“Why don’t you call them yourself?” “Uh, because I think them reaching out to Sunday on my behalf would do more damage than be helpful.”
The sarcasm was heavy.
“Stop with the attitude,” I called from the bed.
“Ah. And there’s my ex speaking again. So, what’s it going to be? I’ll give you something to help out your daddy, and you help me out. An even exchange.”
“My dad’s supposed to be clean of everything, so this actually doesn’t help my dad.”
As soon as the words were out, I grimaced. I had learned. Right? This was Drake. You don’t trust Drake Ryerson. It was a cardinal rule in my world, and I just broke it. Why had I told him that?
“Doesn’t matter. One and the same. If Raith and the club keep looking for the witness, time will tell, but I’m guessing they’ll get more desperate. Even the ‘clean’ members will get pulled in to get dirty, and that’s your pops, Bren.”
Pops. Even he was calling him that name.
Cross frowned. “Why’d you call him that?”
“What?”
“Pops. Why’d you call him that?”
“That’s what he went by in here. They talk about him still.”
I frowned. Was that normal? But then again, he got released because of a dirty cop, so maybe he was more known than I would’ve thought.
“What’s it going to be?”
Cross raised an eyebrow at me.
I shook my head, saying, “We’ll have to think on it.”
Drake groaned from his end. “Don’t tell me you need to do a stupid ‘crew meeting’ about it? Or are your boys there?”
I glared at the phone because it wasn’t any of his business, then I forced myself to relax. I chided back, “No. Jordan is actually on his way to Roussou today, not that it’s any of your business. And don’t be jealous, Drake, just cause you don’t have a crew.”
He snickered. It was short and sweet. “Fine. I can wait till your boys get back. Have your crew meeting. I got phone time tomorrow morning, or I can email you with the name. Your call.”
That was it.
I started to get up from the bed.
Then, “Hey, Shaw.”
I paused, the bedcover half in the air.
Cross’ thumb had been moving to the end button. “Yeah?”
“You guys are all in Cain, right?”
“How’s that your business?”
“We got a Tim Harper on the prison board here. Word around here is that he’s big where you are. I know his kid. Can you believe that? Random, huh? What are the odds that you know him, too?”
I was up in a heartbeat and snatching the phone back. “Are you on social media? I didn’t think you could go on there from prison.”
He laughed, this one lasting long and it sounded ripe. “No, no. We can email. That’s about it, but I just thought what a small world, right? So do you guys know a Harper there?”
I recognized this new tone from him. He was fucking with us, and not giving a damn, I ended the call.
“Do you—”
Nope.
I tossed the phone onto a pile of clothes, grabbed his hand, and tugged him back to bed. He needed those sweatpants off and right now.
“Okay, then.”
I laughed, my mouth finding his, and there were no more words shared.
CROSS
“Dickweed.”
Not this again.
I rotated on a pivot, my hand already up in the air. Blaise was coming in from behind me, and I grabbed him by his throat. The momentum of him coming to a stop, and I backed him up to a tree behind him. Slamming him against it, I was in his face. “Stop. Calling. Me. That.”
I’d been walking to class, not enjoying that I left Bren back at the house alone. Jordan left early this morning, and I knew he was hoping to get back either tonight or tomorrow sometime. With everything that happened yesterday, Brock thought it’d be a good idea if Bren took a leave of absence until the whole Red Demons thing was laid to rest.
Bren didn’t know when that would happen, so she was also not only taking a leave of absence, but she was studying for her bounty hunting license. So at least she wasn’t wasting her free time.
All that said, I was on edge.
I had two crew members out of town, one who wasn’t keeping in touch enough to make me feel comfortable, so the other had to go get him and bring him home, and then there was Bren who was home after dealing with some serious emotions. All that shit, and just my normal ‘brother’ anger was getting channeled into Dickweed right now.
His eyes opened. “Whoa.” He stiffened, then his hands were up and he shoved me back. It was a brief hit, almost like a pop, but I didn’t fight it. I let him go, stepping back, and my head lowered, but I kept my gaze on him.
We had a whole crowd around us.