tell you this, a sick fucking fuck like this guy has to do something sick fucking fucked up to be fucking locked away forever, where he needs to be,” Smithie shot back. “And seein’ as that’s not gonna fuckin’ happen, not this time, he gets caught, he maybe does some time, and that’s a big maybe, since, so far, he hasn’t really committed a crime.”
“Those letters are threats, he used the postal service to send them, and that’s definitely a crime,” Hawk pointed out.
“That’s thin and we all know it,” Smithie spat.
They did, so Hawk nor Mo said anything.
Smithie kept going.
“But say he does some time. He gets out, fixates back on Mac or some other girl, and manages to get his shit together before someone finds out. And then some girl, if she’s found before she’s made dead, has a lifetime of having to deal with something that she didn’t get a say in, like I got a say in having a lifetime of living with what we decide for this guy tonight.” Smithie shook his head. “I’ll take my demons. I won’t have some woman facing hers.”
“Smithie—” Hawk tried.
Smithie cut him off. “Or he gets off on the insanity plea, because there’s no arguing the guy is fucked right the fuck up, and he’s sent to a looney bin. Gets medicated. Gets therapy. Gets ‘cured.’ And that same end scenario happens, just after he goes off his government-funded meds and remembers he’s a whackjob.”
“So your vote is he disappears,” Hawk deduced.
“My vote is the only vote that counts, motherfucker, seein’ as I’m payin’ for this shit,” Smithie retorted.
“And Mo and me will know and we’ll have to keep our mouths shut and live with those demons for your choice too, Smithie,” Hawk returned fire.
At this juncture, Smithie glanced at Mo before he looked back at Hawk. “Can you share why your man is in on this discussion?”
“He has a say,” Hawk replied.
“I get that, seein’ as he’s here,” Smithie said. “I’m askin’ why.”
“Because I called him in,” Hawk answered.
Smithie looked back at Mo.
Mo just stared at him.
“Shit, you fell for her,” Smithie muttered.
Mo said nothing.
Smithie looked him up and down and his brows drew together. “And she fell for you?”
Mo remained quiet.
“Of course she did,” Smithie muttered. “You’re you. Before I even saw you, coulda drawn a picture a’ you, someone asked me to conjure up Mac’s dream man.”
Well…
Hell.
Something occurred to Smithie, his eyes went to the ceiling before coming back to Mo and his hands went to his hips.
“Do not get any thoughts in your head, motherfucker. She’s got talent. She’s a headliner. She was born for the stage.” He took a hand from his hip, pointed it at Mo, and declared, “You are not tellin’ her she can’t dance.”
Mo felt his lips thin.
“There!” Smithie jerked his finger at Mo, not missing Mo’s slight movement. “You’re one of those guys! Christ!” He threw up both hands. “I thought I was done with those guys. Jack didn’t mind his woman stripping.”
Mo had no clue who “Jack” was. He didn’t remember Lottie telling him about one of the women who had a man named Jack.
He still said nothing.
“And what about you?” Smithie asked Hawk. “Not real professional, one of your boys tags the woman he’s guarding.”
“It’s been platonic,” Hawk ground out.
“Right,” Smithie said.
Mo was done.
With a number of things.
What they were discussing right then the least of them.
“I’ve touched her, that way, once. Tonight. When I needed her to focus and I put my hands on her face. Once,” Mo growled. “Lottie wanted a new bodyguard so we could start things up, but no one could be on her, but me. We held off. Now we need to make a decision about this guy because it’s done and that means my job is done which means I can claim my woman, so I’m done with this chat.” He turned to Hawk. “What do you want to do?”
“What do you want to do?” Hawk asked calmly.
“I want him dead.”
Hawk didn’t even blink.
“But I’m pissed as fuck and I’m tweaked as hell right now which means I can’t fully get behind that,” Mo continued. “So I want you to call Lawson and Lucas and get his ass in jail. We really got no choice but to let justice take its course, not that I can’t live with the other option, or Smithie can’t, or you can’t, but because I’ll probably have to explain it to Lottie and she won’t be able