Page 18 of Her Brother's Keeper

“Real good,” Rush agreed.

We rode back to the club talking about a little of this and a little of that, and when we got there, split off at the bar, as in Rush stayed for a drink and I headed back out to my room.

I’d saved a gang of money living here rather than finding a place to rent. I’d given half of it to Maren, and just kept on saving; paying my club dues, chipping away at some debt from back in AZ… My cage was almost paid off; I hated the fuckin’ thing, but I needed it to transport my massage tables and chair. It wasn’t all bad. The club was like home. My twin was here, and it was better than back in Arizona. A fresh start that we’d all needed… Still missed Grind, but that was what it was.

You never know when your time is up… Maren’s dad had been lucky in that regard, that he’d had a lingering illness was both the best and the worst luck. Best because he’d been able to hang on long enough to give his kids the strongest start that he could provide ‘em… the worst because I couldn’t imagine wasting away like that. I’d probably end it myself if I didn’t have anyone like Maren or Sage. Maybe even Rush would help me out. Neither of us wanted to go out that way. We’d talked about it plenty when we were kids.

I watched some TV and kept an eye on the time, dragging myself to my feet at around nine-thirty. I pulled on my coat, kept my cut in my hands, and went on out to my cage. The club was quiet. It was just Rush, Dragon, Cell, Blue, and me living here right now. Everyone else had a woman, or family, or a place they called their own.

Disney had moved in with Aaron since even before Rev and Mandy had gotten married. Dray and Ev were on their own in their place. Who the fuck knew where Data went or what he did when he wasn’t here. Then Zeb had a shitty little apartment above a bar that he bounced for, but the brother seemed happy and more power to him.

I got into my cage, a nice looking 2012 Hyundai Tucson. Nice looking, probably because I never really drove the fuckin’ thing. So much so did I not drive it, it’d been sitting in the lot here more than a minute, to the point I half expected it not to start, but it did and it still had three-quarters of a tank left in it from the last time I’d driven it.

It’d been a bitch flying back to AZ, packing it up and making the long ass fuckin’ drive back here trapped in its confines. Hell, Rush had had the same trouble – towing his pickup along with Archer in a fuckin’ U-Haul full of his fuckin’ furniture he’d created. He’d sold a bunch of it off before we’d left but still a good bit ended up coming out here with us.

I pulled into the lot of the Douglas St. Wally-world right at nine fifty-eight and parked, killing the engine. I sat for about twenty minutes and watched for her. I knew it’d take a bit for her to wrap up, but I didn’t want her to walk across the lot in the dark; plus, she didn’t know what my cage looked like.

She came out the front entrance bundled in her tired purple parka, hands buried deep in her pockets and scanned the lot. I backed out of my space, went around, and pulled up in front of her. I picked up my cut from the passenger seat and hit the automatic locks so she could get in. She opened up the door, the cold air and her delicate scent swirling into the cage’s interior. She smelled good. I’d never noticed before.

“Hi,” she murmured.

“Hi.”

I let her pull on her seatbelt and buckle it before laying the cut in her lap. She looked down at it, surprised, and let her fingers wander over the patches.

“Can you hang onto that while I drive?”

“Sure.”

I put the cage in gear and headed for the exit when her soft voice filtered through the dark, close space, “Why do you take it off?”

“It’s in our by-laws. You don’t wear your cut in a cage, it’s a disrespect on the patch; the club colors are meant to be free and in the wind.”

“Oh, that explains a few things.”

“What?”

“Why you keep calling your car a cage for one.” She smiled and then made a face, “I can’t imagine you like it much.”

“What driving a cage? I don’t.”

“No, riding when the weather is cold and icy like this… it’s dangerous.”

I laughed a bit, “I’d rather be on two wheels than four no matter what the weather, but some things are worth making the exception for,” I said glancing her way. She blushed and it was pretty on her.

“Thank you,” she murmured and bowed her head. She looked tired, and I was glad me and Rush had made the right call. Even if she had driven herself to her job, she was damn sure in no shape to drive herself back. She sat quietly, her eyes closed and head slightly bowed, too exhausted to hold it up.

“Need to pick up your brother?”

“No, Ariel called me at work and asked if he could stay over with Ian. They’ve missed each other and she said I looked like I could use a night to myself to catch up on sleep.” Maren looked over at me with a little pleading in her eyes, “I don’t look that bad do I?” she asked.

She did, her skin pale to the point it was almost translucent, her eyes smudged with dark circles beneath them. Her shoulders slumped and she looked about ready to keel over any second; so I did the only thing a man was supposed to do in a situation like this when a woman had asked him about her appearance; I lied.

“Naw, Honey, you don’t look nothin’ but a little bit tired is all. A good night’s sleep and you’ll be right as rain.”

Her lips twisted with a wry and bitter amusement, and she nodded slightly, “It’s okay Nox. You don’t have to lie to me.”

I chuckled, “You look beat, like if you weren’t sitting there just now, you’d fall down. You need a good night’s sleep, but you don’t nor could you ever, look ‘bad’. You’re a beautiful girl, Maren; both inside and out.”

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