Chapter 21
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Logan
Ivy. I’ve heard about her, but we’ve never met. She kinda looks like Bane—they both have the same eyes, and olive skin, but that’s where the similarities end. She’s also small and petite, nothing like her hulk of a brother.
“Uh, hi, I’m Payden. Did you make these?”
She nods enthusiastically. “I did. I’m the cook.”
“Hey, what about us?” Shadow mutters behind her. “They just got here.”
“Rude!” Ivy says, rolling her eyes, then she lowers her tone. “These boys need to learn they don’t hold all the cards, not where their stomachs are concerned.”
Payden smiles. “Why, thank you. I don’t mind if I do.” She snags a roll off the tray and Ivy hands her a napkin.
“You’re welcome. Best to serve our guests first before these boys devour all the food,” she goes on, good naturedly.
“Ivy,” Bane warns. “Did I not just say you’re supposed to ask before you come bargin’ in here?”
She sighs like she doesn’t give a flying fuck. “All you cronies do is sit in here discussing your woes, cooking up some new plan to finally rid the Skeletons off the face of the earth, and grumble about the lack of pussy around here.” She winks at me.
“Ivy, for fuck’s sake,” Bane complains.
Payden almost chokes on her bite.
I take a roll out of politeness. Immediately Dozer has his sniffer out, so I pull a piece off and give him a little taste. “Thanks.”
“Hope you’re not speakin’ for me,” Hornet goes on. “I get plenty of pussy.”
Ivy turns to face the table. “Uh huh, and I hear the clap is going around again. You really need to wear two rubbers with some of those skanks you’re bringing in.” She screws up her nose and Bane pinches the bridge of his own.
Shadow, I notice, stares at her. “You gonna share, princess?”
I don’t know, but somehow it’s almost like it has a double meaning.
“Don’t rattle her,” Hornet begs. “She’ll dump that entire tray on your head and then we’ll all miss out.”
“Listen to the man,” Ivy replies, smiling pleasantly. “Some of us could do with a little more respect around here.”
Viking snorts while Hornet reaches over the table, and Ivy lets him have one. “Only because I like you,” she says. “And you’re nice to me.”
“Better not be bein’ too nice,” Bane cuts in. “If he wants to keep his balls intact.”
Hornet reaches under the table and cups himself. “Still hangin’ fine, Prez, like to keep it that way.”
“Then quit bein’ a kiss ass.”
Shadow still stares at her, and when her eyes finally lift to his, she slowly, deliberately holds the tray toward him. He leans forward, and just as he tries again to snag one, she rips it away.
“Stop bein’ a brat, Ivy,” he mutters. “Seriously.”
“Maybe I just like annoying you, Shane.”
Oh, here we go.
“Don’t call me that,” he tells her. “You know, as the Prez’s little sister, one would think you’d know how to fuckin’ act inside Church.”
She is not put off one iota by his words. “Or maybe I just don’t play by the rules.”
“You’re gonna play by my rules or else,” Bane says, his eyes cast on her. “Stop goofin’ off and learn your place. Not settin’ a good example here?—”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Payden waves a hand. “Continue on as if we aren’t here.”
Bane’s nostrils flair and I can tell his sister is testing his patience.
“Sorry, big brother,” she says, holding the tray to him. “But don’t blame me, blame our genes. I can’t help it if things just fly out of my mouth.”
“Did you forget your anti-bitchy pills this mornin’?” Shadow says, reaching forward. This time he manages to snag two, sitting back looking triumphant.
“Hey!”
He shrugs. “Snooze, you lose.”
She sets the tray down on the table and then her eyes widen. “Oh my god! I didn’t see the doggie!”
“Jesus,” Bane mutters.
She moves around to squeeze between me and Payden. “Oh, what a cutie. What’s his or her name?”
“Dozer,” I say. “He’s a foster. He came to me in pretty bad shape, lost a leg because his previous abusers wouldn’t seek medical attention. Couldn’t take him back to the shelter.”
“Oh, he’s so sweet. Would you like to come to Aunty Ivy, you sweet, sweet little thing?” she coos. “I have some fresh chicken in my kitchen.”
Actually, he’s about due for a meal.
“I’m sure he won’t say no,” I chuckle. I hand him over and he looks up at her with his cute little face.
I have to admit, this little guy is not just growing on me—he’s past the go sign.
He slept all the way in the car, not making a sound.
While the last twenty-four hours have been chaotic, having him snooze in the console between us in his bed felt like the most natural thing in the world.
“Can I come with Aunty Ivy too and have chicken fed to me?” Hornet laughs.
“If you’d like a punch in the face,” Archer offers. Ah, so the man does have a sense of humor after all.
Bane, looking exasperated, waves a hand. “Off you go, then, we’ve got shit to discuss.”
“Fine,” she says, cradling Dozer in her arms. Then to Payden, she says, “Come find me when you’re done listening to them dribble shit, and I’ll give you a grand tour.”
“Bye, Ivy,” Shadow growls as she finger waves at the table.
“Peace out, bitches!”
My eyebrows raise involuntarily and Bane coughs into his hand. “My sister is… uh, a handful.”
“She’s out of control,” Shadow says. “Anyone would think she was raised by a pack of wolves, and we all know she wasn’t.”
“It’s her way of rebelling,” Viking adds. “To get under our skin because she thinks she’s untouchable because she’s Bane’s sister.”
“But we can’t be mean to her,” Hornet explains. “Because if we are, she’ll poison our food.”
“How long has she been the cook here?” I ask. I distinctly remember some talk about Ivy being missing for a few years, but I don’t know what happened there.
“Long enough to give us all a permanent migraine,” Shadow sighs. “I think you need to give her another talkin’ to.”
Bane nods. “I’ll speak to her. She’s just showin’ off because of our guests. When I give her chores to do this afternoon, she might not be so chirpy.”
“Hey, did I miss all the fun?” a man’s voice booms across the room.
“He smelled the food,” Viking says, grabbing three rolls off the tray before they get snagged.
“Radium, why don’t you make yourself known?” Shadow mutters, shaking his head.
“Oh, we have company, and I’m late,” he drawls, giving me a chin lift. “Logan.”
“Radium.”
His eyes shift to Payden. “This your ol’ lady?”
“You could just ask me,” Payden counters, smiling sweetly.
“She’s sassy,” Hornet points out, his mouth full of cinnamon roll. “And smart, too. Logan hit the fuckin’ jackpot. We need some classy broads around here.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Raidum wipes his hand down his cut, then holds it out. “You need anyone trackin’ down, diggin’ up, or need someone to disappear on paper, I’m your guy. Well, Phoenix helps out, but he always sits in the back broodin’.”
She shakes his hand. “I’m Payden. The NOLA Rebels on-retainer lawyer. I just saw my entire floor wiped out by a mad gunman, had my apartment ransacked, faked my death, and had to flee the city I call home all in the last twenty-four hours.”
“Sounds like you need a drink,” he muses, taking a seat. “It’s three o’clock somewhere in the world, right?”
“Which is why you’re gonna keep a low profile,” Bane says. “Hang here, help my sister, do what you want, but no goin’ outdoors without your ol’ man, got me?” He glances at me. “Assumin’ you weren’t followed?”
I shake my head. “Nope. Sawyer found a whole heap of bugs in her purse, shoes, phone?—”
“You bring one with you?” Radium asks. “Would love to see it. I have a fascination for shit like that.”
“Nope, but Sawyer dismantled one,” I say. “Point bein’ that they were trackin’ Payden for a while. Sawyer has access to her files. One of the guys there that day was hacking into the mainframe. He got in, but Sawyer managed to firewall his ass before he got what he wanted.”
Bane glances at Payden. “Do you know what they wanted?”
“No,” she sighs. “But I have some theories, and none of them are good. One of them involves one of the whistleblowers, her name is Becca. She left me a voice message right before the shooting and I haven’t been able to get hold of her since.” She glances at me. “No luck yet?”
I shake my head. Willow is involved, and that shit’s gotta be bad.
Payden bites her lip as I squeeze her shoulder. “Gonna be okay,” I tell her. “They’re not even in the same state, we know that much. She probably just got relocated and they took the phone away.”
“I hope so,” Payden mutters, her mind far away. “But the point is, we all believe it’s connected to this Mancini group which Cash may have explained about?”
Bane nods his head. “He filled me in.”
“They know we have something, and I’ve no idea what it is. One of my colleagues who headed the case, Ryan, lived through the shooting but I haven’t been able to talk to him,” she says. “He may know something. Maybe he was sitting on some information? I don’t know.”
“Can’t get to him until the cops are done,” I interject. “But our boys want to find out everything he knows.”
Payden looks at me. “Ryan may be many things, but I doubt he had anything to do with this.”
“Not saying he did, but he knows what’s in those files.”
“Unless he doesn’t. Our boss, Jeremy, and maybe one other associate may have, but they’re both dead…” she trails off. “He had a family.”
“So do you,” I remind her.
“I need some air.” She goes to stand and when I follow suit, she shakes her head.
“Not alone,” Bane warns. “Go to the kitchen, you’ll find it, ask Ivy to show you around, get some grub.”
She swallows, looking pale and fraught. I frown as I sit back down. I want to go to her, but I know that look. She’s still grieving, and she will be for a while yet. “Thanks.”
“I’ll be in here if you need me, okay?” I say.
She smiles softly. “Okay.”
We all watch as she leaves.
“Lucky fucker,” Hornet mutters. “Need to take a trip to New Orleans, find some decent snatch.”
“While you’re at it, bring back some of them beignets, that shit is sweet as fuck,” Radium puts in.
“It’s a wonder we get anythin’ important done with you two clowns,” Archer says, raising a brow.
“Lucky they’re not in charge,” Shadow agrees. “Or we’d all be fucked.”
Okay, maybe I got it wrong. Maybe this club is as nuts as the Rebels.
“How far away are you from gettin’ into those files?” Bane asks me.
“Well, Payden’s boss seems like he did a pretty good job of keepin’ things hidden,” I tell him. “He went to extreme lengths to ensure what was meant to be hidden stayed that way.”
“So, is this Ryan dude just a dick, or could he be in on it?” Shadow asks.
I shrug. “From what Payd told me, he’s a dick, and it’s doubtful he’s part of it.
This entire case consumed his life. Payden said he buried himself in work, which kinda sounds a little off for someone just tryin’ to brown nose the boss.
It’s almost like it was more than somethin’ to prove, but that’s just a hunch. ”
“I smell a rat,” Viking mutters. “Could get Radium and Phoenix helpin’ out.”
“Already reachin’ out to Sawyer,” Radium tells us. “If I can help in any way, I will.”
“For now, sit tight,” Bane says. “You’re safe here, and the little lady can lay low until we figure some shit out.”
I palm the back of my neck. “Not sure how she’s gonna take the news of her death being announced on the nightly news,” I say. That’s another first. It seems that’s happening a lot with Payden. “But it’s for the best.”
Hornet whistles through his teeth. “That shits gotta fuck with you. Were there dead bodies everywhere?”
“Literally,” I say. “And the few that survived have around the clock protection, just to be safe.”
I checked on Molly; she’s going to be laying low when she gets out of hospital because the cops don’t wanna take any chances. It’ll set Payden’s mind at ease because she’s fond of Molly.
“Sounds like we need to help the Rebels catch these assholes.” Viking pounds a fist on the table. “Terrorizin’ your city, that shit can’t fly.”
“Not gonna fly,” I say. “But my woman’s safety is a priority.”
I let the words hang. My woman. As long as they all know how deadly serious I am when it comes to Payden, the better off we’ll be.
For now, I’ll do as much as I can here, until that day of reckoning comes, but it better come soon. My need for vengeance is thirsty, and I won’t rest until all of the men who tried to harm Payden are six feet under.
That’s my promise to her, and I keep my promises.