This was not an official meeting of the Redemption Road, just a casual hangout some of the guys had to blow off steam. I often missed it because work kept me late.
“Tex,” Knight said warningly.
Snake laughed like Tex was hilarious. “I think you meant sucking his parole officer’s dick.” He made crude sucking sounds. “You love that dick, don’t you, Flynn?”
“Shut the fuck up,” Ghost growled. “Before I make you shut up.”
“What? It’s true?—”
Ghost stood suddenly, chair skittering back, and slammed his hands down on the table. He leaned in, eyes narrowed on Snake. “I won’t say it again,” he said in a low, threatening voice.
Holy hell. Ghost was so quiet at the meetings that this side of him was surprising. I could see the man he’d been in prison, and that man wasn’t someone you fucked with.
After twenty-five years in prison, he was the most hardened of us all. No one knew much about his crime. He didn’t talk about it, and he wasn’t the type of guy that invited many questions.
“Okay, ease up,” Snake said. “Just joking with my old pal, Dozer. He knows I’m not serious. Right, man?”
I nodded, because I wanted to defuse the situation. “Sure, Snake. I know exactly how you meant it.”
Not as a goddamned joke. But that was okay. I had people here who had my back. I could handle Snake’s bullshit.
Ghost caught my eye, nodded once, then pulled his chair in and sat again. I wasn’t sure how to feel about his defense of my honor. But I’d rather he be with me than against me.
“Everyone is so damned uptight,” Tex said with a shaky laugh.
“Or you’re a dick,” Knight said with an easy smile.
“Or that,” Tex agreed.
Hollywood laughed. “Sucha dick.”
I poured beer into cups, handing them out. Ghost waved me off, content with his glass of water.
The conversation moved away from me, thankfully.
Hollywood, the youngest of us, was fighting with his girlfriend over visitation rights to his daughter. She wanted nothing to do with him.
“It’s not like I’m some hardened criminal,” he complained. “No offense, guys.”
“None taken,” Knight said dryly.
“I ripped off a bigoted billionaire. I should have gotten a fucking medal for it.”
“So you were really sincere about your remorse in the parole hearing, I take it,” Knight said with a laugh.
“I bought her a fucking house.”
“Didn’t it get seized when you were arrested?”
“Not the point. All I did was try to provide.”
“You’re totally the victim here,” Tex said with a smirk.
“Fine. I fucked up. Yeah. But I should still get to see my daughter!”
There was a round of commiseration. A lot of ex-cons had stories like that. One of my ex-cellies had two grown kids who wouldn’t speak to him.
Matteo’s dad still didn’t treat him the same, despite all he’d achieved, and Tex’s whole family had written him off.
