Page 7 of Legacy of Smoke
Jackson wasn’t at the junkyard. Sprout wasn’t either. Wolf and his woman were, though. I kept my eyes above shoulder level when Wolf introduced me to her. “Tits”damn it… earned her name. She was a biker chick’s biker chick. Rode a deceptively ugly rat bike and oozed class with deadly sass. One minute with them, and I could tell she was smitten with Wolf. Most chicks were. But this one, she had an advantage. Wolf was twice as smitten with her.
“You got any work for me tonight?”
“I don’t. Did you check with Sprout?”
“All done for the day.”
“How was your first day on the job?” Tits asked.
“Good,” I answered, wondering if she asked to be nice or if she was really interested. I double checked with Wolf to makesure I wasn’t overstepping by talking to his woman. But she snapped her fingers in front of my face as I did so.
“Listen up. I may be his wife and shit, but I’m a human and a biker and I’ll kick your ass if you don’t show me the same respect he gets, got it? “
I cleared my throat to set her straight. We were Destroyers not some pansy-ass weekend group. Wolf beat me to it.
“What she said. Dis my wife, I’ll kill you. Once she’s done kicking your ass, that is.”
After including them both in my gaze, I replied, “Understood.” His problem, not mine. I personally craved sweet, soft… sunshine and flowers. Poppy’s smiling face popped into mind. But with a glance at the wall of shame, or honor, depending on who you asked, I checked my wayward brain with a good hard look at Pinner’s ugly mug. “If you don’t need me, I’m going to get dinner.”
“There’s food here.” Wolf indicated the half-cold cardboard box pizza on the bar.
“Yeah, I’ll pass.”
Wolf grabbed me by the vest. “Are you insulting my wife’s cooking?”
I glanced at Tits, who had pulled out a knife. “That box says she didn’t cook it, some pimple-faced kid did, so again, I’ll pass.”
They both roared with laughter. Wolf wiped his eye and said, “I was wondering when you’d stop being a whupped puppy and start sticking up for yourself. It is good to have you back, Smoke.”
He slapped skin on mine, and we clasped hands as brothers do. “Good to be back. But you got that fucking officer patch and shit, so…”
Wolf looked down at it and scoffed. “Fucking Jackson won’t let me take it off.”
“That’s a lie.” Tits leaned in as she whispered in jest. “He fought hard for that job.”
A shadow fell across her expression as she lowered her eyes. Her hand slipped to his leg, the one with the prosthetic, and her hair covered the secrets on her face better than a veil.
Wolf wasn’t as easy to read. He practically dared me to say something with his stoic glare.
“I can’t think of a better man for it. Thank God Kush finally hung up the saddle. Best thing he brought to the job was his deadly farts.”
“Ha, that’s the truth.” Wolf hugged Tits and the somber mood fled.
Wolf redirected the conversation to me. “Where are you going for dinner? We could tag with, grab a brew or two?”
“Uh. Poppy’s.”
“I’ve never heard of the place,” Tits said.
Wolf on the other hand, shook his head. “Don’t go there. Pinner will kill you.”
“Like he could. Besides, she invited me. Said she’d hope someone would do the same for her dad. I couldn’t really say no tothat, could I?”
He made a face. “Yeah… that was dirty pool on her part. No way you could turn that down.”
Tits interrupted. “Wait, Poppy is a girl?”
Funny how both Wolf and I clammed up. “We don’t think of her that way, do we, Smoke?”
