Page 54 of Devil's Marker

As soon as his bum hit the seat she was running her hands through his hair, almost lovingly. He’d never had a barber do that.

“You know,” she began, “you have beautiful hair. People pay a lot of money and go to a lot of trouble to get sun highlights like the ones you’ve got naturally.” From her place behind the chair she looked at him in the mirror. “They are natural?”

He smiled. “Yes. I spend a lot of time in the sun.”

“Long and short of it,” she giggled. “That’s a hair cutting joke. Your hair is too wonderful to cut. So here’s what I’m gonna recommend.

“When you’re tryin’ to get cleaned up, steppin’ out like your friend, I’m gonna suggest you just do a retro thing. Pull it back into a short ponytail.” She looked in a drawer and pulled out a leather tie. She brushed his hair back and pulled it into the tie.

He wouldn’t have imagined such a simple thing could make such a difference in his look. She might be onto something. It could work.

“There’s a certain kind of woman who loves the sexy look of longer hair. What do you think?” Win nodded. “Let me wash it, condition it, and trim a quarter inch off the ends.”

“That really necessary?”

Catcher spoke up. “Yeah. It’s really necessary. Stop bein’ a whiny little bitch and…” Catcher’s eyes widened slightly. That was twice he’d forgotten he was a prospect talking to a member. “Sorry.” He looked away.

Win went through the treatment and stepped out into the bright sunlight feeling like he was ready to play the part of an investor who’d spent his whole adult life in an office and never learned to ride.

CHAPTER Eleven

Night Flight

Thursday afternoon Win knocked on the jamb of Boss’s door, which was open.

The prez looked up and said, “Come on in here, recruit.” Boss had a way of sounding as boisterous and enthusiastic as a top notch salesman, but Win had learned that gregarious personality hid a brilliant mind that worked nonstop. “You got a sissy knock. You know that?”

Win smiled. “Tryin’ to be respectful.”

Boss laughed. “I thought maybe you were hopin’ to tiptoe by that door and not wake it up. Since it got a taste of your blood and all.”

Win kept his good-natured smile in place. He didn’t mind being ribbed. Good-natured banter meant he’d been accepted. And was trusted.

“What you need?” Boss asked as he pointed at the chair in front of him.

“Well, I’m wonderin’ about the procedure for makin’ suggestions?”

Boss sat back and cocked his head. “Guess that depends on the suggestion.”

“You mind if I close the door?”

Boss looked like he’d shifted into serious. “Go ahead.”

Win quickly closed the door, glancing at the back side to see if there was any indication that he’d been banged in the face. There wasn’t. That was disappointing.

After returning to his seat, he said, “It’s about the prospect, Catcher.”

“Yeah?”

“He’s goin’ with me tomorrow night.”

“I know that.”

“I know I’m new and all, but if it’s not out of line for me to put in a good word for him… We don’t know what’s gonna happen. Maybe nothin’. Maybe somethin’. It’s a risk I’m willin’ to take as a full patch member.”

He let that hang in the air, knowing that Boss would fill in the rest of the paragraph. Win’s heart had sped up a little. He wasn’t there to be involved in Marauder politics, like he was an actual member. He was there for a month to do a job and get the hell out.

Boss’s smile started slowly and grew into a full-on grin. “I think I know where you’re headed with this, recruit. After you’ve been around for a while, you’re gonna find that I’m always a few steps ahead of you.”

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