CHAPTER TWELVE

"Is this what they're giving out as party favors now in the county lockup?" Sean Donovan asked, looking Ruby up and down like a trophy. "If it is, I might have to go out and bash in a few mailboxes."

 

"Nah," said Joe, brushing some of his hair aside to show him the scabbed-over gash on the side of his face. "Still the standard lovely parting gift."

 

Ruby, standing as close to the doorway as she could, had noticed the mark earlier, though she’d thought it was maybe just a trick of sunlight. But no, someone had aimed for him and connected, though perhaps not as strongly as they’d wished. It marred the side of his otherwise-perfect face. But now, Sean’s comment had filled in some of the blanks for her: he’d been in jail, at least briefly. And if so, for what? She was going to have to find out, even if it meant a frank question or two. He hadn't exactly lied to her, but he hadn't been entirely honest either when he'd told her, in their brief conversation between the gas station and Fresno, that he'd gotten into a fight.

 

The skinny blonde female bartender at Cat’s Bar, whom Ruby hadn’t noticed at first, jumped up to give Joe a brief hug and, she thought, a kiss on the cheek. Ruby wondered how close they were exactly.

 

Sean, for his part, wasn't at all the way Ruby had pictured him. Then again, Joe wasn't at all what she had pictured, either, when she had imagined a Steel Jockey. She'd never paused to think that Kyle may not have been unique among the Steel Jockeys--young, athletic, good-looking. She was coming to the realization that there were others like him, who had likely gravitated to the motorcycle club for the same reasons he had.

 

Sean was older than Joe, closer to his late twenties and the age Kyle would be if he had lived. He had even longer hair than Joe. Black and wavy, with cutting blue eyes and broad shoulders he had the habit of hunching as he stuck his hands in the pockets of his dark-washed jeans. He walked and spoke like everyone, including himself, knew he was the shit.

 

In that way, he reminded Ruby of Fox, and after what Joe had told her, she didn't know whether that was a good thing or not anymore. She knew she would have to keep one eye open whenever he was around. Joe was looking at Sean now. The other members of his chapter, who grouped around the bar, grunted as they hung on his every word. Even the bartender, who wore a black midriff-baring top under her pink hoodie, looked up from the shot glasses she was drying to periodically giggle at his jokes.

 

M.C. girls seemed to know their place, Ruby thought as she perched on the edge of chair that Joe had pulled out for her. She nervously observed how the neon signs bathed her skin in orange. They knew who was in charge. Another reason why she wouldn't fit in here, and she was already beginning to worry that the bartender, who’d introduced herself as Desiree, might be feeling resentful of her sudden presence. Clearly, she was used to being the only woman around here most of the time.

 

"So. Kyle Clarke's sister," Sean said. “I was beginning to think you were just a rumor. A story Joey Boy here made up to keep himself warm at night."

 

"Oh," Ruby laughed nervously. "Like a ghost?"

 

"Like an angel," said Sean, without even the trace of irony. Sean shook her hand, holding onto it for a second longer than anyone with purely innocent intentions would have. "Welcome to Cat’s.”

 

"Sean, I know being treated like a piece of meat is fairly standard for any girl who happens to stumble in here, but Ruby's been through hell and back and it's not even 9 p.m., so maybe you can give her the formatted-for-prime-time version of Late Night with Sean Donovan and let her get some sleep."

 

"Oh, come on, man. We--"

 

"Not later. Now." And when Sean stared back at him, Joe said. "In a bed. An empty bed," he added hastily.

 

Sean slowly raised his eyebrows, then slowly lowered them, looking from one new arrival to the other. "Something tells me it won't stay empty for long."

 

"Why, is this your version of room service?"

 

Ruby couldn't help but admire the cool, even-handed way Joe handled Sean. Joe had leaned back against the bar, casual but still wary, never letting Ruby too far out of his sight or out of his reach. And as much as Ruby hated to admit it, she was hesitant to stray too far away from him. After all, it was Joe with whom she had placed her trust in--not the handsome but shifty Sean Donovan or his belly-baring barmaid.

 

"Although I’m fresh out of pillow mints, I live to serve." Desiree’s face was surprisingly soft as she came around the front of the bar and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. She was heavily made-up, but Ruby recognized a tenderness behind all the armor. "You'll stay at my place." Recognizing the stricken look Ruby knew she must have been wearing as she pictured what the spare room at Cat’s biker bar might look like, Desiree reassured her. "Don't worry. I don't live here; I've got my own place next door. Alone. No boys allowed. There's body wash, toothpaste, shampoo, fuzzy pajamas, and cable TV. You know, civilization."

 

Ruby managed a smile, admittedly taking comfort in Desiree's sisterly embrace, which felt genuine enough. Joe, however, looked serious, his brow knitted. Normally, she would have hated having to defer to him, but the sense of potential danger that seemed to lurk everywhere in this world led her to believe that it was best to take her cues from the young man who seemed to know it intimately.

 

"I'll be right here," he told Ruby, and before she knew what was happening, he had reached down to slide his hand into hers. She knew her hand was warm, as it usually was due to her good circulation, but Joe's fingers curling around hers were cold. She had to fight the desire to tighten her grip on him, to massage the frost out of his fingers. But he released the squeeze almost as quickly, and Ruby’s heart was back to normal almost before she realized it had quickened. "All night. If you need me for anything--"

 

"Joe, it’s okay," said Ruby. "We'll figure this out. You should get some rest, too." But she suspected he wouldn't. As she walked away, she noticed his rich amber eyes were bright, vigilant, and longing.