Page 53 of Roses Are Dead
“Yes.” Rose didn’t need to answer, it hadn’t been a question. And now she had Wolf’s attention. That was not a good thing.
“She needed riding gear. It didn’t appear magically.”
He laughed at my bluster. His eyes darted from me to Roishin and back. “We need to talk before the meeting starts.” Wolf snapped his fingers and the prospect assigned to him hopped off his barstool and joined us. “See to it that Ro—Roishin gets a drink and is unmolested for the duration. She’s Bear’s.”
That was exaggerating the situation slightly, but probably the most succinct way to get the point across. Wolf hated to mess around with unnecessary talk. I appreciated that about him. Jackson used chit chat to find your weakness and didn’t approach things head on like his successor did. The honesty of Wolf’s leadership style was refreshing.
He led me into the meeting room. This meant our discussion wouldn’t be interrupted. I waited until he sat down at the head of the table before joining him.
There was an uncomfortable pause before Wolf started his questions. “What did Fin and Betty Jo think of her?”
“They love her. Fin’s making a custom dagger. Betty Jo tried to sell her entire inventory to me.”
He laughed. “You should be used to their tactics by now. How much did they pinch off you?”
Over three grand if I paid for the shit I hadn’t taken with me. “Eight hundred down, another twenty-two on delivery.”
“Jesus.” He leaned in and squinted at my forehead.
“What?”
“When did you tattoo ‘sucker’ up there?”
My hand covered my forehead, despite knowing he was teasing me. “I ain’t a sucker. You’ve spent more on Tits.”
His face turned dark. “That’s because she’s worth it.”
“And Roishin ain’t?”
My words stepped very close to insubordination. The tightness in Wolf’s jaw warned me that I was treading on shaky ground. “You just met her…what was it, three days ago?”
I didn’t back down. Instead, I explained, “There’s a four-inch bruise on her right arm. Looks like a stick or a cane got blocked there. Carl did that. Of course, Betty Jo saw it and asked questions.”
He leaned back, relaxing. Or at least, thinking. “Make sure my wife doesn’t see it. I don’t want her tangled up in Carl’s shit.”
“You might want to warn her before they meet. I’m going to take her on the ride tomorrow.”
His eyebrow scrunched into a scowl. “Why?”
“Because Kate and Zoe met her, too.”
That got his full attention. “Does Jackson know?”
“Of course. He’d have to be on Mars or something not to know every fucking detail of what went down.” Kate knew far more dirty details of our operations than Tits did. Although, it wasn’t because of any acrobatics on Wolf’s part, Tits didn’t want to know. That way, she wouldn’t have to rat out her husband to her biker sisters who’d go vigilante on his ass.
Wolf speculated, “If Jackson knows, and Kate’s in the mix, you shouldn’t worry about my wife.”
No shit. “I know that.”
“What’s your harem going to say?”
I didn’t have a harem. Only a few women I hung around with for parties, and the working ladies who stayed around the club for a bite of my wallet. At least one of them was in the crowd just outside the door. But I played it cool. “Say about what?” I countered.
“About you getting an ol’ lady.”
“She ain’t my ol’ lady and you know what happens at the end of the month.”
He glanced away. “Yeah, about that.”
