Manic straightened. “Dude, look at this scar and tell me if you think that would actually get me to shut up.”
Granite and Dutch laughed, and I glared holes into his forehead. But Manic ignored my stares of hell. “So? Have you decided?”
“I have. But it doesn’t seem like anyone wants to accept my answer.”
Granite placed his arms on the table. “As long as the answer is no, it will be ignored, yes.”
I scoffed. “And they call this a free country.”
“Listen, Onyx,” Granite started with histime-to-get-seriousvoice, “we need to work on a plan to get this crew where it was before Slither fucked with us. And we can’t do that until this final decision has been made.”
I refused to look at him, rather staring at the label on my beer bottle, which I was slowly pulling off at the edges. “I know,” I replied, clipped. Even though taking Granite’s place was the last fucking thing I wanted to do, I wasn’t an idiot. I knew we were running out of time, and some of us were running out of patience. “I still think it’s bullshit that you need to keep up your part of the deal.”
Granite shrugged as he sat back. “What is a man if his word ain’t solid?”
“I’ll tell you what he’s not. Stupid.”
Manic laughed. “That’s a good one.”
“Shut up,” Granite and I said in unison, and the guy actually seemed offended for a second.
“Fine,” he got up and grabbed his beer, “I’ll go keep the pretty lady over there company. She looks like she could appreciate a big old scar.”
I jumped up and glowered at him. “Are you serious right now?”
Dutch held a palm in front of his face as he snickered, and Manic smiled, slapping his hands on my shoulders. “Dude, chill. I promise I won’t break her…much.”
Everyone erupted in laughter while I was the only one about to have an aneurysm.
“The guy’s fucking with you, little brother.”
I turned and saw Manic leaning on the bar beside Wraith, smiling like a fucking male stripper with super white teeth. “Do you see that?” I looked at Granite, but my brother just kept laughing.
I pursed my lips, biting the inside of my cheek as I took my seat. “I guess the joke’s on me today, is it?”
Dutch slapped me on the shoulder. “It sure is.”
“Ha, fucking ha. I ain’t coming on these runs until Ink drags his ass with us. At least then you’ll be picking at his ass and not mine.”
Everyone continued to laugh, and I glanced over my shoulder at Wraith. Manic shot me a coy smile, going the extra distance to piss on my goddamn battery. God, you had to love these fuckers.
“I’m gonna go get us a round of bourbon,” Granite said as he got up and sauntered to the bar.
I ran a hand through my hair and let out a breath. “God, this is bullshit.”
Dutch lit a cigarette. “Listen, man, I get why you’re doubting. Granite has big boots to fill, and you’re afraid you won’t be able to man up. But you need to give yourself some credit. Both of you have Stone’s blood running through your veins.”
“I’m not like my brother.”
“And you don’t have to be. You don’t have to be Granite to be a good president, Onyx.”
I pulled a palm down my face, feeling like I had the fucking world on my shoulders. “You don’t get it. No one gets it. I’m the irresponsible one. The one who needs a fucking leash. Put me in that motherfucking chair, then who’s gonna keep me in check?”
Dutch stared at me with a half-smile on his face. “You are.”
“What?”
He tapped his finger against the cold beer in front of him. “I get it. It’s easier to ignore the rules than it is to enforce them. Right now, you have your brother to worry about your actions. But if you’re president, you’ll no longer have that luxury.”