“She already said as soon as they heard the first blast the pigs were scramblin’ and the head oinker was callin’ everyone in, along with getting ahold of the staties.”
“You fuckin’ call Max that to his face?”
Rook smirked. “Yeah, why not? The fucker accidentally calls me Crook.”
Whip snorted and instantly regretted it as pain shot through his busted-up face. “Bet that makes for a fun family gatherin’.”
“Try to avoid them, but when I can’t, by the end of the night they usually regret invitin’ me. Eventually they’ll stop.”
Whip shook his head and carefully took another sip of beer.
Rook rapped on the bar with his knuckles. “Won’t they shit a fuckin’ brick when I recruit those Bryson boys into the Fury instead of them goin’ into the pig academy. Time to break that cycle.”
“That’ll never happen.”
Rook’s eyebrows shot up. “Gonna do my best.”
“You do that, you’re gonna make Jet’s family our enemy.”
“Ain’t gonna cry about that. Are you?”
“No, but Trip might make you cry about it. You know he’s tryin’ to stay off their radar and remain civil with them.”
“Yeah, well, the second I stole Jet from them, we landed on their radar.”
His ol’ lady would probably disagree that Rook “stole” her from anyone. She was a strong woman who made her own decisions. And not necessarily ones Rook approved of.
“You’re single-handedly tryin’ to undo the good that was done by allowin’ them to adopt Levi.” Whip took a another sip of beer.
“Nah, they know they’re fuckin’ lucky they got that kid.”
Whip sighed.
Out of nowhere, Jet was standing behind them, surprising the shit out of Whip. He was off his game, for sure.
“You better have a cold beer ready for me.”
As soon as Dozer brought Rook’s next beer, her ol’ man turned and offered it to her.
She took it and gulped down half of it. When she finished she didn’t let out an obnoxious belch like her ol’ man, but instead released a weary sigh. After wedging herself between Whip and Rook, she dropped her voice down so no one else nearby could overhear her. “There’s practically an army headed up there going code three.” She looked at her ol’ man. “I don’t like being a part of this, Rook.”
His jaw tensed and he growled, “Already heard you every other fuckin’ time you said that. They didn’t leave us any fuckin’ choice. Think we wanted to spend this kind of scratch to end this fuckin’ shit? Think I wanted to get you involved? You knew what the fuck you were gettin’ into when you decided to be with me. You walked away from the job and into this life with your eyes fuckin’ wide open.”
Oh fuck. This whole plan must have been an issue in their household. Especially with giving Jet the task of spying on her own family.
They both turned until they faced each other with only a couple of inches separating them. Their expressions were stone hard as they stared at each other. Whip didn’t like being in the middle of their fight, or whatever was happening.
Now was probably not the best time or place for this type of disagreement, anyway. This party was supposed to be their alibi, not the reason they got busted.
After a few tense moments, Jet whispered harshly, “I don’t like lying to my family.”
“You ain’t lyin’. You just ain’t bein’ a snitch. If they out and out ask you if the Fury was to blame, then when you say no, which is the only right answer, that might be considered a lie.”
“Might?” she hissed.
Whip waded in, hoping to end this before anyone overheard them. “Depends how they ask it. She can honestly say none of us set off those explosives since the Shadows did.”
“Semantics,” Jet muttered. “I still don’t like it.”
“I don’t like worryin’ about my fuckin’ niece every damn day, either. Neither does my pop or my brother. You’d do whatever you gotta do to protect your family, we’re doin’ the same. You’re part of this family as much as that one. Don’t forget that.”
Whip understood Jet’s gripe. Being with Rook forced her to straddle a questionable line. The Fury on one side, her pig family on the other. However, for pigs the Brysons were actually decent people. They didn’t harass the Fury unlike when the Originals were wreaking havoc. Rook also needed to remember the Brysons were customers at the garage. Good ones. His father would be pissed if Rook chased away both their personal business and the fleet business the PD gave them.
“Unless you made a fuckin’ mistake and are changin’ your mind? That what you’re doin’, Jet? Havin’ second fuckin’ thoughts? Those fuckin’ regrets I warned you about?”
Whip could tell by Rook’s tone alone he was starting to come undone. Tonight had been hard on them all. They were all exhausted and on edge. And it wouldn’t take much to send any of them over.