Page 109 of The Thief

I leaned in tight. “If I didn’t know better, Calvin, I’d say you were getting soft on me.”

“The fuck I am.” He stared at me for a beat, amusement twinkling in his eyes.

“I’m staying late to help Bear, so I’ll close up. You can take off whenever you’re ready. I’ve been off my feet for three hours now, so I got my second wind.”

Calvin shook his head. “You work too hard, honey.”

“Maybe if you hired another server…”

When he swatted in my direction, I laughed and hurried off to put my shoes back on.

Once I returned to my group, I put the penny on the table and collected my shoes off the floor.

“What’s this?” Virgil stood the penny on its end and flicked the side with his finger, causing the coin to gyrate on the table.

“That was my tip from Hamish.”

Archer slammed his hand over the penny and glowered. “Are you fucking kidding me? You shuttled food and beer to his people for the past eight hours.” Still seated in the chair to my left, Archer held the penny up. “Tak! Get over here.”

I glanced to the right. Tak rocked his arm back and forth as he lined up his shot.

“I’m busy,” he called back.

Archer turned the coin between his fingers. “Hamish tipped her a penny.”

When Tak threw the dart, he turned simultaneously. The dart hit Lakota’s foot, and he spat out a curse.

Tak stalked behind Virgil’s chair, reached over, and took the coin from Archer. At the same time, he was eyeing the empty table up front.

I finished tying my second sneaker. “It’s fine. They spent a lot of money in here today. A lot.”

“That’s because he’s a jackass who thinks he owns everything.” Tak glowered.

Ignoring him, I said, “Did you see that bottle of whiskey he bought? Calvin’s had that thing since he bought the place. He kept it for the egomaniacs who like to flaunt their wealth. I don’t care why Hamish dropped six grand in here. By not tipping me, he only showed his packmates what kind of man he really is: cheap and petty. Maybe they won’t ever confront him on it, but they know. And if I get on their good side, they might tip me extra out of guilt.”

Tak put his hand on the sheathed dagger attached to his belt. He wore it occasionally when we went out, and I thought nothing of it. Breed bars didn’t care about weapons. Daggers were usually the more popular weapon of choice, and his was beautiful. Unlike others I’d seen, it had a backward hook on the dull spine. I could only imagine the damage inflicted when ripped out of a body.

“I don’t care,” I assured him. “Everyone’s been so generous that I’ve made more than enough tonight.”

He shook his head. “You realize why he was cheap with you.”

“Because she’s one of us,” Archer answered.

Tak took a deep breath and lowered his head. “That coin is a message to me.”

I jerked my head back. “I thought he was just being a cheap a-hole.”

Virgil snorted and adjusted his brown fedora, his eyes glazed over from the alcohol.

Tak tossed the penny on the floor. “He and his men will come here as often as they like, but they won’t leave you a tip. Don’t go overboard trying to win them over. Hamish knows part of your cut goes to me, so he’s making a point that he’ll never send a dime my way unless it’s in exchange for his land.”

I hadn’t thought of it that way. “One thing he can’t do is convince anyone in town that I gave him a dismal service. Hamish might change his tune if customers notice how cheap he is with me. That won’t help his reputation around here. Maybe what we need to do is throw a peace party.”

Virgil spat out his drink.

After pulling out the chair between Virgil and Hope, Tak sat across the table from me. “I won’t be feeding that man for free. If I ever invite him to a peace party, he’ll bring his own grill and food and set it up by the old outhouse.”

Hope leaned against his arm. “You sound like my father more and more every day. What happened to the man I fell in love with? The one who fed the homeless?”

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