Page 29 of King's Barber
He scratched his jaw, his cheeks flushed with the buzz of alcohol. His face always grew redder after he’d been drinking. “I can. Ask King. I’m the perfect soldier.”
I knew for a fact that wasn’t right, and I didn’t need to ask King. I’d seen Luke on numerous occasions do the complete opposite of what King had asked him to do. “Talk to this man, Barber” was the order, and then he’d go and kill the guy. “Get the money off him, Barber,” and he’d take a few fingers instead of cash. Then there was the mess he left behind. He was like a child playing in paint—except it was blood. What was strange was how handsome I thought he was while he was covered in the deep crimson liquid. It shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, yet I’d always grown hard watching him kill someone.
“Come on, it’s time to get you home.”
Luke groaned when I stood and walked to his side of the table. “We’re just getting started. I want to know everything about you. Your childhood. What kind of childhood did you have? Did you grow up here?” He gestured around him, and I assumed he meant Vert Island.
“No, I grew up on the edge of town in a small two-bedroom house with my hunter dad and my scientist mom. Come on.” I reached over to tap KC on the shoulder, and he yanked his earbuds out, staring at me curiously. “We’re taking Luke home, and I’ll need your help. He weighs a ton.”
Luke grunted. “Not a ton.”
“He’s hammered.”
“I’d like to be hammered—by you.” Luke laughed so hard the sound echoed around the room. I rolled my eyes, and KC chuckled. “Yeah, just a little,” he said as he pushed himself to his feet. Luke held up his hands, shaking his arm out of my hold. “Listen, I’m not drunk. I’m fine. I can hold my liquor. I’m just really tired. It’s been a big day.”
“Yes, you can hold it, but that doesn’t mean you’re in the right mind to drive home, and I am not letting you stay here. That’s the quickest way to get yourself killed, when you decide to peek in on me sleeping again.” I seized his left arm and dragged him to his feet. He stumbled slightly, but KC pressed his hand to Luke’s chest to stop him from tumbling to the floor.
“I’m fine,” Luke said.
“You are not. Let’s go.” I guided him out toward the garage with KC taking Luke’s other side.
I grabbed my keys from the hook in the kitchen on the way past and locked up the house when we went out through the door to the garage. KC already had Luke in the back seat by the time I arrived at the car, and when we got into the front with me behind the wheel, he was snoozing.
“How much did he drink?” KC asked in wonder, staring at Luke with wide eyes.
“I wouldn’t put it past him to have started before he came to dinner. He probably hasn’t eaten much, either. He was really busy at work today.” I smiled as I pressed the Start button on the BMW and then reversed out of the garage. The drive from Vert Island to Luke’s home with his uncle in East New Gothenburg would have taken over an hour in the business hours of the day, but as it neared nine the traffic was light, and it took us just over half an hour instead. Luke continued to sleep until we reached the dirt driveway of his uncle’s home. If Luke asked, I could tell him that he’d given me his uncle’s address while he was half asleep.
The yard was big for being near a city—filled with old junk, including cars—and it reminded me a lot of the Kings’ clubhouse. The closer we got to the house, the clearer it became. The house was more a shack made of wooden panels, with a small veranda out front and a light. A two-seater swing was attached to the roof of the veranda, and an older man and a young girl were sitting in it when we rolled up. To the left, in front of the house, was a bonfire raging high with flickering flames, seats surrounding it just far enough away to stop from getting burned if someone sat there.
Luke jerked awake just in time. “Uh? Oh. Fuck. We’re home. My bike.”
“You can come get it tomorrow,” I said as I turned off the ignition and stepped out of my low car. Opening Luke’s door, I grabbed his hand and hauled him out just as KC reached our side.
Luke’s uncle Errol heaved himself off the swing and made his way down the short set of steps, his daughter right behind him. They were complete opposites in every way, with Errol being the older version of Luke. He was a wild beast with shoulder-length gray hair and a beard to match, until recently apparently. An array of tattoos was inked along his arms, which I got a good look at when he crossed them over his chest, and he had a mischievous grin, the same one Luke used when he was up to no good.
Luke’s cousin, on the other hand, was all prettied up, even at this time of night. She had her long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and light traces of makeup covered her face. I didn’t know her well, but she came into the salon occasionally to get her hair done, and she was sweet. Sly and tricky like her father and cousin, but charming, too.
“What’s he gone and done?” Errol laughed and shook his head as we helped Luke straighten, although he had more balance than he should have. I suspected he’d slept off some of his booze.
“He didn’t happen to drink some alcohol before he came to my house, did he?” I raised my eyebrows, and Errol’s laughter went louder.
“Just a couple of nips of homemade whiskey.”
Luke glared at him. “You made it stronger than usual.”
Errol held up his hands toward him. “You were a nervous wreck. I hadda calm you down somehow.”
I rolled my eyes. They were clearly related. “He could have killed someone on the drive to my house. It’s not a short distance.”
Errol waved his hand impatiently. “Ah, he knows how to handle his bike. He needed somethin’ to cool him down.”
Sophie sighed loudly and sent me an apologetic smile. “Men, right?”
I chuckled. “Where do you want me to put him?”
“Stay,” Luke said. He was so close to my ear that his breath tickled my neck and made me shiver. “Come meet my uncle Errol and my Sophie. They have the fire going.” He didn’t wait for my answer, stumbling toward the seats around the bonfire. I followed but only because I didn’t want him burning himself in his drunken state.
Errol, Sophie, and KC trailed behind us, and we each took a seat near the crackling fire, the heat a welcome feeling in the chilly fall air.
