Page 93 of The Fates We Tame

“You found the property.”

I huff at that. “That’s wild. Sophia used to be in real estate.”

“Must be fate,” he says with a laugh. “Perhaps she can help you pick ‘em.”

He cuts away at my hair for a few more minutes in silence then says, “You and Sophia? Is it real?”

I look up and see he’s watching me in the mirror. “What do you mean?”

“We’ve been friends a long time. And at this point, I know you better thanyouknow you. Sudden was not your M.O.”

If I want to rebuild authentic relationships with my friends again, I’m going to have to start trusting them. And given Vexwas my best friend, he seems the safest place to start. “It was intense ‘like’ at first.”

“And now?”

I can’t help but smile. “Last night we were talking about having kids.”

“I’m happy for you, brother,” he says.

When he’s done cutting, he brushes what hair he can away. “You know Mom’s going to want to meet her.”

“The way you say that sounds ominous.”

Vex laughs. “She cares about you. Hopefully it’s not too much of an interrogation for Sophia.”

I stand so I can bundle up the paper and hair on the floor.

“Can I ask you a question about what happened that night with Halo?”

Vex moves the chair out of my way. “I wasn’t there at the beginning, but I’ll tell you whatever I know.”

“What’s the deal with all the money people keep mentioning?”

“I hacked the Righteous Brotherhood, traced all their financial schemes, and emptied them. Got the club around eleven million. The Brotherhood wanted it back. The leader, Daryll West, Halo’s half-brother, kept coming up here sniffing around because he had a connection to a woman up here, as well as Halo. Foster kids together. His time in care was messy. But we still have it and have started spending it.”

“You really are a clever fucker, you know.”

“Yeah, I am. You good?”

I glance in the mirror. “Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for this.”

Once he’s gone, I change into a hair-free Henley and put on my cut. It’s soft, and the weight of it on my bruised shoulders feels familiar. As does the assortment of weapons on the vanity in front of me.

It’s wild I’ve become such a wealthy man through becoming a biker.

My phone rings, and I glance down at the number. An area code I was waiting for.

“Doc,” I say.

“Theo. It’s Dr. Polunin. I’m so glad you called. Where are you and Sophia? Are you both well and safe?”

“On a scale of one to I’ll-die-before-I-tell-anyone-your-secrets… where do you and I fall, Doc?”

“I fall on the Hippocratic oath.”

“The what?”

“Ask any of your friends. It’s the oath doctors take. The original text is somewhere along the lines of, ‘And whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession…if it be what should not be published abroad, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.’ Does that put your mind at ease?”