“Tell my girl that.” Outlaw went around the bar and got a bottle of tequila. “We talkin’ and laughin’ and jokin’, but she been guarded. So fuckin’ sad.”
“Just kick Daphne out,” Stretch suggested, surprised he hadn’t done it anyway, if Meggie was that upset.
Outlaw drank, then leaned forward. “Megan said I can keep the bitch here. We both know the brothers like Daphne. It’s fuckin’ easier on every-fuckin-body if we keep the fuckin’ girls we got, Stretch. Think about this. We let Daphne go. We get another bitch to replace her. Cash in charge of them bitches.”
So he’d have to train her, have his cock sucked to make sure she gave head right. Stretch would have to watch Cash have more pointless flings.
“I see what the fuck I’m gettin’ at dawned on you.”
“Yes, it did.” Cash was hard enough to pin down. Stretch didn’t need any more competition.
“This morning, Cash sent Daphne to me for money. The second time in a few weeks. He seem into this bitch. Now, I ain’t sayin’ Cash shouldn’t fuck whoever he want to and I’m tryin’ to be fuckin’ fair and open-minded.” Outlaw leaned closer and glanced over his shoulder at the dark monitors. “But you ain’t thinkin’ about much other than your fucked up leg and Cash’s fucked up behavior. When he around, you try your fuckin’ best to be close by. You ain’t doin’ gate duty no more too much. I offered to take you off, but you insisted on stayin’. You a good, loyal brother, Stretch. You just ain’t you no more.”
Something Stretch was well aware of and something everyone, including himself, pretended otherwise. But Outlaw didn’t pull any punches. He never had. That’s why Stretch respected him so much.
“Before I ask you to turn in your patch, I’m askin’ you to get your shit together.” He drank more tequila then cocked his head to the side. “Unless you wanna patch out?”
“This is home to me. There’s loyalty and freedom and brotherhood.”
“Nothing ever fuckin’ free, brother,” Outlaw countered. “Not even fuckin’ freedom. That come at the cost of something, too. Some brothers’ loyalties come with stipulations.” He gave him a meaningful look. “You know what the fuck I’m sayin’. You gotta pull your shit together.”
“I keep seeing his face, Outlaw. I keep thinking about their faces. I put you in a bad position. My stupidity led you to kill good brothers. I’m so sorry.”
“If they was fuckin’ good, I wouldna blown them the fuck away. Ain’t no reason to apologize. There especially ain’t no reason to feel fuckin’ guilty on my behalf. Other than the night I fucked them up, I ain’t thought about them. They needed to be fuckin’ dead and I obliged them. Case fuckin’ closed.” He fished in the pocket of his cut, pulling out a roll. Once he lit it, he handed it to Stretch. “I can count on one or two fuckin’ hands the deaths that fuck with me the most, with that motherfuckin’ Traveler being at the top of the list.”
Because of Meggie. After realizing Outlaw was sharing a lot with her, Stretch often wondered how Outlaw had broken the news to her that she’d killed Traveler.
“But, Stretch, brother, you live your life lost in the past, you might as well lay the fuck down and die cuz you sure the fuck ain’t got a fuckin’ future. Live life for now. In the present. We don’t know what the fuck happenin’ the next goddamn minute.” Outlaw grabbed the roll back from Stretch. “Think about this shit, then find my ass and tell me how the fuck you want me to help you.”
Stretch swallowed. Instead of feeling better, Outlaw’s encouragement made him feel worse. He was screwing the man’s sister, knowing how Outlaw felt about that. He wasn’t even sure why he was doing it. Was it his feelings for her? Or because Cash wanted it?
“Fuck me.” Outlaw released the smoke he’d been holding in, then straightened.
“Stretch,” Kendall greeted, squeezing next to him and smiling at Outlaw. “Hello.”
Outlaw’s glower matched Stretch’s. She offered Stretch a superior grin, then lifted a brow at Outlaw.
“You can’t ignore me forever.”
“Hey, you,” Meggie’s voice interrupted Kendall’s crusade to have Outlaw speak to her. She went behind the bar to kiss her husband. “I’m here to start dinner.” Catching sight of Diesel, she raised her brows. “You’re out of school early.”
“Yeah, Aunt Meggie,” Diesel answered as Kendall sent a text. “In-service.”