Epsilon. They’re not equipped to train him, and Akara had been trying to keep Quinn in SFO even when Luna left thetour.

“Second…” Akara rotates towards Thatcher, who’s been quiet at the booth, sipping his beer. “Thatcher signed a permanent contract to be Jane Cobalt’s bodyguard thismorning.”

Shit.

We all thought he’d eventually return to Epsilon and Xander Hale’s security detail. It’s why he remained a lead and part of the Tri-Force during thetour.

“Because of that,” Akara says, “he can’t be a lead anymore. The lead has to come from Epsilon, and Banks is taking his spot.” Thatcher’s brother is now the third voice of the Tri-Force.

Thatcher gave up his power and his higher pay to stay in Omega and on Jane’sdetail.

But that fact isn’t what makes me smile into my swig of beer. We now earn the same amount of money, on the same level in the bodyguard hierarchy. We’re nowequals.

Fuck, that feelsgood.