“Your bar?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes. “Mine to manage, don’t go thinking I’ve got things backward.” Her gaze settled on him, and turned mischievous, her smile sharp as a blade. “So your girlfriend’s here, huh?”
“Oh, uh, no, she – I – uh…”
She laughed, and it was easy, not cruel. Jazz had never been that. “Stop, I’m teasing. But I saw you with her.” She tilted her head. “You like her.”
“I thought we’d already established that.”
She snorted. “Yeah. Y’all are cute together.” She patted his arm, and it was friendly rather than suggestive. “I’m glad for you.”
Despite the murder, and the danger, and the logistics of protecting their own and their city, Carter was glad, too. He finally had something good in his life – now he just had to look after it.
Thirty-Two
“You want me to hang back?” Mercy asked. “Or come with?”
Carter smoothed his hair and glanced across the parking lot to the practice field. It was a Sunday, but a surprising number of cars filled the lot. Students had gathered at the edge of the field, and he spotted Elijah at the head of the crowd, talking to them, gesturing with his hands in a soothing way. A true leader, on and off the field.
It was time for him to step up again. To keep stepping up.
“Stay here for now,” he told Mercy. “And come over if it looks like I’m screwing it up.”
Mercy grinned. “Go get ‘em, QB.”
He took a deep breath, and headed over.
He’d debated changing clothes; leaving his cut behind, or wearing shorts and sneakers. It would have made him look younger and non-threatening. But he’d stood in front of his mirror, and he’d studied his cut-wearing reflection, and he’d decided to go as he was. He was a Lean Dog, now, and there was no sense denying it. He was meeting with these kids as a liaison and trying to disguise that would make him look like he was hiding something. So he approached with his cut, his boots, his knife, his gun, his wallet chain, and what he hoped was a friendly expression.
Elijah spotted him first, and waved. Carter waved back, and saw several heads turn toward him. By the time he reached the grass, he could hear the buzz and murmur of conversation; couldn’t tell if it sounded excited or worried. Several of the girls huddled closer together, and even clasped hands.
Ah, shit, he thought, but pushed a smile across his face.
“Guys,” Elijah called, voice carrying. “Guys, guys, come on. Let’s get quiet. This is the friend I was telling y’all about.”
Friend. Carter hadn’t expected that.
“Y’all remember Carter Michaels, right? His photo’s in the weight room.”
One of the boys, tall and muscular, cocked his head to the side and wrinkled his nose. “That’sCarter Michaels?”
Before Carter could say anything in his own defense, Elijah said, “His arm’s better than yours, don’t hate. Guys,listen. Carter’s been helping me with my passes the last few weeks. When I heard about the shit going around with the dogs printed on the baggies, I asked him, and he said it’s bullshit. The Dogs aren’t selling that, and the Dogs aren’t the ones who took Allie.”
“Man, whatever.”
“The Dogs deal drugs,” one of the girls said, voice squeaky with fright. “Everyone knows it.”
“My uncle gets his weed from y’all.”
“The Lean Dogs kill people.”
“Yeah, Dogs suck!”
“Hey.” Carter didn’t shout, but he leveled as much authority as he possessed into that one word. To his shock, all the kids fell silent. He saw wide eyes, and frowns, and a few brave sneers, trying to cover up fear. “I asked Elijah to bring you guys here today because I wanted to explain to you what’s going on. There’s been a lot of crazy shit going on lately, and lots of talk about the Dogs doing things we haven’t done.
“We’re an outlaw MC, yeah. I don’t think I have to tell you what that means. We don’t follow all the rules all the time – that’s kind of in the playbook.” He saw one fleeting smile. “But this club has been a staple in this city since before you all were born. Since your parents were kids. The club doesn’t kidnap teenagers. It doesn’t sell party drugs with our logo stamped on it – who would do something that stupid? Who would advertise that they’re dealing?”
A few reluctant nods at that.
