Page 24 of Wrench
¡°Glad I came by, too,¡± she said and blew a bubble with the strawberry gum she always
chewed. When it popped, it snapped my eyes away from her legs, finally. Her hands were
on her hips and it looked like Tank was in trouble. ¡°What¡¯s this I hear about poor Buddy-
Boy being sick? And my husband not letting you take him to the vet?¡±
I smiled.
¡°Evelyn, come on, he probably just ate some butter or somethin¡¯.¡±
¡°Isaac has had that dog since the day you met him.¡± Tank looked confused at the drop
of my real name before he remembered. Evelyn was the only in of the gang who referred
to us by our real names. It always caught everyone, including myself, off guard when
they¡¯d hear the name Isaac. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to live with yourself if something
happened because you wouldn¡¯t let him take the day off to take his dog to the vet.¡±
¡°Hon, you don¡¯t under¡ª¡±
¡°Oh Lord, you¡¯re not sending him back to that damn crime scene you went poking
around in the middle of the goddamn night, are you?¡± Tank stopped arguing and lowered
his head, a twinge of redness sneaking up behind his beard, an unusual sight for Tank.
¡°You are! For heaven's sake, Oliver, it¡¯s broad daylight out there! Are you insane? Do you
want to get arrested?¡± Disapproval was radiating off Evelyn as she shook her head at
Tank.
Tank may have been the President of the Blazing Rebels, but Evelyn was the President
of their marriage. She had to be the only person in Mascid who was brave enough to
confront Tank. It was hilarious to watch.
¡°I guess she¡¯s got a point,¡± Tank mumbled toward me and I knew I¡¯d get a smack
upside the head later for the shit-eating grin on my face, but it was worth it. He turned
back to her and tried to charm her. ¡°Always knew you were more than a pretty face, Evie.¡±
¡°Uh-huh.¡± She snapped her gum. ¡°Isaac, go take Buddy to the vet and give Tank a call
once you¡¯re done. Give my sweet boy a kiss for me!¡±
Evelyn drug Tank out by the arm and left me to dig Buddy¡¯s carrier from the storage
closet in the Tavern¡¯s basement. I thought finding it would be the most difficult part,
seeing as I hadn¡¯t seen it since I bought it years ago, but it was surprisingly exactly where
I left it. The only change was an inch of dust and cobwebs coating it. Getting my ninety-
