She was clearly good at this game. That told me precisely dick.
“Red a lesbian now?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.
She grinned. “Not really my business. Who are you?”
“Will’s boyfriend.” I scowled in her direction.
Nodding, she began to walk in the direction of the clubhouse with her phone out to illuminate the way. “No trouble, boys! I’m gonna go find Red.”
We both watched her walk off.
“What the fuck?” I nudged his foot with mine.
Will only snorted and stood, still not looking at me. He kicked the bucket, sending it careening toward the ravine, and it rolled the final few feet over the edge, disappearing.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to leave me out?” he shouted.
I slapped my hand against my thigh. “It was one of King’s crackpot plans. Still can’t believe it fucking worked.” A short hysterical laugh escaped me. “But if it hadn’t, we would’ve had to be fast getting the hell out of there. We would’ve been chased by drunk, angry fucking cops!”
He raised his hands to his sides, ghostly in the bluish light from the lantern. “And I can’t do that?”
“No! And you fucking know it!” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “You can say what you want, but no. You’re not in the shape to do that shit.”
“And I don’t get to decide?” he snarled.
“Not for something this fucking stupid, no. You don’t get to go out there when the chances are that someone will fucking die, even if they’re in top shape.”
He shoved me. “These are my choices.”
“Fuck!”
I raised my hands when he lifted the gun in my direction, but he kept going and tossed the fucking thing into the ravine. A shot rang out into the night.
“Asshole.” I rolled my eyes.
He ignored me and picked up the lantern, then headed back toward the clubhouse.
“Can I come in with you?” I asked, following hot on his heels.
“Fuck you, no!” He swung the lantern at me, but he wasn’t really trying to hit me.
“Will!”
He ignored me, saying nothing, and worry ate at my stomach like acid. Before the accident we used to get into shouting matches and sometimes smack each other around for the hell of it, then apologize, but this was different.
The expression on his face was final, and I hated it.
We’d been having a really sweet time since we’d started fucking, and I wanted to keep it, not lose out because of some well-deserved revenge.
He went around the front of the clubhouse and dumped the lantern in the hallway that led into the barroom, which gave it a creepy funhouse vibe. King was sitting on the bar holding court, and there were people gathered around him. Even with rock music blasting from the sound system, you could hear him loud and clear.
“Yeah, I got the idea from ship wreckers. Motherfuckers used to walk with lamps back and forth along shore so ship captains would be tricked into thinking they were boats. Those big fucking boats with all sorts of expensive loot on them would run aground and capsize, killing off the crew. Then, the ship wreckers would just scoop up the good shit when it washed ashore and sell it. Live like kings. And we’re Kings. You know, we’re kindred spirits.”
He laughed, and everyone standing around hanging on his words did the same. He was a conductor and they were the symphony. It was inspiring to stand back and watch him work a crowd.
“I thought,shit, why couldn’t that work for us? Those red lights we rigged up looked just like taillights.”
“Destiny thinks you’re a genius, honey!” I hadn’t realized that Destiny and Bishop were here, but Destiny walked over and slapped King on the hip. He tossed his long blond hair. “And the commissioner lost two flunkies. He’ll probably figure out who did it.”
