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“Yeah.” I sip my coffee. “You good, man?”
“Sure. Why you asking?”
“Saw Phantom last night. He said you didn’t want him working with you.”
Ghost frowns, sitting on the stool next to me at the island. “What else did he say?”
“Nothing. It was just weird to see him with Specter and not you.”
“Where were you?”
“Segreto.”
His expression shifts to a happier one. “Did you go to see your sexy dancer?”
“Yes, except he’s not mine.”
“He’s a sexy little thing.”
His words cause an unexpected reaction in me as my chest tightens and I open my mouth to claim Blush, but I manage to rein it in before I say something weird.
“Yeah,” I grunt.
“We were all looking at him pretty hard before he obviously set his sights on you,” Ghost continues. “I mean, I get it. You’re hot.”
Smiling, I turn to him. “Thanks. It’s not serious though. We’re just hooking up.”
“Good for you.” He claps my shoulder. “You could use a little stress relief.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” I’m aware that he didn’t answer me about Phantom, but I’ll let it go. It’s between them anyway.
I turn as several people enter the kitchen. First is Rue, followed by Carnage.
“Morning, guys,” Rue says. “I’m gonna get breakfast started if you’re hungry.”
“You spoil us,” Ghost says.
Rue shrugs. “I enjoy it.”
Carnage sits next to me, watching his man with heart eyes. Out of all of us, I’d say I never saw Carnage settling down. He’s a wild one, but something about Rue can calm him. He deserves that.
Specter and Colson enter next. Colson looks tired as he sits on a stool and Specter pours his husband a cup of coffee.
Nimble and his man, Joss, are right behind them, chatting happily about a TV show they watch. I don’t know much about either of them, but I know Nimble always has mine and my brothers’ backs, so that’s good enough for me.
Pax comes in next, with Wraith on one side and his brother, Boone, on the other. I usually work with Boone a lot, but lately he’s been out more. I guess he’s seeing someone. He greets me with a pat on the back before heading to the coffee station.
The kitchen is full of the sounds of chatting and cooking when Shadow walks in. Seconds behind him is Stealth, then to everyone’s surprise, Bellamy enters too. It’s too much of a coincidence to think the three of them weren’t together, but doing what? Especially this early.
Bellamy waves happily at Colson then joins his friend. My eyes shift first to Shadow then Stealth, but both of them have unreadable expressions as they go to opposite sides of the island.
We quiet down, waiting for Shadow to address us. Ghost sets a cup of coffee down in front of the boss, who nods in appreciation. He takes a sip then pulls a small notebook out of his pocket and flips it open.
“I’ve got a new batch of jobs,” Shadow says. “I’ve sent them to your inboxes but there’s a few things to note. Carnage, your target tends to surround himself with an entourage of people so you may have to take that into consideration.”
Carnage nods, looking down at his phone. “Got it, boss.”
“Specter, yours has been elusive. That’s why we’ve been called in. Corrupt judge.”
