Free Six Guns: Volume Two by Sara V. Zook

fears are no longer there, I assure you.”
    Thank fuck. I felt like I’d been holding my breath this entire time and wanted nothing more than to exhale and then lap up the air I’d been neglecting myself from during this meeting.
    We walked back to our original spots. Remmy and Seton were still there, their faces stoic but their eyes revealing their own concerns about what we’d spoken about.
    “Same time, same place?” Bello asked.
    I nodded. “Of course. We’ll be here.”
    A huge grin spread out over Bello’s face again. “As will I. As will I.” He turned toward Seton and Remmy. “Gentleman.”
    They nodded toward him as he turned around and headed back in the direction of his helicopter.
    “He seemed…happy,” Seton stated gruffly as we made our own way back to our vehicles.
    “He’s one big happy bastard,” I commented.
    Remmy’s eyebrows rose. “So it went well then?”
    “Why wouldn’t it have?” I asked them nonchalantly as if I hadn’t almost just shit my pants back there. I opened up the car door and got inside. Seton and Remmy exchanged glances before climbing inside the car, too.
    ~~~
    I saw Stan’s rickety old piece of shit car outside my driveway as I pulled in. There was no way I could hide the smile from my face knowing I had family inside my house. My mother had died. So had the father I didn’t even know I had. All I had left was Stan.
    “Holy shit! Look at you!” Stan bellowed out as we rushed to one another for a brotherly embrace. “Nice clothes, man.” Stan looked up at the ceiling and around the house. “Nice pad. How the hell did you manage all this? I had no idea you were living the high life in Haven.”
    Lilah stood behind Stan. She raised her eyebrows and gave me a small smirk.
    “I guess you’ve been acquainted with Lilah,” I stated, patting my cousin on the back another time.
    He turned toward her and grinned. “I told her she was too good for you.”
    “She is,” I stated, licking my lips deliberately as I knew she was watching. Lilah chuckled as she crossed her arms in front of her. I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for being here when he got here.”
    “Uh-huh,” she mumbled as we all entered the living room.
    “Seriously, bro, what kind of job do you got? I need in on a piece of all this,” Stan stated as he tested out the comfort of my couch.
    “Funny you should say that.” I sat down across from him in an off-white leather chair. “I have some things I want to discuss with you.”
    Stan kicked up his feet and placed his hands behind his head. He laughed. “What? Are you some kind of high profile drug dealer out here or something?”
    I raised my eyebrows as Lilah’s stare crashed into mine. This was a defining moment. Should I ask Lilah to go fetch us some drinks so she’d leave, or let her stay? I ran my fingers through my hair. If she wanted to know the real me, what kind of stuff was going down, I’d let her sit here and listen. She was a big girl. She could make her own decisions. If she wanted to leave me, she was free to go. It would be better if it was all out in the open. That way I had a clear conscience when it came to her. Then again, should I let her know my business? She wasn’t my wife or anything.
    Fuck it.
    I made a decision.
    “My father was the head of a mob group here in Haven. He was a very powerful man. He’s dead now and has left an empire to me,” I said, sitting back and awaiting Stan’s reaction.
    He didn’t say anything for a moment as if assessing if I was joking or not. His eyes shifted from Lilah to me. “What?” He sat forward on the couch, his hands going between his knees as he studied me. “You serious? I thought your father was some loser your mom dated a long time ago.”
    “So did I. She hid the truth from me to protect me,” I explained.
    Lilah shifted in her position on the couch near Stan. She then stood and smoothed out her skirt with her hands. “Maybe I should…”
    “Stay,” I