Chapter 30
MERRICK
Marietta sleeps like the dead. I hold on to her for an hour or so, but she doesn’t stir once.
I listen to the sounds of the clubhouse, making sure nothing is going down, that Lucifer’s Kin isn’t raiding or retaliating.
But there is only random conversation passing by in the hall, the scuffle of chairs in the meeting room, and an occasional laugh.
I slide away from her carefully and cover her with the blanket. The metal trash can has a plastic bag in it, so I drop the condom into it. It’s streaked lightly with red, but nothing too bad.
I dress quietly and kill the overhead light, shaking my head that Marietta can sleep like that with all the noise and brightness. It might be a long two weeks for me. I sleep like I’m about to be under attack because, for close to a decade in the Army, I was.
It isn’t lost on me that I’ve traded one war for another with the Wild Hair as I ease the door open and step into the hall. I entered both of them of my own free will. This one, keeping the Kin and their meth labs out of our territory, seems like a worthy one.
I look both ways, trying to decide where to go. I hear Iron Jack talking to the left, so I head for the meeting room.
The table is only partially full. Iron Jack sits with Chain, Low Joe, Two-Shit, and Too Fast Freddy. I head for my chair in the corner, but Iron Jack waves me over. “You can sit here tonight. You earned it after the raid.”
“I saw those women you hauled out,” Chain says. “We’ve been waiting to see if the Kin are going to come collect them.”
“Who’s on patrol?” I ask.
“Adam’s back on the roof,” Iron Jack says. “I’m switching between him and Fancy. Hoss is out back. Scottie is walking the perimeter. Two-Shit just came in from that post.”
Two-Shit sniffs. “We’ve got game cameras set up on the road sending us a shot of anybody who drives within a quarter mile of the club. Ain’t seen nobody. I don’t think they’re coming, at least not yet.”
“What are we going to do about their women?” I ask.
“Keep ‘em,” Chain says. “I got my sights on one.”
Iron Jack and I exchange a glance.
“We’ll see what they want to do come daylight,” Iron Jack says. “They will have their own opinions. We got them out. If they want to go back, I’m not going to stop them.”
I can’t imagine, not in the condition they were in when we got to them. But they are likely addicts, and they may not be able to resist.
Iron Jack’s phone buzzes. He glances down. “Just Stoney. The kid is here. A girl, like they expected. Just as well they’re at the hospital.”
“You don’t think the Kin would go up there, do ya?” Two-Shit asks.
“I doubt they even know, but it might not be a bad idea for someone to hang out up there.”
Too Fast Freddy scoots his chair back. “I’ll go. Celia has it in her head she wants a brat herself. I might as well get familiar with the place.”
“Thanks,” Iron Jack says. “We’ll lighten up patrols come dawn. Just the roof and perimeter. I’ll also ask around and find out what happened when the Kin got back to their house.”
“We shoulda blowed it up,” Chain says. “They’re going to set it up again.”
“Next time,” Iron Jack says. “I’ll put that word out, too.”
Everyone files out except Iron Jack. I wait for the others to leave.
“Things go all right?” he asks.
“Yeah. Taken care of.”
He nods. “You two going to get along for two weeks?”
“Sure. Not a problem.” I stand.
He holds out a hand. “When she gets up, see if she can talk to the new women. Convince them to hang around. Julie said they weren’t too far gone. Unless they have a complication, they can dry out here.”
“I’ll mention it.”
“Thanks. And Merrick?”
I turn around. “Yeah?”
“Be good to that mouse. She’s not like the rest of us.”
My mouth tugs into a grim frown, remembering her sighing with a book on her balcony before she moved to the club. “I know it.”
When Marietta emerges from the room, I’m sitting on the back porch with some of the club members, eating burned toast and bacon.
She steps out with more shyness than usual, wearing loose sweats and thick socks. “I have eggs,” she says.
The men hold out their plates, and she scoops mounds of scrambled eggs out of her bowl. When she gets to me, she manages a timid smile.
Chain roars at that. “Look at who the mouse smiles at!”
The other men laugh.
“Thanks,” I say.
She seems relieved they haven’t realized that she spent the night in a room with me. I didn’t go back to it, opting to take a rotation on the patrols.
“You going to be walking dead at the bar after a night like that,” Two-Shit says.
“I’ll be all right.”
“Sure, he will,” Chain snorts. “He’s got the mouse by the tail.”
Betz comes out to the porch, blowing a long stream of smoke from her vape. “I’ll let the mouse cook the bacon next time.”
“It’s all right,” Two-Shit says. “I like it burned. Low Joe on the roof?”
She nods. “About to come down.” She watches Marietta empty the bowl. “You going to cook more for the chicks in the bunks?”
“I already took them some,” she says.
“Don’t serve them before the men,” Betz says. “Men first.”
Marietta nods and heads inside.
I decide I better catch her and pass on Iron Jack’s message before I have to leave the club for the day. I need a shower and to pack some things before getting to the bar.
I wait a couple of minutes before I stand up to head in. Marietta scrubs at the black grease in the bacon pan. The white edges of her sleeves are already a murky gray.
“Hey,” I say.
She glances up at me. “Hey.”
“You feeling okay?”
“A little sore, but nothing major.” She shuts off the water.
Celia wanders in, picks up a piece of bacon, frowns, and puts it down again. “Beer for breakfast it is!” she says and heads to the porch to the beer chests.
We wait until she’s gone.
“Nobody seems to know,” Marietta says. “Should we keep it that way?”
“Whatever makes you comfortable,” I tell her. She dries her hands and pushes her sleeves up her arms. Strangely, just showing that much extra skin sets me off, and I consider hauling her over my shoulder and going back to the room.
No, she’s sore. She said so.
“Iron Jack asked me to tell you he’d like the women to stay if they can be convinced. But if they want to go back, he’ll let them.”
“I hope not,” Marietta says.
“I agree. But we’re not keeping them prisoners. Just giving them a place if they want it. The nurse came and said they weren’t in any danger.”
She nods. “They were up and around when I took them breakfast. One of them puked a lot during the night.” She shudders. “I got it handled.”
They sure are putting a lot on her.
“How about you come with me to the bar this afternoon? I can say I need you for the shift.”
“Could I?”
“Sure. When’s class?”
“I’m not going. Two-Shit actually suggested I not go if I could help it. Jenna will take notes for me.”
“Okay. Just for today. You can’t be skipping class.” I lean in. “Or I will have to punish you.”
Her eyes flash up to me. “I might like that.”
“I thought so.”
The back door creaks, so I step away. “You might want to let Iron Jack know what they say.”
Betz slams the door. “Who says what?”
“The women from the other club,” Marietta says. “Iron Jack wants them to stay if they will. I’m supposed to talk to them.”
“Well, get on it,” Betz says. “After you clean that pan.”
Time for my quick exit. I head for the front door. “I’ll be back for you at two,” I tell Marietta.
“Okay,” she says, purposefully dulling her enthusiasm, like it’s a big chore.
Good girl.
We’ll get some privacy before what we’ve done goes public.