Page 60 of Dodge

A past conversation with Betsey followed close behind. She’d barreled into my life with a determination to be my friend, even when I didn’t want one.

“I look at that as my obligation to pass on my blessings to people who need them the most.”

“It’s a big deal for a real biker to allow someone to ride with him. Means he’s got respect and care.”

My favorite bit of Runner Lady wisdom came to me as I thought about Dodge.

“Love is never a sin.”

I decided my first tattoo would be that phrase on my forearm. I’d met Table, the club tattoo guy, and his wife at one of the Lair gatherings. Big, bald, and hot as all get-out, he only had eyes for the woman at his side. I was so going to do it as soon as I could.

A text buzzed my phone.

Dodge: Katie Grace will be fine. She’s got a big goose egg where she hit the floor but no concussion. They’re letting her sleep now, but if you want to come see her anyway, I’ll come get you. You okay?

I smiled and texted back.

Me: I’m good. Real good. Talk about it later. Harriet is gone in more ways than one. I’ll go see KG tomorrow.

Dodge: Stud is our lawyer and is working on getting Macie out. He’s not been charged yet and might be let go. Blue is with him now. Dewey said he can’t swing it for a few days. He came to the jailhouse but didn’t stay long.

I noticed he hadn’t mentioned Mallory, and I decided not to bring it up.

Me: I guess there’s nothing for me to do after all. Are you coming home soon?

Dodge: On my way. Love you, sweetness.

CHAPTER30

Blue satacross from Macie in the interrogation room. The protocol was to keep prisoners in handcuffs, but he ignored that rule and took them off. The room itself was intimidating enough. Blank gray walls, heavy table bolted to the floor, and the most uncomfortable chairs known to man. A deputy stood near the locked door.

Macie slumped over, leaning on his elbows and sniffling. His eyes were swollen with big raccoon stains underneath where his mascara had smeared. Blue’s thoughts had followed the same path as his father’s. Macie as a serial rapist made no sense. None. Still, he had to go through procedure.

Stud sat next to Macie as his lawyer. To say this was awkward was an understatement, but they’d been here before. Blue had to keep everything as close to the book as possible because of all the cross connections to the club. Family was family, but business was business, and the two concepts needed to be separated.

“Tell me what happened as best as you can remember about tonight’s work. Start from when Katie Grace got there for her shift.”

Macie sniffed and blew out a haggard breath. “I’m always there early for prep. Gracie K showed up around three like she always does.”

“Gracie K?”

Macie gave a short laugh. “I messed her name up the first time I met her. Katie Grace. Gracie K. She thought it was cute, so I kept doin’ it. We call ourselves Macie-Gracie ’cause of how well we work together. Best server ever.” He looked up from the table. “How is she? Anyone check on her?”

Stud answered. “Hospital said she’s gonna be fine.”

Fresh tears appeared in Macie’s eyes. “Oh, thank the Lord for that. I can’t handle anything bad happenin’ to my little Gracie K.”

Blue and Stud shared a glance. Nope, this was not the man they wanted.

“You got through prep. Any arguments or disagreements? Anything you two got mad at each other about?”

“No. Nothing. I stock the bar while she gets the dining room ready for people. Silverware, napkins, makes sure the table condiments are full. She does the assignment areas for other servers and brings them to me to check over. During service, she does a lot of the hostess work, like seating people and taking money. We joke around a lot. Have to, especially when it gets going.” Macie laughed out loud. “Wanna hear what that little girl did? Burna Jones came in last week, all full of piss and fire ’bout somethin’. Didn’t like the plates, didn’t like the napkins, didn’t like salmon but ordered it anyway. Didn’t like the sauces. Lord, she had Gracie running all over the place. When Burna finally went up to pay, she started in again, saying how she saw Gracie lick her fingers before picking up a cookie to put on top of an ice cream dessert. Gracie didn’t miss a beat. She smiled at that ol’ battleax and said just as sweet as sugar, ‘No ma’am, I wasn’t licking my fingers. I was picking my nose.’”

Stud burst into laughter along with Macie, and Blue had a hard time keeping a straight face. They well knew Burna in the community for her sour disposition to everything and everyone.

“Anything like that happen tonight?” Blue asked.

Macie sobered up. “No. No glitches other than a heavy service. The tables turned three to four times. Just as soon as one party left, another one got seated. We’re still shorthanded, and it’s all hands on deck to make things run smooth. There was a table of women who ordered a shit ton of mojitos. I made drinks like a madman, and Gracie K ran them as fast as she could, then boom, she went down like a sack of potatoes.”

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