Page 45 of Pain

I saw Tinker look at me but didn’t turn toward him. “Seems to me he stole the devil’s soul instead, and is going to fight to keep it,” he said quietly.

I turned to him now, knowing that he deserved an answer to a statement like that. “Do you think he’s making a mistake?”

He thought about that for a moment and finally shrugged. “I’ve never known Knight to make a mistake on a question that mattered. Never known him to give up on something he believes in, either.”

“Like me?”

“Like doing what’s right, and what keeps the peace. He believes in peace, everyone getting along and living their lives, more than he believes in power or even money. Live and let live, you know? And he’s mostly successful at it. Keeping peace with other clubs, I mean, and even negotiating peace between clubs that are fighting with each other. He has a way of making people see his point of view without them feeling like they’re being forced. I never could understand how he did it.”

“Charm and intelligence, plus just enough threat,” I said quickly, having seen him do it in person.

Tinker laughed. “That just about covers it, I think.”

I cast him a sideways glance. “You seem like you might have a different way of getting things done. Knight might be straightforward, but you...”

“I could never politic the way he does,” he confirmed. “I don’t like people that much is the problem. Give me a machine under my hands, though...”

“Well that explains the all-nighter,” I replied with a laugh. “You’d rather spend your time with the bikes than the people who ride them.”

He laughed outright and told me I was right about that and went on to talk about how he’d made a business of loving the machines. He worked on restorations for other people beside the club and brought in revenue for the club itself, and even had a few projects for other clubs.

“Only works because of Knight,” he said. “He keeps the peace, and I get to work. And then Devil comes around and screws it all up.” His voice turned rough at that statement, and I saw his hands clench into fists. “I wish that man was gone from here. Wish he was gone from the earth. He brings nothing but trouble.”

His eyes shot to me and turned suddenly apologetic, and he shrugged. “Sorry. You were his old lady. I shouldn’t be saying things like that about him.”

I brought a hand down on his shoulder and squeezed. “He didn’t do anything to make me loyal to him, Tinker. And I’m not his old lady anymore.”

I’m actually sleeping with Knight and wishing I was his, I didn’t add.

No reason to complicate an already-complicated situation. Besides, I didn’t know if being with Knight was even an option, and I had enough pride not to want anyone else to know I wanted it. Or if not wanted it...

Well, I wouldn’t argue.

“That’s true, I suppose,” Tinker said slowly. “And I’m guessing you’re more a Banshee now than a Steed.”

His voice was full of question and innuendo, and I turned and hid my face, which was obviously giving too much away. Either that or Tinker was secretly a mind reader.

“So what other projects do you have going on?” I asked, stepping toward the bike like I wanted to get a closer look.

“Going out of town for a couple days starting today, actually,” he said, accepting the change of subject with very good grace. “Got a stock car someone has paid me to work on.”

That surprised me. “Does Knight know you’re leaving?”

“Course he does. But like I said, he don’t mind me working. Brings money into the club and keeps me out of the way if there’s trouble. He don’t like me to ride with the rest of them. Don’t want me getting hurt.”

He sounded a bit bashful at that, like he was embarrassed that Knight worked so hard to keep him safe, but I could see another flush growing on his cheeks. I could guess what that flush meant, too. He secretly liked that he meant that much to Knight. He might not like the implication that he couldn’t be a good soldier, but he liked that Knight valued him for other things.

He liked that Knight was willing to sacrifice manpower to keep Tinker from stumbling into the line of fire.

I liked that Knight was the sort of man who did that. I liked that he took care of his people and went out of his way to make sure they were happy and secure. I’d seen him do it many times since I’d arrived, and each time I saw it, I fell a little bit more under his spell. All presidents took on the responsibility of looking after their people, and most of them took that responsibility seriously. But I’d also seen presidents sell their own people out if they thought it was the best thing for the club, or if they’d decided they could no longer use the man in question.

Hell, I’d seen presidents kill their own men, or have them killed, if they were worried about those men becoming liabilities. I’d seen Devil kill one of his best friends because that friend had become too close to me, and Devil got jealous.

So Knight taking care of his people the way Tinker was describing was not only rare but also very, very special.

“I’m going to be gone by the time Knight gets home, I think,” Tinker said, interrupting my descent into the rabbit hole. “You want to do me a favor?”

“Of course,” I answered automatically.