“I can watch her, Ma.” It didn’t make sense to rope Calvin into this situation and further my humiliation. I would never let on that I’d been eye fucking that chick all night, but there was another reason I wanted to do it, and we both knew it. “It should be me.”
She gave one sharp nod to indicate she heard me. “Calvin will do it. You need to find out who she is,” she said and nodded toward the sparkly little box purse with the chain strap.
“Right.” It was such a damn small purse, I wondered how in the hell a woman could get to anything when she needed it. I could barely fit three fingers in the damn thing, dropping a lip balm and a tube of lipstick three times before I turned the damn thing upside down and emptied the contents. She had three bills, all twenties tucked into a zippered area and on the sofa that wasn’t much. “A driver’s license. Maisie Nilsson. Opey Texas. Fuck.”
“Fuck is right,” Ma sighed and motioned for Calvin to leave. “You kidnapped a fucking tourist. What a headache.” I could see the wheels spinning in Ma’s head, and I didn’t like what that could mean for the girl. Maisie.
Twenty one year old Maisie with the deep blue eyes. “Today is her twenty first birthday. Maybe she’s staying here in Glitz, or Vegas or Mayhem. Should be easy to find out.” All the nice hotels in the area would keep an eye out for guests like her because no one wanted their place to be where a pretty, young, female tourist was last seen alive.
“Give Calvin the license,” she sighed. “He’ll find out where she belongs and then you can take her there. Good enough?” I nodded and Ma did the same before motioning for me to take a seat. “I’m not happy with this Crusaders situation, Virgil.”
No shit. “Neither am I, Ma. Those fuckers have balls, thinking they can do business here without handing over a piece to the Ashbys.” It pissed me off to no end and now after the Savannah Rhymer fiasco, I felt the need to kick someone’s ass. Soon. “It ain’t right.”
“Calm down, Virgil. You can’t make the right decision under a cloud of emotion, son. Keep your head clear.” Her green eyes were clear and sober. Strong and fierce in a way they had never been when my old man was alive. Under his abusive hands, she learned a skill that had served her well in her rise to the top, she was a master at concealing her emotions.
“Do you have anything useful to add?”
“Yeah. It’s time to make better use of Calvin and his work on those damn gadgets and electronics.”
Ma was so damn stubborn, unable to see how useful his skills could be beyond her own disdain.
She laughed. “He’s not cut out for the streets. I let him to go out once in a while to toughen him up. This isn’t sibling rivalry, is it?”
The way she looked as though that was the funniest fucking thing in the world got under my skin and she knew it.
“No, it’s not. I’m just thinking that Cal and one of his gadgets could hack her phone or her house or whatever and get all the information we need to fuck them for good.”
A brow arched perfectly and she put her hands together, fingertip to fingertip, in that deliberate way she did that was meant to intimidate. It worked on other people but it was hard to take it seriously when I’d been watching it for thirty years.
“I’ve never known you to shy away from a fight Virgil. What’s going on?”
I frowned, insulted at the implication. “I’ll never run from a fight and you know that, Ma. What I’m saying is, we already know when it inevitably comes to war, we will prevail. Why not have a little fun by ruining them brick by brick first?”
“Finally, something Virgil and I agree on.”
The loud obnoxious voice belonged to my older brother and unofficial head of the Ashby family, Jasper. Sadie was the decision-maker, but Jasper was her closest advisor, and she usually did what he advised. Though, when it came to the Emerald Isle Hotel & Casino, Kat was the woman in charge.
“Think about it, Ma, we take their money and ruin their businesses. Leave them with just enough to make ’em think they might win. Then we do something that forces war.”
“Like kidnap the Rhymer Princess?” Even thinking about it now, made me cringe at my stupid fucking mistake.
“Exactly,” Jasper said with a proud smile. “Exactly. It’s the smarter play, Sadie. And it’s a chance for you to see what Calvin can actually do.” Jasper and Ma stared at each other for a long time, both of them so damn similar and unable to back down from any challenge. Any fight.