“I can’t believe it,” breathes Vanna. “It’s too good to be true.”
“I won’t be going to juvie,” Cas rasps out, as though he’s having difficulty believing it.
“You’ve been given a fresh start, Cas,” I tell him, “Make good use of it and don’t fuck it up. Because next time, we might not step in and save you.”
“You did this?” Vanna’s eyes come to mine fast.
I tell them because Cas needs to know that it wasn’t the luck of the Devil that saved him, it was the intervention of Devils instead. “Yeah.” I focus on the kid. “Luckily the car was returned undamaged to the owner. A bit of money changed hands, and suddenly his memory became faulty. It might not have worked if Cas had crashed the car rather than sliding it into the ditch. If so, it would have been harder to persuade him.”
“How much?” Vanna asks tightly. “How much, so I can pay you back?”
“Didn’t do it for you, Vanna. We did it for Liz. Didn’t want him to reconnect with his son only to lose him. But Cas? Yeah, he owes us, it’s not down to anyone else. Man fucks up, he should suffer the consequences.”
My growling tone takes the smirk off the kid’s face.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Vanna
MRI scans after a brain operation are routine I’d been assured, just confirmation that everything was proceeding as expected. Having his head mucked around with could be painful for Lizard though and will take it out of him. He’ll need to rest afterward. Hence, I’d taken the opportunity to come back to the compound for a while. But I’m anxious to return just in case they’d found something that was cause for worry.
Before I return, there’s something I need to do.
Leaving a jubilant Cas with Mace, I go and knock on Demon’s office door. He’s inside as I’d hoped and looks up concerned as I enter.
“Lizard okay?”
“Getting there. He’s got crutches now to help him get around and is coping better with using them.” My face twists.
“Doubt he’s a patient, patient.” Demon grins.
“No, he’s definitely not. Look, I’ve had a call from the police that Cas is off the hook, and hear that’s down to you bribing the man he stole the car from. While I don’t want you to think I’m not grateful, it’s not the way I want my son brought up. He should learn he has to pay for his mistakes.”
Demon regards me thoughtfully. “Lizard hasn’t found his son only to lose him again. We stepped in because we saw that there might be something we could do. We weren’t going to threaten or hurt the man, but offer to put some dollars in his pocket? Wouldn’t harm anyone but would make my brother’s mind and recovery easier.”
Lizard’s still adjusting to having an almost-man in his life, I haven’t yet broached the trouble Cas had gotten into. Having the slate clean does make it that less difficult at least. But I don’t want any misunderstanding or things being done under false pretences. “Lizard doesn’t want anything to do with you, Demon. That hasn’t changed.”
“He made that clear. I’ve been keeping my distance to give him a chance to regain his strength. Whether or not he wants to acknowledge the relationship, he’s still one of us. We look after our own, Vanna. Not going to stop watching out for him just because his memory is fucked.”
“Are you saying I did?” My hackles start to rise. “I stuck it out for two years, Demon, until I watched him walk out. I kept tabs on him, followed him a thousand miles just in the hope that eventually he’d come back.”
“Whoa!” He holds up his hands. “I know you did, Vanna. You put your life on hold for him and your kid. No one’s saying there was any more you could have done. We just feel the same about him that you do. He might not remember who we are, but we’re not going to forget him.”
If I kept him alive in my memory, I suppose it’s understandable they’d do the same. But there’s still one problem as I hate owing anyone anything. “Cas needs to pay you back. I don’t know how, but—”
“Yes he does,” Demon interrupts. “I’m sure we can find work for him. Don’t want his cash, but his muscles will do instead.”
“There’s a problem with that, Demon. Lizard is looking at being discharged this weekend, and I’ll be taking him back to Denver. There’s no saying when, or if, we’ll ever return.” At this moment, I’d have to say it’s highly unlikely. Lizard is adamant he wants nothing to do with the club.
“About that,” Demon starts, and leans forward, clasping his hands together on his desk. “I want you to stay here—”
“Apart from what Lizard feels about it, I can’t do that,” I interrupt. “I’ve got my…” No, I haven’t, I’ve just been fired. I start again, “Cas has got school.”
“What will Liz do while you’re out working all day? What if he falls? Or has a convulsion? Have you thought about that?”
“I won’t be working immediately. I’ve just been told I’ve lost my job. But I’ll need to find a new one, the bills won’t pay themselves.”
“Fuck, woman. You’ve got Liz now. Let him carry the load. He left you to do it alone for long enough.” Again, those eyes fix on me while I realise, I hadn’t thought of that. But if Liz can’t work, he won’t be able to bring in much money. His military pension probably isn’t going to be enough.
“I’ll be home with Liz until I can find another job,” I say firmly.
“What do you do?”
“I’m an admin assistant.”
He looks thoughtful, and his fingers pinch the bridge of his nose. “Liz being out of commission is causing us a problem at his shop. Vi’s taken on the admin stuff that he used to do, but her doing that means we’re down another tattooist. We took Weston on because there was more work than they could handle. How about you take that job? Help us out and keep things ticking over until Liz is fit again.”
“Liz has a problem with his hand and might never be able to tattoo again.” Again, I don’t want anyone to live with false hope.
“And it might be temporary and sort itself as his body heals.” Demon’s not letting me get away with that.
Liz had been pleased he’d gotten his dream job, as he’d called it. But we haven’t discussed he might not be able to do it again. With him, I’ve been concentrating on the positives, but out of his sight, I’ve been forcing myself to be realistic.
“But I live in Denver,” I object. “And Cas’s school—”
“We’ve got schools in Pueblo. Did you know that?”
I roll my eyes. “Cas won’t want to leave his friends.”
“Seems his friends aren’t good ones if he gets into the shit he’s done. Do the kid good to make new ones.”
Demon may well have a point. But, “Lizard won’t want to come to the club. He hates bikers and everything they stand for. He’d have a fit if he knew I was working for you.”