“No,” he snarled. “She keeps saying she’ll be back soon but soon isn’t a goddamn date, is it? You think she changed her mind?”
Normally I would give Jag shit and tell him she probably had changed her mind but if the CIA had scooped Jana up from me, I’d be burning down every bridge to drag her back. “No man, I don’t. I think the feds will squeeze every fucking second out of her they legally can. You just have to be patient. Vivi doesn’t seem like the kind of girl to lie about her feelings. Right?”
“Riiight,” he sighed reluctantly. “She’s a woman. They change their mind. Daily.” Vivi was tough as nails with steel running through her spine, and just as smart as Jag.
“Maybe try focusing on something other than Vivi. Get your house ready for when she does come back and add some freaky computer love shit for you nerds.” He flipped me off like I expected and we both laughed.
“Jana has turned you into a pussy,” he accused and that pulled a bigger laugh from me. “All romantic and in love.”
“Well, romance is hard to come by with two kiddos in the house, but with a little creativity we make it work.”
“No shit, when is the next one coming?”
The thought of another kid made me smile. Charlie and Jameson were a handful and I loved the hell out of them but a little girl with her mama’s hair and eyes, well that sounded like my version of heaven. “Well, we are constantly practicing.”
“Not interested in the deets, man.”
I smiled with a hint of mischief. “I mean I have learned plenty of tricks—”
“Jana is like a sister to me, man. Stopppp.”
“My favorite is to drive her wild. Quietly.” I wiggled my thick fingers in the air.
Jag pushed off the counter and took a step back. “Better go get ready for my next client.”
“Don’t be a pussy, Jag.”
He shot me a grin. “I’ll just wait until she tells me all the details and fuck with you later.”
I snorted a little. Maybe working at GET INK’D for the next few days wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Chapter Five - Gunnar
The last fucking thing I wanted was to take this Goddamn road trip with Stitch, but the fucking kid was relentless. He’d badgered Cross until he gave in, sending me on
a half day’s ride up to Reno. Fucking Reno. Instead of hanging out with Maisie, who was growing faster than a weed. She was with Rocky while my ass was numb four hours into the trip. “What’s wrong with our current supplier?”
Stitch grinned. “Nothing except we’re fucked if something happens to them. Plus I know Reed and his shit is good. Real good.”
I believed that. The kid wasn’t just a regular social pot smoker, no, he was a certified fucking stoner. “Yeah, all right. But could this dude live fucking closer than bum-fuck Egypt?”
The kid flashed another smile around his bacon chili cheeseburger at some roadside burger joint where we stopped to refuel before we made it to this guy Reed’s operation. “He could but wait until you see it, then you can talk shit.”
Christ, was I ever that fucking young and naive? “You know you’re a brother even if this doesn’t pan out?”
He nodded while he finished chewing and shoved a handful of fries in his mouth. “I know but this is a good move because right now most of Reed’s stuff goes to Cali, which means people will come to us for the really good shit.” He stood and tossed his trash, returning with two bottles of water. “You don’t have to be such a grumpy asshole about it, you know. I know you think I’m just a fuckin’ kid and I don’t know shit but give this a chance.”
Well fuck, now he went and made me feel bad. And I knew I had to give him what he was asking for because he was right. I was being an asshole and the kid just wanted to matter. Plus raising Maisie cost a lot of fucking money and if he was right, it would mean a bigger payday for all of us. “Fine but I’ll be honest.”
Like the kid he was at only twenty-six, Stitch smiled a smile of someone with something to prove. “I expect nothing less. When was the last time you were nice enough to spare someone’s fucking feelings?”
I may have been a hard bastard but I wanted to give Maisie more than our mom ever gave me and definitely more than the six weeks she’d spent with Maisie before she was put into the ground. Maisie deserved better, hell probably more than I could ever give her, but I wanted her to have everything. And better weed meant bigger profits, which spelled a better, normal life for my sister. “Come on, let’s get outta here before my ass remembers what it’s like to have feeling.”
Stitch kicked a leg over his bike and grinned. “None of us will respect you less if you get one of those old man ass cushions.”
“Asshole!”
He laughed and flipped me off, revving the engine as he sped off. Yeah, I smiled as I caught up with the little fucker. He wasn’t so bad.