Tack didn’t.
“Am I clear?”
“Mostly,” I answered.
His eyes narrowed. “What’s not clear?”
“Rivers of blood.”
His head twitched and he asked, “Say again?”
“The Russian mob.”
He shook his head instantly. “No.”
What did he mean, no?
“No?” I asked.
“No,” he answered.
I verbalized my question. “What do you mean, no?”
“What I mean is, that is not done. But it’s gettin’ done. Careful, quiet. And how it gets done, you don’t know. You don’t know shit. So when it’s done, any shit blows back, you’re clear. The Club is dealin’ with this. You’re workin’ in the office and sharin’ my bed.”
“I –”
His fingers came up and pressed to my lips as his eyes locked with mine.
“Trust me.”
“What if you get hurt?” I said behind his fingers and he moved his hand.
“I won’t.”
“But what if you do? Or Dog? Brick? Hound? Or –”
“I won’t. They won’t.”
My voice was rising when I asked, “How can you be sure?”
“The whole point of doin’ it careful and quiet is so they don’t. I went with my base instinct, babe, blood would have been shed about fifteen minutes after we surrounded Hawk’s truck. But doin’ that shit serves no lasting purpose except the pain it might cause if someone gets hurt or dead. No, you plan that shit so the vengeance you seek sticks and lasts a f**kin’ lifetime.”
I was seeing benefits of Tack being sharp as a tack.
He kept talking.
“The mob bought that shit when they took Mara and Lawson’s kids. We been workin’ that now for f**kin’ ever. They took you, the time had come to speed that up and be done with it. But you are not involved or in the know. You trust your man. Then, when it’s done, we live easy until the next f**kin’ drama. And, Tabby doesn’t pull her head outta her ass, seein’ as we got two years of her at least in this house, that could happen tomorrow since it happened yesterday. And by the way,” he added, “I know it I made my point last night but it’s worth repeating. It didn’t help you goin’ commando on that motherfucker’s ass.”
“I’d had a bad day,” I muttered and his mouth curved.
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t think,” I went on.
“Got that, babe.”
“Actually, to be honest, I’m not entirely certain what came over me,” I admitted.