Page 31 of Double Edged Hearts
Chapter Eight
Alex
“This will sell for ten G’s easily,” Dante beams, looking over the work he and Gio did on their latest modification.
They changed the wheels on a Kawasaki Ninja 650, turning it into a speed demon. They have a buyer who always spends a pretty penny on anything they work on.
“Ten g’s it is,” I agree and he nods vigorously.
We’ve been working in the garage at the arena for a little over an hour. The guys came by not long after I got back from the cemetery.
They know I can handle a sale just fine, but I know they’re here to check up on me. Hanging out with the motorcycles, the bond that glues us together, is our unspoken way of supporting each other in times of grief.
They’re doing the standard check for Jude’s anniversary and with my mood being evidently shit over the last few days, I know they’re anxious for me to talk about Cora.
Having them here has helped take my mind off things a little. I don’t expect Claudius to come, but he’ll do some little thing later and I’ll know it was his way of showing his support.
“Alex, kid, Manuel will be here soon, and he’s gonna try and talk the price down,” Gio points out, hopping off the counter.
“Yeah make sure that asshole doesn’t give you any less,” Dante chimes in
“Manuel better not cross me, or it’s his funeral,” I answer.
“Good, that’s the spirit. I’m just a humble man with a wife and kids to feed,” Dante says.
I feel like shit, but this is a guy who knows how to crack through my mood. I smirk and shake my head at him as I wipe the grease off my hands and set the cloth down on the work top.
“Dante, you, my friend, are far from a humble man,” I point out, and Gio laughs.
Dante and Gio make the most money out of the three of us. Dante owns a club, and Gio is his business partner. They bring in six figures a month. Add that to the fortune we make from adrenaline junkies who love the arena, and he is far from humble.
“The point about humility is not flaunting your shit around,” Dante preaches like he’s delivering the Sunday sermon.
“Or maybe not selling a priceless item for ten g’s. I’m tempted to keep this for myself.” Gio smirks.
“No, you will not.” Dante punches him hard in his arm. “You fucking keep doing that. Don’t think I don’t know about that damn bet you have with the Giordano boys.”
I roll my eyes. We’re all a long way from being boys but that’s what we all call each other. It stuck from back in the day when we all met. We were boys then. I was a few months shy of my seventeenth birthday when Jude and I moved here. One of my father’s friends who knew him from Italy made the arrangements for us to work with Raphael Rossi. Outside these guys, the Giordano boys were my first friends and to this day we all travel as a pack watching each other’s backs. Fuck knows what kind of bet Gio’s made with them. They’re as crazy as us, from one to the next.
“Dante, would I do such a thing?” Gio asks feigning innocence.
“You mean have me work my ass off on a bike so you can take it and use it to race Salvatore Giordano? Yeah you would, just like last time. And you didn’t invite me,” Dante throws back.
“Your wife said if I get you killed she’ll cut my head off, and my wife agreed she’d join her,” Gio answers with a chuckle and I just shake my head at the two of them.
“You guys and your dolls,” I scoff. I make it sound like it must be such a drag but I don’t really think that. I’m the only one who isn’t attached or in a relationship like they are and I don’t have kids. They all have families. I wanted that with Cora. If I hadn’t met the perfect girl and seen myself having a future with her it would be easier. “What’s the bet?” I ask, changing the subject.
Gio gives me one of his crazy smiles. “Remember when you tried to jump over the trailers? I want to do it.”
Again I shake my head, but Dante just laughs.
“You fucker, you’re gonna die.” Dante punches him in his shoulder.
“We’ll see about that. I’m gonna ask Alex to train me.”
I narrow my eyes at him.
Dante and Gio exchange curious glances then look back to me. I’m guessing I’m about to hear the talk they’ve been gearing up to give me.
