Page 4 of Demon's Angel

“Another contract?”

“Only a small one,” Paladin notes. “But it’s all about getting our foot in the door at this stage.”

“Any bread’s welcomed,” Pyro observes.

“Looking to reinvest,” Buzzard nods toward Lizard. “Brother here is proposing a new location for the tattoo parlour and expanding business.”

I’m not unhappy Buzz brought that up rather than myself. It’s not news for anyone, but it is the first time it’s been discussed as a proposition rather than a vague idea. It’s kicked around for a while, but finally Liz gets the vote he wants, and it’s full steam ahead. Rusty and Ink, both handy with a hammer, offer to get on with the drywalling as soon as the contract is signed.

A list is compiled of everything we need, such as looking for additional skilled employees and getting advertising underway to let old and new customers know where we’re relocating to. Once we’ve gotten all that sorted, time’s ticked on, and no one has an appetite for much more talk. I sense brothers are getting uneasy, their minds now on alcohol and pussy instead of business.

No point keeping asses in seats without good reason. I bang the gavel, bring the meeting to a close, and am not surprised when I find Hellfire lingering.

“What’s on your mind, Demon?”

I half laugh. “That easy to read, Hell?”

The man I still regard as my father laughs. “Only ever since you were a babe in arms. Never could get anything past me.”

As it’s the truth, I don’t deny it. For a long time I’d thought he had supernatural powers at reading minds, until I realised it was all part of being a dad.

“Well,Brother,” I say with a grin, emphasising the word for two reasons, one to show he’s no longer at the head of the table, and the second to acknowledge the true relationship between us, only recently acknowledged. “You’re correct, of course.”

I wave him out the door.

He gets my meaning, and heads for the bar. Dan, one of our prospects, has a whisky for Hell and a beer for me ready as we approach. Instead of slinging it back in one gulp, then asking for another, Hell sips his drink slowly. Another change, and all to the good. The old man’s certainly regained that sparkle in his eyes, his new relaxed lifestyle taking years off him.

As we take our drinks to an empty table, my eyes catch Lizard already with his hand caressing Breezy’s bare tits. Christ, that man doesn’t waste time before snagging a sweet butt. Not that I blame him; I’ll be looking for one later myself.

At last, I turn my attention to Hell. “You’ll never guess who I bumped into earlier.”

Obviously, he can’t. He raises an eyebrow.

Alternating between speaking and drinking my beer, I enlighten him, and relate my encounter with Violet.

“Fuck, Brother. That was a bad business.” A shadow comes over Hell’s face as he refers to the day we’d received the news Nathan had been killed. Growing up, if I wasn’t at Nathan’s house, he’d been at mine. We’d been as thick as thieves from the age of four. Hell used to joke he had a third son. It had taken a long time for his loss to sink in, even longer to start to deal with it.

“Fuckin’ shocked us all,” I affirm. “Fuckin’ shame the good die young.”

“While the bad go on living.” He raises his glass like a salute, then draws a hand over his face. “Got some grey hairs from some of the things you two got up to.” His reminder brings a grin to my face. Yeah, Nate and I had gotten up to some shit in our day. “You remember his grandfather’s World War II grenade?”

Do I! “Lucky we didn’t blow ourselves up.”

Hell’s shaking his head. “His dad never should have left it lying around. But trying to get the gunpowder out with a hammer?” He barks a laugh. “You should have kids, Demon. Would like to see you handle that shit.”

“Good reason I don’t and have no inclination to,” I reply shortly. “And please, I get the ‘kids’ talk from Mom often enough.”

“Mo just wants to see you settled.”

Why settle? I have a club full of whores and hangarounds for when I have an itch to scratch. Why tie myself down when there’s no need to? Which reminds me. My eyes again scan the room, seeing Tulia is on her own. I hold up a finger toward her, giving her the signal that she’s to wait for me to finish my conversation with Hellfire and not go with anyone else in the meantime. One of the perks of being the prez.

“So,” Hellfire draws back my attention. “You’re worried about Nathan’s sister?”

Trust him to get to the heart of the matter. “I am.” I frown.Worried? Concerned? Feeling guilty I’d been out of touch for so long? Intrigued by the beautiful woman she’s grown into?“Not sure I can put my finger on it, but something’s not right.” An image of her comes into my head. While I’d been checking her out, I hadn’t missed the shadows in her eyes. The lines on my forehead deepen.

“You said she seemed down. Post-partum depression?”

“That could be the name for it, but shit if I know.” Something he’d probably have more knowledge of. He’d been right by Mo’s side while she birthed and raised three kids. Myself, my half-brother and half-sister are all fully-grown now, but I suspect there are things you don’t forget. “I don’t know, Hell. But I have this nagging feeling that I owe it to Nathan to look out for her.”

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