Page 41 of Dark Side of the Cloth

Jeremy cleared his throat and stood up tall. His eyes were scared, but he tried to mask it. “I don’t have one. I took whatever I could get my hands on, depending on how much money I could pull together. Flakka, liquid Ecstasy, China Girl, and Serial Killer if I was really desperate.”

“Fuck kid, you’re lucky to be alive,” Morry snorted. “You sure you want to back this pony?” Morry didn’t take her eyes off Jeremy, but Dean knew the question was directed at him.

“Too much of a challenge for you?” Dean asked and smiled as Morry glared at him.

“You always knew how to irritate me more than anyone else.”

“It’s my special charm.”

“Alright, Jeremy, if Dean here says you are worth the effort, I’ll take his word for it. I’ll get you checked in and have one of the other enrollees show you around. Dean, you staying the night?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then let’s go.”

Dean and Morry fell into step, their boots hitting the ground in perfect rhythm like no time had passed. He glanced back at Jeremy and knew by the way the guy’s eyes were searching he was looking for an escape route. Knee jerk reaction, but the only problem was, with this place, once you were in, you either graduated or you became feed for the plants.

Dean placed his feet up on the chair beside him as he stared at the slowly dying flames of the bonfire. He’d lost count of how many nights he’d sat around a fire just like this one with his unit.

“Mind if I join ya?” Morry sat, not waiting for a reply. She swiped his feet off the chair and plunked herself down.

“I didn’t say yes.”

“I also know you wouldn’t say no. Besides, I brought you this.” Morry held out a beer for him to take.

“You always did know the fastest way to my heart.” The bottles clinked as they toasted and then fell into a comfortable silence.

“Do you ever see them?” Morry asked.

“Who?”

Morry gave him her classic fuck-off look. “You know who I mean.”

Dean nudged at the flames with his foot, embers rising into the dark sky. Thunder growled in the distance as if it, too, was remembering the dark times. “I see them all the time. Awake, asleep, in the flames, it doesn’t matter. They follow me around as surely as my own shadow.”

“This is going to sound crazy, but I thought I saw TK sitting at my kitchen table one morning. I even said hello and started pouring myself a coffee before my brain caught up on the impossible. When I turned, he was gone. I’m going insane, aren’t I?”

Dean laughed, his voice drawing the attention of the large group of bikers hanging out at the next fire over. “Woman, you’ve always been insane, but not because you saw TK in your kitchen.”

“You’re a jerk.”

“I can’t deny that.” His smile slowly faded. “Makes sense you’d see him. The two of you were tight.”

“You think so?”

“Hell yeah, he would take any opportunity to see you naked, even in death. He’s probably looking out for you as your bonafide fuck angel,” Dean teased.

Morry burst out laughing.

“Well, that explains why my lights flash when I masturbate.”

Dean spit out the sip of beer he just took, the spray going all over the place.

“Hey, don’t get me all wet!”

“That’s not what you were begging for earlier.” Dean gave Morry a wink as she punched him in the arm. They’d always been like this with one another. The easy banter, the harmless teasing, but they always had one another’s back.

“You know I never thanked you for saving my ass.” Dean leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “I owe you.”