Page 63 of Knight
I took the glass and looked inside. “You…made me a margarita?”
“I aim to please.”
Knight waved me into his abandoned chair, choosing to lean against the railing instead. I sat down and sipped the margarita. A bit strong, but he’d done a decent job with it.
“So, what are you all up to tonight?” I asked. “Do you meet up every Monday?”
“Not always,” Knight said. “We’ve been trying to game plan what to do about one of our wayward members.”
“Oh, this is about Tex?”
Knight had filled me in on the call he’d gotten from Matteo on Saturday. He’d been noticeably worried, but I hadn’t been able to offer much useful advice. Distracting him, though? That had been fun for both of us.
“He won’t return any calls. Not even Ghost’s.”
“Because he knows what we want to say,” Hollywood said tersely, “and he doesn’t want to hear it.”
“Too damn bad,” Knight said flatly. “I’ll head up that way next week. I’m not letting him miss that meeting.”
“Maybe we should be worrying about the kid,” Hollywood said.
Knight groaned. “Fuckin’ brat. I can’t believe he bailed on us again. I thought we made progress last week.”
“Two steps forward, one back,” Hollywood said. “Just like with Carrie.”
“She still won’t let you see your munchkin?” Knight asked.
“Nope. I’ve got a meeting with a lawyer, but I’m notholding my breath. They don’t usually favor the father, especially one with a felony.”
“That’s a damn shame,” Knight said. “I hope you figure something out.”
Hollywood drained his beer and grimaced. “Sorry, Aiden. I’m sure you don’t want to hear all our ex-con drama.”
“Hey, you were all Flynn’s friends in this program. That makes you my friends too. If I can help, please let me know.”
“Flynn’s the best,” Hollywood said. “We miss him. Tell him to get his sorry butt out for a beer.”
I smiled. “I will. He’s still in his honeymoon phase with Bailey.”
Knight snorted. “He deserves his happy. It’s all good.”
Ghost grunted in agreement.
Hollywood leaned in. “Ghost isn’t real chatty, if you hadn’t noticed. He doesn’t really like people. He tolerates us because he has to.”
Ghost rolled his eyes but didn’t disagree.
“Ah.” I nodded. “Well, I hope me being here isn’t intruding too much? I could go inside.”
“No way,” Knight said. “This is your house. You go where you want.”
Ghost nodded. “Yup. I’m calling it a night, anyway.” He pushed out of his chair.
Hollywood stood. “That’s my cue.” He paused, looking over at Knight. “I still think chasing Tex won’t lead anywhere good, but…” He chewed his inner cheek. “If you do find him, let me know how he is?”
“Of course I will.” Knight set his beer down so he could give Hollywood a big hug and a couple of slaps to the back. He murmured something too quiet for me to hear.
Hollywood nodded, his face looking young and vulnerable. He turned away quickly and jogged down the stairs.
