Page 12 of Tequila Damnation (The Voodoo Bastards MC #5)
CHAPTER TWELVE
S aint…
“You think she can do this?” Hex asked. I kicked back in my chair and looked at him and LaCroix in turn. LaCroix leaned in, looking at me intently.
“I think she can, but by the same token, I still don’t like it.”
“I get that,” Hex said. “The pragmatist in me wants to say, ‘who gives a fuck? who is she to us anyway’ but…” he sighed.
“That wouldn’t be doing right by Louie,” LaCroix said.
“Easy, yes, right?” I snorted.
“Who would have thought going straight would be so fuckin’ hard?” Hex mused aloud.
“We didn’t take the fight to these assholes,” I said.
“Something about it damn sure feels personal, don’t it?” LaCroix asked, speaking up at last.
“Too fuckin’ personal,” I agreed.
“Where she stayin’?” Hex asked, and I could see he was already working logistics.
“La Chiquita on Veterans,” I answered. “She’s looking for work – maid or cleaning stuff. Says it’s her niche, and any gig she lands out here will be easier than the crime scene shit she did back home.”
“How much does she know about our business?” LaCroix asked.
I heaved a sigh. “Louie told her he’s the one that did his mom… but from the sounds of it, he made it out to be like he was the sole actor on that whole shit show.”
“Still, if he told her that, what else did he talk about out of turn with her?” Hex was staring off into space, his expression unreadable but for whatever social or club political equations he was working on up in that head of his.
“Enough that she didn’t hesitate about this hare-brained idea of hers, fuckin’ hell-bent on revenge.”
“She’s not stupid,” LaCroix said, leaning back and bringing his glass of bourbon to his lips.
“If Louie could do that, she knows what kind of men we are and by extension, has an idea of what the Bayou Brethren are about. The practical thing to do is let her go in, let her feed us any information she can – she dies…” he shrugged. “Either way, it’s a problem solved for us. We only stand to net gain in all of this.”
“And if she doesn’t die but rats to the cops on everyone?” Hex asked.
“That’s where you come in,” LaCroix said, looking at me. “You have the most rapport with her. If she’s anything like Louie, you gain her loyalty, you gain her trust, you gain everything.” I nodded slowly.
“You ain’t wrong,” I said, but what did it say, that as practical as it all was? I didn’t want to see any harm come to Velina. Did I think she was tough? Yeah. Did I think she could take it? Yeah.
‘Cept the only one I want her taking it from is me, I thought, and the thought made me scowl.
Hex chuckled. “She’s a pain in the ass, I reckon,” he said, sipping his whiskey. I nodded, but I kept it to myself the real reason it probably looked like I’d just sucked on a lemon.
“How you gon’ go about this?” LaCroix asked.
“How do you mean?” I asked.
“She moving here, or what?” Hex demanded.
I shook my head. “Don’t think we got that far yet,” I said.
“Well, I reckon we better figure it out before long.” Hex heaved a sigh.
“Appreciate all the brain power on this because this is kind of huge,” I said.
“Louie’s big sister,” LaCroix muttered and harumphed. “Didn’t see that one coming,” he said, downing the rest of what was in his glass.
“Makes three of us,” Hex said, and I snickered and finished off my tequila.
It made for a long night – plotting, planning, and conniving.