Page 56 of Coach
“Why not?”
“Honestly? Because Steve doesn’t deserve that.”
“That’s fair.”
“And also… I don’t think I had any idea what kind of town I was moving into.”
“What kind of town is that?”
Her gaze cut away, her jaw working. “Did you know the area used to feature a prominent Bulgarian crime syndicate?”
“I did.”
She glanced back at me, her eyes landing on the badge on my chest.
“You know, that came up in my research.”
“What did?”
“The patch on your cut.”
“What did you read?”
“That it means one percent of bikers are criminals.” She paused, watching me. “Are you going to deny it?”
“No.”
“So you’re a criminal.”
“Spent a few years of my life in the prison right over there.” I nodded in the direction of the building that loomed over Shady Valley.
“Wait… really?”
I could see her gears turning, trying to reconcile that new fact with the idea she had already formed about me.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“What’d I go to jail for?”
“Yeah.”
“My sister had a man who was beating on her. I showed him what that was like.”
“Oh.”
“Disappointed?”
“In you?”
“Yeah.”
“No. I mean… I think the world needs more people who stand up to abusers. I think I’m just having a hard time imagining you putting your hands on someone like that.”
“The meditation and yoga… it’s a part of me because that other side is in me too. And I wanted to make sure I never became someone who would use it against an innocent.”
Este stared down at the floor like she was seeing right through it. “What about the others?”
