Rock Chick Renegade (Rock Chick #4)(62)

“Lee, if you want, I can take Indy home,” Dawn said sweetly, the queen of kindness.

Blech.

It was my turn to consider vomiting.

“I got her,” Luke walked forward without sparing Dawn a glance.

Vance let me go and I turned to Indy just as she arrived at me and gave me a big, surprise, hug. I stood in her arms, uncertain what to do for a second then I hugged her back.

“Good luck,” she said when she let me go and then she got close and whispered, “remember, deep down, he’s a great guy.”

I took a breath and nodded.

Before Indy and Luke left, Luke stopped at the door and sliced his eyes to me. “Tomorrow, five thirty, here, you and me. Don’t be late.”

Then he was gone.

I stared at the door. “What did that mean?” I asked Vance.

“You’re training with Luke tomorrow,” Vance told me.

I totally lost any hold on my head-crackin’ mamma jamma and my mouth dropped open. “No I’m not.”

“I were you,” Lee said, coming up to us, “I wouldn’t be late.”

I stared at the both of them.

Fuck.

* * * * *

Vance followed me to my house on his Harley. We parked Hazel in the garage, I jumped on his bike and we met Lee at a bar on Colfax, the same bar I’d seen Darius in a few days before.

We got drinks, Vance a soda, me a diet soda (even though I wanted tequila, I was still going for a clear head) and Lee a beer.

We stood at the bar, me and the badasses, surveying the room and not speaking.

Vance didn’t get touchy and sexy. This was a different Vance. This was badass Vance. He was relaxed but alert and very serious. We weren’t lovers here, we were partners. How he communicated this, I could not tell you, but he did. I knew it, felt it. Anyone in that bar f**ked with me, they f**ked with Vance.

And it was pretty clear no one wanted to f**k with Vance.

Or Lee.

Me, now that was probably another story.

Still, we were given a wide berth.

After about ten minutes, Lee murmured, “Let’s go.”

I had no idea why he said this, if he got some sign but they moved and I followed. We walked to the back of the bar, down a hall and into a room.

In the room were three people. Darius sitting at a round table, a supplier I’d heard of and seen once or twice but didn’t know his name on Darius’s left and on his right a pretty, middle-aged black woman with tawny brown eyes and a huge Afro.

“Lee Boy! Lookin’ good,” the woman shouted when we walked in, sounding happy and welcoming, like we’d come to her dinner party.

“Shirleen,” Lee said, walking into the room. I followed. Vance followed me.

Lee put his beer bottle down and sat. I put my glass down and sat next to him thinking this was the right thing to do. I rethought it when Vance positioned himself standing behind me and to my right. Instead of looking indecisive and getting up to stand with Vance, I kept my seat.

The supplier’s eyes went to Vance and they got hard and scary and I held my breath.

Vance hadn’t allowed me to bring my gun (even though I was pretty certain he and Lee were carrying, though Vance didn’t share). He said it would send the wrong message for me to walk in armed and since I’d never had a sit down with a drug dealer, and expected he knew what he was talking about, I gave in.

At that moment though, I wished I had it just in case.

Lee felt me tense, his eyes cut to me and, quickly, to my shock, I kid you not, he winked at me.

Lee “Badass Mother” Nightingale winked… at… me.

I guessed this meant everything was all right. I let out my breath and tried to relax.

The seating scenario had us facing off against Darius, Shirleen and the other guy.

“So you’re The Law,” Shirleen said, looking at me. “You’re a tiny little thing. How you flip Jermaine on his back?” she asked.

“Um…” I started, thinking I wasn’t exactly tiny but then again she really wasn’t tiny so it was all relative.

“Not that I think that’s bad, mind,” she went on as if I hadn’t uttered a sound. “Jermaine is one evil brother. I do not like him at all. Got my friend’s daughter, Shaneequa, pregnant then left her high and dry. No child support, nothin’. We was thrilled when we heard you kicked him in the balls. He deserved it.”

“Shirleen,” Darius said quietly.

“Well, he did,” Shirleen said. “Got his ass kicked by a white girl. I tiny white girl. I cannot wait to tell Shaneequa,” Shirleen said to me. “Hey, no!” she exclaimed. “Why don’t you come with me to see Shaneequa? She’d love to meet you. She’ll give you a big, fat kiss.”

“Shirleen,” Darius said again, sounding more impatient now.

I stared.

I couldn’t help it; this was definitely not how I expected this sit down to be.

Shirleen ignored Darius’s impatience. “I hear you work with them kids at that Shelter. Well, I got me another friend, last year, her boy, he went to the street. So young, that boy. Do not know why, but he did. His parents are good people, no reason why he’d take to the street. One of you social workers found him and talked to him, got him to the Shelter then got him back home. Lord knows what was goin’ on in that boy’s head. Still, they was glad to have him home, I can tell you that,” Shirleen went on.