“What’s wrong?” he asked, tension in his voice.
After I finished telling Marco the whole story, the line filled with every expletive imaginable. “That motherfucker,” he growled. “If I wasn’t stuck up in the City on a job, I’d come there myself and show him what happens when he messes with my family.”
My heart squeezed at his words. Ever since I’d gotten to know Miguel and the rest of the people connected to Moonlight Inn, I’d felt like I was finally part of a real family. “I know Gabe can’t make it until five, but I’m afraid if I leave my tools here, they’ll be gone when I come back to get them.”
“Give me ten minutes,” Marco said. “I have to make a couple of calls, and then I’ll get back to you.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
While waiting for Marco to call back, I went into my bay and started putting away my tools. It didn’t take long because I usually put stuff away as I stopped needing it. Once my tools were away, I locked both levels of my tool chest. Right on cue, my phone vibrated with a call.
“Hey, Marco. What’s happening?”
“Dante and Andrea will be there in about fifteen minutes. Does your toolbox come apart?”
“Yes,” I replied. “And the bottom half has wheels.”
“Good. Dante’s bringing his pickup, and he has ratchet tie-downs to keep the boxes from moving around. Tommy said you can bring them straight to his shop.”
“Oh wow. That’s very nice of him.”
“You’re one of us now, Zach. We just need to get you your own Harley.”
“Maybe someday,” I said wistfully.
I heard someone say something to Marco in the background. He came back on and said, “I gotta go. Dante and Andrea will be there soon.”
“Thanks, Marco.”
Dante and Andrea pulled up a few minutes later in a dark-gray Ford F250. They both got out of the truck and met me in my bay. Jeff, Craig, and Larry watched them walk in with narrowed eyes. I chuckled to myself because Dante and Andrea were exactly the right people to send to shut their racist, misogynistic mouths.
Dante was a tall Black man, not as big as Marco or Gabe, but clearly possessing the kind of whipcord strength that took people by surprise. Andrea was a tall blonde woman with ice-blue eyes. It would have been easy to underestimate her, especially with her soft, Southern accent, but she would put any man in his place in a heartbeat.
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” I said.
“No problem,” Dante replied. He held up two pairs of work gloves. “We came prepared.”
I unlocked the wheels of the bottom box and the three of us carefully guided the heavy chest out of the bay and up to the back of the pickup. As we were maneuvering the top box to lift it into the truck, Larry came halfway down the driveway and shouted, “Need some help, little lady? You don’t want to break a nail or something.”
All three of us froze. I moved to school Larry, but Dante shook his head. “She’s got it.”
Andrea took a few steps toward the asshole, stopped, and slowly looked him up and down. Her lip curled derisively. “Bless your heart, little man. There isnothingyou can help me with.”
Larry clenched his fists. “You bitch.” He took one step forward but stopped when Dante and I moved to either side of Andrea.
Dante crossed his arms over his chest. “You might want to rethink that, son.”
I snickered because Dante was younger than Larry by a lot.
Larry cursed and walked back into the garage. After some more maneuvering and heavy lifting, we managed to get both boxes secured in the back of the truck.
I went back to my bay to check I hadn’t forgotten anything. Dante came with me to ensure the three stooges didn’t start any trouble. Once I finished my final sweep, I took the shop keys off my keyring and handed them to Jeff. “I’ll expect my final paycheck on time.” Then I walked away for the last time.
Tommy and my new coworkers were waiting for us at my new workplace. They had a spot set up for me and helped me move all my gear in. They seemed to already know Andrea and Dante. It turned out they were all in the same motorcycle club, and it was all veterans. I wasn’t a veteran yet, but maybe they’d let me join if I had a motorcycle. I’d wanted to get a Harley for a while, but I’d never had enough money to buy one and no place to keep it even if I had. Maybe I could use some of the money coming my way from my old landlord to finally put a downpayment on one.
Tommy clapped me on the back. “Welcome aboard, Zach. Sorry things ended like they did.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Jeff’s always been an asshole. I just ignored it most of the time because I wanted to keep my job.”
