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‘Penny for your thoughts?’ Marcus had decided to come by and start to help with the clear-out today. It was great to have the Prez by his side. He’d always been close to Marcus, but they’d drifted apart the past few years.
Wolf had been of the mind that they should quit waiting and retake their territory, and Marcus, ever the conservative, had preached caution. The change in opinion had driven a wedge between them. Wolf hoped that now that they were back in New York the two of them could repair that wound.
‘They ain’t even worth a penny,’ Wolf replied, digging the hammer in again and tearing at the wooden veneer finish on the bench.
Trouble was that arrogance and cockiness were his modus operandi. The only way Wolf knew how to deal with his insecurity and feelings of inadequacy was through bluster and big talk.Heunderstood that but everyone else just thought he was a dick.
‘Try me,’ Marcus grinned. He was using a fancy machine that tested for damp. It was like a fork attached to an electric box. He stuck the fork’s prongs into the walls and it gave him a reading on the level of damp and whether any remedial work was required.
‘Can I be honest with you?’ Wolf said.
‘Course, son.’
Wolf loved it when he called him that. Sometimes, it felt good to imagine that Marcus was his father, and not that monster he’d left behind all those years ago.
‘The girl who’s been living here. Sh—’
‘Knew it was a girl,’ Marcus said, his twinkling eyes surrounded by deep laughter lines.
‘Sure you did.’
‘I did. Only a girl can shut up men like us.’
‘I guess.’
‘So, she was living in the bar?’
Wolf spoke to Marcus. He told her about the fact he suspected she’d given a false name, explained what she did with the stuffies for money, and told his old friend that he was nervous that Diane was on the run from somewhere. ‘Plus, she fucking hates bikers.’
‘Smart girl.’ Marcus chuckled.
‘I mean she really hates us. You should have heard the way she talked about us. With real venom.’
‘People don’t understand,’ Marcus said. ‘Don’t say I blame them.’
‘I think I like her.’ He kicked at a bit of rock by his foot. ‘There was something about her that reminded me of me. But like — a good me. Plus, I think she’s a Little — like definitely. I fucked it up, of course,’ Wolf admitted. He felt like an idiot when he confessed what he’d said to Diane.
‘Well, you’re out of practice with girls, aren’t you?’ Marcus said, shrugging.
‘Got any tips?’ Wolf asked. Marcus had been with his partner for years, and he seemed to have an amazing relationship with her. Being the wife of the Club Prez was hard going, but Tatiana was always happy and understanding.
‘Yeah, don’t act like a creep,’ Marcus said with a laugh.
‘Easier said than done.’
‘I’m glad, though,’ Marcus said. ‘It’s been a long time since you’ve cared about anyone who wasn’t yourself. Or, you know, someone who wasn’t called Jack Daniels.’
Wolf let out a long sigh. Normally, when one of the guys teased him about his drinking, he let it slide like water off a duck’s back. Or whiskey down a drunk’s throat.
Today though, he was sober, and it felt very different.
‘Prez, you think I’ve got a problem with drink?’
Marcus raised an eyebrow. ‘Problem? I don’t know. Seems to me like you drink more than you should.’
Normally, this would have been the moment when Wolf would snap something back and pour himself another drink. Not today, though. Today, he just nodded.
‘You know,’ Marcus said, ‘I used to drink too much. Before I knew Tati.’
