I give her a small smile. “Hope not.”
The look she gives both of us is once again exasperated but also undeniably adoring.
“Dolly,” the man in the center who had held up his hand callsher back, and I’d guess he’s the boss, based on how he’s the only one not in the strict brown-coat-red-bandana-brown-hat uniform. Well, he is, but his hat and coat are far,farnicer. “As much as I respect you, I won’t allow one of your people to steal from me.”
“Afraid you will, Jim,” Dolly replies easily. “You know the rules.”
“I have my own rules.”
“Then you ought to start enforcing them. Or use better discretion when picking your people,” she counters. “Two of them came into my place last night and thought to attack one of my girls. Whatever they misplaced while being escorted from the premises is not my problem.”
“Escorted?” Tom pipes in before pointing over Dolly’s shoulder in our direction. “That one killed John. And the other left me for the coyotes.”
“Could’ve done worse,” Aiden replies, voice chilly. “Still can.”
“I do like him,” Dolly murmurs, looking back toward me. “He surprises you.”
“Thanks,” Aiden mutters, not sounding sure if it’s a compliment.
Ahead of us, the men on horseback appear to be growing antsy, exchanging glances as the boss moves a bit closer. “I’m not leaving without my money.”
“You will be, as I don’thaveyour money,” Dolly says, sounding tired. “But I do have it on good authority that your boys were planning on skipping out on you.” She tips her head toward Tom. “The only reason that one ended up crawling back is because he had nowhere else to crawl. You want someone to blame, then you have him right there in your ranks.”
“That true?” Jim asks, turning to Tom, who seems less brave than he had a minute ago. “Were you and Johnny skipping out with my money?”
“No, boss, wouldn’t do that. She’s lyin’. We were on our way back like I said. Just stopped here for the night is all. That one—” Tom points a finger at me. “He’s the one who took the money. He told me he swiped it from under the bed.”
“Under the bed.” Jim’s tone is full of barely concealed rage. “You hid my money under a bed while you went drinkin’? Howstupidare you?”
Tom shrinks into himself, and I mutter, “Told you,” loud enough for him to hear before Aiden and Dolly both give me warning looks over their shoulders.
“Dolly,” Jim calls. “I know none of us want this to end in a massacre.” Quite a few of his men appear to disagree with that, something he doesn’t notice as his gaze slides to me. “Get him to turn over my money, and we’ll be gone. No retribution.”
Once again, Jim’s men look like they would very much like to disagree but Dolly beats them to it, simply saying, “No.”
“No?” Jim questions.
“No.”
“You’re really going to—”
“No,youare really going to gather up your band of morons and leave. Now. Unless you want to make an enemy of me.” Dolly fixes each of the men on horseback with a glare as they sneer back. “That clear?”
“This is not a discussion,” Jim replies, raising his voice rather than getting the hint. “Youwillturn him over.”
This time, Dolly doesn’t reply. She simply raises a hand, and on cue, every window on the first and second floor of her building opens to reveal the long barrel of a rifle in each, all aimed and ready.
In response, Jim’s face pales, he and his men finally taking a wise step back.
“You come for him…” Dolly says, coldly. “You so much as harm a hair on his head, and I will make sure that every single oneof you dies a very slow and very painful death. Whatever death your man received last night will look like a mercy. Clear enough now?”
Without hesitation this time, Jim nods. The rest of them do, too.
“Enjoy the rest of your evening, boys,” Dolly tells them, all smiles again. “And get the hell off my property.”
However lively the atmosphere had been in Dolly’s place before, it’s far more now. Far past celebratory after a standoff was successfully diverted.
It’s hard not to be taken in by it. Or by Cypress, who like me was relieved enough to actually indulge in a couple of shots of whiskey from Sammy. But who, unlike me, is not able to hold his liquor.