Page 15 of Lawless
"Easy, boy," Reaper assured him gently.
Within seconds, Gunner and Horus came into view. Our blonde arms dealer and captain of the guard usually had a sunny disposition about him, but his face was pinched into a frown as he walked hurriedly toward us alongside the pool.
"Been looking all over for you fucks," he yelled up irritably.
Horus released his shoulder with a screech, flying the short distance toward us until he grabbed the balcony railing in his talons. Hades, now relaxed at the sight of his feathered friend, placed his front paws on either side of the falcon to stand on his hind legs. I swore that dog never stopped growing. At this height, he was almost taller than me and Reaper.
"What's the matter, Gun?" Reaper reached around to scratch his Doberman's belly.
Gunner huffed out a sigh and looked up at us grimly. "I gotta talk to you guys about something."
Six
MARIPOSA
"You really should be resting," I grumbled, watching Gretchen carry a twenty-pound bag of rice across the kitchen.
"And leave you to do everything yourself? No way, Jose!" She cut open the bag and began dumping its contents into a large pot. "I'll just work back here while you serve drinks and stuff if you don't mind. They prefer a pretty face to look at, or at least not a fucked up one."
I simmered in my anger as I sliced through cheese and salami for the Steel Demons' appetizers. We had no ice for the swelling on Gretchen's face, although cool towels and Tylenol helped somewhat. She was obviously still in pain by the way she worked. I had no idea why she insisted on waiting hand and foot on the men who did this to her, rather than rest and wait it out until they were gone.
"Why don't Tom and Liza ever help out?" I asked. "This is their place, after all."
"Tom would never do women's work," Gretchen muttered, now dumping water over the rice. "And Liza's lost too many brain cells to do anything. She's probably high out of her mind on fentanyl right now."
"Perfect," I muttered, arranging the cheese and meat on a board. "What would they even do without us?"
"Find other girls. We're replaceable like machines, after all."
No, we're not. We're fucking people.But I kept my mouth shut as I headed out to the lobby—food board in one hand, pitcher of beer in the other.
Being the only one running food and drinks out, I had to hustle extra fast. Sweat collected on my brow and my feet never stopped moving. The bikers were just as voracious eaters and drinkers as the first night, although this time felt different.
The men were quieter, talking to each other in low voices and all but ignoring the service girls. Tension hung in the air like the first moments before a fight. Even Reaper's dog seemed more vigilant than normal.
I looked for Kitty among the bored and rejected service girls, but she was nowhere to be seen. Chewing my lip in concern, I hoped I'd be able to check on her if I ever got a break tonight.
My rounds took me back to the large man all dressed in black, with his long hair covering one eye. Again he sat by the door, not touching his beer, nor talking to anyone.
"You know, if you don't drink," I paused, balancing my empty tray on my hip, "you could say something and I won't waste a trip putting a beer pitcher in front of you."
His uncovered brown eye lifted to me, widening slightly as though surprised. Then just as quickly, his gaze snapped back down to the table, fists clenching on his knees. I couldn’t help but look at him with curiosity.Is heableto talk? And if not, what made him that way?
Someone else's hand clapped down on the big man's shoulder, and a charming smile made my pulse quicken.
"Shadow prefers hard liquor." The handsome vice president took a seat next to his silent comrade. "Beer takes too long for this guy to feel anything, and he just ends up pissing like a racehorse the whole night." His bright hazel eyes drank me in seductively. "I don't think I introduced myself. I'm Jandro, Reaper's right hand man."
"Jandro?" I repeated. "So your real name is Alejandro, I take it? Why not just go by that, or Alex, like a normal person?"
It probably wasn't smart of me to get snippy with these guys, but my irritation was at an all-time high. They assaulted a teenage girl, who just wanted to sweep it under the rug, treated women like fuck toys in general, and consumed their collective weight in food and beer for what, exactly? And I was just expected to smile, look pretty, and give whatever they asked? Fuck that.
Jandro's grin just spread wider at my dig about his name. "Because I'm not a normal guy,Marrriposa. None of us in the SDMC are. Isn't that right, Shadow?"
The large man just grunted as he popped a cheese cube in his mouth and chewed.
"Let me guess," I mused. "You're Shadow because you're tall, dark, and silent?"
He didn't answer, as expected, but I was kind of hoping he would look up at me again. Something about this large, silent man piqued my curiosity.
