“You good to do a liquor store run?” Elvira asked and I blinked. “While you’re out, we’ll need Cointreau, cranberry juice and limes too.”
Young biker stared at her like she’d been beamed behind his brothers’ bar straight from Venus.
“Uh…negative,” he eventually replied.
“I don’t do bourbon or tequila,” she informed him.
“I don’t care,” he informed her and she planted a hand on her hip.
Oh boy.
The Attitude.
“We’re in crisis mode and little black dresses. Crisis plus LBDs equals alcohol consumption. Strike that, crisis at all equals alcohol consumption. I gotta keep my girls steady in the face of the unknown and we’re your guests,” she educated him.
“Work with what you got,” he returned and she glared.
Then she muttered, “Tequila shots it is,” and turned to the shelves behind the bar that held a variety of glasses.
I looked at young biker and stated, “I don’t need tequila. I need to know what’s going on.”
“Boys get back, you’ll get briefed,” he replied.
“Do you have any preliminary intel?” Gwen asked and from her words I figured she’d had ongoing commando’s woman lessons.
“Boys get back, you’ll get briefed,” he repeated.
I gave up on him and looked to Gwen. “Where’s Hawk?”
She looked at me and answered, “He dropped us off and then he took off.”
“Does he know what’s going on?” I asked.
“Well, he knows Tack and he knew who those guys were in the cars that were after you so I’m thinking…yeah,” she answered. “Though he didn’t share,” she finished quietly.
Damn.
I moved to her and LaTanya trailed me. “Can you call him?”
“Uh…no, honey, sorry,” she said softly. “When I say he took off, I mean he took off to wade into whatever is going on. And when he’s involved in an operation, I leave him be and let him concentrate.”
This was probably smart.
Still, even knowing hot guy commando Hawk was in play didn’t stop me from shaking which I belatedly realized I’d started doing.
“Elvira, tequila,” LaTanya muttered and I knew she saw me shaking.
Then she grabbed my hand and I looked at her.
“It’s the Russian mob cleaning up Bill’s mess. Tack told me. And I’m not involved, like, at all and they came after me. They’ll go after Bud and Billie.”
“You can’t know that,” she said gently.
“When I told Tack about Bud and Billie, he got someone on it right away. So, yes, I can know that,” I replied.
She pressed her lips together and looked at Gwen.
Gwen looked at me. “I know Tack, Mara. He’s a good guy. A really good guy. If he’s got someone on it, they won’t mess around.”