Page 41 of Lawless
"Us four," I counted off my fingers. "Me, Reap, Jandro, and Shadow. Hades and Horus, of course. You, plus four of my guardsmen."
"So eleven of us, including the animals." She tapped her chin thoughtfully as her eyes drifted over the cabinets. I smiled, crossing my arms as I watched her think about what to pack. She was already one of us, even if she didn't know it yet.
"The animals are full-fledged club members, too," I chuckled. "Definitely can't forget about them."
"Reaper's gonna be thrilled about being stuck with me for days," she grumbled. "Especially if Hades still likes me."
So I was right—theydidhave something between them. I had my suspicions at the barbecue, and doubly so after he stepped in at Fight Night. Reaper practically spat through his teeth that we'd need to bring her on this ride. He didn't specify what happened, but I knew him half my life and never saw him get this worked up over a woman before. Mari barely found her footing with us and they were already fighting like an old married couple.
"Hey," I lifted her chin with a finger, bringing those pretty hazel eyes to meet mine. "I don't like seeing you down about Reap. Know what'll make him crazy?"
"What?"
"Ride with me," I winked at her. "Or Jandro. Hell, even Shadow. But if you touch the big guy, he might spontaneously combust. Women don't really go near him, and I'm not sure he'd know what to do."
She laughed softly at that, and I swore my fucked up finger throbbed even faster.
"Riding with one of you guys is probably my only option. I don't think he wants me anywhere near him."
Damn Reaper. I just might have to kick his ass for that. I wasn't the type to always sympathize with women like one of those pussywhipped white knights, but I legitimately felt for Mari. She was just doing her job and never wanted to be here in the first place. Then she was thrown into Fight Night and bore the brunt of Reaper's cold shoulder all in the same hour. That shit would be rough, even to a man in the same circumstances.
"Don't worry about Reap," I told her, unable to resist dragging my finger from her chin down her neck. "He does this shit sometimes. Stick with me and Jandro and we'll keep you smiling."
There it was again, the smile she tried to hide. She really didn't want to let us think she was happy here, but we'd show her in time how much she really belonged with us.
"I just have one rule," I said, reluctantly letting my hand fall away from the contact with her skin.
Her eyebrows lifted. "What's that?"
"No trying to escape," I grinned and winked as I turned to leave the office.
* * *
The pool deckwas quiet that night. The air had cooled down significantly, making steam rise off the surface of the heated water. Steam mixed with the smoke puffed from fat cigars, the cherried ends looking like red eyes in the dim outdoor light.
"Nice of you to join us," Reaper remarked when I sat down, his cigar already halfway to ash.
"Had to finish packing the shit. Our gifts are fragile and I'm trying to sleep in tomorrow." I grabbed a cigar from his lacquered wooden box and stuck it between my teeth, then struck a match and began puffing.
"What did we decide on for a gift?" Jandro asked. His cigar looked barely started. The man liked to savor the finer things, which I always respected about him.
"An array of weapons that benefits mountain dwellers," I said with my first exhale. "A few of the nicer bows. Arrows with ceramic tips, that's the fragile part. Throwing knives, double-headed axes. Primitive stuff, but the Sandia outposters should appreciate it."
"Am I missing something?" Jandro asked critically, dark eyes narrowed and smoke exhaling from his nostrils like a bull.
"Like what?" I asked calmly. I respected Jandro as VP and for his ability to think outside the box, but that didn't give him the right to question my expertise.
"What's with the cowboys and Indians shit?" he asked. "Why not sniper rifles and silencers? A lot more effective, and you know, keeping up with the twenty-second century."
"Because the Sandian outpost people are isolated," I explained after a deep drag. "They're holed up in the fucking mountains. They need weapons that can be reused over and over again, and that don't need ammo because who knows when they'll get another supply? Even if this works out, we can't supply themandGeneral Tash’s rebellion with modern weapons. It'll wipe us out. I can't get it from my supplier any faster."
"I'm just concerned about this deal going sour because we insult them with weapons from fucking three hundred years ago," Jandro said. "I mean, Tash wants fucking stealth drones now. And we're giving guys two hundred miles away bows and arrows?"
"I know what I'm doing," I assured him. "The mountain dwellers are old-timers who appreciate the skill that goes into old-school weapons. They wouldn't know what to do with drones. If they're interested in guns, too, we'll work that out. But we also don't want to spoil them with a gift that's too nice right away."
Jandro looked at Reaper, whose cigar became little more than a nub during our conversation. "What say you, boss?"
"I trust Gunner's judgment," Reaper answered, setting his spent cigar in the ashtray and picking up his whiskey. "He's never done us wrong before. But we'll proceed with caution. For all we know, Razor Wire may have gotten to them already."
