Page 16 of The Most Wanted (The Kinky Bank Robbers #4)

Chapter Nine

When you read stuffy old novels of a certain kind, especially those set in old-timey London, the characters will often have a “club” that they frequent. These are typically special and private and beautifully decorated, as opposed to a public house or pub where all the riffraff can go.

That’s what Guvvey’s was for the criminal element of Los Angeles.

Though instead of overstuffed chairs and museum-esque portraits of men, there were mod blue globe lights and red seating and walls covered with weirdly colorized wildlife photo murals, and not the kind with cute woodland animals, either.

No, the human predators of Los Angeles enjoyed frequenting a place lined with photo murals of lions and tigers killing beautiful antelopes and other living things.

The place was in a downtown building on an upper floor that didn’t technically exist or have a number.

You got there via tunnels and elevators.

The dress code called for nice clothes—suits, ties, dresses, that sort of thing, and the criminals went all-out.

I got the feeling it was one of the few places they felt like they could flaunt their ill-gotten gains.

Now and then people came in without dressing up; as Zeus pointed out, it was basically a club for people who don’t like following rules, so what were they going to do?

For this night I’d chosen a blue cocktail-length gown in a wraparound style.

It had fun cutaways on the sleeves. My guys were in sport coats.

Odin had gone with plaid in one of his endless and futile attempts to not look hot.

We walked in as a gang, the four of us looking tight and together for all the world to see.

In truth, I’d never felt so deeply threatened. Threats from the outside we could handle. But this rift between Odin and Zeus felt deep and dangerous. Both Zeus and Odin were getting way too emotional.

Sure enough the Gigis were there, or at least their leader, Macy, was there, up at the bar, which meant the rest of her jewel thief comrades were nearby.

She was looking awesome in a purple pantsuit with high white boots, and she’d let her hair go afro, and she was chatting up some young stud with bleached dreadlocks.

The Gigis had tried to recruit me once, which pissed my guys off, but we were all on more friendly terms lately.

We slid into our favorite booth and put in our drink and food orders, to which Odin added a drink for Macy Gigi.

Our food order consisted of “yes,” because when you ordered food at Guvvey’s, you got whatever they were making, which, as established, was sushi that night.

While Thor and Odin questioned the waiter on who’d been in recently, Zeus put his arm around me. “I hope you don’t think I regard you as a possession, goddess,” he said softly. “Or like you can’t think for yourself.”

“I know.” I rested my hand on his cheek.

“I would never think it,” he said. “I didn’t mean to come down on you. It’s just that I don’t know what I’d do if…”

“It’s okay, Zeus. It was about you protecting me. I know that.”

When Macy got her drink, she smiled over at us, and a few minutes later she was strolling up to our booth with Angel Gigi at her side.

“The sheep farmer and her swains, out on the town,” Macy said.

I rolled my eyes as we made room at the booth. The sheep farmer bit I could’ve lived without, though I did like her swains.

Angel was rocking her usual wild style, which tonight was a vintage black party dress and a tiara, and I had no doubt the thing was studded with real diamonds—all stolen, probably pirate-treasure-trove quality, because that was how the Gigis rolled.

“Is it true you’re looking into Herk’s joyride?” Angel asked.

Zeus groaned. “Who’s saying that?”

“Everyone,” Angel said.

“What are they saying?” Odin asked her.

Gigi Macy sipped her champagne. “Well, for one thing, of the people who know Herk, nobody thinks he did it. Being that it’s a Corvette and all.”

“So fucking sad,” Angel said. “Poor Herk had to always act like he liked the thing. And now he can’t be like, I’d never be caught dead in your dumbass car. “

“Who do you think did it?” Odin asked. “If you had to put your money on somebody right now.”

“You crowdsourcing this thing?” Macy asked. “That’s your big investigative style?”

Odin raised his brows, unamused. He had a real love-hate relationship with the Gigis.

Macy laughed. “My money would be on Decker Dormand. He’s been battling Herk for the corners in the Oakford Lanes area. If Herk links up with the mob suddenly, Herk’ll be a fuck of a lot stronger going into that fight.”

Zeus straightened up. “You think if Herk marries Maria he’ll merge his business interests with Galvano’s in some way?”

She shrugged. “There’s rumors.”

“Of what, exactly?”

“Consolidation,” she said. “Just natural to think it’ll happen.

For example, Galvano has muscle, Herk has muscle.

Two separate silos of muscle. And suddenly they’re at Christmas dinner together and maybe they’re talking about their operations, like, why do I have a dozen guys on my payroll to go out and bust heads when you have a dozen guys on your payroll? ”

“Well, that is a traditional thing for families to discuss around the Yule log,” I said.

Thor smiled and kicked me.

I smiled back. In spite of their calm, collected demeanor, my guys were concentrating fervently on the investigation.

“The other theory out there is that Galvano planned to hand over a little piece of his mafia action to whoever married Maria,” Macy said. “I heard that one.”

“Not to a Puerto Rican brother,” Angel said. “No way. Who said that?”

Macy shrugged. “The grapevine said it.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Angel said.

I noticed that Zeus had taken out the list of names Herk had made. He slid it across the table to Macy. “Anything pop out here for you?”

“These are your suspects?” she asked.

“A subset of them.”

“Subset, huh.” She set a silver-painted fingernail on Nico Piazolla. “Not Nico. He’s all over Sophia Viga. He’s whipped on her.”

“You believe it?” Odin asked.

They both said yes, convincingly.

“Sophia Viga’s a married woman. Doesn’t her husband have a problem with all this?” Thor asked.

“They say she’s moving out. I don’t know, though,” Angel said. “Sophia’s so heavy into her Guccis and Pradas, I don’t see her leaving her husband for Nico Piazolla. I mean, Nico does well for himself, but he’s a bad bet, what with the gambling.”

“He’s clean of that,” Macy said. “Everyone knows. Even Handsome Jack says.”

Angel sniffed. “Handsome Jack should be the last person to call somebody clean of gambling. Handsome Jack has built his life on people’s inability to quit.”

Macy hit another name with her silver claw—the James brothers. “Kenny James would do it. Kenny fucking hates Herk.”

Odin and Zeus exchanged glances.

“Did you talk to him yet?” Macy asked.

“We were over there, but Kenny wasn’t there,” Thor said. “Were you all at their party for New Year’s?”

The two Gigis exchanged mischievous glances.

I smiled, wishing I knew what they were thinking, and remembering what those bonds were like.

Wishing I had girlfriends. Missing my sisters.

I never missed my sisters so much as when the Gigis were around, because that’s how my sisters and I had been. Tight like that.

“Fuck,” Angel said finally, positively sparkling at Macy.

“You see anyone go up onto the second floor?” Zeus asked. “Or were you up there?”

Angel twirled her straw in her drink. “One level of that party was fucked up enough for me.”

It was right then that Nico Piazolla himself appeared at the table, as if out of nowhere. He glanced down at the list before Zeus got a chance to take it away. “Making any headway?” Nico asked.

“Oh yeah,” Zeus said mysteriously.

Angel turned to Nico. “You were engaged to Maria. Were you promised any kind of wedding gift? Like a piece of the Galvano action?”

“What is this? 1920s Sicily?” Nico snorted and sat. “No. Not that I know of.” There was this silence where he looked around the table, curious. “So really, who do you have? Who are you looking at?”

“You think you can help?” Odin’s fake casual tone didn’t fool me.

Nico nodded at the sheet. “Did I see the word James on there?”

There was a strained silence. My guys apparently didn’t like that he’d peeked.

“What if you did see it?” Odin said.

“Well, I’m just saying, it would add up,” Nico said. “Herk and the James brothers are on the outs. Especially Kenny James. Kenny and Herk…”

“Too true,” said Angel.

“What about Kenny and Herk?” Zeus asked.

“Some shit between Herk’s sister and Kenny,” Macy said. “Kenny blames him for wrecking their relationship. Wasn’t Herk’s fault, but that’s Kenny. Man’s had a fixation on Herk ever since.”

“Serious fixation,” Nico said.

“Huh,” Zeus said, like this was all news to him. Right then I knew it wasn’t, and that Zeus was working a few steps ahead.

The bunch of us gossiped about Kenny James for a while, then the talk turned to people I didn’t know. They left when our food came .

“Interesting,” Zeus said simply.

Odin passed the spicy ginger. “Very interesting. Nico’s…a little chatty. And where the fuck is Kenny? I think we need to talk to Kenny.”

Zeus scanned the room like a rangy bear. “Right.”

We traded sushi around until we all had only our favorites. There was so much, I could barely finish mine. I ordered another drink and turned sideways, leaning back on Odin. He snaked a hand around my waist and kissed me.

Zeus got up. “I’m going to call Herk and ask him about Kenny.”

He walked off.

Odin and Thor watched him move through the crowd; he paused to slap hands with a guy and kept on, disappearing around the bar.

“This proprietary shit cannot stand,” Odin said. “Acting like your fucking husband.”

I sat up. “What do you mean?”

“That’s why he got up and stormed off just now,” Odin said. “Because I’m putting my hands on you while he’s stuck on the other side of Thor, and he thinks I’m going to finger you, which I am, and he’s pissed as hell.”