The Do-Over (The Rooftop Crew #5) - Piper Rayne Page 0,55
to the bar. The man isn’t afraid of shit—not that Dylan or I are. Jax is just more the “let’s get this shit handled right the fuck now” kind of guy. He talks to the bartender and the bartender walks away, returning with his finger up, indicating that Johnny will either be out, or we’ll be invited into the back.
Kamea’s hands tug on mine. As though she can hear my thoughts, she rises up on her tiptoes and whispers, “I don’t think you should be here.”
“Let’s just see if they’ve seen her and we’ll leave.”
Jax orders five beers because if we don’t, it’ll look even more suspicious. We situate ourselves at a table in the corner, and I take the chair against the wall with Kamea on my left. This way I have eyes everywhere.
Johnny walks out looking as though he’s aged ten years since I saw him last—which wasn’t that long ago. He nods to Jax and laughs, finding me at the table.
“I didn’t know the entire gang was here.” Johnny slaps handshakes and pulls us in for hugs. He does a double-take on Kamea, and I make sure he sees my hand in hers. He chuckles. “To what do I owe this visit?”
“We’re looking for Leilani,” Jax says. “Heard she was around here a few days ago.”
“Leilani?” He acts as if he doesn’t remember her. Bullshit.
“You know… Knox’s ex.”
Kamea’s hand goes limp in mine, but I squeeze hers harder.
“Sorry, I haven’t seen her in years. The Polynesian one, right?” He eyes Kamea.
She leans in closer to me.
“Yes. Think hard, Johnny,” Jax says.
“Look at this girl, Phillips, she’s yours?” He doesn’t answer but moves the conversation to Dylan.
“Yeah, she’s mine.”
Johnny exaggerates a look up and down Rian that makes my skin crawl. I can’t imagine how Dylan’s feeling.
“Yeah, we’re out. We’re going for a walk.” Dylan stands and waits for Rian to join him. “Keep livin’ the dream, Johnny.”
They walk out, and Johnny sits at the table. “Listen.” He looks around as if he’s going to give us some top-secret information. “I don’t know where she is. She was here a few days ago, mostly just as a reference for someone. Said the guy could be trusted.”
I nod, understanding that she vouched for someone to be either a dealer or a buyer. Good to know she’s on the straight and narrow.
“But that’s all I got,” he says.
“Who was the guy?” Kamea asks.
Johnny smiles at her, glancing at her breasts then back at her eyes. “Some Wade guy.”
Kamea hits me. “That’s one of them.”
“One of who?” Johnny asks.
Jax leans back and sips his beer. His presence alone intimidates people, mostly because once upon a time he couldn’t control his temper. “One of the douchebags who got her kicked out of her apartment.”
Johnny nods. “That sucks. Is that why you want Leilani? Are you her sister or something?”
“No!” Kamea rolls her eyes. “She owes me money.”
“She has a court date coming up quick. If she doesn’t show, she’ll have a warrant issued for her arrest. And you know who will start sniffing around then…” I lay out the information.
Johnny nods.
So long, Wade and Leilani, Johnny is done with you now.
The door of the bar opens again. I expect to find Dylan and Rian telling us it’s time to go, but it’s not either of them.
“Knox Michael Whelan, you come to this neighborhood and you don’t come to see me?”
“Who’s that?” Kamea whispers.
Jax laughs hard and slaps the table. He stands and beelines right over to her. “Momma Whelan!”
Fuck me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Knox
My mom hugs Jax as though he’s her son too. After Jax separates from her, she stands there with her eyebrows raised at me. Want to see a grown man cower? Bring his mom.
“Hey, Mom,” I say, rising from the chair and waiting for Kamea to come with me.
My mom’s eyes zero in our linked hands and she glances to Jax for confirmation.
He nods and puts his arm around her shoulders. “Our boy has a girlfriend.” He pretends as though he’s going to cry.
I swear I could punch him in the gut. Instead I give my mom a short hug. She’s too preoccupied with finding out who Kamea is to me to care about it though.
“This is Kamea, my girlfriend.” I mean, she is. We never said we were monogamous, nor have we been together that long, but it feels implied to me. I hope it’s okay that I referred to her as that.