Page 51 of Fallen Flame

Jude gave him a look.

Junior didn’t so much as blink.

“So, are we assuming it’s the last of the Northbound Reapers trying to talk to Jester?” I asked.

Wrecker nodded. “We can’t know for sure, but I gotta assume Jester didn’t have a fuck ton of people reaching out to him.”

“Especially people who keep calling the motel instead of his cell,” Nickel added.

“Maybe they know his phone is gone,” Pipe suggested.

“Or maybe they don’t want the call traced back to them,” Mason said.

Both possibilities made sense. Neither gave us a location.

“So what now?” Joker asked.

“I told Archie the next time the phone rings, fucking answer it and find out what he can,” Wrecker replied.

Basil grunted. “You think these idiots are just going to confess to Archie who they are?”

Freak, Basil’s dad, looked down the table at him. “You really don’t like this Archie guy, do you?”

Basil shrugged.

Freak narrowed his eyes. “You never told me he put you in a trash can.”

“Almost,” Basil clarified loudly. “He almost put me in a trash can.”

Freak slowly shook his head. “Yeah. Almost.”

The table erupted again.

Basil crossed his arms and glared at everyone. “It wasn’t fucking funny.”

“It’s a little funny,” Arlo muttered beside me.

Basil’s glare moved to him. Arlo took a drink of water and looked away.

Wrecker dragged one hand down his face. “Can we just fucking focus? If we go off what people were like in high school, none of you twerps would be sitting in this room right now.”

“Noted,” Fox laughed.

“I’m just saying I think we should be included in deciding who we take on as prospects,” Basil said quietly.

Wrecker stared at him for a few seconds.

The room went silent again.

“You know what?” Wrecker asked.

Basil’s eyes narrowed.

“Since you have doubts about Archie prospecting, maybe you should be the one to scope him out more and be there when he answers the call next time.”

Basil blinked. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me.”