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Their first kiss of this new day. To Duncan, it seemed like the first kiss of something else as well. Last night had been a thing with a boundary around it, but this morning the world spread out in every direction.
He folded her up tightly and deepened this kiss, hoping she felt the same way. If her tightening hold on him was any indication, she did.
When he set her back, he brushed loose tendrils of gold from her face. “I need your number.”
“I don’t have a phone right now, remember? Except the landline inside. But I’m going to try to get into town for a replacement this afternoon. Do you have something to write with?”
He pulled his phone out and opened his notes app. “Do you one better,” he said and handed his phone over.
She keyed in two numbers: for the phantom cell phone and the might-as-well-have-been-a-ghost landline. Then she handed him his phone.
“I don’t have your number, though.”
He returned his phone to his pocket. “I don’t think I’ve got a pen in the truck. But I’ll call your landline and leave it on a message. You got one of those old answering machines in there somewhere?”
“I do, yes. That’ll work.” She grabbed his coat again. “Hey, Duncan?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For everything.”
He kissed her again.
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~oOo~
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“Look,” Dex said, giving Jay the dead-eye stare that had scared the fuck out of them when they were kids. This time, though, Jay stared right back.
Dex leaned in a little more, speaking with more urgency than Duncan could remember. He focused on each of the Young Guns in turn: Jay, Duncan, Monty, Chris, and Sam. “I’m not saying you’re less of a patch than anybody at this table. I’m not saying I don’t think you can handle yourself in trouble. You’ve all shown you can. I’m not saying you’re less important than anybody else. If I’m saying anything about that, I’m saying you’re more important. This is the biggest shit we’ve dealt with since Santaveria. I don’t like what we’re planning, I don’t like the blind spots. If this goes wrong and we’ve got the whole club in the thick of it, that’s the whole goddamn club we’re putting on the line.” He cast a searching glance around the whole table. “Are you telling me I’m the only one at this table who things we should guard against that?”
“You’re not the only one,” Duncan’s father said. Duncan tried not to react like he’d been hit, but he sharpened his focus on his old man—and his old man looked straight at him. “It worries me, too. And I got my son on the line here. Simon, too.”
“Dad—” Duncan began, but stopped when his father’s hand came up and cut him short.
“I know.” He sighed and turned to Dex. “You know how I feel, Dex. But the truth is we need every man in Eureka if we got any chance of having this not turn to shit. If we roll into town in force, maybe the Nameless deal with their own and we come in and pick up the pieces. Or maybe they just fold. But if they think they can put up a real fight, we’ll have trouble for sure.” Returning his attention to Duncan and the other young patches, he continued, “That said, it could still go wrong, and it’s not a bad idea to have an insurance policy. Any of you say you want to stay back, you stay back. No judgment, no shame.”
“Hold up, Mav,” Eight Ball cut in from his seat at the head of the table. “You’re talkin’ out of turn. Like you just said, we need everybody in Eureka to get this done. We decided on a full club run, we need a full club run, we’re doin’ a full club run. Only reason we’re talking about this at all is Dex won’t fuckin’ shut up about it.”
An argument erupted among the club officers. Duncan and the other Young Guns sat back and watched, occasionally sharing uncomfortable looks. They often joked that they were taking up enough of the table to start causing trouble. Looked like Dex had caused some on their behalf before they’d had the chance to do it for themselves.
“Does anybody want to stay back?” Jay asked under his breath.
Duncan, Sam, and Monty shook their heads at once. There was literally nothing that would keep Duncan from this run but an outright order, and then he’d be pissed. He meant to be side by side with his father when the shit hit the fan. And he knew Sam felt the same way. Jay’s father and brother wouldn’t have thought of staying back, and his brother would surely be in the thick of it, so Jay would be beside him. And Monty was fucking stubborn and usually looking for any fight he could get.
Chris, however, hesitated. He was the mildest-tempered of them all, but he was no coward. When the other four all focused on him—the older patches were still arguing, and now Eight was yelling—Chris said, “I’m not scared of the run, I just think Dex is right. Maybe somebody should stay back.”
“What the fuck difference does it make if one patch stays back?” Jay snapped. “If everybody else goes down in California, the club’s dead anyway. One patch doesn’t make a club. And if we all stay back, the job’s fucked. I don’t know what Dex thinks he’s doin’. I get he was an elite Marine back in the day, but being a dad’s made him soft.” Jay turned and pinned Duncan with a look. “Or your sister has.”
He and Jay had been close most of their lives, so Duncan had long years of experience managing his friend’s tendency to toss around toxic bullshit like that. “Don’t bring my sister into this. That ain’t it, asshole.” When Jay backed off a little and made a semi-conciliatory gesture, Duncan added, “But you’re not wrong that they’re having a stupid argument. You should say it to them, though, not us.”
At once, Jay faced the head of the table. He slammed his hands down on the scratched oak and said, “Hey! Can I get a word in here, or you old farts gonna bicker all day?”
The top half of the table went quiet. An array of very tough old guys gaped at Jay.
Apollo chuckled and did a game-show wave. “By all means, brother. Have your say.”
