Page 73 of Apex of the Curve

Chapter Eighteen

Fenris…

“Hey, man. It’s good to see you.” I clasped hands with my brother and we pulled each other in, knocking shoulders.

“How’re things going?” he asked, and I lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

“We’ll see,” I said. “She’s citizen and I’m not sure this life would be good for her.”

“We all have to start somewhere,” Little Bird said with a brittle smile. Her indoctrination into the life had been a trial by fire, for sure.

“She’s a good woman,” I said with a half-smile.

Dump Truck asked, “Well, where is she?”

“She’s comin’,” I answered and looked back toward the house. “We gotta get her some gear.”

“Oh, fun! Shopping!” Little Bird cried.

“After breakfast,” Dump Truck said, and I grinned.

“Black Diamond Bakery?” I asked.

“Shit yeah,” Dump Truck answered.

It was a beautiful day for a ride, skies high, clear, and blue. Leaves on the trees changing. Pavement was wet, but things were drying out. It was crisp, but not too bad. Perfect Pacific Northwest fall weather. Might not even need a jacket by the afternoon.

“There she is,” Dump Truck grunted, and I turned around. There she was, alright. I smiled faintly. She did her best as I’d asked, but she was so not roadworthy in the safest sense of the word. Sneakers; not good, jeans which were fine, a thick sweater which would keep her warm but still not the best when it came to a slide, and a hooded L.L. Bean raincoat over that.

“Need to get her some fuckin’ gear,” Dump Truck grated in disapproval and I chuckled.

“I don’t disagree, you fuckin’ safety Nazi, but breakfast first, yeah?”

“Renton?” he asked.

“Do some research on what’s closest when we sit down to breakfast,” I said.

“Hi,” Aspen said shyly when she reached us.

“Hey, baby.” I took her under my arm and made introductions. “This is Dump Truck and this is his lady, Little Bird.”

“Hi.” Little Bird smiled and raised her hand curling her fingers in a wave.

“Nice to meet you, Aspen.”

Aspen smiled up at DT and at Little Bird and asked laughing, “Is everyone in the club as tall as you two?” she asked. “Like is there some kind of a rule, you must be this tall to ride this ride?”

We all laughed. “Naw, we’re the biggest,” Dump Truck said.

“And the best,” Little Bird said with a soft smile that made Aspen’s grow.

“Alright, you ready to get this show on the road?” DT asked.

“Absolutely,” Aspen said with a smile, but I caught the tightness around her eyes. She was a little trepid about her first ride and I was just plain excited to have her on the back of my bike. I’d already given her the rundown, asked if she’d ever ridden before to which she’d answered when she was a teen, on the back of her brother’s old Honda.

This wasn’t going to be that, but I was going to let her find that out all on her own once we got going.

I helped her into the lid I’d brought out for her. It was a little big, so I definitely put it on the list of gear we would get her today. Proper fit was important.

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