Page 37 of Wall

The woman is a piece of work. Huge hair, blonde dye job with inch-long roots, pinched face. She’s wearing a clean T-shirt and panties, and compulsively scratching her forearms. I saw a lot of women like her when I was firefighting. She’s holding it together, barely, but the bill’s gonna come due soon.

“Where’s Ethan Eckels?” Forty demands. He’s managed to catch up with us.

“Who?” The woman folds her arms, shooting daggers at all of us. She has a ring on her finger. Diamond with blue sapphires and a gold band.

“Give me that ring,” I bark.

“Fuck you.” She tucks her hand in the crook of her arm to hide the ring. “Ethan! ETHAN!”

As if on cue, Creech and Charge muscle a shirtless guy with a faux hawk into the room. Pig Iron follows with a piece dangling in his hand. Looks like a .45 revolver. What, does this guy rob stagecoaches?

“He pull on you?” Forty asks our boys. This goes down real, real ugly if he did.

“Nope. The dumbass was climbing down the trellis. He threw the gun down first. I just picked it up.” Pig Iron snorts.

The guy’s wearing nothing but baggy gym shorts. Guess pitching it wasn’t the dumbest move?

“If this is a robbery, you better know, we have a security system. The cops are already on the way. You better—”

“Shut up, Brianna.” Eckels glares at the woman.

“Ethan—” she hisses back.

“Shut. Up.”

“First smart thing you’ve done.” The gravelly voice comes from behind, and we all shift, allowing Heavy into the room. He has the civilian at his side.

Eckels tries to back up, but he hits Charge’s chest. Charge bumps him forward.

If you don’t know Heavy, he is a man who can make you piss your pants. When shit gets real, he don’t seem entirely human. More like a cross between an orc and the devil. And the lead guitarist from an 80s metal band.

Part of it’s his voice. It can go so deep, it don’t sound natural. Part of it’s the way he looks at people who ain’t Steel Bones. Like they’re ants. Or air.

Brianna shuts up.

“You have a ring?” He opens his hand. She tugs it off, dashes forward to drop it in his palm, and then scampers back to Nickel. Guess she’s figured he’s the lesser of two evils.

Heavy passes me the ring, and I tuck it in my pocket. I feel a little better. Like I got something going for me now. Money in the bank.

“Brianna, do you have people somewhere who care about you?” Heavy uses that tone, the one that makes any room echo like church.

She’s crying now, soundlessly. I don’t like to see a woman cry, and I don’t get off on frightening one, neither. But I’ve known these men many years. They ain’t gonna hurt her.

“Parents? Grandparent?” Heavy bores into her with his black eyes.

She sniffles, staring at the floor. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“You should go visit them. Bet it’s been awhile since you’ve seen them, yeah?”

She ponders this a minute.

“Ethan?” She looks to her man.

He shrugs, doesn’t even spare her a glance. “Whatever, Brianna. Don’t ask me.”

“Can I get my things?” She asks Heavy.

He jerks his chin toward the stairs. She races up them, and comes back with pants on, a purse, and a cell phone tucked in her bra. Forty grabs the phone, and fishes for her wallet. Looking for ID.

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