“Ten fucking years ago! A lot has happened since then.” Agony, the band’s drummer, looked irate, and a bit rattled. It seemed as though the two love birds were having a little spat. Which wasn’t abnormal. I’d be surprised if the two could go a day without fighting.
Affliction came down next, his eyes glued to his phone. The man had a really bad gambling problem, and if I had to guess, by the sounds coming from his phone, he was watching a horse race, betting on really shitty odds again.
He briefly looked up, smiling at me until his pointy filed teeth were on full display. The man wanted to look like a shark. So, he walked around in nothing but black or blue, sporting tattoos that went from his head down to his toes. On the sides of his neck were three lines, indicating the gills he so wished to receive. But most of his tats were fish and sharks. I’m pretty sure he had every shark known to man tatted on his skin. “Hey, Cap.”
“Hey, Affliction. How are you?”
“Groovy,” he said, walking over to where his other bandmates were standing.
“Where’s Misery?” I questioned, realizing the band’s main singer wasn’t there.
“She’ll be here before the concert,” Sorrow answered. “She had to make a detour with Chester.”
Chester is the band’s manager, and from what I’ve heard all over the news, Misery’s new beau. Something Bull wasn’t too happy with when he found out. If I had to guess, it was part of the reason their relationship fizzled out as fast as it did. Chester and Misery were quite chummy before Bull and her parted ways.
Agony and Sorrow made their way into the club, Sorrow chirping about how she wanted a lap dance. Chuckling, I shookAffliction’s hand, greeting him as I always did even though he scared the crap out of me.
“Don’t worry, Cap, I don’t bite.” He winked at me, then shouted out in frustration as his race came to an end. “Oh come on!” he shouted.
“Not a good bet?”
“My source said it was a sure thing,” he grumbled. “Turns out the horse was lame.” He showed me the replay of his horse collapsing just outside the finish line, the horse’s right leg giving out on him. “Fuck!” he shouted. “Not again. April is going to tan my fucking hide.”
“April?”
He held up his hand. “Married my biggest fan last year. It was kind of a big deal; I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it.”
“Unfortunately, last year was quite the blur for me. I didn’t hear a lot of things. I just spent most of my time recovering.”
He looked up for a split second. “That’s right. You had some heart troubles or something?”
“Something like that.”
“Sorry, man. Being on the road keeps me out of the loop too. Only reason I know is because Misery told me. That girl really loves your club. How is Slade?”
“Dreading doing this.”
Affliction nodded his head. “Understandable. You weren’t there when they called shit off. It was heated. The chemistry was always off the charts between those two, but it was also toxic as hell. But at least something good came out of it…” His eyes went wide. “Never mind, I didn’t just say that. Forget I said anything.” He quickly walked away, leaving both me and Archer completely dumbfounded.
“What was all that about?”
“I have no idea,” I answered him, looking toward the strip club. “But something is going on, I’m just not sure what it is.”
Glancing at Ruby, I motioned toward my bike. “You ready to go home? It stopped raining.”
“Don’t you have to tend to the band?”
Shaking my head, I smiled. “They’ll be okay. The rest of the club is in there. Besides, my job doesn’t start until tomorrow.”
“What’s tomorrow?”
“The band is playing a huge outdoor concert at Old Farmer Mirchoff’s farm. The whole town is supposed to be there. It’s making up for them not playing at our rally last year. It’s kind of a big deal.”
Zodiac came out of the building with Aries. Man, I haven’t seen the kid around much lately.I wonder what is up?
“Hey, Zodiac, Aries, what’s up?”
“You leaving?” Zodiac asked, eyeing the bus.
