Padre’s usual was a Tecate with lime and a tequila chaser. “Yeah.”
I could hear the bar stools scrape the floor as he pulled it out far enough to sit on. He was a large man, but under the layer of fat was as much muscle as a gorilla. He was strong as fuck and one hit from him was enough to render a man unconscious. Even though the man was well into his sixties, everyone knew not to mess with Padre.
I wanted to know where he was when he missed the meeting, but didn’t want to ask. I figured he’d tell me if he wanted me to know. But it was time for a refill of my coffee, so I grabbed my cup and went up to the bar, opposite where Padre was. The Enforcer was next to me, stuffing peanuts in his mouth.
I held the cup up and said, “When you get a minute, Connie?” She nodded at me as she slid the beer and shot over to Padre.
As she poured the coffee in my cup, I watched as Padre took his shot and then a long sip of beer. An audible “ahhh” came next.
“Hey Padre,” I said.
“Ryder.”
“Did you get Trainer’s email about the Vegas run? Looks like we’re up to twenty guys.”
“Yep. Saw that.” He didn’t look in my direction as he answered me.
I really didn’t have anything else to say to spark a conversation without it seeming weird, so I grabbed my coffee and headed back to my table. Padre was in a weird mood and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was pissed at me for something. I couldn’t imagine what it would be, though, so I dropped it.
As I sat back down, the Enforcer turned to Padre and said, “You were missed at church.” The combination of the peanuts in his mouth and the heavy accent made it almost impossible to understand what he was saying.
Vlad “The Enforcer” Kushniruk came to us when he got asylum in the US from the Ukraine. It was some kind of political deal. He came here in exchange for doing some shady shit for the government. His reward was that he wasn’t tortured and killed by his own government. He moved to La Playa, got a job selling cars at the dealership down the street, and graced us with his sharpshooter skills. He was the only guy in the club who was a better shooter than me, and for that reason I made sure to stay on his good side. You can only expect so much loyalty from a guy who was willing to betray his whole country.
“You were sick or something?” The Enforcer wasn’t one to pick up on subtlety. Asking Padre why he missed the meeting was not something to do. But Padre would let it slide.
“Nope.”
Just then the door opened again, and even though I couldn’t see who it was because of the darkness of the bar, I knew it instinctively. It was Paige. I could see the silhouette of her curves against the yellow light streaming in.
The door swung shut behind her and she stood still while her eyes adjusted to the darkness. I instinctively shrunk down a little in my seat so she wouldn’t see me. At the same time, my cock decided it was time to come out and play. Further reason to leave the chick alone.
Paige looked around and then pulled out the stool next to Padre.
“What can I get ya?” Connie asked as she slid a coaster across the bar.
“Uhhh…I don’t know. What chardonnay do you have?”
“The white kind.” Connie chuckled at her own joke.
“No, I mean the vineyard. What brand is it?”
“Honey, I don’t know. Not too many people order wine in here. We have white and red. We might have some pink in the back. That’s it.”
“Okay. I’ll have…”
“She’ll have what I’m having.” Padre’s gruff voice interrupted her. He turned to Paige and said, “Trust me. That wine is older than you, and not in a good way. If you don’t want the shot of tequila, I’ll be happy to take it for you.”
“Oh! Okay then.” Paige looked at Connie and said, “I guess I’ll have what he’s having.”
Connie shook her head and turned around to get another beer and shot of tequila.
Paige started to fish around in her purse, probably for money, when Padre said, “I got it.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to, really…” She smiled at him and I felt it like a kick in the gut.
I didn’t like the way Padre was looking at her, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. “No problem,” he said as he looked at the TV.
“I’m Paige,” she said as she stuck her hand out to meet his. “I just started working at Tiny’s.”
