Page 62 of Wall

“Minty fresh. Thank you.”

“Go get your man.”

“You sure he’s down here?”

“He’ll be down there. Once the tits come out, he disappears. He used to party, but after he patched in, he cleaned himself up. Never touches club pussy. Hasn’t in years.”

“He doesn’t?” My heart warms.

“Nope.” Harper gives me a strange, wistful smile. “Go straight at the bottom of the stairs. You won’t be able to miss him. Man’s aptly named.” She winks and struts off, her perfect butt swaying as if she’s moving to music.

I straighten my shoulders, and I venture down the stairs. I push open the double doors.

And there’s John, standing in the middle of the mirrored room, shirtless, glistening with sweat. There are weight machines along one wall, free weights beside him.

And in front of him, there’s a blond woman on her knees.

CHAPTER 10

WALL

Something’s wrong.

Mona’s here; she comes through the door, and then her face loses all color. No. She’s kind of green. She’s gonna pass out.

I leap-trip over Cheyenne, who’s doing some kind of stretch right in the middle of the free weight mat, trying to get Charge’s attention.

Mona ducks, dodges past me, and shoves Cheyenne, sending her sprawling to the floor. What? Cheyenne pops up, and thank God Charge is there, because he snakes an arm around her mid-lunge before she can throw a punch.

Mona ain’t never been in a fight before. She’s got her fists balled up, thumbs inside for Chrissake, and she looks lost and mad as hell.

Cheyenne, on the other hand, is a scrapper like most of the sweetbutts. Mona ain’t winnin’ this one. I ease between them.

And then Mona lets one of those fists fly. Right into my face. The impact hardly registers; she has to reach so high she’s got no force behind it. My jaw drops, more from surprise than anything else. She gasps and steps back, tripping over her own feet.

I scoop her up right when she sways, crumbles like a ragdoll, and bursts into loud, gushing tears. What the fuck is wrong?

“What’s goin’ on, baby?” She’s cryin’ so hard, she can’t answer me. She rouses a little to slap at me and wriggle, but she’s got no leverage.

“Wall?” Charge is at my side in a second, Forty close behind.

“Get some water.”

Forty waves at Cheyenne to grab a bottle from the fridge. “I saw Sunny earlier. That means Larry’s here.”

“Mona don’t need a dentist.”

“He does other work, too.”

“Okay. Somebody go get him.” I don’t know where to put Mona. There’s nothing down here but equipment, so I sit on the lifting bench, keeping her in my arms. Besides, if I put her down, she might run. “Tell me what’s wrong, baby.” My stomach tightens. “Did that asshole bother you about his grandma’s ring?”

We dumped Tommy at the county line, mouth nothing but bloody gums, and he swore we’d never see him again. It was kind of hard to understand him, though. Without the teeth.

Mona shakes her head, sobbing and straining against my arms.

I smooth her hair out of her face. She’s wearing a shirt with weird bears on it. She must have come straight from work. Oh, shit. She probably called and got no answer. Reception down here sucks.

“Shit. Did you get worried when I didn’t answer the phone?” That can’t be all of it. Mona cries a lot, but usually, it’s ‘cause she’s mad.

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