Page 85 of Unhinged

“Try saying that to my face after you’ve done three pit dives in denim.”

“Rest of the brothers are getting twitchy,” he mutters, changing the subject fast.

Arrow grunts. “Thinking a party. Beer. Girls. Let ‘em blow off steam before they start picking fights with each other.”

“Yeah.” I nod. “Sounds like the smart kind of dumb.”

Arrow shifts, flicks a glance my way. “You think Gidge would come?”

A low chuckle escapes before I can stop it. “You worried about her? I don’t think she needs our protection. That omega’s a category five hurricane with mascara on.”

“She scares the shit outta me,” Arrow mutters.

“Good,” I say. “Means you’ve still got a lick of survival instinct.”

Gears blows out a breath and scrubs a hand down his face. “Still can’t believe we’re in bed with thefuckingMorozov mafia.”

I arch a brow. “You think Nikola takes us to dinner next or shoots us in the face?”

“Neither,” Gears says. “He respects her. That’s the crazy part. She walks in with demands and he listens. The guy runs a black market arms ring and smuggles diamonds in piano benches, and helistensto a goddamn omega.”

“She’s not just an omega,” I say quietly. “And you know it.”

Gears nods. “Still. She can’t pull that shit at the party. If she’s gonna be an Ol’ Lady—mine, yours, whoever’s—she can’t mouth off to us like she does. Respect matters in public. Sass is fine. Disrespect isn’t.”

Arrow grimaces. “She’s not the ‘yes, dear’ type.”

“No shit,” I mutter.

Prez changes gears. “Nikola’s meeting is on for next week. He’s setting the plan for the cartel. We’re observers. Support, not planners. That way, if shit goes sideways, we’ve got plausible deniability.”

“Good.” I drag a hand down my beard. “What about Franko? He knows something about where Kenny was getting his supply.”

“I’d rather mousetrap my dick than deal with him again,” Gears huffs.

Arrow snorts. “Want me to call him?”

“I’ll think about it. But when things start rolling—cartel or whoever the hell’s next—we send the kids and the women out. No debate.”

“Agreed,” I say, immediately.

Arrow nods. “What about Brydgett? You wanna be the one to tell her she’s gotta run and hide?”

I raise a brow. “You volunteering?”

He lifts both hands. “Hell no.”

“Didn’t think so.” I smile—just a little. “She’d kill the messenger, and then circle back for whoever gave the order.”

“Still,” Gears mutters, “we gotta figure it out. She and Judge are targets whether she wants to admit it or not.”

“And Earl’s still out there,” I add. “Lying low. Waiting. He’s not done. You think he forgot about them? Not a chance.”

“I’ll call Ike,” Arrow offers. “See if there’s been any sightings since the wreck. He hears shit before we do.”

We split after that. Arrow goes to find the brothers to start planning for the party. Gears heads off to Bettie, probably to break the news that shit might hit the fan again. And me?

I go find a clean shirt and a hot shower.