Chapter 8 #2
We got up to the ninth floor where most of the guys lived.
Julius was glancing around, taking it in.
You would never know this used to be an office building.
The common area had a large television, a couple of couches, a few armchairs, three dining tables, a foosball game, a pool table, and my personal favorite, a poker table.
Axel and Maddox were sitting on the couch playing a video game, but they were the only ones here tonight.
I’d been busy with Julius, so I wasn’t sure where everyone else was.
“This is where everyone hangs out most of the time when they aren’t working,” I said to Julius. “Hey, guys, this is Julius. He’ll be staying here for a little while.”
Axel glanced over his shoulder and grinned when he saw Julius.
“Hey, Axe.” Julius grinned back.
I looked between them. “You two know each other?”
“Just from the salon,” Julius said. “Migs cuts his hair.”
“And he does a fabulous job. I don’t let just anyone come near my fabulous mane with a pair of scissors.”
Maddox let out a big sigh and tossed down the remote control. “Great, you got distracted, and I died. You were supposed to have my six.”
“Sorry.” Axel shrugged and got up. He turned to us with concern on his face. “So what’s up, Jules? Why are you here?”
“It’s a long story, and I should get Trixie settled.” He held up the cage, and Axel hurried around the couch.
“You have a parrot?”
“Yeah, this is Trixie.”
Axel stuck his finger between the bars of the cage, and the bird snapped at him with her beak. Maybe the bird wasn’t so bad after all.
“She bit me,” he yelped.
“Don’t touch the merchandise,” she squawked back.
“It’s been a long day for both Julius and Trixie. Come on, Jules, let’s get you two settled. I can give Axel an update when we’re done.”
We crossed the room and stopped at 917. I tapped my keycard to unlock it and pushed the door open. It was one of the better furnished ones with a dark leather sofa, a big TV, a fully stocked kitchenette, and a bedroom off to the right.
He set Trixie’s cage on the dining table and turned in a slow circle.
“I’ll put your bags in the bedroom while you check it out.”
I left him with the bird and carried his bags to the other room. I dropped them on the bed and went back into the living room.
He grinned at me. “Not bad. Very safe house chic.”
“Most of the furniture came from Mika’s place. When he moved in upstairs with Hawk, they had to pick and choose what they kept, so we used the excess to finish furnishing the three guest apartments.”
“Mika and Hawk live here in this building?”
“Yeah, on the tenth floor. Hawk, Wolfe, and I all have a place up there. Your card won’t get up on that floor, though, so if you want to go up, you’ll have to get him to come down here first. We all mostly hang out down here, anyway.”
We stood there for a second, neither of us sure what to say.
Again, I felt the urge to go to him and pull him close, tell him to forget about the apartment, that he would be safest upstairs in my apartment, but now wasn’t the time.
He had people who were, best case, watching him, worst case, wanting to do him harm, and finding them and protecting him needed to be my focus.
Finally, he broke the silence. “So I guess this is the part where you tell me the rules?”
I shrugged. “It’s simple. The building is pretty secure, so you should be safe as long as you stay here.
Just don’t leave without telling me. And that includes the sandwich shop downstairs.
They have great food, but an outside entrance.
You should have plenty of food in the kitchen, though. Caden will have made sure of it.”
“So that’s it. Don’t leave without telling you?”
I nodded.
“But what about work? I have a salon to run, not to mention I’m fully booked for the next week.”
“And you can’t cancel the appointments?” I asked.
“No. I can’t cancel. This is my business, Gator. My livelihood.”
“Okay, then someone will go with you. They know where you work, so it isn’t safe for you there.”
“Alright. I can’t imagine they would come inside a public place like the salon, though.”
“We don’t even know what these guys want, Jules, and until we do, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“Okay.” He sighed. “This is your area of expertise, not mine, so we do it your way. That’s why I came to you.”
“And I’m glad you did. We’ll figure this out. I want to check in with Kat and see if she has any updates, so I’ll leave you two to get settled.”
“Thank you, Gator.”
“You’re welcome.” I moved to the door. “Goodnight, Julius.”
Behind me, I heard Trixie say, clear as a bell, “Night, night, Daddy.”
Julius
The door closed behind Gator, and I let out a long sigh.
I had no idea how I’d gotten into this mess, but I did feel safe here.
I opened the door to Trixie’s cage and stuck my arm inside.
She hopped on, and I lifted her out. I placed her on the bar that doubled as both a carrier handle and a perch.
That cage was way too small for her to be in long-term, and my girl didn’t like to be confined.
She spread out her wings and danced from one end of the perch to the other. “Trixie needs a stachio.”
I chuckled and went to the bag of treats I’d brought for her. She loved pistachios, and while they couldn’t make up her entire diet, they were fine as a treat. Of course, if I gave her one every time she asked, she would eat nothing else.
“Trixie is a good girl,” she reminded me because, apparently, I was taking too long. “Stachios. Stachios. Stachios,” she chanted over and over.
I pulled out one of the nuts and handed it over.
She let out a loud cackle and took the nut.
That would keep her busy for a minute, so I left her there and wandered around the apartment.
It was small, but it was nice. I went over to the window and looked out.
The view was really lovely. I sucked at directions, but even I could tell the window faced north and overlooked part of old downtown Vesper.
The city had spent years revitalizing this part of town, and it seemed to be working. This time of day, most of the businesses were closed, but there was still plenty of activity on the street below. I’d always wanted to live downtown, but I hadn’t wanted to pay downtown prices.
No telling how much money it had cost Three Bears to fix up this old building, but if I remembered correctly, they’d bought it before the major downtown revitalization had started, so they’d probably gotten it for a steal.
I guess if I was going to be stuck here for a few days, I should unpack my clothes before they became wrinkled so badly I couldn’t wear them. I let out a sigh and headed that direction when there was a knock on the door.
“Nobody’s home,” Trixie squawked.
I ignored her and went to the door. I looked through the peephole and saw Mika standing there holding a plastic container.
I pulled open the door, and he smiled at me.
“I brought you some cookies.” He held out the container. I took it and stepped to the side.
“Come on in. I didn’t realize you lived here until Gator told me a few minutes ago. I mean, I knew you’d moved in with Hawk, but I didn’t realize it was here in this building.”
“Yeah, we’re on the opposite end of the building and up one floor.
It’s nice. I like it. Hawk told me what was going on, and I just wanted to come by with some cookies and let you know that you’ll be safe here in this building.
It’s like a freaking fortress. Also”—he leaned in conspiratorially—“while there are no cameras in the apartments, pretty much every place else in the building is under surveillance. Even the roof. Although sometimes we turn off the roof cameras. You know, for sexy times, although one time we forgot, and that was mortifying. Hopper, he’s one of the security guys who watches the cameras, swears he turned the monitor off, but I don’t know if I believe him or not because every so often he looks at me and Hawk like he knows something, you know. ”
“Peepers creepers,” Trixie sing-songed, and Mika’s face lit up.
“Trixie, you’re here.” He forgot about me and his rambling and hurried over to her cage.
I rarely took her to the salon. Birds had sensitive respiratory systems, and I worried about the chemicals we used irritating her. However, on the rare occasion, I would. She was always a big hit on those days, and Mika had met her a couple of times.
“Trixie is here. Trixie is here,” she repeated over and over.
“Can I give her a treat?”
“I’m a good girl.” Treat was a trigger word for her to start assuring anyone who would listen that she deserved to get all the treats.
“Of course you are,” Mika cooed as he looked at me hopefully.
I shook my head and motioned towards the treats. “Go ahead and give her one.”
He handed her a treat and then turned back to me. “So, it sounds like there are some bad guys after you. I know a little about that, but you came to the right place.”
“I think so. This is a pretty nice setup.” I motioned around the apartment.
“It is. There are definitely worse places you could have to hole up in. Do you have any idea how long you’ll be here?”
“None.”
“Well, you won’t get bored, that’s for sure. There’s always a poker game, or some video game going on out there, and all the Three Bears employees are really nice.”
“They seem to be so far. I’ve met Axel before. He gets his hair done at The Shack.”
“Really? How did I not know that we went to the same hairstylist?”
“You don’t.” I laughed. “Migs does his hair. I’ve never had the honor.”
“He’s really precious about his hair.” Mika grinned.
“So Mig’s has said.”
“Well, anyway, Hawk is waiting for me upstairs. So I should get going, and you’re probably tired. Just remember, I’m just upstairs, so if you need anything, give me a call. I know what it’s like to have your life turned upside down, so even if you just want to talk, I’m here.”
“I’ll remember that. Thanks, Mika.”