Page 48 of Cold Foot Croc

Garret frowned. “What kind of bond?”

“One where I could tell you were headed here half an hour before I saw your truck pull through the trees. I have it with King, too. It’s different than the bond I have with the Crew.”

Huh. Garret leaned his elbows onto the table and spun the beer slowly between his fingers. “Raynah’s got a baby shower coming up tomorrow. She gave me an invite, and she’s mentioned it a couple times.”

“Are you the one the Crew has been talking about?”

Garret shook his head, confused.

“Raynah mentioned a guy to Cash, and he has everyone guessing. Sasha guessed you. She saw some sparks the night…well, you remember.”

“Chhh. It’s burned into my memory.”

“Headaches?” Wreck guessed.

“I thought I was re-dying for two weeks afterward. I couldn’t work or anything.”

“Yeah, well, that’s the thing about having the ability to bring people back from the dead. It’s not supposed to be a pleasant experience.”

“Does it hurt you?” he asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Very much.”

Garret nodded. “I really don’t want any trouble. I like my life. I have my support system, I have my home, I have my job. I’ve got something starting with Raynah. I don’t want to step on your territory lines, and I definitely don’t want calls from Damon Daye. But I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me coming to her baby shower? She seems to want me there, and I don’t like the idea of letting her down.”

Wreck was quiet for a minute, with a thoughtful look in his fiery eyes. “Does she talk to you about what she’s going through?”

Garret nodded once.

“About what she’s been through?”

Another nod.

“Anything I need to know?”

“She isn’t talking to you?”

Wreck puffed air out of his cheeks and took a drink of his beer. “She’s a tough nut to crack.”

“Just be patient with her. There’s a lot going on in her head. She’ll come around. It’s not you. I don’t know if that helps or hurts, but you should know it’s not you. It’s not any of you.”

“It helps,” Wreck murmured. “You can come to the baby shower. None of my Crew will mess with you. Well, they’ll probably give you a bunch of shit, but that just comes with the territory. They won’t physically fight you. Probably.”

He snorted. “I appreciate it.”

Wreck took another drink. “Who Turned you?”

It was the first off-subject question of many, and over the next hour, he learned that the Alpha of the Cold Foot Crew had a heart. He was smart, and cared about his people, and had a genuine curiosity about the characters in the world around him. Not once did Garret feel like Wreck was just goading him for information to use against him later. It was just easy conversation. He was surprised in a good way.

“That took some nuts, man,” Wreck said as Garret said his goodbyes later on.

“What did?”

“Coming up here to my territory to talk to me with no backup.”

“Who said I didn’t have backup?” he teased. “My brother put an Apple AirTag in my truck. If I don’t come back down this mountain tonight, he would probably have a dozen of his roughneck friends up here with an arsenal.”

“They would die,” Wreck said with a chuckle.

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