Page 43 of Diesel
Not long after that, Seven stalked into the kitchen, heading straight for the coffee pot. After making himself a cup he took a seat next to Bocca. By this time, we were all done eating but we sat there as the conversation lingered.
I was in no rush to go back to bed. My sleep cycles had gotten erratic, so I wasn’t surprised to find that I was wide awake.
Seven didn’t say much. Thinking back on it, I’d never heard him speak. He reminded me a lot of Diesel. He always seemed to be in the background watching. But there was something about his gaze that always made me feel naked. Like he was analyzing me. He was taking in my every move and trying to figure out what made me tick. Or something. That was just the weird feeling I got whenever he was in the room. But the thing was, I didn’t mind. I knew he wasn’t doing it to be mean. I got the sense that it was just part of who he was. I found myself wanting to know more about the man behind the stoic face.
“So,” Bocca said, catching my attention. I hadn’t realized that I had been staring at Seven so long. “Why don’t you ask this crazy fuck how he got his name.” He chuckled.
I had a feeling like I didn’t want to know. Most of the guys, I could see how they got their names. Tank, well, that was obvious. The man was as solid as a tank. Bocca had already explained his to me and I could see how fitting that was. But then again, I almost felt like he was smarter than that. Like he let things slip that weren’t really important as a way to throw off all the things he did know about. But then again, what did I know? Reagan had filled me in on Brand. I think inside she loved the fact that she was the one to come up with his name.
I looked over at Seven, afraid to open my mouth to ask the question. He stared at me for a long second before nodding. I was clueless as to what was going on in his head.
“I only have seven toes.” With that, he drained the last of his coffee and got up. I watched as he walked over to the sink and set his cup down. He didn’t walk funny. Maybe he was born that way and had adapted to walking with only that many toes.
“Really,” Bocca called out. “That’s what you’re goin’ with?” He chuckled and shook his head.
“Didn’t want to scare the girl,” Seven said as he walked out of the room.
My eyes went wide as I looked back and forth between Bocca and Brand. There was a joke there but I was missing it.
