Page 74 of Crew
Cross bit into his burger, and he grinned at me around it. "I know. It's like we're in an alternate universe or something. How's it feel?"
"How's what feel?"
"Feeling a little normal." He swallowed his food, his eyes darkening, suddenly getting serious. "It's typical to be worried about family."
It wasn't in my world.
I scowled at him. "You're my family."
His tone quieted. "You know what I mean." He bit into his burger again.
I'd never offered to back up a crew with ours before. That was different too. Channing had stepped in to handle disputes between crews, but actually aligning my crew with his--it hadn't happened. But we were related. It made sense.
"You know," Cross said. "If our crew and his crew were connected, together we'd be bigger than the Ryerson crew."
I did the math. Channing's crew had twenty-six members. Our four brought that up to thirty, and some of his weren't active. They'd moved away, gotten old, and started families.
"Ryerson's would still be bigger, by a few."
"But we'd be the baddest of them all." He grinned, taking another bite of his burger.
There was that.
"Well, that hasn't happened." I could hear Jordan and Zellman coming back outside, and as they pushed the screen door open, I added, "I like how we are right now."
Cross grunted, and the conversation dropped.
Jordan and Zellman sat down across from us with bags full of food. As they devoured everything, Taz came out with a soda and a chicken sandwich balanced on top of her tote bag. She took the last empty seat between Cross and Jordan, but she paused before she did.
No one acted like they noticed, but everyone did.
I glanced at Cross. He met my gaze. More food for thought.
Taz placed her sandwich on her lap, then dug into her bag. "Thanks for coming with me. I got three big sponsors I know no one else will get. It's a big deal."
She handed over some papers, but I declined to look at them, putting a fry into my mouth instead.
"Yeah. And don't forget about Race's dad," I told her.
"I know." Taz's eyes rounded, like they had when my cousin came out. "Did you know his dad runs the Harley-Davidson dealership in Wakefield?"
"How do you know that?" Cross asked her.
She put the papers back in her bag and reached for her sandwich as she answered. "It's all over school. Sunday knew the first day he showed up." She was about to take a bite when she noticed the stares from everyone. "You guys didn't know?"
They looked at me instead.
"You did?" Jordan asked.
"I just knew his dad ran a Harley store." The dealership in Wakefield was big, really big.
"I'm getting sick of this kid. He's everywhere. I bet if I took a dump, he'd be in the shower," Jordan grumbled. He was looking at me.
"What?" I asked. "You know why he's here. He told us."
"Yeah, yeah." He kicked up his feet. Balling up his wrappers, he tossed them into the empty bonfire pit. His arms folded over his chest. "I don't know. I mean, yeah. I heard what he said. Drake messed with him, then the fighting ring and the divorce, but why do I have a feeling he's not going to go away?"
He kept looking at me, though he sounded like he was talking to himself.
