Page 127 of Deacon

I picked Mason’s application back up. “Anyway. Mason Reid. Skilled. Solid. Working together might be a little awkward at first, but professionally, there’s no reason not to hire him.”

Evan made a dissatisfied noise. “You are not escaping that easily.” He looked ready to drag me right back into the subject if Blue gave him half a chance.

“Watch me.” I put Mason’s application on top of the stack like paperwork could build a wall around my personal life.

This time Blue actually shifted the target. She looked at Evan with the same steady concern she had just aimed at me. “How are you?”

He blinked, immediately suspicious of the sudden attention. “Excuse me?” The deflection came fast, but not fast enough to hide the way his shoulders tightened.

“You left family day like the building was on fire,” she said. “And every time we get anywhere near the subject of Ink, you start tap dancing in a way that is not even remotely subtle.”

For once, Evan had no comeback ready. He straightened the edge of an application that didn’t need it. “I’m fine.”

I knew that move. I had watched Jade do versions of it all morning. “No, you aren’t,” I said quietly.

He let out a humorless laugh. “Well. That is invasive.”

Blue’s voice softened. “Evan,” she said. “We love you. We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

He stayed quiet for a beat before looking up. The performance was gone from his face. No sparkle. No exaggerated offense. Just hurt he wasn’t ready to hand over.

“I love you both too,” he said. “And I get it. But I’m not ready to talk about myself.”

We let that sit. Then he looked away and added, “Or the emotionally constipated tattooed biker who only seems to let me into his orbit when it’s convenient for him.”

That hurt worse for how quietly he said it. Blue’s expression sharpened, protective anger replacing concern, while I thought about how all three of us had somehow ended up tangled with men who could bruise us without ever raising a hand.

Evan caught the softness on our faces and pointed at us. “No. Do not get tender with me in this awful trailer. I will walk directly into traffic.”

I glanced toward the construction site outside, grateful he had left me an opening. “There is no traffic,”

“Then I’ll find some.” The speed of the answer sounded more like him, which eased something in me.

Blue’s mouth twitched despite herself. Evan saw it and sighed. “I’m serious. I’m not talking about it yet.”

Blue nodded first, accepting the boundary instead of arguing with it. “Okay.”

I followed. Evan had a line, same as Jade did, same as I did. Push him past it and all we would get was more humor and less truth. He wasn’t ready, and loving him meant letting that be enough for now.

34

Deacon

Church started the way it always did, with coffee going cold and a table full of men handling business while the bigger problem waited somewhere outside the room.

Priest sat at the head of the table, Graves had a notebook open, Rook already looked irritated, and Ledger had his papers arranged with his usual precision. Ink sat to my left with a pen in hand, Ghost had his laptop open, and Nomad watched the room from behind that loose posture that never fooled anybody.

My mind kept trying to split off anyway. Jade. Lila. Matty. The things I still hadn’t told Lila. Club business. The shop. Too many pieces of my life had started demanding attention at once.

Priest tipped his chin at Ledger. “Start us off.”

Ledger did. The Bar first, then Red Mercy and Retribution Auto, numbers delivered dry and clean. When he reached Last Rites, I took over.

“Shop’s busy,” I said. The numbers only confirmed what we already felt every time we walked through the door. “Busier than we can keep handlin’ with all the other shit goin’ on. Vise is puttin’ in more hours. Rory’s chair stays full. Ronan’s booked out. So we brought in another artist.”

I glanced toward Ghost before adding, “He’s solid,” I said. The portfolio had earned him the chair before anything else. “Good line work. Good color. Fast without gettin’ sloppy. We need another hand in the shop, especially with every damn one of us gettin’ dragged off to watch over somebody or chase after Joker.”

Priest gave a short nod. Ink kept his eyes on the page, though something in his posture tightened.