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I couldn’t be for sale. That’s impossible. Who would put me up for sale? You need pictures, a trafficking passport, and who knows what else to even mark someone. I immediately dismiss his suggestion about my dad. No matter who my dad is when I’m not around, I know that he loves me. No matter what, I know he will never do anything to put me in danger.
The marriage pops into my mind, and although I’ve spent the time since he told me questioning his moral compass, I know for certain that he wouldn’t do that unless he felt it would keep me safe. Maybe that’s what it is, he does know about me being marked and that’s why he wants the Laidens and The Cobras to merge. It means more protection and finding Gray.
“I need to make a phone call. Do not say a word. Not a single word, do you understand me?” I nod numbly at Crow’s words.
Crow pressed some buttons on the screen in front of us and within two rings, a voice I don't recognise answers.
“Down Viper Swing.” What the hell?
“Viper Whiskey Spring,” Crow replies cryptically.
What on earth is going on? Are we reciting in rhyme? I can rhyme plenty, I’m just not sure this is the time somehow.
“Take her off the register. Now.”
“I can’t, man. I wish I could, but it's out of my hands. The Lopezs have put her on there,” the strange voice says.
“Down Viper Spring.” Crow hangs up.
Who were the Lopezs? I haven’t heard that name before. If it isn’t The Devil's Dealers that have done this as some kind of way to antagonise my dad into starting a war between the Clubs as I had first assumed, and it was instead these Lopezs, then I need to find out who they are and why they are after me.
“Who was that?” I ask Crow.
“Some computer whizz the Cobras have contact with. I was hoping he’d be able to get onto the market and get you off it.”
“Who are the Lopezs? Are they worse than the Dealers?”
“FUCK!” The roar that comes from Crow as he punches the steering wheel scares me. It’s guttural and filled with fury unlike anything I’ve seen him express before.
You would think that having lived the life I have that not much would scare me anymore, but the unhinged anger coming from Crow is unlike anything I’ve ever seen him showing. I’ve seen him mad, angry, frustrated--but never like this. His hands are shaking and his jaw is clenched as he stares at the road ahead.
I put my hand on his, gently so as not to startle him. His jawline ticks but he doesn’t take his eyes off the road or acknowledge that I’ve touched him.
Eventually, he takes his left hand off the wheel and intertwines his fingers with mine, using his thumb to rub the topside of my hand.
“I just need you to be ok, Char.”
Four
Iam sitting at the bar in the clubhouse. It is always busy at this time of day, filled with workers and the public alike. In the day, it’s a cafe, with sofa chairs and tables accompanying them. The atmosphere is more laid back, with club members milling around, either chowing down on lunch or goofing off, waiting for something to happen.
I am sitting, chatting to one of the barmaids, Alice, when Crow walks in searching for me.
Alice brushes her hair down and starts twisting a strand with her hand. She’s had a thing for Crow for far too long without either him noticing or her telling him. It is never ending with them two - Crow is clueless, and Alice is shy. She has never outright told me that she likes him, but it is clear that she does.
Crow takes the seat next to me and immediately starts on the food I ordered for him. I got him a double cheeseburger and chips. He told me to order food whilst he was on the phone outside and without telling me what he wanted, burger and chips is the safest option. He doesn’t seem to mind, wolfing it down as though he’s not eaten in days.
“Do you know what’s going on around here today? Everyone is acting super skittish,” Alice tells us as she eyes the men around us.
There do seem to be more Cobras around than usual and unlike normal, they’re not sitting drinking or relaxing. They’re on guard - alert. I wonder silently if it has anything to do with my marking and Edgar’s appearance earlier but realise that Crow didn’t call anyone and inform them apart from the nameless computer whizz. Maybe whoever that was had contacted everyone else.
“I have no idea. You know more than I do around here. Has anyone said anything?” I ask her.
It’s the truth about her knowing more than me. Alice has been around for a few years. She doesn’t dance like a lot of the girls, she instead prefers to bartend or waitress, meaning that she often overhears a lot more than what the Cobras realise. It is through Alice that I get information that no one else wants to freely give me. She’s about the same height as me, though a few years older. Alice is bigger in build than I am; curvy and constantly hyper and smiley. She is beautiful.
“No, nothing,” she squeaks out, looking right at Crow, who is paying little to no attention to our conversation.
“Keep your eyes open and your ears peeled. I have a feeling you’ll be hearing your fair share soon enough,” I tell her, and notice Crow's look of annoyance at me as I do.
