Page 27 of Wire
“Hey Remy Girl, what’ve you been doing?”
“Oh, hey Uncle Hammer. I’ve just been in my room, reading.” I wave my Kindle at him and keep my face pleasant. His eyes dart all over my face, searching for the lie. When he’s satisfied with whatever he was looking for, he takes his finger, his silver skull ring glinting in the light, running it through my bangs, sweeping them to the side. He stares at me as his finger runs down my cheek.
“Fuck, Rem, you look more and more like your mother every day. You ever think about growing your hair out?”
I take a step back, putting space between us. My movement snaps Hammer out of his thoughts, and he smiles at me, but not before I see something flash in his eyes.
“You’d look good with all this blonde hair out of your face, give everyone a chance to see how beautiful you are, doll.”
“Maybe. Um, I’ll think about it.” I give him a smile, side step him and walk toward my dad, who’s been looking over at us with a frown.
“You good baby girl? What did Hammer want?”
“I need to talk to you, Dad. Something weird is going on.” He does the same thing Hammer did, scrutinizes my face. But where Hammer’s felt uncomfortable, my dad’s is out of concern.
“Sure thing Rem. Let’s take a ride.”
My body rocks a little longer, but nothing else comes to me, other than how uncomfortable I felt with Hammer in that moment. The only Death Rider’s brother I ever had that feeling with was Snake. Hammer had always, until that moment, been an uncle to me. When I told my dad what happened, that’s when the ball really started rolling. Savage asked Hammer to leave. He took half the MC with him, and then two months later I moved here.
With nothing helpful coming to me, I stretch, this time from side to side. My stomach lets out a groan and I remember I haven’t had a lot to eat today. Since that day in the library with Jovie, I’ve been taking extra lunch food and sharing it with her. Her dad has continued to be late for pickup, and when I asked Jovie if he had a new job or anything she told me he doesn’t have a job but he’s been busy with his friends. I have a bad feeling about this, but with no proof, there’s nothing I can do about the situation. I tried looking online for any information on Jovie and not a lot came up. There are no records of a Jovie Spencer anywhere.
I even spoke to Mags about Jovie. Not all the details, of course, that’s not how we work. But he knows enough to know that I’m worried about leaving her with her awful father. So much so he’s been pushing for us to meet up and I said yes. The feelings I have for Mags are real, deep. He’s my person. Healways has been. But, my growing friendship with Wire, if that’s what this is, has me feeling like I’m being disloyal to Mags. I’m hoping meeting up will make my feelings for both men much clearer.
I spin my seat and then decide to head to the kitchen. I’m alone at the control center and I feel like a snack and maybe some company. I’ve been getting a lot better at engaging the brothers in conversation, and I’ve been enjoying my time with them. They’re all so different. Some, like Rider, are really funny and always trying to get a rise out of his brothers. Others like Tank and Sniper are quieter. They’re the ones I’d say I was closest to. At the moment, though, they’ll all be in Church.
The scent of brownies or cookies wafts down the hall and I follow my nose until I’m on the other side of the large stainless steel island facing Ana’s mom Debs. A brownie big enough to feed an army sitting on the counter between us.
“Mmmm, they look and smell so good!”
“Well, help yourself,kotiro! Take one for all the hard working security team too. It’ll help you relax a little.” She winks at me, so I take one gratefully and let the sticky sweetness play on my tongue. It’s soft, chocolatey, gooey with just the right amount of chew. In other words, it’s delicious. There is an earthy hint to it as well, so it must be a secret Debs ingredient. I take another bite and try not to groan too loud. The brownie is so good I don’t even realize I’ve closed my eyes in bliss until I open them to a glass of cold milk in front of me.
“Thank you so much, Debs. This is just what I needed.”
“Been a day, huh? Tell Mama Debs all about it while I make another batch. You know what these boys are like.”
I shrug, pull up a chair and tell Debs all about Jovie and my concerns. She listens intently to me, holds my hand when my lip wobbles, and gives me a hug when I tell her how powerless I feel to help. I know she’s not mine, and I know I’ve not known herlong, but somehow Jovie has burrowed her way into my heart and I really want to help her.
“Well,kotiro, I think you should do whatever you need to do to help that baby. If all we can do at the moment is make sure she’s getting a good meal, then that’s what we’ll do.” She pats my hand and goes to open her mouth to say something else when Chewy comes storming through the kitchen, heading straight through. She has brown gunk on her hands all the way up to her elbows, and the smell emanating from her is a mix of Port-a-Potty and roadkill. What the heck has she been up to?
Sharing a look with Debs, we both shrug at each other. Debs pops another slice of brownie on my plate before looking at me with raised brows. I take the plate, thanking her, then heading back to the control center. I have a dirtbag to look for.
Chapter Eight
St_Margarita: Do you ever think about having a family?
Beretta_Penn: Kinda need a husband for that stuff.
St_Margarita: So do you want one?
Beretta_Penn: Yeah. I always wanted to have a husband who loved me, maybe some kids. Why? Sleeping with nameless, faceless women getting to you?
St_Margarita: Maybe. That and I can’t really see myself building a life with those women.
Beretta_Penn: Wow, I bet they love that.
St_Margarita: I want someone I can have more with than just hot sex. Someone I can talk to.
Beretta_Penn: Have you, I don’t know, tried talking to these women?