Page 54 of Coach
“You should get him chipped,” Colter said. “And have him registered to us here at the club. That way, no matter what, you know he’s taken care of. Or your new club, whatever.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna do that.”
“You looking forward to starting over?” I asked.
“I am. Fresh start. New identity. Any word on that?”
We had contacts working on a new driver’s license for him. While that was coming, Rook was creating a whole online identity dating back at least a decade—social media, job history, a bunch of fake shit to really sell the new identity.
It wouldn’t help if he was simply spotted or fingerprinted. But if he was dedicated enough, a beard and some fingertip slicing could fix that problem too.
“Alright. Pass me the hat,” Rafe said. Colter tossed it, and he pulled it down over his head, casting his face completely in shadow. “I’m just going to stand right outside the door to keep an eye on him,” he assured us.
“Don’t be long. Don’t want Slash pissed at us,” Colter demanded.
“Got it.”
He’d barely left the room when there was a knock at the front door.
Gazes shot all around, all of us sitting up, stiffening.
“Dunno. My experience with cops is they don’t politely knock and wait,” Saint said, shrugging.
“I’ll go,” I said, since Colter and Saint were still on parole, and Syn was laying low.
We got the occasional drop-in from one of the club girls who wanted some fun or were fresh off a bad date and wanted someone to roll around with for a while.
Then there were the Murphys, who, when shit went down in the area, came by to talk shop.
I’d been expecting one of them.
Not Este.
With Trix eyeing the clubhouse dubiously.
“Hey, honey. Everything alright?”
It didn’t look alright.
She looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. The purple smudges under her eyes were dark enough to look like makeup. The whites of her eyes were red. She was pale.
“Um, can we come in?”
“Yeah, of course.”
I took a step back, reaching for Trix’s leash in case she got any ideas about the men gathered around. Or the cat.
“Uh, hi again,” Este said with an adorably awkward wave toward the guys. “This is Trix. Please don’t be offended if she doesn’t like you.”
“It’s okay, buddy,” Rafe said, coming in too quickly for any of us to warn him off. “The wolves are scare… oh.”
“Oh, uh, hi,” Este said, shooting him an uncertain smile.
I didn’t see any recognition on her face, though. It seemed absurd. Rafe’s face was all over the local news.
“Hey, Steve!” she greeted the dog, immediately brightening as she moved forward to greet the dog who was happy to see the woman who sprung him again. “Are you so happy to be home? Yes, you are. You have the sparkle back in your eye.”
My gaze slid to Colter, and the two of us shared a smirk as Rafe’s shoulders relaxed.
