Plain and simple.
Hell, it was the reason we’d given him the road name Bones. He had skills like no other, and if there was digging to do, we all knew he could do it without question. I wasn’t surprised when Stitch nodded and said, “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll be interested to see what you can find out about the douchebag.”
“Me, too.”
Bones turned and was about to head out when Elsie’s head plowed into the center of his chest, causing both to stop with a jolt. Elsie stumbled back, then looked up at Bones with bright red cheeks. “Oh, crap. I’m sorry about that, Wyatt.”
“No problem.”
Bones seemed completely unfazed by their little exchange as he made his way towards the door. Elsie, on the other hand, was still sporting her blushed cheeks—which grew even redder when she realized we were all staring at her.
I gave her a playful wink, then said, “Hey there, Elsie girl. How ya making it?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“What about your classes?”
“They’re okay.” The red in her cheeks started to fade as she announced, “I ended up making an A on that big paper.”
“That’s awesome.”
It had been just over a year since the day Two Bit and I found her dumpster-diving at Danver’s Sports Grill.
We’d gone out for a bite to eat with Cotton and a couple of the other brothers. We had a round of beers and a couple of burgers, and when Clutch ordered us a second round, Two Bit and I decided to step out for a quick smoke. We’d barely lit up before we heard a strange noise coming from one of the dumpsters. Curiosity got the best of us, so we went to check it out.
That’s when we discovered a young girl bent over the side door of the dumpster, rummaging around for something to eat. As soon as she realized we’d come up behind her, she dropped whatever was in her hand and just stood there staring at us with an embarrassed expression.
The poor kid was filthy from head to toe and looked like she hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. Doing his best not to embarrass her even more, Two Bit gave her one of his charming smiles and asked, “Hey, kid. You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“You sure?” Two Bit motioned his head toward the dumpster. “’Cause it doesn’t look that way.”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her eyes dropped to the ground with embarrassment. “I was... ah, just looking for my keys.”
“Is that right?” Two Bit and I are big guys, and we were both wearing our cuts and boots—which only made us appear more threatening, especially for a young girl like her. But surprisingly enough, she didn’t seem intimidated in the least. She stood tall and maintained eye contact as I asked, “You got a name?”
“Yeah, I’m um... Sabrina.”
“Sabrina, huh?” I could tell she was lying, but I didn’t push her on it. Instead, I asked, “Your folks around?”
“Yeah, they’re at home.”
And another lie.
“So, if we were to take you home...”
Her eyes widened, and a slight gasp slipped through her teeth as she replied, “You can’t do that.”
“Oh, yeah? Why not?”
“Because they’re...” Her voice trailed off. “You just can’t.”
“That’s what I thought. You got any idea where they are?”
“Look, I’m sorry if I did something wrong here. Like I said, I was just looking for my keys. I didn’t mean any harm.”
“You’re not in any trouble, kid,” Two Bit tried to reassure her. “We’re just trying to make sure you’re okay.”