Cannon cocked a brow. “How exactly did that conversation come up?”
“Because asshole here—” he pointed the cupcake at Armie to make sure they all understood who he meant “—discussed the size of my junk with all and sundry, apparently.”
Armie grinned. “Nah, dude, just the ladies.”
Cannon choked on a laugh.
“I was giving you a boost,” Armie claimed. “I figured once Cherry knew what you’re packing, she’d come after you, sort of force the issue since you won’t tell her how you feel.”
“I told her.”
“Yeah, right.” Armie settled comfortably in the seat, tilting the chair on its back legs. “Told her you were going ape-shit lusting after her and that you wanted to bang her senseless?”
“Pretty much.”
The chair dropped forward again. “Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
Cannon shook his head with sympathy. “And then she got sick?”
“Luckily,” Denver said as he peeled the paper off his cupcake, “that happened after.”
“After you two hooked up?”
Denver glanced across the table at Armie. “You didn’t tell him?”
“Do I look like a gossipy old lady?”
Grinning, Cannon pointed out the irony of his objections. “Man, you talked about his dick with the ladies.”
“Okay, yeah. That. But no, I didn’t say anything about your personal business.”
“My dick isn’t personal?”
Grinning, Armie said, “Not anymore.”
Getting even for that crack, Denver took a big bite of the cupcake and groaned in bliss. He looked at Armie and said, “Man, Merissa is such a good cook, and supercute to boot, it’s a wonder guys aren’t lined up begging to marry her.”
Shoulders bunching up and neck going red, Armie flattened his mouth and kept quiet.
“Got her own house,” Denver added, just to goad him, “a great job, a famous brother...”
“Don’t even go there.” Cannon gave a mock shudder. “I’m not ready for that yet.”
“She’s what? Twenty-two?”
“Damn near a kid,” Cannon said. “If she ever gets serious about anyone, then I’ll deal with it.” He crossed his arms on the table. “So what’s the problem?”
Again Denver glanced at Armie. “Cherry’s supposed brothers? They’re from a foster family. Given her reaction when I brought them up, they’re guys she’d really like to avoid.”
To catch Cannon up to speed, Denver shared what had happened at the hotel first, then told them both more about Cherry’s background.
“Jesus,” Cannon said. “I had no idea.”
“She’s never even hinted,” Armie agreed. “Hell of a background, poor kid.”
She wasn’t a kid, far from it, but Denver let that go. “I doubt she’d like it shared, so—”
“Not a word,” Cannon agreed.
“Except for the guys,” Armie added. “I’m heading to the rec center next, but figured you might want a ride.”
“I do, thanks. And yeah, the guys need to know.”
“Gage and Miles are there now,” Armie told him. “We can clue them in tonight.”
“Stack will be in tomorrow morning,” Cannon said. “I’ll let him know then.”
So they were all getting together tonight, minus Stack. No surprise there, since it happened often enough. Camaraderie wasn’t always the only incentive for hanging out.
Long ago after his dad died, Cannon had taken to prowling the neighborhood, keeping watch over those who couldn’t protect themselves—the elderly shop owners and retirees, the school kids, the single moms. In many ways, Warfield was much better than it used to be, no longer threatened by extortion or gangs.
In other ways, especially when it came to drug dealers, it was worse. The bastards skulked about, hiding in the shadows, drawing in the kids who didn’t have much else to look forward to.
The rec center helped a lot, gave at-risk kids an opportunity to focus in a different direction. Far as Denver knew, none of the guys resented the extra time they put in there. Together, they kept their own small part of the neighborhood friendly for all.
Discontent chewed on Denver’s peace of mind. “I know everyone has some loony relative they don’t want to see, and there’s a black sheep in every family.”
Armie raised his hand.
Ignoring him, especially since Armie was one of the most honorable guys he knew, Denver said, “I don’t mean to make a big deal out of nothing, but I have a bad feeling about this.”