Cricket rolled his eyes and waved me off. He reached into his back pocket and took out an envelope. “I’m afraid a celebration is a must. I finished sweet Indigo’s documents, and we need to take her new identity out for a spin.” Handing the envelope over to a stunned Indigo, Cricket put his hands in the back pockets of his jeans and rocked back on his heels as a satisfied smile spread across his lips.
With trembling fingers, Indigo opened the envelope and examined the contents: a Nevada driver’s license, a social security card, and a birth certificate. Tears welled in her eyes, and the sweetest smile I might have ever seen spread across her lips. Bones and Cricket looked incredibly gratified by her obvious happiness, which even I could admit was atransformative emotion for her. She was always beautiful, but standing there in the harsh Nevada sunlight, she glowed brighter than the damn sun she was so happy. Radiant. I had to look away before her smile blinded me.
Indigo took the few steps needed to be toe-to-toe with Bones and Cricket and threw her arms out, snaring them both in a hug. “You two are the absolute best, and I don’t think Sheila and I can ever say thank you enough.” Releasing them from her hold, she stepped back and twirled around to wave her license at Lennon. “Len, I’m arealgirl! Look!” She skipped over to show her friend, and I walked away from Sheila to stand next to Bones and Cricket. They both had sappy smiles on their faces, but since I was pretty sure my facemaylook slightly happy for Indigo, I didn’t give them any shit for being so soft.
Lennon read over the details on her license. “Nice! Twenty-four, we’re the same age!” The girls high-fived.
Cricket shrugged. “I had to guesstimate on the age, love, but I put the clubhouse as your home address since this is your home now.”
Indigo beamed, looking down at her forged state identification like it was a prized possession.
“Indigo Evans. I went from having no name to having two.” She sighed happily, but I jolted like I’d been shocked. Indigo what now? “How did you come up with Evans, Cricket?” she asked.
“Didn’t you know? Evans is your conscience’s last name.” I meant to say that normally, but it came out stiff somehow.
Cricket quirked his head and gave me curious eyes. “It is. You needed an official last name, and I’ve always wanted a sister. I figured it couldn’t hurt. Plus, if you ever want to acknowledge this thing simmering between us and make it official”—he wagged his eyebrows at her like a damn cartoon wolf in a suit—“we wouldn’t even have to change your last name after the wedding.” Indigo let out a peal of laughter, and Bones elbowed Cricket in the gut, causing him to double over and wheeze. Lennon muttered something about living in Nevada, not Alabama.
“Still, man, you could have asked her if she wanted to pick her own last name.” I wasn’t sure why it bothered me that he’d claimed her in that way, but it did.What the hell was happening with me? I couldn’tpossibly be jealous of my brothers for making her smile like that…could I?
“No, Cricket, I love it. Thank you. You’re the best conscience-brother in the history of the world.”
Bones, who’d been watching me, took the license from Indigo and handed it to me as he asked like the irritating prick he was, “Indigo Evans has a nice ring to it, don’t you think, Priest?”
I gritted my teeth, but forced a civil response out of my mouth. “Of course. Congrats on your new identity and”—I looked down at the small plastic rectangle searching for something nice to say—“becoming an official organ donor, Indigo.” Since our night in the confessional, I had to admit that I didn’t feel as angry with her anymore, which was confusing and frustrating. For the longest time, I’d been angry with myself, with Slyzec, and then later, with her. I was logical enough to understand that I had been misplacing my anger when I directed it at her, but that didn’t mean all those pent-up feelings just vanished. I handed her back her ID and turned toward the gym. I needed to hit something as soon as possible, and I figured the heavy bag was a healthier option than Bones’s smug face.
Indigo
I held my hands up and shrugged. “Sorry, bro, chicks before dicks. It’s the law.”
“Jesus Christ, hands on the wheel, Indi!Hands on the bloody wheel!” Jeez, my new brother was such a back-seat driver. I put my hands back on the steering wheel, almost purring in satisfaction at the fan-fucking-tastic job Bones had done on Sheila’s glow-up.
“Quit your bitchin’, Cricket, or Indi will turn this van around!” Lennon turned in her seat—she called perpetual shotgun, and as her bestie, I decided to allow it—and stuck her tongue out at Cricket, who sat in one of the two seats installed behind the front seats. Cricket sat facing the other chair, which contained Bones. They were both so big their knees were almost touching, which was probably why Cricket whined so much about not getting to sit in the front. He’d tried to lounge around in the nicely padded and ample cargo space Sheila was rocking in the rear, but as a responsiblelicenseddriver, I insisted that everyone wore a seat belt.
“Maybe before I got you a forged license, I should have checked to make sure you could actually drive,” Cricket mumbled sullenly from behind me.
“Where did you learn to drive, chica loca?” Bones asked curiously.
I matched my speed with the other cars on the highway as we made our way to Reno and shrugged. “I am a firm believer in learning by doing. This one-legged hooker named Candi I met in Detroit taught me how to hotwire a car after I stopped a John from beating her. I never knewsomany men named John like paying for sex, and to be honest, it kinda put me off Johns in general.” I shook my head and slowly changed lanes. “Don’t trust ’em, ya know?”
Bones hummed and nodded his head. He’s so smart for agreeing with me.
“I think you’re really going to like Savage Delights, Indi.” Lennon plucked a stick of gum from her purse, offering me one. I shook my head, and she unwrapped it and put it in her mouth. She looked very different from the way she did on our first trip to Reno. I didn’t bother changing my clothes because, quite frankly, I looked awesome. Halter tops and suspenders shouldalwaysbe paired, in my opinion, and with the handy double-sided tape Lennon gave me for my top, I didn’t have to worry about my top slipping off on accident. When we went to Allure, Lennon had opted for club attire in a sexy little dress and heels. Today, she was rocking a look she calledgrunge chic. A deep, vibrant teal corset cinched her waist. She wore ripped stockings under her black shorts, which looked like someone had taken a razor to them. She had tied a faded old plaid shirt with poppy red, white, and the same deep tealshade from her corset around her waist and rounded the outfit out with dark purple Doc Martin boots.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that? What is Savage Delights?” I asked.
Cricket chirped from behind me, “Savage Delights is the underground fighting ring operated by the Crows. It was Bear’s brainchild, which is one of the reasons he was chosen to run it. It’s the closest thing to a neutral environment the various…organizationsin Reno can use to blow off steam.”
“People from all walks of life enjoy watching the fights,” Bones added. “Membership is by invite only, and fight nights are announced the day before. One of the reasons it’s useful as a neutral place to meet is that it may be full of criminals, but it's also open to connected civilians just out for a night of excitement. The only fighting allowed is in the ring. Take this next exit.” Bones pointed at the ramp I needed to take, and Ivery safelyveered across three lanes of traffic to make it.
Cricket made the cutest squeak when I stopped in a gravel-strewn parking area across from a run-down warehouse. He slid Sheila’s door open and practically leaped out.
“You’ve got quite a nice jeté there, Cricket. Have you ever considered ballet lessons? Ladies love a man in tights,” Lennon teased.
“Indigo Marie Evans, hand over those keys this moment.” Cricket made grabby hands at Sheila’s keys, which I clutched to my chest.
I glared at Cricket. “Marie isn’t my middle name. You may have unofficially adopted me, but that doesn’t mean you can be a Bossy Beverly.”
“As your unofficial brother, I feel like it’s my responsibility to look after you, but I also have the responsibility as your conscience to protect the general bloody public from your driving.” Cricket softened his expression and threw his arm around my shoulders, tucking me into his side. Keys still clutched to my chest, I continued to glare. “Come now, duckie, this will be time for some brother-sister bonding! I can give you lessons when we drive to work together, and you’ll be safely cruisin’ the mean streets of Sagebrush without leaving behind a trail of wrecked cars and mayhem.”
