AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hunter pushed the covers off and sat up, wincing at the ache pounding through his head. Ugh, hangovers.
The door to his bedroom swung open, and Trey marched in.
“Morning,warden. Come on in. You want to do a cell check? Body cavity? Feel free.” Hunter stood and moved to the bathroom. He didn’t care that Trey had walked in; he just wanted to piss him off.
“You were supposed to be down at the shop an hour ago. Marshall texted me and asked me to get you up and get you down there. I shouldn’t have to do this.”
Hunter closed the bathroom door, ignoring his older brother. He stumbled into the shower as he heard Trey stomp away. When he got out and went downstairs, he bypassed the guests in the kitchen without saying a word.
A little kid said loudly, “There’s the guy with the eye patch. Is he a pirate?”
By the time Hunter got down to the shop, Marshall was busy with a customer. They were talking about the Harley in the showroom. Hunter walked past and lifted a hand but didn’t meet Marshall’s eyes. It wasn’t like Marshall had a lot of options around South Port to do his bidding as a mechanic.
Hunter settled into the project he had been working on, restoring a 1969 Harley-Davidson. Some rich guy had requested it be put back into pristine condition. After waiting way too many days for the parts to arrive, it was finally coming together. He changed out some of the bike fenders as classic rock blasted through his AirPods. He could always count on classic rock to help with a hangover. That’s what Trent had always said when he had a hangover and Hunter blared that music in their home gym back in Virginia Beach.
Dang it. He hated thinking about his brother first thing in the morning. If he didn’t get a handle on these thoughts, he could fall down a rabbit hole and ruin the whole day.
He pushed the next song on his Pandora list, and a Mötley Crüe song came on. He started singing the lyrics and focused on the work in front of him.
A bit later, Marshall approached him. When Hunter glanced at his face, he did a double take. It was uncanny how much Marshall looked like their father. All of them had commented about it. Marshall knew it, and he liked it.
“You’re late.” Marshall grabbed a different part of the motorcycle that needed to be replaced. He crouched and put some effort into removing the rusted bolt.
Hunter didn’t respond. What could he say? Ownership, accountability—those ideas meant nothing to him anymore.
Marshall didn’t make a big deal about it, and they settled into work. By lunchtime, they were both jamming to the music and making jokes. It had surprised Hunter how much he enjoyed working with Marshall. Growing up, Marshall had been just enough of a jerk that Hunter and Trent had stayed clear of him. But since marrying Kat, having their first baby, retiring from military, and opening the shop here, Marshall had chilled out.
Marshall stood and put down the wrench. “How about a sandwich?”
“Sounds like a plan.” These days, the only things Hunter enjoyed were food and booze.
They found themselves at Stan’s Deli. Of course, Stan gave them special treatment, because Marshall’s wife had sold the deli to him before settling down in Virginia Beach with Marshall two years ago. They chatted with Stan for a bit. Hunter could admit he liked the guy, which was strange because he didn’t have an opinion about much of anything these days.
Stan left them to their food, and the two of them ate for a while.
Marshall was too quiet, and that put Hunter on alert. He eyed his brother and said, “Is it speech time yet? Did my big brothers get together and decide to have some kind of ‘come with Jesus’ moment? Wait, it’s ‘cometoJesus.’ I stand corrected.”
Marshall narrowed his eyes. “Don’t be disrespectful about Jesus. Mama would hate that.”
The reprimand stung. Their mother was one thing that could snap Hunter out of this shell of a human he’d become. He scrunched up the sandwich wrapper, dropped it on the table, and leaned back, crossing his arms. “What is it?”
Marshall cocked an eyebrow. “You need a ‘come to Jesus’ moment; that’s for sure.”
Hunter waited.
“Another thing we need to talk about. When are you going to look for the lock that goes to that key?”
Hunter reached for the key beneath his shirt. “When I’m good and ready.”
“Banks will come around soon. He gave us a year, and it’s been longer than that.”
“Oh, is that what the whole family says?”
Marshall glared at him. “Yeah, that’s what the whole family says, and that’s who you’re putting at risk.”
“How am I putting the family at risk?”
“Because every day we don’t find the lock, Banks is getting closer to it. And to us.”
