Page 7 of Archer
I smirked to myself.Rose’s hero, huh?
I led the distraught Ronald to the door, assuring him Rose would be in good hands. When I turned around, I had a pleased smile on my face. Unfortunately, I was met with a club of irritated bikers staring back at me, shaking their heads with irritation.
“What?” I shrugged. “Was I supposed to just send him out the door? Tell him he’s on his own?”
“Yes,” Crow said simply.
“Oh, come on,” I said. “These are innocent people’s lives at stake.”
Tank glared at me through his dark eyes. “We’ve had no issues with the Freeways since last summer. It’s been a year since Hollywood died, sinceyoualmost died,” he said. “And now you’re volunteering us to go run into their messes we have no issues messin’ around in?”
“They’regoodpeople,” I said. “If we don’t help, the way I see it is we’re being lazy.”
“Fine by me,” Crow said. “Don’t need no princess whining my ear off all night.”
“They have nothing to offer us, Archer,” Wrench said, trying to reason with me. “I know you’re hoping this is your one shot, but it’s not likewe’regaining anything from it.”
“What about our reputation? Huh?” I said. “What’s the point of trying to help the East Side if there’s good people getting killed across the road?”
“Helping people who took out fraudulent loans isn’t going to help our reputation,” Tank said, “Besides, I remember him now. Ronald Loggins. Everyone knows he’s gotten a little… erm… ‘eccentric’ after his wife passed away.”
“Wait,” I said, pulling my neck back. “Rose’s mom is dead? What happened?”
“Got sick, I think,” he said. “That was, what, twenty years ago now? Shortly after that bakery even opened and it really was theonlybakery. Never heard much about it other than Ron getting stranger and stranger over the years after she died.”
“What’s going on?” Evelyn asked, popping out of the kitchen. “Who died?”
“Rose’s mom, but that was twenty years ago,” I said. “Rose’s dad came here asking for our help protecting Rose from the Freeways and none of these guys want to.”
Tank rolled his eyes as soon Evelyn gasped, swatting Tank’s shoulder. “He’d better be joking!”
“I’m not,” I said.
Evelyn turned to the rest of them. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”
Crow stood up from his seat. “I’m grabbing a whiskey.”
Rolling her eyes, she turned to Wrench. “What would Samantha think?”
Wrench shrugged. “She’d probably be happy I’m staying out of unnecessary trouble.”
“These guys, Evelyn, huh?” I said, tutting my tongue with disappointment. “If only they were as nice of a guy as me…”
“All right,” Wrench said. “Stop the nice guy charade.”
“What charade?” I asked.
“We all know that if it was any other woman, you’d be telling them to hit the road,” he said. “But just because it’s Rose and you want to fuck her, you’re willing to help.”
“All right, all right, all right.” I held my hands up. “I’m really disappointed by your loyalty, here. You know, I’ve donetonsfor you over the years. Like, Ripper, remember when I set you up with that model?”
“She was bigger than me…” Ripper, the giant man, said, his nose scrunched with disgust.
“Well, what about you, Wrench?” I said. “I wasso nicelast year andpolitelyasked the Vet to leave you alone so that you wouldn’t get in anymore trouble from Tank. Because I’mthatnice.”
“You literally stalked her to her house and threatened her in the middle of the night. She was terrified of you for weeks,” Wrench said, staring at me ludicrously. “That’s the farthest thing from nice.”
“Fine, I get it. I haven’t done aton,I guess,” I admitted. “But I’m not asking for much, really. I won’t need help. She’ll be in my apartment the entire time, none of you come over, you’ll forget I’m even helping. All I’m asking is that you have my back. If things get fucked up with the Freeways, I want to know that you’ll back me up if I need you to.”
