Page 58 of Marlin's Faith

Cutter jerked his head in a sharp nod, “You do that,” he said and slapped me on the back of my shoulder before heading in.

I thumbed my way across the screen through menus and pulled another cigarette from my pack, sticking it between my lips and thumbing the wheel on a cheap plastic lighter. I lit the cancer stick and breathed deep as the deep trill of the ringer droned in my ear.

Shit, I was gonna get his fuckin’ voicemail.

“Yeah, hello?”

“Bobby?”

“Jimmy, hey, what’s up, Man?”

I thought for a moment and finally breathed out, taking another drag on my cigarette I said, “I need to ask you, probably the biggest favor I’ve ever asked in our lives…”

Bobby was quiet for several tense seconds before wherever he was, the noise in the background disappeared and he said, “What’s going on, man? You got my attention.”

I explained it all. I’d been avoiding telling him much about Faith since the morning, weeks ago, he’d found us sleeping in his orange grove. It wasn’t my usual thing to do and he knew it. We’d been friends for a real long time.

He listened and when I finished he said the only thing I could and would say if our roles were reversed.

“Yeah, Man. Think nothing of it, come on down. The guest room’ll be ready and waiting for as long as you need it.”

“Thanks Bobby, it’s just until the MC gets back with Hope and we’re in a better position to handle things.”

He snorted, “You like to forget that I was your brother long before any of them other fuckers were.”

I winced, he was right, and he’d had the opportunity to be one of The Kraken back in the days before Cutter had been our Captain, but for some reason Bobby and the dude that’d been P. before Cutter had never seen eye to eye. Bobby walked before making it out of his hang around cut and was never one to let go of a grudge. I was just both lucky and blessed that he had enough sense to remember justwhohis grudge was with for the most part. He sometimes let his grudge against Mac, the guy who’d started the club, bleed onto my club colors, but it never went further than the occasional biting comment.

We’d done everything together growing up; I think on a deep level it hurt my best friend that he didn’t share this with me too.

“Thanks, Man. You don’t know how much I owe you for this.”

“I look forward to meeting her for real this time.”

“Just, you know, you gotta be careful sorta; she spooks real easy.”

“I get it man, we’ll talk more when you get here.”

“Could be a long stay depending on how things go…”

Again he made a rude noise, blowing me off, “It’ll give us time to catch up some seeing as I haven’t exactly made the time to come down your way. I need a new foreman… bad.”

“Hey, Marlin!” Radar called from the open doorway.

“Shit, Bobby, I gotta go. I’ll see you soon. Get a six pack in the fridge.”

Bobby laughed, “There’salwaysa six pack in my fridge in case you stop by. See you soon.”

“Yeah, see you soon.” I hung up.

Radar gave me a chin lift that indicated I needed to come inside for a piece of business or other so I stubbed out my cig and got up, stretched and made my way back inside.

There was some more politicking to be done before we bunked down. I hated politics, but I couldn’t deny I had an eye and a practiced mind for ‘em. You had to back in the days under Mac. I think it’s why Cutter had put me up for VP. I never quite did fully understand that move but the Captain was a guy that was wise beyond his years and pretty fuckin’ fair. We followed him for a reason.

The night was long, sleep was short, and we pretty much found ourselves riding for the courthouse at first light. We knew, thanks to Ruth’s lawyer guy, when the girls were going to be arraigned and we needed to be there. The lawyer was pretty much sucking the club’s last reserves bone dry, but it’d been a unanimous vote with the understanding among the club that more money was always easy to acquire. We had our ways; we just hadn’t had to resort to ‘em in a while. I guess we would as soon as we got back home, I was okay with that. I would work eighteen hour days for the rest of my fucking life if I had to, just to make sure Faith stayed free and could really put this behind her once and for all.

Enough was enough already.

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