Jase stared a moment, then furrowed his brow. “Huh. That’s… that’s fucking creepy.”
Will actually laughed. He laughed without thinking about it, or without stopping it. “You’re both crazy.”
“Something’s gone from your eyes, that’s for sure,” said Jase. “I don’t know how else to explain it.”
“Whatever it is, I hope it means I can sleep now,” said Will. He looked over at Jase. “I’m sorry man. I really don’t know what…”
Jase gave him a flat grin and clapped a hand on his shoulder, shaking him in a friendly way. “Hey, I’d really just like to get the fuck past it, if it’s okay with you. I’m really tired of chasing asshole Will around.”
Will gave him a self-effacing laugh. “Lucky to have you, brother.”
“Same,” said Jase.
Will saw Henry shuffling up. He moved to climb to his feet, but found his limbs were still a little shaky. Jase gave him a hearty yank until he stood straight.
“Will,” said Henry.
“No, please, let me start,” said Will. “I’m sorry, Henry. I’m sorry for being such a shithead lately. My behavior for the club was… inexcusable.”
“It was,” said Henry. “Never had to deal with that from you, Will. And from what I hear about this little rogue operation at Swashbuckler’s, we’re very lucky I’m not cleaning up civilian bodies today.”
The words stung Will deeply, but this time he didn’t feel anger to fight back, only regret.
“I fucked up,” said Will. “I fucked up bad.”
“You fucked up, but from what I understand, you also kept those people alive,” said Henry. “Still, we’re going to have to take you off active duty for a while. Until we can be sure you’re really back to being yourself. These transitions can take time.”
He was expecting it, but it still wasn’t pleasant to swallow. “I understand.”
Henry put up a hand on his shoulder. “This life isn’t easy on any of us. There’s no playbook, and we sure as shit can’t just Google the answers to our problems. What happened to your family was…” He paused, shaking his head. “It was more than I would wish on my enemies, Will. And I wish we could have kept it from happening. I hope you believe me when I say I tried to make things right for you.”
“I do. And I know now it wasn’t your fault,” said Will. “And I see now that not all problems can be solved with one solution—a battle plan has to be flexible.”
“How’s that?”
“If the murders by the cartel were part of a coup, then there was never any diplomacy to solve that problem. Paulo wanted power, and he was going to try to take it, no matter what anyone said or offered. So if I hadn’t used violence against them to protect Eva…” He stopped, then continued self-consciously, “…to protect the bar… then they would surely be dead.
“But at the same time, if I had used violence to strike out against the cartel as planned, instead of coming to this meeting, it would have escalated everything into chaos and death. We needed diplomacy and violence to solve this problem. I just got lucky that they happened in the right order.”
Henry smiled at him. “That’s a very wise insight for someone so young, Will. And one we should all keep in mind from now on.”
“Does that mean you’re going to put up less of a stink when I want to go in hot?” said Ghost. “If so, then this is definitely the best day ever, guys. I knew wearing my lucky underwear was going to pay off.”
~ EIGHTEEN ~
Muddy Waters came on the jukebox as Eva dried the last of the shot glasses. A wave of bittersweet memory washed over her—sadness, a little heartache, and the deep lust that Will brought out in her all mingled for her attention. She looked up to the front door, silent and closed, and wished for the hundredth time that it would open and reveal Will standing behind it.
It had been two days since Will left Swashbuckler’s with his friends—the other members of his biker gang, as it turns out. She hadn’t heard a word from him since. Like a whirlwind that ended as fast as it began, Will was just gone, and Eva couldn’t believe how much she missed him. More than that, she was worried for him. The last look he gave her was full of so much pain that it invaded her dreams at night.
Eva stored the clean shot glasses slowly, one at a time, her mind feeling slow and dulled after so many days of chaos and excitement. She thought about Will’s touch on her skin and felt a heat blaze between her legs almost instantly, making her miss him even more.
At the end of the bar, Charlie sat, reading a newspaper. He flipped the page loudly and cleared his throat, bringing Eva out of her thoughts. Even though they hadn’t had any trouble since Will left, Charlie had been shadowing her like an overprotective mother bear ever since. She didn’t have the energy to argue with him about it.
“What do you want to do for dinner?” Charlie asked from behind the paper. “I was thinking we could go into town somewhere new, get our minds off things.”
“Sure,” said Eva. “I’m fine with that.”
Charlie folded the newspaper down and looked at her with a frown. He looked at her the same way he looked at a schematic of something he was trying to fix. “You’re sad.”
Eva gave him a sarcastic raise of her eyebrow and said nothing, wiping the counter down instead.
He folded the paper and put it on the counter. “Are you still mad at me?”
Eva shrugged. She really didn’t know how she felt about their fight before. It seemed unimportant. “I guess not.”
“Then what is it?” said Charlie. It only took him a few seconds to soften and add, “Oh. Is it… that..?”
“I don’t want to hear about it, Charlie,” she said as she threw the dish rag down into the sink. She leaned on the counter and hung her head. “I don’t need it from you.”
Charlie cleared his throat and shifted, uncomfortable. “All right, I guess I deserve that. I just don’t like seeing you upset. I’m sorry you’re sad.”
Eva closed her eyes. She couldn’t find the composure to look up at her brother. She just nodded with her face toward the counter. Me too.
The bar door swung open, squeakier than ever, it seemed. Eva took a deep breath and stood straight. Charlie turned, too, instantly on guard as he had been with every visitor for the past two days.
A familiar, hulking figure came in the doorway. It was the dark-haired man that called Will his friend. He pulled his sunglasses off and tucked them into the black leather vest that wrapped around his broad chest. Eva looked at the vest closely for the first time and saw it was covered in patches, including one that bore his name: Jase. Eva’s heart leapt into her throat as he approached.
“Hi, folks,” said Jase. He walked up to the bar and took a stool a few down from Charlie. “Can I get a beer, please?” he asked Eva directly.
“How’s Will?” she said. She didn’t even make a move to fulfill his request. She only stared at him, waiting.
Behind his big black beard, Jase’s expression went soft, surprised. He tipped his head just a little to the side as he looked at her. “Will is fine. That’s what I’m here to talk to you about.”
Eva felt relief rush down her muscles in a furious wave. She closed her eyes and let out a breath, not caring at all about displaying such emotion in front of her brother or this stranger. In some dark part of her mind, she feared Will was not going to survive his confrontation—feared he had crossed some forbidden line in his dangerous world. Her hands shook as she poured Jase the beer he requested.
Charlie held a hand to him and Jase shook it. “I guess I didn’t really introduce my sister to you last time. This is Eva.”