She looked at Marcus. “What’s this about?” Marcus leaned back in his chair. “Her father owes me fifteen large. Poker.”

Some of the tension eased out of Daisy and she glanced at me again.

“You close with your Daddy, Sugar?” she asked.

As it seemed some of the attitude had seeped out of the room, I dug deep and found my voice. “He left us when I was fourteen but he comes back every once in awhile.

Some people wouldn’t cal that close but… he’s my Dad.” Daisy nodded as if she understood perfectly.

She turned back to Marcus. “Tel me again why Jet’s here?”

“Her Dad’s a hard man to find.”

The attitude came back.

“You see what she’s wearin’?” Daisy asked.

Marcus sighed, “I see it.”

“No one f**ks with a Smithie’s girl. Not even you.

Comprende?” Then she turned to me, “I worked at Smithie’s. I danced a pole. Marcus met me there so it’s kinda our special place. How is Smithie? I haven’t been back in ages.”

Her tone had gone from seriously pissed off to sweet girl-talk in a flash.

I tried to keep up.

“I drive him kind of nuts,” I told her, taking advantage of what I hoped would be a turn of luck for me.

She laughed, it sounded like pretty, tinkling bel s.

“Everyone drives Smithie nuts,” she replied, her voice nostalgic.

“He says I’m a pain in his ass,” I carried on.

“I used to be a pain in his ass, then I married Marcus.

Now, as you can see, I’m a pain in his ass.” She smiled at me, huge and dazzling, her teeth were so white, they could light up the dark.

I felt it safe to smile back at her. Anyway, she was kind of funny and seemed sweet when she wasn’t being scary.

“If you girls are finished reminiscing, maybe I can ask Jet a few more questions?” Marcus butted in.

Marcus was saved the edge of Daisy’s tongue when a knock came at the door and Louie stuck his head in.

“Nightingale’s here.”

Thank you, God.

I did a mental sigh of relief.

Marcus closed his eyes in frustration.

Daisy clapped her hands.

“Lee’s here! I haven’t seen him in ages.” The door opened al the way and Lee walked in.

His eyes hit me in a way that told me he was surveying both my physical and mental well -being. He seemed okay with what he saw which assured me I did not look nearly as freaked out as I real y was. Then he looked at Daisy.

“Daisy,” he said.

“Lee, Sugar Bunch, lookin’ good, as usual.” She winked at him.

His lips twitched.

“Let me guess,” Marcus said to Lee, “this one has your protection too. What? Are you building a harem?” Lee shook his head.

“I’m running this errand for Eddie.”

Marcus, who seemed to have accepted his fate, went scary tense again. I had the feeling he didn’t like Eddie.

“What’s it got to do with Chavez?” he asked Lee.

“Jet,” Lee said, and he wasn’t talking to me, he was talking to Marcus, my name was the answer to Marcus’s question.

“Shit,” Marcus said and looked at me like I was now a pain in his ass. His eyes swung back to Lee. “You tel Chavez I want my fifteen grand.”

“Take it up with McAlister. And some advice, Marcus, keep Jet out of it. It took a lot to talk Eddie from comin’ here himself with a couple of uniforms. You don’t want that kind of trouble.”

“I got trouble with you over this?” Marcus asked and the tenseness was stil there.

“Keep Vince under control and your focus on McAlister. If he makes good, keep him away from your tables. You do that, you have no trouble with me,” Lee answered.

I looked at Daisy. Daisy was watching this like a hawk.

She caught me looking at her and she came forward and hooked her arm through mine. “I’l walk you to the door, Sugar,” she said and propel ed me out of the room.

“I’m sorry you got woken up in the middle of the night,” I said to her as we walked from the big room down the hal .

She waved her hand. “Happens al the time.” Um… eek!

Then she went on, “You must’ve just come off shift and, no doubt, dead on your feet.”

I nodded.

She stopped at the front door and her face got serious.

“No harm wil come to you, I’l see to that. But your Dad better get his shit together. I’m not sayin’ this to scare you, Sugar, I’m tel in’ you like it is. Comprende?” I nodded again.

“Maybe I’l pop by Smithie’s some time,” she said in another quick change of mood.

“I’m working tomorrow night.”

Now, why did I tel her that? I didn’t want to become friends with Scary Marcus’s wife. Did I?

“Sounds good to me,” Daisy replied and her eyes slid sideways as Lee joined us.

“Don’t be a stranger.” she cal ed after us when we left and I didn’t know if she meant Lee or me.

Lee put me in his silver Crossfire and I buckled up. After he got in, I turned to him. “They knocked Tex out just outside my building,” I told him.

“Stun gun. He came to and cal ed me. He’s fine.” I nodded and began a delayed reaction shiver as Lee turned onto University Boulevard.

“You okay?” he asked.

I shook my head and then, realizing that he couldn’t see me because he was driving, I said, “No.”

“Did Vince…?” Lee started.

I interrupted, “No, they just dropped Tex, grabbed me, put me in a car and took me to Marcus. I didn’t fight or anything.”

I didn’t know if that was the right thing to do or not until Lee murmured, “Smart.”

Lee pul ed up to my building. The El Camino was stil there as was Eddie’s red truck, with Eddie leaned up against it, arms and ankles crossed. The casual posture belied the look I caught on his face when the lights of Lee’s Crossfire hit him.

Tex was standing beside him.

Lee stopped a few yards away from Eddie’s truck and he turned to me as I unbuckled my seatbelt, stopping me from getting out with a hand on my arm.

“It’s unlikely that Marcus wil do anything to you. It isn’t his style. He stays focused, doesn’t like mess and his problem isn’t with you. If you have to have criminals, then you want the kind like Marcus. He took you so it’d get back to your Dad and if your Dad thought you were in the line of fire, it would smoke him out.”