Broken but Breathing (Jinx Tattoos 2)

“I want an order of wings and two orders of waffles fries. Ten Teriyaki, ten Buffalo-style, and ten Honey Whiskey BBQ.”

“I’m on it.” Band-Aid quickly disappeared in the rapidly gathering crowd.

It was a Wednesday which meant it was slow, and he never brought women in from the outside. The lot gossiped like teenage girls half the time, and he’d given them new fodder. It was the one major drawback of having such a tight-knit family.

She shrugged off her jacket, and he took in her tiny waist. Woman looks like a strong wind could blow her over. He imagined her with meat

on her bones.

“What do we know about this one?”

He turned to see Mike in his personal space.

“Not too much.”

“But you’re bringing her around?”

“She needs a friend.”

“That’s what Facebook is for,” Mike said.

After shit went down with the IRA, his President had been on edge, and cautious of anyone new who came around.

“I met her in my grief group, man.” He ran a hand through his hair and cracked his neck. “I couldn’t let her battle this shit on her own. Her kid would’ve been two today.”

“Damn, tough break. I feel for her. But we need to make sure she’s secure.”

“You want to have Data look her over, be my guest,” he said.

“Do you even know her full name or address?” Mike asked.

Snake shook his head. “Wasn’t important.”

“It should’ve been. You’re getting sloppy, brother. That leads to mistakes.”

“She’s not a part of this world. There’s no threat. She’s a lonely ass woman broken, hurting, and trying to piece together her life after some terrible shit. She’d looked familiar to me since I met her. I couldn’t place her until recently. She was all over the news a few years back for being caught in that tornado. If Data looks up Estelle Noll, he’ll find novels worth of info.”

“Shit. That little thing survived a tornado?” Mike said.

Snake nodded. “She’s stronger than she looks. She just needs to remember that.”

“And you’re taking this on yourself, why? You can’t bring Jade and Jocelyn back. I don’t want you to get your shit twisted. I need you sharp.”

“Don’t you think I know that? She couldn’t be less like Jade if she tried,” Snake snapped, pissed that Mike doubted him.

“Make sure you don’t forget where your priorities lay. I’ll talk to Data about running her info. If anything comes up, I want this shutdown.”

“It won’t,” Snake growled.

“We’ll see,” Mike said.

Snake let the man’s words roll off his back like water. It was his job to keep the club safe. The task placed a heavy weight on Mike. Bigger organizations than the Wild Ones had been brought down by a mole implanted amongst the ranks. He returned his attention to the small woman rolling up the sleeves of her white button down and putting on what he could only describe as her game face. His lips flickered into the ghost of a smile. With her furrowed brow and narrowed gaze, she faced down Dirty with all the intensity of a gunfighter.

“I’m ready,” she stated.

“How long you been in this class?” Dirty asked.

“About a month.”