Page 102 of Crow
“No,” he replied. “I keep running it through my head, but no one comes to mind. Abe kept to himself most of the time and rarely left his apartment. If I ever find out who did this to him, I’ll make sure he pays for it.”
“Preying on the helpless tells us he’s a fuckin’ pussy,” Jigger said.
“A damn yellow belly.” Eagle pounded his fist on the bar.
“Damn straight,” Crow replied.
“Let me know if there’s any way we can help find this pansy-ass,” Hawk said. “Banger’s ready to go. Later.”
Crow’s cell vibrated in his pocket, and when he saw Angie’s name pop up, a corner of his mouth hitched into a slight grin.
“I gotta take this,” he said, then walked out of the room.
He leaned against the stucco wall and brought the phone to his ear.
“Hey.”
“You could’ve let me know you were leaving.”
“I left a note.”
“I know. I memorized it:I have an early meeting. Got someone to watch over you. Later.How long did it take for you to compose that?”
“So kill me—I’m not a writer. I didn’t want to wake you up. You had a hard time yesterday and needed some sleep. I was only thinking of you.”
There was a long pause.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
“For what?”
“Having an attitude. Thanks for sending over that guy. And … for caring.”
“Of course.”
“He wouldn’t talk to me, but that seems to be a theme with your club. He was still there when I left.”
“And he’ll be there until I tell him to go. Prospects do what they’re told.”
“What does that mean?”
“A prospect is someone who’s stated a clear intention of being a full-patched club member. Everyone starts out as one. You gotta earn your patch. Prospects are at the beck and call of every patched brother, and they do whatever is asked of them. They gotta follow the club’s bylaws and show respect to all patched members. If they fuck up, they get a beatdown, and their asses are thrown out.”
“That’s a pretty harsh initiation.”
“If a dude can’t take it, then he doesn’t belong in the MC. It’s simple.”
“So you went through that?”
“Yeah, I did. So how are you?”
“Okay, but still a bit shaky over what happened early this morning. How did he know where I lived? Has he been stalking me?”
Hearing the fear in Angie’s voice, Crow wanted to find out who put it there and teach him a lesson he’d never forget.
“It’s probably someone you know. It could be someone at the apartments or work.”
“I don’t think anyone at work would do this.”
