We sit in comfortable silence for a bit, reflecting on how drastically our lives have changed in such a short period of time, the first of the reasons Jackal came over now done and under our belts.
Which is why I ask, “What the hell is going on with Spider?” The second reason for my best friend’s visit.
Jackal scrubs a hand over his beard and sighs. “I wish I knew. We’ve always been so fucking close but these last six months he’s been off.”
“No shit. Everything ok with... at home?” Spider is the only one of us who didn’t live at the clubhouse ninety percent of the time, only crashed in his room if he got too fucked up to drive, and that’s definitely because of his home life, the situation forced on him after his dad died several years ago—something I didn’t even know until recently.
“It’s never ok but it’s been fine. The same, I guess.” He blows out a breath. “I know he’s beating himself up over Lola, blaming himself for ever bringing that backstabbing bitch onto our turf.”
“Not his fault though. It’s not like he knew Lola’s brother was that punk ass Cobra prospect.” Yeah, we found out not only was Lola affiliated with them, but her younger brother was the fuck that kept hitting on Theo. She was a plant, trying to work her way into the inner circle in order to get information on our dealings for Lucifer, but none of us had a clue, just thought she was a cunt for what she was doing to Spider and there’s no way he could have known any of that.
“Yeah, but you know how he is. This club, us, we’re the most important thing in his life and he feels like he let us down, betrayed us by bringing that bitch into the fold.”
I eye my best friend, watch his jaw tick through his unkempt beard. “But you’re worried there’s more to it than that.”
Jackal nods. “At first, I thought it was just because he was getting steady pussy, thought he was withdrawing because of whatever he and Lola had going, but I can tell it’s not. There’s something else going on with him, but between his guilt and stress, Spider is shutting me out hard.”
“You think Tate and James are ok there?” Not that I need to ask. Shutdown or not, Spider is the best fucking dude, and his place is the safest for them.
“They’re fine. It’s probably good for Spider having them around, but I’d be a liar if I said it didn’t shock the hell out of me that he volunteered to have them move in.”
“Me too.” I take a swig from my bottle. “You think it’s because of his past? Think he relates too much to their situation?”
“Maybe.” Jackal shrugs. “Tate’s story is still kind of a mystery, but what we know hits home pretty close for a lot of us.”
“Very true. We’ll keep an eye on him. Maybe he’s just dealing with the Lola thing harder than we thought.” But I don’t even believe my own words.
Spider wasn’t in love with Lola, he liked her, sure, but he wasn’t planning to marry her or anything. We all assumed she was great in the sack, but Spider said she was a mediocre lay at best and she mostly drove him nuts because of how awful her personality is, so between that and the cheating, none of us understood why he kept her around. Lola was giving him something he needed though, something important if he was willing to keep her around for almost nine months despite all that.
“I’m pretty worried about him,” Jackal almost whispers. “He’s like my brother, my fucking twin practically. Spider hasn’t been this bad before and he won’t talk to me about shit.”
I have to agree.
For all his disappearances, and there have been many, Spider always at the very least talks to Jackal.
“He’s gonna be fine.” I clap him on the shoulder. “We keep tabs on him like usual, but he’ll be fine. Plus, he’s got a weird loyalty vibe toward my girl, so you know he’ll make the party tonight if only to appease Theo.”
Jackal grins. “We all gotta appease Blondie. The fact that she bought everybody ugly sweaters to wear shows how serious she is, and I’d like to keep my balls right where they are so my girls can play with them later.”
“Speaking of which...” I check my phone and notice it’s about time for us to split. “We need to roll if we want to get them on time. Summer may be your girl now, but she was Theo’s first and if we’re late picking her up, neither of us will have our balls played with tonight.”
* * *
A couple hours later,with Summer and Jolie in tow, we’re getting ready to head to Prez’s when my phone rings.
“Yeah, yeah, we’re on—“
“Blondie with you?” Marbles grunts down the line.
My pulse quickens as I sit up in my seat. “She’s not with you?”
“Fuck,” he almost growls. “When’s the last time you talked to her?”
“Maybe an hour? She texted to say it was taking longer than she expected at wherever she was going, then again to say she should be leaving soon.” My hand clenches around the phone as Jackal glances at me. “Theo hasn’t been to your place yet?”
Marbles sighs. “Would I be calling to ask if she was with you if Blondie was with me?”
“You know where she was going?”
