“How much do you think we could charge for blow jobs?” Sasha asked.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to answer because Spider had the decency to trip over the peeled linoleum and knock Sasha’s beer from her hand. The can rolled as it hit the floor, spraying the yellowish foamy liquid everywhere.
“You ass,” Sasha said and shoved him hard. He tripped again, landing on his knees, narrowly missing the coffee table.
“Fucking cunt,” Spider yelled back, but he didn’t come over to her and do anything. It was almost like he was afraid of her. It wasn’t the first time that I was curious as to Sasha’s connection with the gang, besides running the bar, of course.
“You think Dante will mind or should I try to clean it up?” I asked out of politeness and nodded at the soaked carpet. I doubted anyone would notice spilled beer.
“Leave it,” Sasha ordered. “I need a fresh beer, you want one?”
“Nah, I’m good,” I assured her.
Sasha burped. “Suit yourself.” She turned on scrawny legs and walked away, her flip flops making a smacking sound as she moved and the crowd of people parted for her.
I turned my attention back to Spider, who seemed drunk or high or both. He popped open a bottle of what looked to be prescription medication, dumped the contents onto the cheap coffee table and began crushing the pills.
“Come on, babe,” he said as he reached next to him and grabbed the hand of a young brunette.
“Do it like this.” He made a neat little pile of a white powder, plugged a single nostril, and snorted. The white puff of powder floated around his face, and he crinkled his nose. “All right, your turn.”
Spider smacked her ass hard, and she leaned forward and inhaled. I felt a little sorry for her, something about her seemed so desperate. I wasn’t sure if she was desperate to fit in with the Coyotes or if she was desperate to get high.
I thought about it a second longer, maybe it was for the drugs because she was stuck with Spider. I wasn’t at all surprised that it would take drugs and alcohol to allow that man to touch someone, just the thought had me revolting.
“Yo, Allie, right?” a tall man with his entire face tattooed hollered at me.
“Yeah, why?”
“Want to play a game?” he asked, holding out a pool cue to me.
I shrugged. “I don’t know how.”
“JB usually plays with me, but I gots no clue where he is. You Easy’s woman, right?”
“Yeah. Who are you?”
“Cipher.”
He had to weigh at least three hundred pounds and be a few inches over six foot. Cipher seemed like such a cute and cuddly name for a man who definitely wasn’t cute nor cuddly.
“Yeah, it’s satire.”
I laughed. “Okay, so I hit the balls into the holes?”
“No worries, I gotcha. You just put your hand like this, your wrist is on the table or on the side if you want. The pole slides through here. You aim, and...” Cipher hit one of the balls and the rest scattered around the table. “I didn’t get a ball into the pocket, so it’s your turn. You hit the white ball and use it to knock other balls into the pockets. If you knock a solid ball in then from that point on, you will only want to hit for solid balls. If you get a stripe in first then you will only want to hit stripes, got it?”
I nodded then leaned down and tried to position my hand like he had told me. “Like this?” I asked.
“Move your thumb down, farther down the stick. Yeah, that’s better.”
I picked a ball to aim for then realized it wasn’t near any of the holes. I moved to the other side and picked a new target, positioning my wrist correctly, or so I thought. Just as I was about to hit the ball, something bumped into me from behind.
“Oops,” the guy from earlier, the one outside said.
I stood up, pulling away from him slightly. “Cipher is teaching me how to play pool.”
The asshole grabbed another cue off the wall. “Why don’t you watch me and Cipher play a game? You can stare at my ass.”
I stepped away from him. “I’m good. I’ll go find Easy or Sasha,” I said and continued moving from the pool table.
“Crow, Spider,” a voice called, and my heart picked up speed. I swallowed hard and fought back the tightness in my throat. I hadn’t expected to react this way to Easton’s voice, and Crow and Spider were too engrossed in the women and the drugs to notice. “Hey, assholes. Dante wants us,” he barked. Spider jumped from the table, and Crow’s head jerked up.
“What did you call us?” Spider asked, a little dazed.
“Assholes, which is what you are,” Easton said, and I had to bite back a laugh. “But I didn’t give you that name. Dante did.”
At that moment, Eaton’s eyes locked on mine. “Sorry,” he mouthed.
I opened my mouth to say something to him, but he looked away, and without another word, he stalked down the hall, his shoulders back, his head held high. Whatever else could be said about him, the badass gangster aesthetic fit him perfectly.
“Gotta go, baby doll,” Crow said as he pushed the blonde away from him and tucked himself back in his pants. “Spider you got something on your upper lip,” he snapped, and Spider quickly wiped the remnants of the powder from his nose.
I wanted to know what was going on. I glanced around and saw other members of the gang, Ice was fucking some girl on the kitchen counter. Thane and another dude were smoking the largest joint I had ever seen, and two others had a girl between them and they were each playing with one of her breasts.
What was so important that Crow and Spider were needed but not all members?
“Where are you going?” Sasha asked from behind me. I hadn’t even
