AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mark hesitates for the briefest of seconds and then nods. “Understood. But if this is about Nikki, I swear she said she wasn’t attached to any of you.”
My club brothers throw their heads back and roar with hilarity. I try to stifle my own amusement but fail, and by the time we all sober up, my stomach is tight from laughing.
“Dude, fuck any of the club bunnies you want.” Grim signs as Abyss translates. “That’s what they’re here for.”
Mark blows out a breath. “Oh, good,” he says with a whoosh. “I thought I was a dead man.”
“Not dead… not yet,” I mumble.
Mark gives an almost imperceptible nod and then faces Grim. “I remember some stuff I learned when we were kids,” he signs, and his movements are slow, choppy. “And I’ve been watching YouTube videos to bone up on ASL. I hope that’s okay.”
“Appreciate that.” Grim’s expression falls, and if you didn’t know him, you’d mistake it for indifference. But I know him, and he’s… sad? “But you’re not a club member so you don’t have to do that.”
Mark shrugs. “I’m staying here so why wouldn’t I? You’re…” He darts his eyes to me and then back to Grim. “You’re family.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem. It might take a while to be fluent, but I’ll get there.”
It hurts that Mark is more concerned about adapting for Grim than even speaking to me, but I push that pain aside.
And who’s fault is that?
“Can we get back to the fucking van?” I snap.
Mark immediately straightens in his chair, and his gaze cuts to me. “What about Stella?”
“Rules first,” Soul barks. “We don’t go into club business until Mark agrees to the rules.”
“Fine, rules.” I take a deep breath. “What is said in church stays in church unless you have express permission from Prez to repeat it. Anything requiring the club’sinterventionwill be put to a vote. Majority wins. No phones or electronics of any kind, but that doesn’t apply to Fort, who handles tech shit.” I glare at Mark. “Any questions?”
“Nope. Pretty straightforward.”
“You do realize this means you can’t go running to your best friend and tell her what we discuss, even if it pertains to her?”
“Fucking finally,” Mark gripes.
“What?”
“You’re getting the hint that she and I are just friends,” he says casually. “Which is good since she was in your bed the other night.”
“That’s enough,” Soul barks as he slams his palms on the table. “Church is not the place for you two to hash your issues out.”
“Fine, whatever.” Mark thrusts a hand through his hair, and it’s not lost on me that I did the exact same thing not ten minutes ago. “I agree to the rules. Now what do you need me for?”
Soul nods to Frenzy, who explains. “The spark plug wire in Stella wasn’t just bad, it was cut.”
Mark’s eyes sharpen. “What? Why didn’t you tell her that?”
“Because we didn’t want to scare her,” I say.
“Oh man, you’re an idiot.” Mark shakes his head. “Apple isn’t some fragile bitch who needs you to protect her from difficult shit. She’s strong, resilient. If you want a chance in hell with her, you need to be honest and not hold stuff back.”
“Who says I want a chance with her?” I counter gruffly.
“Pau…” Mark’s shoulders slump. “I mean Malice… hate me all you want, but I’m your brother. You look at her the same way you looked at Mindy Curr in high school,” he says, referring to a girl I had a crush on in the ninth grade. “You like Apple. You don’t want to, but you do. And while I don’t like you very much either, I also see how Apple looks at you. I don’t fucking get it, but she likes you just as much.”
“Damn.” Possum whistles from his seat at the other end of the table. “Can we keep him, Prez?”
