She shrugged her small shoulders and avoided my eyes. “I’m gonna have a sleepover with Sheila. I can’t sleep right now, and we need to catch up, anyway. It’s been a busy couple of days.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“She’s probably scared, Priest. I don’t want her to be alone. Don’t worry, we’ll be okay.”
Indigo patted my shoulder gently as she walked past me and toward Ace’s body, where a shroud covered it. “Good night, Ace,” she whispered. With a nod to Thor, Indi left the clubhouse and headed toward the far side of the lot where her van, Sheila, was parked. I stood there for a moment, mentally wrestling with myself before I swore softly under my breath and walked over to the storage closet under the stairs. I rooted around for a while until I found what I was looking for. Thor watched without comment as I strode out the door and over to the van currently housing the crazy girl I couldn’t seem to keep off my mind.
“Priest?” Indigo questioned in a soft and confused voice as she saw me coming over in the darkened lot. She had just been about to close Sheila’s back door when I approached.
“Go to sleep, Indigo,” I grumbled. I took the folding camping chair I’d tucked under my arm and popped it open, setting it down right in front of Sheila’s door.
“Are you mad because I didn’t invite you to our sleepover?” Indi asked in a small voice. “I’m sorry, Priest. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
I closed my eyes and let out a sigh. “I’m not mad, angel. I’m just tired. Get some rest, okay?”
At the weary tenderness in my voice, Indi relaxed. “Okay,” she murmured. Indigo shut Sheila’s door and cracked the windows to let in fresh air. While she rustled around and settled in the cargo area of her van, I did my best to get as comfortable as possible in my camping chair. Which wasn’t very goddamn comfortable, as it turned out. I mentally bitched myself out for the back and neck ache I was sure to have in the morning, but in the recesses of my mind, I knew I’d have slept even worse if I had been in my own bed. I wouldn’t be able to rest knowing Indigo was exposed out here while we were under threat. I knew she could take care of herself; she’d proven that. She didn’t need me to protect her, but I couldn’t deny the urge to do it anyway.
As Indigo settled and her movements ceased, I began to hear humming drifting softly from the open windows. I closed my eyes,sinking deeper into my chair, breathing in the night air and soaking in the sound of Indigo singing herself to sleep. It didn’t take me long to recognize the lyrics of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and my heart broke a little at the sound of her sad croon. Exhaustion burned my eyes, but I couldn’t allow myself to fall asleep until her words had faded, and the soft hush of her breathing whispered to me.
My body might have hated me at the moment, but my mind finally quieted and felt at peace knowing that I stood between Indigo and danger. I couldn’t quite pinpoint where or when I’d gone from hating Indigo to wanting to literally shield her with my body. Honestly, I was too tired at this point to even try to figure it out.
Early the following morning, I finally finished my conversation with Clover. Her words rang in my ears as I headed into church for the Scold. Hyde, the Utah Crow’s prez, sat with us in church, his own laptop set up so he’d have a window in our Zoom call. Since we hadn’t made our drop, Hyde had come to collect the weapons we’d brought back from Mexico and stayed to attend Ace’s funeral. Leaning back in his chair, Hyde rested his elbows on the arms of his chair, and his fingers were interlocked. He kept his tight black curls cropped close to his scalp. Faded pink scars crisscrossed the dark brown skin on the right side of his face, where a glass eye replaced the one he’d lost. Hyde scowled at his laptop screen, waiting for the Scold to begin, giving me a subtle lift of his chin in greeting.
With our chapters spread across the southwestern US, our scolds tended to be digital now. Back in the old days when Gavin was prez, the Crows would gather for in-person scolds, but no one had time for interstate travel unless it was an emergency. Duke and I were pictured inthe corner of our laptop next to Hyde’s image, and Omen and Ares (New Mexico’s and Arizona’s presidents) were already logged in. Jinx, Colorado’s prez, logged on and gave Duke and me a nod. He already knew the score, having direct access to Clover since they lived near the same town. She was more familiar with the Colorado Los Cuervos since they were the closest to her safe house and occasionally looked in on her. I was also relatively certain that Clover and Jinx might have a casualpersonalrelationship.
Rowdy and Tinker—West and East Texas presidents—were the last to log on. Tinker, Pyro’s bio dad, had bags under his eyes, and his usually ruddy complexion was wan.
“Alright, brothers, I call this Scold to order,” Duke called out beside me. “We’re meeting to discuss Pyro’s betrayal and what it means for the club. We also have a developing situation here in Nevada that the other chapters should be made aware of.”
“You got anything to say for that son of yours, Tinker?” Omen asked in his raspy voice.
Tinker let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand over his stubbled chin. “I didn’t know I even had a son till he was grown. I tried with him once he showed up at the clubhouse here in Huntsville, but he resented me too much to settle into club life. Duke and I thought a change of scenery might help him.” Tinker’s exasperated tone turned hard. “We were wrong.”
“Murdering Ace was bad enough by itself,” Duke said solemnly, “but he also abducted a brother and a friend of the club, betrayed us to the Iron Raiders, and is involved with the Irish mob.”
“The mob?” Ares cut in brashly. “What do the fuckin’ Irish have to do with anything?”
Hyde’s deep, sinister chuckle beside me carried over the mic. “Oh, just wait. It gets even better. There are Russians involved, too.”
“Jesus,” Ares muttered, “it’s like the goddamn UN down there.”
My old man sighed. “One thing at a time, Hyde.” Duke shot a look of irritation at the Utah Crow. “Pyro’s patched up as a Raider now, for however long they decide to keep him. Riot is cutthroat and hotheaded, but he’s not stupid. He’ll never trust Pyro, but he’ll use him to secure a deal with the Irish if it means he gets a foothold on the East Coast.”
“Even if he hadn’t betrayed us to our oldest enemy, the fact of the matter is that Pyro murdered one brother and harmed another,” Jinx stated flatly. “I motion that Pyro be expelled in bad standing. Pyro betrayed Los Cuervos, so his life is forfeit.”
“Seconded,” Hyde rasped.
“All in favor?” Duke asked.
“Aye,” each president said in turn, and Tinker’s agreement was the final one needed to put out an official Los Cuervos death warrant.
“Now that that’s done, what the hell else is goin’ on out there?” Rowdy asked.
It was my turn to address the Scold. “You’re all aware by now that we’ve taken in a girl, Indigo, and that she’s the one who killed Ellis’s murderer.” Nods and grunts of agreement met my statement. “She’s had a rough life, and the Callahan family out of Boston put a price on her head.”
“This wouldn’t happen to be the same Irish pricks Pyro and the Raiders are interested in?” Omen asked in a tone that implied he already knew the answer.
“The very same,” Duke drawled.
