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“Yeah, Dante told me they tried to sell some to his crew which is weird since the cartels don’t fuck with black.” Mick scratched his beard, his gaze darting between me and Roddick. “Think we should take that news to Lazarus?”
Roddick blew out a breath and scrubbed a hand down his beard. “You mean some enemy of my enemy type shit?”
He nodded. “Exactly. It would relieve us of the headache they’re causing by hanging around Brently. Plus, if Lazarus finds out on his own we’ll be cleaning bodies up off the streets of Brently, and then we’ll have to worry about Sheriff Darlington.”
I nodded. “If they’re following me they might be following others, so we need to make sure everyone keeps their heads on a swivel.” I was so fucking amped up from that chase, I knew it would be hours before I came down. Knowing one of those crazy bastards could have started shooting with Minx between us made me so damn mad I didn’t think I’d be able to stop myself from hunting them down and filling those assholes full of lead. “I need to get out of here,” I grumbled, still pacing like a caged animal.
“Come on, let’s go grab some food.” Mick clapped me on my back and pushed me toward the exit. “You’re too damn wound up, man.”
“Minx was on the back of my bike, bro. Last time fucking Wagman let a few bullets loose.” I shook my head, still fucking fuming from that shit. “I got a bullet with that motherfucker’s name on it, Mick.”
“If you have to, just make sure it’s justified. The last thing we need right now is to start more shit with the cartel.”
I knew what he was saying was right. We were still rebuilding our numbers and getting back to trusting one another again. CAOS wasn’t ready for battle, and I’d be damned if I pushed us there before we were. But I had a strong urge to fuck some shit up right about now.
“So you and Minx, huh?”
I grinned as we walked into Black Betty. “She’ll deny it until her dying breath, but yeah.” I wanted to ask Mick about her past again because I knew she was hiding something, but for some reason, I wanted her to be the one to tell me. “Skittish as hell, though.”
Mick took the booth near the back, facing the window. I didn’t like having my back to the door, but I trusted Mick with my life. Had done so many times in the past, except those last three years after he’d retired. “Yeah, well, she has a good reason to be skittish. If you mistreat her, Talon will cut off your balls so…you know.”
Yeah, I knew, but still I laughed at the image of his little dark-haired spitfire coming at me. “Yeah, I got it,” I sighed. “But the truth is she’s more likely to mistreat me,” I told him. She was scared, and I knew people often struck out when they were too scared to act, which meant I needed to be careful. I liked Minx, but settling down wasn’t on my immediate agenda. “You think we’re gonna end up in the shit with Wagman and Rocky?”
Mick nodded, but his answer came slower. This was why I respected Mick so much. He never made snap decisions. He thought about shit before he spoke. “They’re trying to make some cash as freelancers which comes with more danger, but they know how we operate so they know how to work around us. Most important of all, those assholes want revenge.”
Yeah, I knew how fucking dangerous that could be. “Who would’ve thought we left the middle east behind and still ended up at war?” It’s not exactly how I pictured retirement, but when I left the SEALs I was lost. After a decade of structure and order and unattainable goals, my head was fucked up without it. Meeting up with Mick and CAOS had given me new goals that were doable. It had given me a purpose. I could be a badass outlaw without actually being a bad guy.
“Yeah, but this is the first time we’ve had to deal with shit like this. Some guys need more money because they’re not smart enough to come up with a side hustle like the rest of us. If I didn’t have the mini mart and service station, I might be more understanding.”
I nodded, understanding perfectly. Years in the service with no home, no bills, and no debt meant most of us had come out with a shit ton of cash saved to invest in something when we got home. Guys like Toro and Wagman spent until they were broke and then bitched about being broke. “Still they could have taken it to Rod.”
When the waitress—not Nadine thankfully— dropped off our food, we dug in and ate in silence for a few minutes. Though I had just eaten, I inhaled my club sandwich. It wasn’t close to what I wanted to release this tension, but I was pretty sure it was my only option if Minx’s goodbye was any clue.
“You gotta remember, Cash, some of these guys are old school. They didn’t volunteer like we did, hell even like Roddick did. Coming back with what we came back with when you didn’t want that shit in the first place? Breeds a fuck of a lot of resentment.”
“I guess.” I couldn’t stay calm and think about those fuckers, so I finished off my sandwich and onion rings and ordered a beer. I needed to focus on something more compelling. Like a certain sultry brunette with more curves than a San Francisco street and big brown eyes that could drown a man if he wasn’t smart enough to reach for air.
I feared I wasn’t quite that smart.
Chapter Four
Cash
“You gonna hit me with that?” My lips twitched as I eyed the bat Minx held in her hands, a wary smile aimed my way.
“I might. You planning on making a habit of dropping by unannounced?” Despite her harsh words, she stepped back and let me in. “No food this time?”
I laughed a pulled a big white bag with a greasy, nearly clear bottom from behind me. “Rosita’s okay with you?”
She nodded and pushed the door shut behind me, engaging all three locks as she always did. “If you have a burrito in there with green chile salsa, I might start liking you.”
“You already like me,” I told her arrogantly because we both knew it was true. She might not want to like me, but she did. That’s why she let me in her house and why she smiled at me now, like she knew a secret the rest of us didn’t. “It’s okay, Minx, because I like you, too.”
“Now I can die a happy woman,” she put on her best Southern drawl with her hands to her chest and fluttered her lashes.
“Glad to oblige, sugar.” I winked, and she yanked the bag from me and left me standing in the small foyer. “So how’d you end up doing on that test?”
She frowned at the question as she pulled small cups of condiments from the bag, then recognition dawned. “I got a solid A. Not a perfect score but pretty damn close.”
