I didn’t know Hope, but I knew from what Dezi said about her that she was a workaholic, and that she was trying really hard to prove her worth at her job. It must have been gutting to be put on suspension.
“What?” Vi snapped.
“Alright, whose balls am I chopping off?” Layna offered.
“It’s my fault. I couldn’t get the information we needed. The case went cold. We lost a big contract.”
Layna and Violet shared a long look before Layna looked back at Hope. “Is that actually the case, or is it that your asshole boss gave you an impossible job just so that he could shove it in your face that you couldn’t do it?”
“No job is impossible,” Hope insisted. “I could have done it. I should have done it.”
“Your boss is a fucking asshole. I don’t understand why you are trying to stick it out there. You’re good. You could open your own agency,” Vi insisted.
“They’re going to respect me,” Hope said, her voice so fierce that it was almost uncomfortable to hear. “But we’re done talking about me. I want to know more about your problem,” Hope said, looking at me.
“Zaddy said not to grill her,” Layna said, shaking her head.
“Zaddy knows better than to expect us not to,” Hope said, shrugging.
“I, ah, I was sort of, I guess… held prisoner by my ex for years. God, that sounds so insane,” I said, wincing.
“Babe, this is Navesink Bank,” Layna said, shooting me a smirk. “You’re going to learn real quickly that we have a different definition of insane than the rest of the country does. I got my pizza from a member of the New Jersey mafia,” she reminded me.
“Our favorite bar is run by a family of loan sharks,” Violet piped in.
“There’s an actual paramilitary survivalist camp on the hill,” Hope added. “Shit is a different shade of crazy around here. So, you have an asshole ex.”
“He’s, ah… he’s a cartel—“
“Oh, Jesus,” Hope cut me off.
“Let her tell her story,” Layna said, kicking her cousin with her heavy combat boot. “And you got away?”
“Yes. Just barely.”
“And you came here because?” Hope asked.
“Because I know Cary from a long time ago,” I admitted.
“Bated breath over here, babe,” Layna said. “How did you know him?”
“I was sort of his, ah, pen-pal while he was in prison.”
“No way,” Vi said, looking confused. “People actually do that? I always thought it was kind of bullshit. Aside from the crazy chicks who fall in love with serial killers, anyway.”
“I was part of a church at the time. And it was a sort of community outreach.”
“Trying to save the sinners,” Hope said.
“Yeah, sort of. But we corresponded for years. Until I went down to Mexico on a mission.”
“And met your future tormentor,” Hope said, sighing. “The cartel,” she said, shaking her head. “That’s not good news.”
“The woman is already in hiding and clearly scared,” Layna said. “No need to freak her out more. Don’t worry,” she went on. “You’re super safe with us. And Cary, for that matter.”
“But, I mean, is he actually doing anything for you?” Hope asked. “Aside from hiding you out? Which isn’t a long-term solution.”
“You’ll excuse Hope,” Vi said, rolling her eyes. “She’s always in work-mode. Maybe they’re too busy banging to get a plan in motion right now.”
“No!” I squeaked. “I mean, no. It’s not… you know… it’s not like that.”
“Oh, bullshit,” Layna said, smile knowing. “What? You don’t see the way that man looks at you?”
“You saw them for like five minutes, how do you know how he looks at her?”
“Well, firstly, because I saw it. Secondly, Dezi texted me with the scoop.”
“Dezi?” I asked.
“Oh, Dezi is practically an honorary member of the girls club,” Vi said, shaking her head.
“What did Dezi say?” I asked, heart pounding in my chest.
“That you two were clearly into each other, but too stubborn to say anything,” Layna said, shrugging. “Seems pretty accurate to me.”
“No, it’s… it’s not.” Except, of course, it was, wasn’t it? At least a little bit. Before Dezi had interrupted, things had definitely started to take a turn in the romantic direction.
“Is it because he’s old?” Vi asked.
“He’s not old,” Layna insisted. “He’s older. And fine as freaking hell. Who cares if there is a little age difference?”
“He’s a good man,” Hope said, seeming to surprise all of us. When my gaze slid to her, she shrugged. “In case you were worried about your taste in men,” she clarified. “You don’t have to worry about Cary. He’s one of the good ones. All the Henchmen are,” she added.
“Well, the jury is out on the grumpy one,” Layna said.
“Voss,” I said, knowing instantly who they were talking about.
“Yeah, him,” Layna agreed. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t fuck that man through a wall, but I don’t know if I’d want to hang around afterward, if you get what I mean.”
“You can’t fuck the prospects,” Hope insisted.
“I believe the rule is that they can’t fuck me,” Layna clarified.
“Same end result,” Hope said.
“Where is Billie when you need her? She would fully support me and Mr. Grumpypants going a round or ten,” Layna said.
“Maybe Billie’s judgment when it comes to sex isn’t the one to trust,” Hope said.
“Whose should I trust? Yours? When’s the last time you had a cock in your henhouse, babe? A year? More? I think it’s probably more at this point.”
“I’m busy,” Hope insisted.
“We should cancel her birthday party and just hire her a male escort for some stress relief,” Layna suggested.
“When has a man ever been stress relief?” Vi said, snorting.
“Well, you've got me there,” Layna agreed, shaking her head.
“Weren’t we supposed to be trying to help Abs decorate?” Hope asked, clearly wanting to change the topic.
“Right. Yeah,” Layna said. “Two chicks without their own apartments, and another whose apartment is still eighty-percent in boxes. We’re a real crack team when it comes to home decorating.”
“Well, experts we might not be. But even I can see that a couch and a bed might be in order,” Vi said, shrugging. “We can start there.”
“Right, right. Fucking surfaces would be good. I mean, the kitchen counter would work in a pinch.” At the shared looks of amusement on her cousins, Layna let out an airy chuckle and threw out a hand. “What can I say? I need to get laid. It’s all I can think about. Hand me that damn catalog. I’ll try to keep my head out of the gutter.”
I don’t know if she genuinely tried or not, but she was wholly unsuccessful either way. But as the hours dragged on, all three women started to get almost a little giddy, egging one another on, then breaking off in fits of laughter as they each shared stories.