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“Dante Carrillo,” Blaine said, rolling his eyes before he took Sel into a much gentler hug. “Your uncle is an asshole.”
“It’s okay, Uncle Blaine.”
“Well, he does!”
Sel smiled at Dante before telling him, “Maybe I look that way, because I am a grownup?”
“No. You were just seven last year.”
Giving up, he turned to the other men getting out of the two SUVs. “Dante, you remember some of these men?”
“Lonnie, Travis, how are you both?”
Dante took to shaking hands with everyone, then he escorted them all to the plastic lawn chairs in front of the little trailer. “Excuse the seating, the construction noise, and, well, all this mess. I’m hoping to have it finished soon, if my darling husband can decide on the interior.”
“You just started this in the fall?” Travis Walton, Lonnie’s husband, asked.
“I’m sure you know that when you have the money, things move a lot faster,” Dante told him.
Sel asked Binx, “What does he mean?”
“Travis is a millionaire. He ran a club too, but in the city. No, strike that. Two clubs.”
They were dressed rather casually to be rich, Travis and Lonnie. “Wow. Okay.”
Dante had everyone take a seat while Bruno and Blaine asked what everyone would like to drink. Dante pulled Sel aside, like Sel knew he would. “Sel, come over here a second.”
It wasn’t like he could refuse. Dante’s arm was slung around his shoulders.
“What’s up, Uncle? Is this the lecture?”
“One of many, I’m sure, but I just wanted to ask first how the trip was. Do the doctor, preacher, and that purple haired man sound like they’re interested?”
Sel wanted to jump up and down while screaming hurrah. He was being asked his opinion. That meant a lot to him. “I think so, Uncle Dante. Binx, he’s…eager to have an adventure.”
“Well, that’s great. Three for one, there, quite the get. And the bikers, were they good? Keeping an eye on everyone?”
“Yeah,” he said, unwilling to tell Dante about the rudeness of the one in their SUV. He knew from his raising, only snitch if there’s no other choice, and make sure there’s always another choice.
“Good, good. Sel, as much as you think I still see you as a kid, you’re right. I’ve known you since you were two days old. I’ve loved you since I knew you were on the way.” Dante moved around to face him. “If anyone were to ever hurt you, I would use all my money and all my connections to make them suffer for the rest of their pathetic lives.”
Even as Dante said it, Sel had already known that. It wasn’t hyperbole for Sel’s family. Even his beautiful mother would cut the balls off anyone that hurt her family. “I know, Uncle.”
“Good. Then you know that if you put yourself in harm’s way, ditching that stupid fucking bodyguard or whatever you were likely planning to get here before we relented, you will get someone hurt. You will get someone killed. Do you get that?”
Suddenly, he felt terrible. “Dante, if I ditch someone, it should be my own ass.”
“Well, it’s not. That’s not how it works with us, Selestino. So, when I have you with someone for your fucking protection, you had better believe you’re also protecting them by keeping safe.”
Letting his head fall forward, Sel closed his eyes. “I’m really sorry, Uncle Dante.”
Dante pulled out a lanyard from his pocket and hung it around Sel’s neck. “Order number two. You will always wear this. And don’t bitch, everyone on the ranch is required to always wear one. It’s a GPS tracker.”
“Everyone is?”
Dante pulled his from under his shirt. “Everyone, asshole.”
“Okay, okay, Uncle. I’ll always wear it.”
