“It’s a joke, Connor.”
But there was something about her face, how it didn’t immediately go back to being settled and calm, that suggested it wasn’t really a joke. Or, if it was, it was a joke meant to hint at something much more than what had been let on so far.
“No, my thinking is that this gas station is out in the middle of nowhere, right? It’s in a real rural area, the only gas station off this exit of the highway, the only gas station in a few miles. So it’s the kind of thing where it’s easy to hide out and spring a trap. Not a lot of witnesses, not a lot of visible light. Perfect for you.”
“True, but that ignores the fact that you need to get Damian out here,” I said. “And unless you have a way of draining his gas tank without suspicion and making sure this is the nearest gas station, I am not sure what’s going to work.”
Katie smirked.
“You act like I’ve never tangoed with guys like you before, bad boys,” she said. “You’re all driven by ego.”
“Not all of us.”
Her face softened. She understood what I meant.
“The point is, most of you are, and I would put Damian in that category,” she said. “If there’s a way to antagonize him, then we can draw him here.”
“And do you have any plans?” I said. “What are you going to do, write something shitty on his Facebook wall? Troll him on Instagram?”
“Woah, give me a little bit of credit here,” Katie said. “There are, let’s say, socially acceptable ways to troll him without also drawing the wrath of others.”
I didn’t even know what she meant, what she was getting at.
“Crime is one of those issues that no one will ever get offended by if you post highway signs or anything like that saying to take it down,” she said. “And what better way to make people aware of the danger of crime than by putting a face to it? Like, say, the face of the Bandits? Damian, perhaps?”
“So you’re saying your strategy would be to put highway signs up bringing attention to Damian as a criminal, and to somehow make it known that your store is the one behind sponsoring these signs?”
“Yes.”
It was something that we never would have ever considered in the Black Reapers. It seemed too outlandish, almost like a political ploy, and too roundabout. If I had brought the idea to Brock, it would have gotten laughed off, and everyone would have asked if I had made the suggestion high.
And yet, I couldn’t help but think that the idea made sense.
Damian had to be on a fucking trip of some sort because of his brother’s death. As it was, between the fake graffiti of the Fallen Saints at the Reapers bar and their escalated attempts to bring us down as we built out our clubhouse, the Bandits were already getting more daring and frisky. A trap laid to hit them in their egos made almost too much sense.
It just had to come from someone who wasn’t as well-equipped to fight as Katie was. Someone whose first instinct wasn’t to use their fists or their guns, but to use their sass and wicked wit.
“You set it up, we’ll make it fucking work.”
“So I take it that’s a yes.”
“Yes.”
Katie laughed, lightly touching my arm as she did so. The touch sent shivers through me, making goosebumps pop up off my arm. I didn’t pull back, either, and Katie seemed to notice.
After a couple of seconds, I cleared my throat and tucked my hand into my jeans pocket, but the moment had not been lost on either of us.
“You know, Connor, when you’re not trying to get away by being a dick and you’re just straightforward, you’re not so bad.”
“Jesus, Katie, I came here to talk about defeating the Bandits—”
“And you have,” I said. “And now that I’m calmer than last night, it’s my turn.”
I sighed. I wanted this; I did. I just didn’t like having to confront the fact that I had been a dick to her.
“I know you sent that text because of everything with Damian,” she said. “And I’m fucking pissed you did. Never tell a girl a few hours after sleeping with her that she was one and done, even if she was literally a whore. But you know what? If I’m going to see you as you are, I have to see that that response…well, not that it made any fucking sense, but that from your perspective, it’s unsurprising.”
That was…good? Even though I knew Katie better than many of the other guys, I still struggled to make sense of her.
