I was becoming a fucking pussy.
When I returned to my place shortly after midnight with a six pack of beer to keep me company, I realized that I’d missed three messages while on the road. One was from Luca, one was from Growl and the last was from Marcella.
I opened the latter first, worried she’d needed me and I hadn’t seen her message in time.
But all it said was,
You are right. They’re going to be pissed because of the crown.
P.S. I miss you.
I grinned and quickly typed a reply.
I hope I’ll get to see their stupid faces when you reveal the tattoo.
P.S. I miss you too.
I shook my head. I’d never texted with a girl like this, telling her I missed her, any kind of emotional bullshit really.
After a gulp of my beer, I opened Luca’s message.
Be at Growl’s at nine am.
No greeting, no reason why, just a simple order.
I wrote and deleted several replies that would have given me plenty of satisfaction, but probably would have made Luca less inclined to let Marcella see me.
I emptied the rest of my bottle before I finally wrote,
Yes, boss.
He’d probably realize the hidden sarcasm but it was the best I could do.
Now the message from Growl wasn’t all that surprising. I opened it.
If you want, you can have breakfast with the shelter crew at 8.
I smiled. Growl was really an okay guy.
I’ll be there. Should I bring anything?
I’d actually never been invited to breakfast. It was such an ordinary thing to do, especially considering how Growl looked.
Be hungry.
That wouldn’t be the problem. I’d spent the last few mornings eating stale gas station donuts and coffee that had a chicken-broth aftertaste.
When I pulled up in the driveway of the shelter, Growl’s car was already parked in front of the house. Another car I had never seen before was parked right beside it.
I felt strangely nervous, which was completely ridiculous. But this felt like the first test of many to become part of Marcella’s world, and while I’d never wanted to be part of it, I did now because of her. Even in my wildest dreams, I couldn’t imagine Marcella as an old lady who spoke only when spoken to and accepted the wild lifestyle of a motorcycle club. Either I became part of her world, or our worlds would never merge.
The door to the house opened and Growl waved me in.
I was surprised to find a beautiful woman with brown hair in her late thirties inside preparing pancakes and hash browns. Two massively muscled pitbulls sat beside her. A tattoo peeked out under her high ponytail and it was obvious that she was very fit.
“Your wife?” I asked Growl.
Pride and adoration filled his harsh face. “Yes, my wife Cara.”
Cara turned, wiped her hands on a dishtowel and came toward me, followed by her two dogs. She held out her hand with a warm smile. “Nice to meet you. Growl told me a lot about you.”
I grimaced. “I doubt anything good.”
She shook her head with a smile at her husband. “Actually, most of it was good.”
I glanced at Growl, who looked mildly uncomfortable.
He went into the next room and gruffly ordered the shelter kids to come in for breakfast. Soon everyone was gathered around the old wooden table. Four shelter kids who looked as if they’d had it at least as rough as the dogs in the kennels outside, Cara, Growl, and me.
Conversations mostly revolved around the dogs, and for a while I forgot that there even existed something like the enmity between the Famiglia and what was left of Tartarus.
The sound of an engine made Growl get up from his place. Soon Cara and the guys disappeared.
“Luca arrived with a few other soldiers you’ll probably be working with soon.”
I followed Growl’s gaze out toward the black limousines that had pulled up. Luca got out of the first car. A part of me hoped Marcella would be with him but I wasn’t surprised when she didn’t get out. Luca probably didn’t want his men to see us together so soon—if ever.
Three men followed Luca into the kitchen, all of them around my age, I would guess.
I told them what I knew about former hiding places of Tartarus but stayed vague when it came to Gunnar and my brother. I might be working with Luca for Marcella but now that she was safe, I wouldn’t put my brother in more danger than he already was.
The three men by Luca’s side-eyed me with suspicion but neither of them was particularly unfriendly. I didn’t trust them anyway. Maybe it was habit. At this point it was difficult to say if I could trust my instincts. My enemy compass was completely out of whack.
After a two-hour meeting, the three soldiers left in one of the limousines but Luca stayed.