Page 20 of More Tricks

“What the hell could I possibly get into like this?” I demanded, gesturing to my side. “I’ve got a five-inch incision that got rooted through and stitched up. Did you know they just glued and stitched to make sure it would heal right?” Dani gave me a withering look, and I tossed up my hands. “Don’t beat up the wounded guy.”

“God, Dax is nuts to have seven of you in her life,” she muttered as she got out of the car and slammed the door.

I looked around the little strip mall where the pharmacy was and noticed someone I recognized heading into the smoke shop. The problem was, I couldn’t place how I knew the guy in the first place. Then it dawned on me. It was Dax’s right-hand man. What the hell was he doing all the way out here?

Shoving open the door, I slowly eased myself out of the car, grabbing my gun from the glove box. I shoved it down the front of my pants because there was no fucking way I could twist to get in behind me, let alone grab it to shoot someone. We’d met right after Dax got shot and he was working with Wes to run the Empire while Dax was out for those two weeks. For her to put that much trust in the guy, he must be someone she vetted and earned her trust.

As I opened the door, it hurt like a motherfucking bitch. One would never know how many muscles were working all at the same time until you damaged them, and they screamed at you that they existed. Gritting my teeth, I looked around the small shop and found him looking through vape juice flavors. He seemed relaxed, unhurried, not at all concerned with getting noticed or acting like he shouldn’t be here. Had Dax called him in? He’d been part of the second wave of her team in Vegas, but it doesn’t explain why he’s here.

I moved through the aisles, looking at the various products and paraphernalia they had for grinding, dabbing, and other things I hadn’t the faintest idea how to use. Sure, I’d smoked weed a bunch of times, but I didn’t use a bong or anything like that. I just smoked it like a cigarette. I’m sure the others wished I smoked more often, but I couldn’t allow myself to let anything impair me while being the leader of a group as big as the Phantom Saints. We grew way faster than I thought with Tricks’s no biker gangs policy. Funny how things change in such a short amount of time.

That was something we were going to need to talk about. How did we move forward? Dax was ours, and she’d made it clear that our people were hers along with the five of us. We’d need to find a way to blend the two into something that benefited both.

“Eagle?” Brian’s voice called out.

My head snapped up, and I realized I’d almost completely forgotten why I’d come here in the first place. “Yeah?” I answered, trying to act like I didn’t remember him, so it wasn’t awkward.

“Right, sorry, I’m probably more of a voice on the other end of the line to you,” he chuckled and held out his hand. “Brian, I’m one of Dax’s men.”

I raised a brow at the phrase.

“Fuck. Sorry, I didn’t mean ‘man’ in that way. We’re good friends but nothing more than that. I’ve never been interested in her like that. She’s my boss,” he rambled utterly flustered at the slip.

Clearly, this guy wasn’t wandering around looking for trouble. “It’s alright. I knew what you meant. You’re the one who’s been keeping the Empire still running while Dax deals with the current issues.”

“Yeah, that’s the short and sweet of it,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What brings you out here? Weren’t you with the second wave in Vegas?” I asked, curious to see if he would tell me.

Brian’s eyes went wide with shock. “Do you not know that your compound was attacked?”

“Yes, I’m aware of that. What does that have to do with you?” I challenged, not understanding the connection.

“Dax sent us out right away as reinforcements to the compound. We got there just in time to turn the tide until Dax and the rest of the guys got there to finish them off,” Brian informed me. “The FBI has been running all over the place dealing with the dead bodies and such. Interviewing random people, so I thought I should get out of there for a while. Dax has immunity, but I’m not so sure that applies to the rest of us, and a fair amount of those people have a bullet in them from my gun.”

That certainly made sense and sounded like what my little hellcat would do. She liked to make sure she had all angles covered. I held out a hand, and he took it, shaking it gently, clearly knowing I’d been hurt.

“Eagle,” Dani snapped as she walked into the store. “What did I tell you about leaving the car?”

Ignoring her for a moment, I met Brian’s gaze, but he was already lost eyes only for the fiery woman behind me. That was a look I knew well, and it took everything not to smirk. “Thanks for taking care of my people, but it seems my jailer has found me. Stop by the house, have a drink, and stay for dinner. I know Dax considers you family.”

Brian shook his head and tried to cover up that he hadn’t heard half of what I said. “Yeah… sounds great. Are you heading back to the compound now?”

“If she has anything to say about it. Dax put her in charge of me for the next two weeks until I get these damn stitches out,” I answered as I headed for the door.

Dani looked like she was about to cuss my ass out until she noticed Brian. “You better not be talking him into smoking anything. With the meds he’s on, that would be a disaster.”

Okay, clearly the infatuation didn’t go both ways.

“No, no, I came in here looking for more juice for my vape,” Brian blurted out.

Dani’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “You know, just because it’s not a cigarette doesn’t mean that’s any better for you. We don’t even know the damage those things can do, not to mention how much nicotine you’d be ingesting without even realizing it.”

Poor Brian just looked at her, gaping like a fish, not having a clue how to handle this situation.

“Leave the man alone. You’re nagging at him like you're an old married couple,” I interjected. “Did you get my meds? I really want to get home, eat something that tastes like food, and put my feet up.”

Now Dani looked taken aback at my observation and chose to focus on me instead.