29. Hawk
HAWK
We picked Cassie up after work to take her out to dinner.
Reva was in the house cleaning and “food prepping” for us, if that was what you wanted to call the horrific assortment of food products she was combining to make a week’s worth of meals we’d have to throw out (we’d tried donating her food to a local soup kitchen once and they’d asked us nicely not to do so again).
It was safer — for all of us — to steer clear so we’d told her we had plans to take Cassie for a romantic dinner.
And okay, Screamin’ Syd’s wasn’t romantic by traditional standards, but I felt fucking romantic every time I looked at her so there was that.
Plus, Syd’s had the best burgers and onion rings in town and Cassie loved a good onion ring (battered not breaded because everyone knew that breaded onion rings scraped your mouth raw).
“I’ve never been here,” she said as we passed the bikes lined up outside.
I lifted a hand in greeting to some of the leather-clad biker dudes outside and was glad Cassie had convinced Vigo to leave his bat in the car. That was the kind of trouble I didn’t want to start with Cassie in the mix, although it might have been fun some other time.
Jagger stopped to shake Mac’s hand. Mac was president of the Blackwell Barbarians, and our paths had crossed more than once in the course of business.
He seemed surprised to see us with Cassie, but he wasn’t nearly as surprised as I was when I realized Cassie already knew him.
Bram had worked overtime to shelter Cassie from the darker side of Blackwell Falls, but it turned out Cassie had already met Mac through Daisy because Mac was Jace’s foster dad.
Small town. Small world.
We continued into the large main room at Syd’s and I squinted as my eyes got used to the dim light, which was almost no light at all thanks to the bar’s one and only window.
The TVs around the room displayed an interesting array of entertainment (NASCAR, an old sitcom, cable news, and a live feed from the stock exchange), their light reflecting on the paneled walls.
Four pool tables were arranged on one side of the room.
A handful of bearded guys in leather jackets and cuts milled around them with beers in their hands, chatting it up and laughing while Honey, one of the regular waitresses, dipped in and out, picking up empties and replacing them with new bottles.
Smart and good for business to keep them coming.
A bar stretched along one side of the room, the mirror behind it reflecting the pool tables and a handful of dining tables, all but three of them occupied. Christmas lights hung over the mirror even though it was only October, and I tried to remember if I’d ever seen the place without them.
“This way,” I led Cassie to one of the empty tables and caught her reflection in the mirror behind the bar, felt that familiar swell of ownership I was beginning to get used to.
That feeling that she was mine, that somehow I’d fooled the universe into believing I — we — deserved her.
“My god, it smells amazing in here,” she said, taking a seat.
“I’m starving,” Vigo said.
“Same.” The smell of burgers on the grill and onion rings in the deep fryer was enough to make my stomach grumble.
Honey sashayed over, her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. “Hey, there. Long time no see.”
“Hey Honey,” Jagger said. “How’s it hanging?”
“About as good as can be expected,” she said. “How about you?”
“Same.” Jagger turned to Cassie. “This is Cassie.”
Honey’s eyes widened in surprise. “No offense, sugar, but does Bram know you’re here?”
Cassie sighed. “No, and he doesn’t need to know.”
“If you say so, darlin’.” Honey looked skeptical, but since she couldn’t ask Cassie to leave she turned her attention to more practical matters. “What can I get you?”
I looked at Cassie. “One cheeseburger or two?”
“One.”
I looked at Honey. “We’ll take seven bacon cheeseburgers, four onion rings, three beers, and a Coke.”
Cassie didn’t really like beer.
“You got it.”
Cassie didn’t question our order. She’d been around long enough to know that we ate the way we fucked, the way we did everything: in excess, balls to the wall, no holds barred.
“This was a good idea,” Cassie said, looking around the room. “I always feel so bad when Reva’s at the house cooking.”
“Not as bad as you’d feel after she was at the house if you ate her cooking,” Vigo said.
Cassie laughed. “Fair.”
“What did you want to tell us about Daisy and Sarai?” Jagger asked.
Cassie had been excited when we’d shown up at the coffee shop, and not because we were taking her to Syd’s but because Daisy and Sarai had given Cassie a fresh angle on the phone.
“So… I showed them the phone — and don’t worry, I told them not to tell anyone — and— ” She froze, her eyes on the door. “Oh god…”
I followed her gaze and saw Bram and Poe stepping into the room.
Bram’s jaw tightened when he saw us, and he hesitated before coming toward our table.
Cassie said he’d been working his own angles on Dimitri Kaprolov, but we hadn’t seen him since the moment at the hospital when he’d thanked us for saving Cassie.
“Hey,” Cassie said.
“What are you doing here?” Bram demanded.
Poe gave us a neutral nod, clearly not eager to wade into… whatever this was going to be.
“Having dinner,” Cassie said. “What are you doing here?”
I was proud of her. She didn’t sound even a little bit intimidated.
Sometime in the past four months — between her accident on the mountain and her blindness and our trip to see Anna and the explosion at the paper mill — Cassie had stopped being Bram’s little sister and started being Cassie Montgomery.
“Having dinner,” Bram said.
“Cool,” Cassie said. “I guess we’re both just having dinner.”
Bram scowled. “Fine.”
“Fine,” Cassie said.
Bram tipped his head at us. “Enjoy your food.”
“You too,” Vigo said. “Get the bacon burger. And the onion rings. They’re battered not breaded.”
“I know.” Bram’s voice was wound tight as a clock.
He and Poe took the table farthest from us and Cassie exhaled her relief.
“We should invite them to sit with us,” Jagger said. “We’re talking about the phone. Maybe he has something new too.”
Cassie closed her eyes like she wanted to pretend he hadn’t said it, like she wished she could close her ears instead.
She sighed. “Fine. I’ll ask.”
“No.” I stood. “I’ll do it.”
“But— ”
“I’ve got it, Cass.”
She nodded, but she looked more than a little worried as I walked over to Bram’s table.
He looked up in guarded surprise when he saw me approach.
“Problem?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Cassie might have something new on the phone. Thought you might want in on it.”
“Is this what it looks like to let my little sister be a grown up?” Bram asked
“He’s not asking for a friend,” Poe said.
“This is what it looks like,” I said. “Your choice.”
He hesitated, then got to his feet. “Don’t make me regret this.”