I looked again but my eyes did not deceive me. It was Jerry, one of the henchmen in my father’s gentleman army. Tall, blond-haired, blue-eyed, good-looking and, normally, mostly silent. He’d disappeared the minute the DEA moved in and I hadn’t seen him since.
“Sadie,” Jerry replied.
“Who’re you?” Ava said from beside me.
“Stand back, now.” Daisy didn’t care who he was and at her words all the girls got close to me.
Jerry ignored Daisy. “Your father’s got a message for you.”
My eyes went wide.
Then my back went straight and my chin went out.
All right.
I’d had enough.
This was not happening.
I’d had a tough day. A tough week! A tough fucking life!
I was going to take no more.
“Is that so? Well I have a message for him too,” I snapped back.
Jerry’s hands went tight on my arms, so tight, they hurt.
“Quiet and listen to me.”
“Last warning, stand back.” Daisy got in closer.
I ignored her and leaned in. “No, you listen to me. No messages, no nothing. My father doesn’t exist anymore. You tell him that.” Then, for good measure, I used one of Hector’s badass lines, “Got me?”
Jerry ignored my fairy princess/bimbo groupie badass and returned, “Sadie, I’m warnin’ you, Seth is losin’ patience with you.”
Ice Princess gave him a Chill Factor Sub-Zero Glare. “Do I look like I care?”
He leaned in and we were nose-to-nose right before he said threateningly, “Girl, you better care.”
“Take your hands off her.” I heard Eddie say from behind Jerry and I looked around to see him standing there, feet planted wide, arms loose at his sides and looking unhappy.
Jerry let me go and turned to Eddie. Then he gave an amused hoot.
“Detective Chavez,” Jerry said in an ugly voice. “Now I’m confused. I thought it was your brother who was tappin’ her ass.”
I gasped.
“Uh-oh,” Ava said from beside me as Eddie’s body went visibly taut.
Jet, Daisy, Ava and I huddled as Eddie warned Jerry, “You got one second to disappear.”
“Yeah?” Jerry taunted, pretending to look around. “You sure you wanna try to get a piece of me? I don’t see Nightingale at your back.”
“Eddie, let’s just go,” Jet put in.
“Move away,” Eddie told Jet, not taking his eyes from Jerry.
“Eddie –” Jet kept trying.
“Jet,” Eddie clipped and that was all he had to say. Jet shuffled us all back, we moved as one in our Rock Chick huddle, all of our eyes locked on Eddie and Jerry.
“Fuck, you think you can get a piece of me.” Jerry sounded amused.
Eddie didn’t say a word, he didn’t move, his eyes didn’t leave Jerry.
“This is gonna be fun,” Jerry went on and Eddie still didn’t reply, pushing Jerry to ask, “You gonna stare at me all night?”
Eddie still didn’t move.
But he did speak.
“No, I’m gonna ask you what Townsend would think if he knew you been meetin’ with Donny Balducci.”
What?
Jerry and Donny?
No way.
Jerry’s eyes narrowed. “You been watchin’ me, spic?”
I gasped again, this time angrily.
“Oh Lord,” Ava muttered.
“What did he just say?” Jet asked, her voice trembling.
“Stand down, Jet, I think Eddie’s got this covered,” Daisy told Jet, pulling the huddle back another few steps.
Eddie had gone silent again but the air had changed, it became heavy and very, very scary.
Jerry waited for a reaction to his racial slur and, when none was forthcoming, he (stupidly, if you asked me), decided to create one.
His arm reached out, he planted his hand in Eddie’s chest and I saw him give a shove.
I stared and my mouth dropped open.
I was certain he’d given a shove but Eddie’s body didn’t move.
No kidding, it didn’t move an inch.
Solid as a rock.
I watched surprise slide across Jerry’s face, surprise I was pretty certain sure was mingled with a hint of fear as Eddie encouraged in a low, menacing voice, “Keep goin’.”
“Fuck you!” Jerry clipped and immediately threw a punch.
Quick as a flash, Eddie ducked but came up, body cocked to the side and swinging, he landed a fist in Jerry’s stomach and I heard Jerry’s awful grunt.
“Oh for goodness sake, we’re missin’ Stella,” Daisy said as if Eddie’s fight with one of my father’s henchmen was akin to an annoying traffic delay on the way to a movie and I looked at her, mouth still open. She was digging in her purse (not all Rock Chicks went purse-less) and she came out with a stun gun.