Cole walked up to Chuck, his hands in his pockets. “Hey, man.”
“Hey, Cole. It hasn’t been two weeks yet. If you’re looking for the rest of that money—”
“Naw, man. I said I’d give you two weeks.” Cole looked back at Angel. “It was a good trade actually.”
Chuck looked from Cole toward Angel. “How’re you liking her?”
Cole looked back at her, and then turned back to Chuck. He nodded, smiling. “She’s a handful all right. You weren’t kiddin’.”
They both laughed.
Cole lit a cigarette. “Sure would be nice to get my hands on some more like her.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
Chuck nodded. “Well, I’m sure I could find you some more. Maybe you could cut that debt down.”
Cole nodded. “Maybe.” He took another hit off his cigarette. “She told me some story about an Asian guy you bought her off of.”
“She did, huh?”
“Yeah. She did. Is it true?”
Chuck shrugged.
“Maybe you could hook me up with this guy.”
“Yeah. I don’t think so,” Chuck replied, shaking his head.
“Make it worth your while. Mack’s talking about opening a cathouse. I get some young pussy like that. Make the place. I clear your debt. We cut you in for a piece of it.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t know the Evil Dead were into running pussy.”
Cole stared him down. “Dead Souls don’t know all our business.”
Chuck nodded.
“Can you get me a face-to-face with this guy?”
Chuck thought about it a minute. “Sure. I guess.”
“Where’s he at?”
“Here and there.”
Cole nodded, seeing Chuck wasn’t going to give up too much information. “How far we got to ride?”
“Not far.”
“Think you could set up a meet for tomorrow? Score you some big points with Mack. With the patch over and all.”
Chuck studied Cole a moment. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll make a call.”
“Sweet. Let me know.”
“Okay.”
Cole walked away.
Returning to the picnic table, Cole sat down next to Angel. He looked over at Mack, who was sitting on his other side. “You headin’ back tonight?”
Mack puffed on a cigar. “Yeah.”
Cole nodded. “I got some unfinished business with Chucky. I’m gonna stay until tomorrow.”
Mack glanced at Angel, then asked Cole, “You need some guys?”
“Yeah.”
Mack nodded. “Take who you need.”
“Thanks.”
Mack stood up. Cole stood with him. Mack looked from Cole to Angel. “Been a very successful trip.”
Cole nodded. “Yeah.”
They slapped each other’s backs in a bear hug. “Thank the lady for me,” Mack said in his ear.
They broke apart.
Cole looked in his eyes. “Will do.”
“See ya back at the clubhouse tomorrow?”
Cole nodded.
Mack walked off. The six brothers standing around the table stayed. Angel noticed the rest leaving.
Cole sat back down. He put his arm around her, pulled her close, and kissed her. He pulled back and looked up at someone beyond Angel’s head. “We all set?”
Angel turned her head and saw Chuck standing at the end of the table.
Cole could feel her instantly tense. He tightened his arm around her.
“Yeah. Said he can meet us around 10 a.m. tomorrow.”
Cole looked at Crash and back at Chuck. “Where?”
“There’s an abandoned rest area out on I-80.”
“How long will it take to get there from here?” Cole asked him.
“Fifteen or twenty minutes.”
Cole nodded. “Great. Mack said to pass on his appreciation for making this happen.”
“Cool.”
“So, we’ll hook up in the morning?”
“Yeah. Okay. Got some real good weed over there if you want,” Chuck offered, nodding toward the group at the fire.
“Me and the lady are gonna go find us a spot.”
Chucky looked at her and smiled. “I know a nice little spot just over that hill.”
“Yeah. I heard you do,” Cole replied in a deadly voice, his eyes taking on a predatory quality.
Chuck smiled and walked away.
When he was gone, Cole gave Angel a squeeze. “You okay?”
“No.”
He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I’m right here, baby. Don’t worry about him. He’s never gonna touch you again.”
She nodded.