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“Just taking after you.”

Ace laughed. “He’s got you there.”

“I don’t want to fucking hear it,” Stone grumbled. “Last thing I need is to lose one of my best men.”

“Hate to disappoint, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“Best not.” Stone leaned back in his chair, studying me before he asked, “You really feeling better?”

“Still sore, but hell of a lot better than I was a week ago.”

“Good. You had us worried there for a while.”

“So, I’ve heard.”

“Knox easing up on you yet?”

“He’s been keeping his distance, but I’m hoping he’ll come around.”

Stone crossed his arms and gave me one of his looks. “You boys have been close a long time.”

“We have, but I fucked up. I should’ve been straight with him about Emery, and he has every right to be pissed that I kept it from him.”

“You serious about her?”

“About as serious as you can get.”

“I could talk to him,” Stone offered.

“Appreciate it, but best if he came around on his own.” The room fell silent, and I figured it was a good time to ask the question I’d come there to ask. “Any news from our Armenian friends?”

“Nothing.” Stone glanced over at Ace. “We’ve had our feelers out, making sure we hadn’t missed any talk. Even went by and bought a burrito from Pete, and he hasn’t heard a word.”

Pete was one of our informants. He ran a small breakfast burrito drive-thru in the worst part of town. If there were rumors circling, he would be the first to hear about it, and for the right price, he’d share what he knew. I figured it was a good sign that he hadn’t heard anything. “No news is good news.”

“Exactly.”

“And the Vipers?”

“All good on their end, too.”

I wanted to believe that our trouble with the Armenians had come and gone, but after everything that happened, I wasn’t so sure. The fact that we hadn’t heard anything didn’t necessarily mean the Armenians were gone. They could be out there waiting for an opportunity to strike again. It was our job to make sure they didn’t get the chance. “But we’re not letting up… We’re still ready in case they try to pull some shit?”

“Absolutely,” Stone answered firmly. “We’re not dropping our guard any time soon. Hell, if anything, we’re just waiting for the next group of assholes who try to pull some stupid shit.”

I wasn’t surprised by his response. Stone was calm until he had a reason not to be, and when that reason came, he handled it. And we would be right by his side, putting our lives on the line for the brotherhood. No questions asked.

I talked to them a bit longer, then decided it was time to head back to the garage. I wrapped up a few invoices and checked in with the guys, making sure they had what they needed. I hoped to talk with Knox, but he was a no-show for the day. Apparently, he had things to take care of at Jim’s.

I didn’t question it.

The man needed space, and I was going to give it to him.

I didn’t want to push it, so I called it a day early and headed home. It was another nice night. Emery came over, and we made dinner. We talked about our day and our plans for tomorrow and settled in for the night. We were falling into a routine, and while it was nice, it was missing a key component.

We hadn’t had sex in sixteen days.

That’s right. I’d been counting. It had been sixteen days since I was shot. The first few days were rough. Hell, I questioned a lot of life choices when the searing pain took my breath. A week in, I could stand without help, but I didn’t get very far. Week two was a different ball game. I was sore, but I was gaining strength.