Chapter 68
Dante
Dante: Where are you?
Rachel: Are you just going to track me if I don’t tell you?
Dante: I’m contractually not allowed, remember?
Rachel: Oh, bless your heart. There’s a lot we’re contractually not allowed to do, but it hasn’t stopped us. But it’s probably for the best that we don’t open that can of worms.
I frowned at my phone, paying no attention to the conversation that was going off around me.
For a second, I thought Rachel was talking about the shit we got up to at night. But her “can of worms” statement had me second guessing myself.
I knew I had been a bit lax when it came to following the contract, but I thought she hadn’t minded.
Especially as she wasn’t following it to the letter either.
I had kind of hoped that we would break enough rules that we would both sort of forget the contract existed, and would continue pretty much as we always had.
And now I doubted my judgement.
But Rachel was the master at that. She had this unique ability to make me doubt everything about myself and overthink myself into an early fucking grave.
“Dante?” Ant cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to the room. I silenced my phone and put it face down on the table.
“Sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was just going over the plans for Shark and Vienna’s coming home party. Do we have a date yet?” Riley asked.
“Not yet.”
“Imogen wants to start making shit. Balloons or some crap like that.”
“Vienna isn’t breathing great, and Shark still looks like a murder victim.
I’d be damned if I knew when they were coming home, but it doesn’t look like it will be soon.
Those nurses tell me fuck all,” I shrugged.
“Tell the ladies to make their shit. It’ll have to be stored until they’re ready to come home. Other than that, I got nothing.”
“Did Vienna fight the infection?” Pivot asked.
“I think so. Hacksaw, you were there yesterday. How was Vienna doing?”
Hacksaw simply shrugged. “Didn’t ask him.”
“Well, that was short and to the point,” I frowned. What the fuck was happening with my club lately? The last Church meeting, Vienna had been sullen and withdrawn, and now Hacksaw was taking over the role. They were worse than kids sometimes.
“He’s been like this for days now,” Chris muttered, sparking a cigarette and offering the packet to the table. I took one, shielding the cancer stick as I lit it and then took a heavy draw.
It might kill me, but not before this fucking club did.
“How’s Bambi doing?” Monster asked. “Has he settled in?”
“Don’t you even speak to me,” I snapped at him.
“Me?” He asked, grabbing his chest with both hands. “What did I do?”
“Not you. Snow White. Did you know she had printed off tiny little club patches?”
“No.”
“Did you know she had stuck said patches to a bunch of plastic pigs and set up a scene of the clubhouse?”
“Also no,” he said, squirming in his seat.
“Some people recreate the scene of baby Jesus in the manger. But no, not your old lady. She’s made it her personal goal to piss me off. Look at this shit,” I snapped, pulling out my phone and showing them the picture.
“Hey, I think that’s me!” Doc grinned, pointing at the pig holding a medical bag.
“That’s me right there!” Ant said proudly, zooming in on the pig at the mini pool table.
“Oi, oi!” I snatched my phone back. “You’re not supposed to be impressed!”
“It is pretty creative. We should put that behind the bar.”
“Where?” I asked, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “It’s already filled with the other fucking animals she’s super glued down! The woman is a menace!”
My phone rang at that moment, and once I saw it was Vienna, I answered and put him on speaker.
“Brothers,” he boomed. “I know you’ve missed me. Pivot, I bet you’ve not been able to so much as jerk your dick you’ve missed me that much.”
“I, err… I don’t think of you when I jerk my dick,” he muttered, his eyes scanning the room nervously.
“Excuse me?” Vienna said, sounding affronted. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with me? I’d make a fine lover. I’m very gentle.”
“Leave him alone, Ven,” I laughed. He ignored me, of course. Instead of leaving the poor prospect alone, Vienna started making kissing noises through the phone.
“Monster there?” Vienna asked when he was finally finished.
“Oh, for fuck's sake. What now? What has she done?” Monster snapped.
“Gee, mate. I dunno. How about sending me five hundred of those plastic fucking animals inside a ‘get well soon’ balloon? The thing almost crushed me. She knows I’ve only got one good lung, right?”
“She really wants those birds,” Monster muttered, shrinking down in his seat.
“Well, what’s that got to do with me? Dante said no! I was in support of the stupid bird! I distinctly remember making clucking noises!”
“That was to me,” Chicken interrupted. “You spammed my voice mail at three in the morning with different impressions of chickens.”
“Well, there were bird noises, weren’t there? See, I’m the innocent victim in all of this.”
“Well…” Monster said, sucking the breath in between his teeth.
“You are not taking her side right now! Tell me, Monster. I need to hear the words. Tell me I’m the innocent victim.”
“Fuck me, you’re a needy little cunt,” I muttered, rolling my eyes even though he couldn’t see me.
“And you did tell Steph you had Dante wrapped around your little finger and that he takes orders from you,” Monster laughed.
“What?!” I barked.
“Yeah… This is awkward,” Vienna said. “Look, the doctors here, I’ve gotta go. Speak to you all soon. See you in your dreams, Pivot.”
He hung up the phone, and Monster cringed even further into his seat.
“Fucking Snow White,” I snapped, lighting another cigarette. “Fine. Tell her she wins. She can have two birds. Two, Monster, and I fucking mean it.”
“So Vienna does call the shots around here,” Hacksaw muttered bitterly.
“What was that?”
“It just seems to me that Vienna gets away with a lot more shit than the rest of us.”
“Are you keeping fucking tabs or something? What exactly does he get away with?”
“Forget it,” he snapped, waving me away.
“If you’ve got something to say, brother, say it. Because yes, Vienna may be a fucking pillock. He may be annoying, and irritating, but I think we can all say he gets shit done. When he was the peacemaker, he did his job to fucking perfection, and he’s never let me down as vice yet.”
“Yeah, Vienna is so fucking perfect.”
“I don’t know what the fuck went on between the two of you, but you need to get that shit sorted, and quickly.”
“Maybe you should ask him yourself.”
“Are we on the fucking playground? In case it’s escaped your notice, he’s not fucking here and you are. Speak up, or shut the fuck up. It’s as simple as that.”
He glared at me whilst I raised my eyebrows, waiting for him to say something. He turned away and my phone pinged with another text.
Rachel: They won’t let me shoot.
Dante: Who won’t? What are you shooting?
Dante: In fact, scrap that. Why are you shooting, and where are you?
I frowned at her message, not having a fucking clue what she was talking about.
Rachel: The shooting range. They said I needed to be a member. I said okay, sign me up. When they realised who I was, they wouldn’t let me in. They’re acting like I’m training to become a hit man to try and take you out or something.
Dante: They mentioned me specifically?
Rachel: They didn’t need to. They keep saying they’re not pissing off the Devil’s.
Dante: What do you want to shoot for?
Rachel: Does it matter? Will you just come here and sign me in, please?
Dante: Aw, Rachel. Are you asking for my help?
Rachel. No. Read between the lines. If you don’t come here and sign me in, I’m stealing one of the guns and shooting you in the dick. The choice is yours.
Dante: Damn. It’s always about the dick with you. You didn’t want to start with the kneecaps, no?
She sent me a picture of a gun in response, with a bunch of eggplant emojis over the top of it.
Dante: Message received loud and clear. Send me your location. I’ll be there soon.
“Well, gentlemen, I assume we’re done here?
Give the girls the go ahead to do whatever the fuck they want with the decorations.
Sunshine, Tools, you’re on hospital duty today.
Do not take alcohol and weed. We’re on our last fucking warning.
Pivot, you do the bricks, and everyone else, you know what your jobs are.
Oh, and Hacksaw? Maybe you can man the fuck up and actually tell me what’s going on the next time I see you? Meeting adjourned.”