Page 94 of The Price of Love

Sitting with the bar between us, I feel more in control of myself, so I meet her gaze.

“Now what can I serve you?” A twinkle flashes in her eyes. “How about a Bloody Mary—extra hot sauce?”

I laugh, thankful for her kindness.

When I arrive at Storm’s office, Halo is already there. They’re chatting about bikes, and their mood seems relaxed.

Good.

“Hey, Dimples.” Storm waves me in. When she glances at me, she says, “Jesus, are you going clubbing later?”

I scrunch up my face. “No, I just thought I’d look presentable for a change.”

I sit on the chair next to Halo.

Halo puts her hand on my arm. “Ignore her. She just likes busting your chops. You look great.”

“Thanks,” I mutter and look at my hands.

“Dude,” Storm says. “Sorry, I was just giving you shit.”

When I glance up at her, she’s giving me a huge smile, which makes it impossible for me not to return it.

I flick the back of my hand at her. “Let’s get on with this meeting.” I circle my hands in front of me and sway from side to side. “I’ve got some dancin’ to do.”

Halo laughs. “All right then.” She pulls a folder out of her bag and shuffles through the papers in it. “Where would you like to start? Black Briar? Casino Night? Moonlight Races?”

Storm sits back in her chair and brings her hands together. “I wanna talk big picture. We’ve got decisions to make.”

Halo nods. “What is it you want to know?”

“Way I see it, with everything going on, we’re stretching our resources pretty thin.”

Is Storm trying to hold her cards close to her vest by not mentioning Frost, or does she assume it’s a given?

“Resources were stretched too far before now,” Halo says. “The last couple of years, we expanded fast.”

I sense something unspoken in Halo’s words, and since Storm invited me, then I guess she wants me to speak up. “Do you think it was too fast?”

Halo turns her head and meets my gaze. “Astute. Nobody’s asked me that before.” She looks at Storm. “Do you want me to answer?”

“Of course.”

“Then yes, we expanded too fast. Our human resources were already taxed, and now…” She takes a deep breath. “And now, we’re at a breaking point. Tons of money but not enough help. If we bring in more or hire it, that’s another layer of problems.”

“Why do you think Aces did it?” I ask.

Halo bites her lower lip. “I’ve considered that a million times, but I can’t be certain.”

“Give me your best bet,” Storm says.

“You were here.” Halo pauses and looks between us. “There was that stretch shortly before she got sick that Aces was hell-bent on expanding. It was almost an obsession. It’s almost like she knew, at least on a subconscious level, that she was sick. Maybe she was trying to cement her legacy. Build up the club so she could leave it.”

My heart goes out to Storm when I see the pain on her face. She might not like me saying this because she bristles whenever anyone says anything negative about Aces, but I have to say it. “So inadvertently, she left us—Storm—in a tough position.”

“Yes,” Halo says.

“When we had fewer sisters and a smaller operation, the group was tighter. No cracks in the loyalty. Storm’s dealing with things Aces never had to,” I say.