Hmm.
She had a point.
“She’s got bodyguards,” Heavy joined the conversation from behind us.
“Yeah. Us,” Zip added.
May turned slowly and looked the Middle-Aged Man Posse up and down. You could tell she found them somewhat lacking and I understood why when she turned back to Vance.
“Roxie told me when she was being stalked, Luke Stark was her bodyguard.”
I had a feeling even though he was older Duke knew what he was doing. After my experience with Heavy, Zip and Tex, I knew for a fact they knew what they were doing.
Still, I had to admit they didn’t compare to Luke.
I bugged my eyes out at Vance in a non-verbal “Do something!” but he just crossed his arms on his chest.
I guessed it was up to me. “May, simmer down. It’s going to be fine,” I said.
She made an angry and unimpressed noise that sounded like “humph”.
“No, really. I have a lot of people looking out for me,” I went on.
“Something happens to you, what are those boys gonna do?” she pointed to Roam and Sniff.
“Nothing’s going to happen to me,” I assured her.
“Something happens to you, what’s your uncle gonna do?” she carried on, a dog with a bone as usual.
“May, nothing’s gonna happen to me,” I repeated.
She walked to me, got in my space and looked up at me.
Quietly, she said, “Something happens to you, what am I gonna do?”
It was then I saw the tears she was trying not to shed shimmering in her eyes.
She was scared. Scared for me. Scared that something would happen to me that decades of using her Mama’s Gonna Make It Better Voice would never heal.
I put my arms around her and held her close. She did the same to me.
I’d never hugged May and in the back of my head it registered that she gave good hugs.
I looked around and saw Indy, Jet, Roam, Sniff and Clarice at one end of the row, all staring at me. Even Roam, Sniff and Clarice, hardened street kids, couldn’t hide their worried expressions.
Duke, Tex, Zip and Heavy were in the middle of the row still looking like my favorite uncles, all pissed off and wanting a role in my protection.
Daisy was standing with them. She was hard to read but I suspected she was patiently waiting for me to make the right decision and that was huge.
May and Vance were at my end of the row.
Home, Auntie Reba whispered in my ear.
My eyes locked on Vance’s.
Then I closed them slowly and when I opened them again, he was still looking at me but he had that look in his eyes again and now that I knew what that look meant, a happy shiver slid up my spine.
Shit.