Page 41 of Thug

“Don’t want to talk about it?”

“I planned on coming in here, having a few beers, and never mentioning it,” I said, shifting my eyes from her to him. “Like I said, there’s nothing to talk about.”

He chuckled. “More interested in looking at that bartender’s ass, huh?”

Gray was at the far side of the bar. It appeared she was telling one hell of a story. Her hands covered her ears and she was nodding her head so ferociously that it was throwing her hair two feet in the air. Gunny, Travis and Wood were laughing so hard they were in tears.

“Like I said.” I looked right at him. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

He stared, waiting for me to say something.

“If you would have been listening instead of bumping your gums to your prospect, you’d know that I said I didn’t want to discuss our position with the Hells Angels or the meeting with the Bandidos in public.”

“This ain’t public.”

I looked at him like he was an idiot. “This is a private bar?”

He glanced over each shoulder. “Pretty much.”

Gray was thirty feet from me. There was no chance she’d hear me, but it was the principal of the matter that irritated me. I knew Panzer wouldn’t give up, so instead playing the game, I gave him a breathless rundown of the trip.

“Meeting went well, Panzer,” I said. “We’ve got the support of the Bandidos, and they’ve got ours. I had some good barbeque at a little hole in the wall, ate a damned fine burger at one of the Bandidos Ol’ Lady’s place, and I got to sit by the aisle on the plane, both ways. Lackey got pulled over by TSA in the airport for having a handful of protein bars in his carry-on. Apparently when they go through the x-ray, they look just like plastic explosives. Flight was uneventful. Once we got there, we rented a Jeep. Took the top off and left it at the rental place so I didn’t feel like I was being suffocated. Ate two packs of those weird little biscuits on the way home. Landed. Came straight here.” I drank what remained of my beer. “That’s pretty much it.”

“See,” he said with a false smile. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“It’s the principal of the matter,” I said. “You know it.”

“Just wanted to make sure it went well.”

“Went fine. It’s a two-way street, though.”

“Any time you need me to stand up, just give me the word,” he said. “You know I’ll do it.”

“I know you will.”

He nodded his head toward the bar behind me. “Took a look at Ol’ Girl’s kitchen. Needs a little work to be operational. Pike, Swag, the prospect, and me are gonna get it done over the next week or so. Told her we’ll start on it tomorrow.”

Gray had moved away from Gunny’s table and was clearing an empty table by the jukebox. After placing the trash in a galvanized beer bucket, she turned toward the jukebox and began scouring through the song selections.

“Wonder if she can cook?” I asked, not really expecting an answer.

“Don’t know,” he replied. “Bitch can run a bar. That’s for sure.”

“Let me know if you need anything to get it going,” I said. “Whatever it costs, let Lackey know. We’ll take care of it. Least we can do, considering she’s letting us take this place over.”

“Wasn’t going to charge her, anyway,” he said. “I just wanted to be able to get a burger. Fucking eggs give me gas like a motherfucker.”

Humble Pie’s 30 Days in the Hole blared from the jukebox. Gray turned around, wearing an ear-to-ear grin.

The song was not only one of my all-time favorites, but it was one of many records I had retained from my father’s collection. I cherished the album and held the song close to my heart for many reasons.

“Appreciate your help on getting the kitchen going,” I said, nodding my head toward Gray as I spoke. “Mind giving me a minute with her?”

“No problem.”

As Panzer walked away, Gray approached with a bucket of trash in each hand. I spun my barstool in her direction as she strolled past. “Sounds like Panzer and a few of the fellas are going to get the kitchen going.”

Her face lit up. “Oh my God. I was going to say something, but we started talking about sex and I forgot.” She dumped the trash and threw the buckets in the sink. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. That is so far beyond awesome. You have no idea how big of a deal that is for me.”