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“No fucking way that’s happening,” I say.
Roscoe, on the other hand, puts it more gently. “While you’re here, we’ve got eyes on you and Noah. Out there, there’s no way we can cover you. I think the smart thing is to move you to your rental as soon as possible and keep a man posted.”
“Me,” I say. “I’m staying with them. Might be smart to keep Noah at the club for a while longer.”
“No. I couldn’t protect Lollie once, but I’m big enough and old enough to do it now.” Noah’s digging his heels in. I admire the kid. This has been a shitshow of a night, and he’s taking this mess a hell of a lot better than I imagined he would.
“All right, bud. However, you’ll still go to school and work with the club brothers. We’re working this together,” I say.
Noah seems satisfied with our plan. Charlotte walks over to the kitchenette to put on some coffee. Her brother follows her in. Roscoe and I watch as Noah hugs his sister. He may be the younger sibling, but he towers over her. I know what he’s feeling. The guilt and helplessness are burrowing deep within him.
SIX
Unwanted
WILDCARD
Noah wanted to stay the night, insisted, in fact. We had to let him have that play. Charlotte set him up on the couch. Although she offered him her bed, Noah wouldn’t allow his sister to give it up. I get that he’s needing to take his place and be the man to take care of Charlotte. I can also see that he’s worried, and even though he’s stepping up, he knows he’s not ready to take on a problem this big.
“Noah, come on out front while your sister does her thing,” I coax, then guide him out the back door of the diner, along with Roscoe. “You’re here tonight, but you’re not alone. I’m going to be right there.” I point to an SUV waiting by the curb. “At some point, I’m going to go get some sleep, but again, there’s gonna be someone here to have your back and Charli’s.” I put a hand on his shoulder. “You get what I’m saying?”
“Yeah.” He lets out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, he pounds his fist into his chest. “Why didn’t she tell me? Didn’t she trust me?” This is clearly tearing him up.
“Let’s see this from her perspective. He did what he did, then to add insult to injury, he beat up her mother, took every cent they had, and took off. When the asshole didn’t come back, Charli thought, why make it worse? And she was trying to protect your mother from having to endure the idea that she wasn’t there to stop it.”
“And at college?”
“It happened, and she left and had to deal with your mom’s cancer and your involvement with a very bad group of people. If it were you, would you toss that shit out to a kid who’s struggling to figure himself out?”
“I guess not,” he mumbles, his head dropping, staring at his feet. “I made things harder.”
This time, Roscoe intervenes. “That’s over. Leave the past in the past. We’re right here, right now. Go upstairs, be with Charlotte. We’ve already got Orion and Demon searching into your father. He’s going to pay for what he’s done.”
“When you catch him, I want in,” Noah says. He’s not stupid, he knows how we deal with people who hurt the ones we love. He saw it firsthand when he was involved with the gang. Noah was lucky that Roscoe saw there was more to Noah than meets the eye. He literally saved him from certain death.
“Not sure…” I start to say, but Noah interrupts.
“He did this tomyfamily. I have a right to confront him.”
Once again, Roscoe is the voice of reason. “Let’s find him first, then we’ll revisit this issue. Fair?”
Noah doesn’t like it, but agrees.
* * *
I’ve been sittingin the car for two and a half hours, with another half hour to go before Hammer and Thunder roll in to take over and I can head back to the club for some shut-eye. In the club, we’ve been trained to pay attention and use our instincts. Guard spent much of the first few months working with me, and every other member of the club taught me something too.
Ghost has been instrumental in helping me come into my own. I worked every job, but I loved the computer shit with Orion. That’s where I thought I wanted to stay, but Ghost knew better. I would always be in Orion’s shadow if I didn’t push past my comfort zone. Ghost convinced me to join his new bail bond business and made me responsible for all the security and computer networking. I still tutor under Orion because he’s the master, but I’m learning, and Orion thinks that I’m getting as good as him.
A flash of light streams between the trees, then it goes dark again. It could be nothing, but my gut says otherwise. I climb out of my car, crouch down, and move across the side of the diner to the stairs that lead to the side entrance and Charlotte’s apartment.
I’m thinking I’m about to encounter Paul Venti again, but instead, I find two men in dark suits drawing guns. I dip back behind the corner and call for backup. Thunder and Hammer are already on their way, but Risk and Saint are only a couple of blocks away and head my way, seeing that they live close by and I need help now.
I notice the men are about to make a move, and I need to stall.
“Looking for someone?” I say loudly. The two men turn, but don’t seem surprised to see me. It’s too dark to see clearly, but I get the impression they’re younger than I thought.
Tall brooding henchman number one points his gun in my direction. “None of your business. It’s in your best interest to turn around and get gone.”
