Ten #2
I glance to Circus again, at the way he leans down to sniff Kathy’s hair.
The guy has particular kinks, and I know better than to ask about them.
Find it curious he took it upon himself to keep her company when he’s notoriously a loner.
Perhaps he finds something familiar in her reluctance to be a part of the group, something he can relate to.
“You know what pisses me off about this whole deal?” our Tail Gunner, Highway, asks as he shifts to stand beside me.
I continue to watch Jenna fidget with her nails. “I’m sure you’re gonna tell me.”
“That after all the bullshit those assholes did to these women, the fuckers still messed with their heads enough that half of them blame themselves for getting into the situation.”
“It’s just the rational mind trying to make sense of an irrational situation.”
His intrigued stare burns in my periphery. “Since when did you become all philosophical?”
I glance at him, cataloging his distinctive features quick enough to formulate a witty retort before he takes this any deeper. “Since when did you start getting highlights in your hair?”
He gives a bored smile. “It’s called the sun. You know? The big, bright thing in the sky? Does weird things like lighten your hair when you’re out in it enough.”
I smirk in response to his dry sarcasm. Situation avoided. “Well, at least your hair will look amazing when your head’s spread across the tarmac, right?”
“You fuckers that ride with a helmet are all the same,” he gripes. “Holier than thou.”
“Nah, buddy,” I sass. “Just smarter.”
“Anyway,” he grumbles.
“Anyway.”
“Pres wants a sit-down after Marty leaves. We need to figure out the logistics of this shit going forward.”
“So, it’s decided?” I ask, lifting my eyebrows. “We’re making ourselves a part of this?”
“They made us a part of it when they brought their bullshit into our backyard,” Highway says. “What kind of assholes would we be if we just swept it past the fence-line and pretended it didn’t exist anymore?”
“Same kind as our fathers,” I point out.
He huffs a short laugh. “Last I understood, you’ve got about as much desire to end up like your old man as I do mine.”
“No change there, brother.” I learned a lot from Viper, but my gratitude for him sharing the skills I need to survive this life doesn’t give my father license to shit on every choice I’ve made since.
I narrow my eyes when Freckles rises from the footstool and crosses the room to Loki.
His gaze lifts to briefly find mine when she begins to speak, soon shifting back to the woman wringing her hands before him.
His brow dives a little, a few words passing his lips before she’s back seemingly over-explaining herself. Curious.
The Peace Officer rises to her feet after she finishes up with the group of women, giving them a warm smile before Keller escorts her from the room. Our VP, Jinx, is hot on their tail.
It’s just the ex-captives, Loki, Highway, myself, and Darko left lurking in the corner.
Circus and the redhead have disappeared. Should I be concerned? If I were one of the women huddled in the middle of the room, maybe. But I know the guy, and he’s never given me a reason yet to doubt his intentions.
Which reminds me. “Any news on when Crow’s lawyer is due back?”
Highway shrugs. “Jinx said something about her returning once he’s transferred to the prison. They moved him yesterday, so any day now I s’pose.”
Our treasurer displayed the ultimate show of loyalty to the club, and our president, when he took the fall for the Devil’s Breed member Chaos killed.
Rumor has it he might get away with a light sentence, but there’s no doubt the six-foot-five terror will spend a few Christmases on the wrong side of the bars.
It feels weird going through all this without him.
“We should put it to a vote who’ll stand in for him,” I muse, sighing out my nose when Loki sets his hand on Jenna’s shoulder.
“Chaos has it on the agenda.” Highway stays quiet a while, head turning back and forth while he pieces it all together. “Heard she sacked you pretty good when you let them out.”
“Caught me off guard, is all.”
He observes my reaction to Jenna’s smile—aimed at Loki, of course—and then lifts an eyebrow. “You almost look as though you’ve got a grudge going on there, brother.”
“You could call it that.”
Everyone deals with hardship in their life differently, but there’s something about her that rubs me the wrong way. It took a restless night of fuck all sleep to figure it out.
She hasn’t said thank you. Hasn’t shown gratitude for being pulled from that hellhole like her sisterhood. Nope. Nothing. And it’s not as though I expected her to kneel, hands in prayer position, while she declared her undying duty to repay us. I’m not that fucking narcissistic.
It’d just be nice if she showed some thanks. Some acknowledgment of what we risked—still risk—by bringing them back here.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket, and I tear it out to see Reno’s name on the screen. “Seriously?”
Highway glances at the device and then grimaces. “Leave you to it, brother.”
I slide to answer the call as I part ways with him, catching sight of Jenna settling on the floor beside Mila. “Twice in as many days, baby,” I taunt. “Miss me that much?”