And the only reason it didn’t burst out of me was because Voss took the opportunity to clear his throat and tell me to take a walk with him.
“She ain’t yours,” Voss said as we stepped outside, the sounds of the party muffled as soon as the door closed.
“I’m well aware of that,” I said, rolling my neck to try to relieve the tension.
“Looked like you were gonna rip the face of a potential brother off for looking at her is all,” Voss said, walking over toward the picnic tables to sit down.
“It’s complicated.”
“Figure, if she gets patched, you’re going to see her date eventually.”
I didn’t expect the overwhelming surge of jealousy at that, but there was no denying the way my jaw and fists clenched, my stomach tightened, and possessiveness damn near overtook me completely.
“Look, I know that. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“Could do something about it.”
“It’s complicated.”
“’Course it is.”
“It is,” I insisted.
“Alright,” he said, shrugging, letting it drop since he’d already meddled more than was normal for him.
He didn’t expressly say it, but I could tell he liked Louana. I’d never considered him a thoughtful sort of guy, but he always got her drinks if he got them, or brought her back food if there was something in the kitchen. Hell, he even brought her the bullet that had gone through her, after he’d had someone put a hole in it and attach it to a chain so she could wear it as a necklace.
Maybe a part of him had been being nice to her because she clearly meant more to me than I was willing to admit, and he wanted to be on her good side. But I thought it was probably more than that. He just liked her as a person.
And, yeah, what was not to like?
Sure, she was a hard-ass with a short fuse and a smart mouth, but I’d always liked those qualities of hers.
“Yo,” Louana said, making the two of us jolt like we’d been caught doing something we weren’t supposed to be doing. “Did you see that back in there?” she asked.
“You throwing yourself at Nave?” I asked, instantly regretting it when her brow quirked up. “Yeah, saw it.”
“I can throw myself at whomever I want. But, no. That weird shit with Nave and Dezi,” she said, looking at us for confirmation.
“Yeah,” I agreed, nodding. “I saw that.”
“Dezi grabbed the vodka for him even before he asked for it,” Louana said. “Which is weird. He didn’t offer me vodka the first time he poured me a drink. It’s always whiskey or scotch with the guys here.”
“Yeah, I agree. They knew each other,” I said. “The question is whether we say something to Fallon or not.”
“I think we kind of have to,” Louana said. “If they’re keeping secrets, he’s not going to like that.”
This was the part where I was the hypocrite then.
Because I agreed with her.
We did need to tell Fallon.
But I was also not giving him the whole story.
I kind of felt like a dick not giving them the same privacy I was keeping for myself.
“It’s probably nothing,” Louana added. “They maybe just knew each other from a job that maybe doesn’t make either of them look good. But that’s the kind of stuff we’re supposed to share. Fallon has had several little sit-downs with me about my life before this club.”