Page 55 of Property of Sugar
Sugar:Focus.
After fifteen minutesof nothing from her, I sent another text. I knew Kalani could handle herself, which is exactly what worried me. Ashley was a trigger for her. If Kalani snapped,she’d slaughter Ashley in the middle of The Stinky Dog and mop the floor with her blood.
Sugar:Is she still there?
Sugar:Hello?
Sugar:Deviant?
Fuck. I got up, grabbed my shit, and sent a text to Prez to let him know Ashley was at The Stinky Dog. It was probably nothing and Ashley would be gone by the time I got there, but the bar was forty-five minutes away—a lot could happen in much less time, especially if Kalani was involved.
Whisker stepped out of his office as I was coming down the hall. “She’s not answering me,” I said and held up my phone. “I’m gonna ride out there.”
He nodded. “We’re coming with you. We’ll leave in five.”
“Do you know something I don’t?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, but I got a weird feeling.”
Yeah, I did too, but we were both skewed. Whisker got a weird feeling whenever something unexpected happened, and I cared about Kalani.
Fuck. I cared about Kalani.
I chuckled to myself. I’d always assumed it would be a girlfriend who had concerns about my lifestyle, not the other way around.
While we were on the road to Makani, I called Beaver and asked him to track Kalani’s phone. “It’s at The Stinky Dog.”
“Why the fuck isn’t she answering?” I mumbled, not expecting an answer.
“Do you want me to call the bar?” he asked.
“Yes! Call the bar and ask for Everly, but don’t push her if she won’t talk.”
“I’ll have Cookie do it,” Beaver said and ended the call.
Beaver called back a few minutes later. “Whoever answered said she was busy and couldn’t come to the phone, but she responded to Cookie’s text. She said Ashley is still there and she thinks Kalani is in the break room, but she hasn’t actually put eyes on her since Ashley came in.”
“But she’s had eyes on Ashley the entire time?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “We asked.”
“Thanks, brother.”
Why don’t we have a tail on her?
Because she’s not an Old Lady.
And she doesn’t need protection; people need to be protected from her.
She can take care of herself.
I reminded myself over and over on the way there. I also promised I would butcher anyone who hurt her. Neither gave me a shred of comfort. But something else did.
Sugar:I’m claiming her.
Whisker:Noted.
Fuck. I’ll tell her later. Much later.
