Page 50 of Enemy

Still, when the bulky form of my uncle enters, I manage to speak. “Morning.” I rub my face to seem more sleepy than I am. I grab the pair of pajama bottoms I didn’t care to wear last night and put them on, because I’m not gonna be bare-assed for whatever conversation he wants to have.

“Would be a better morning if you answered your phone and I didn’t have to come here!”

I hate when he gets like this. I might be his nephew, but I’m not a kid. “Calm down already. Well, you’re here now, so what is it?” I groan, hoping it’s nothing too serious, because Road is under my damn bed, listening to every word.

The watery eyes narrow under the salt-and-pepper bush of Grizzly’s brows, and I’m torn by paranoid thoughts. What if he spotted the man under my bed as he entered? What ifthe reason for his scowl is an unfamiliar scent? The smell of an enemy? But my head remains empty, so I do nothing.

“The shipment’s out a day early.”

I struggle to come up with a way to discuss this without revealing to Road that my club’s bought the cargo meant for the Vultures by offering a better price. But how the hell am I to do that without tipping off my uncle that we’re not alone?

I wish I had a cigarette on hand. “Could have been a text.”

Grizzly narrows his eyes. “Itwasa text. Several in fact. Which you didn’t answer. We needed confirmation that we’re all clear for the van’s destination, and you were handling that part. So I had to make the decision in the end, but then came over to make sure you’re not dead.”

“Aww, so you do care,” I pat his cheek.

“Fuck you too.” Grizzly shakes his head. “You’ve been away for months last year. Summer is the perfect time to pick up where we left off before your accident.”

“Left off what?”

Grizzly claps his hands in front of my face. “Wake up, Clyde! The Vultures have had it easy long enough. We’re armed to our teeth thanks to the time we had during the truce, and we’re ready to find out which one of them killed Roy. Hell, at this point, I’d gut them all if it wasn’t too risky.”

My stomach turns into concrete. Road shouldn’t hear any of this, and worse still, I don’t want to hear it either. I wanna do business as usual, enjoy what we’re earning, and suck my fuckbuddy’s dick in peace three times a week. Is it really so much to ask? Or has this new temptation mellowed me out?

“The cops wouldn’t let the demise of a whole damn motorcycle club slide, and I rather like my life outside prison walls.” I also rather like Road alive.

Grizzly nods, but I don’t like the way he’s eying me. As if he’s not sure if he made the right call by choosing me as his protégé. Or I’m being paranoid because with every secret text from Road, I drift farther away from my club.

Getting more money, becoming a bigger club, landing stronger punches, taking revenge for Roy, all seem like less meaningful goals nowadays.

“Once they find out about the transport, they’ll lose their shit, and maybe then we’ll hunt ourselves a scavenger bird for a little chat.”

I hate the way he rubs his hands together, because I instantly imagine Road tied to a chair and being interrogated by him. As soon as I envision pliers at his fingers, I wish I had my bottle of whiskey close by.

“We’ll get back to this when we need to. Sometimes I wonder if it even was them—”

“Clyde? Don’t even go there. It was.”

I raise my hands and urge him out. “If that’s all you came here to say, then I think we’re done. I’ve got stuff to do.”

Grizzly backs off without argument. “I’ll just piss while I’m here,” he says and heads down the corridor while I sigh with relief.

Which only lasts two seconds, becauseRoad’s clothesare in the bathroom. Including his fucking club patch-decorated vest.

I rush behind Grizzly with my heart in my throat, trying to seem like I’m casually walking him to the door.

“Use the one downstairs, my toilet’s broken here again,” I say as Grizzly raises his eyebrows at me, but passes the upstairs bathroom to my utter relief. I might have a heart attack by the end of this morning. If Road’s found in my house, being gay might be the least of my problems.

“You gonna watch me piss or something?” Grizzly laughs as I follow him down the stairs, so I shove his ass with my foot.

“I’m going to make coffee, you fucker.” And make sure nothing else can suggest that I had an overnight guest.

We share a few more laughs, joke about whether Prophet’s amulets are already buzzing in alarm, but then he leaves as I listen to make sure he’s really gone.

The noise made by his hog isn’t enough, and I find myself peeking through the blinds to make sure Grizzly has left my yard before I dash upstairs, heart in my throat. The fallout I now have to deal with is only marginally better than being discovered with Road.

My feet slow when I spot Road’s muscular shoulders. He stands in the middle of my bedroom.