Page 28 of Cutter's Hope

“Thanks, I think,” she frowned, “You pick this?”

“No, Radar did, why?”

“Radar sucks at women’s fashion,” she stated dryly.

“Fuck you, Princess!” Radar called from above deck. Hope rolled her eyes and went for the water closet.

“I’m showering,” she said and I nodded.

“Go right ahead, Sweetheart; mi es tu castillo,” she ducked backwards out of the water closet and looked me over, apparently impressed that I’d said it right. Goddamn she was fine. She arched one dark eyebrow, blew me a kiss and shut the door behind her firing up the narrow shower.

“Above deck,” I said and followed Marlin up.

“Where is he?” I asked.

“In the Glades where we keep them kinds of things,” Radar said low and dark.

“Anything else we should know about Miss Thang down there?” Pyro asked.

Radar looked me over, and I looked right back, hard.

“Spill it man,” I demanded.

“She seems to be on the up and up, her sister went missing almost two years ago. She had a bunch of files back at her room, bitch travels light. What clothes she did have fit in a back pack and her purse along with the files. Went through her phone, took a minute to crack it but Atlas got it. She’s got a whole lot of law enforcement contacts…”

“Sort of have to, it’s part of the job,” her voice startled all three of us, she looked us all over in turn, “You want to know anything, all you’ve got to do is ask.” Jesus, she showered like a dude. Get in, get out; get on with it. I had to like that!

“You a cop?” Radar asked her point blank.

“Nope, all I do is teach them not to kill whoever they’re arresting. Army gave me a particular skillset, Junior. You can’t fault a girl for putting it to use. Plus, I figured it might help me find my sister somehow, someway, that’s about the extent of that.” Hope gave Radar a cool and appraising look. The gloves were off apparently, there wasn’t no lie in her face, her posture was guarded, but I think that was because with a rough lot like my boys she was expecting more violence.

“I just want to find Faith, I don’t give a fuck what you do or what you’re into… I just want to find my sister, or at least what happened to her,” she said. Radar nodded slowly.

“We ain’t bad guys,” Marlin said softly.

“Tell that to the bitch who last saw my sister,” she wasn’t going to give any quarter there and I didn’t blame her. Hell if it was a female close to me, like Li’l Bit or even Li’ler Bit, I would tear the Earth and sky apart right alongside their men to find them. I mean shit, what if it were Hoss? She’s got three kids counting on her…

I shook my head, “That wasn’t something any of us condoned, Sweetheart.”

“We’ll have to agree to disagree on that one, Baby Cakes. Your man that did it was walking around and doing just fine when I got here,” she leveled me with an accusing glare and I couldn’t argue with her logic, even if it was totally civilian. She didn’t understand our ways and the crash course in the MC life would have to come later, right now the rest of the boys were waiting. It seemed Radar thought now was the time though, he started in on her first lesson.

“You don’t get it, Princess. Good, bad, or indifferent, Tiny is a brother and we protect our own, even when they do extremely stupid shit,” Radar crossed his arms and stared her down. Hope gave him a bored look.

“Right, okay, I’m not going to pretend to get it, guess I just have to know one thing, am I supposed to be some kind of prisoner or something retarded like that because I know too much?” she asked, but she was asking me, her gaze fixed firmly on my face. I grinned wide.

“You going to the cops?” I asked.

“No.”

“Your word on that?”

“Yes.”

“Then for now, we’re straight,” I palmed the back of my neck and pulled on it trying to ease some of the tension there.

“Just like that?” she asked.

“Just like that,” I affirmed. She narrowed her eyes and I could see the questions dancing inside that pretty little skull of hers. She pulled her wet hair over her shoulder and braided it. She was dressed in what the boys had brought her, some flowery strapless dress that hung to her feet. It didn’t look like something she would wear and in fact looked like she had to safety pin it some.

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