T-Bone - L. Wilder Page 0,21
moved to the second trailer. I was busy unlocking the main compartment when I heard Gauge say, “It’s official. Ronin is my fucking hero.”
“I gotta admit”—Gunner chuckled—“that was pretty fucking smart.”
“Yeah, but wouldn’t it have been easier to just change ports?” Riggs asked, sounding concerned.
I put the lock in my pocket, and when I stepped out of the way, Gauge reached in and started pulling out the crates. A smirk crossed his face as he looked over to Riggs and said, “Maybe, but what’s the fun in that.”
“None of this shit is about being fun, brother,” Blaze barked. “He can’t blow up a goddamn boat every time we need to make an exchange.”
“He’s aware,” Murphy told him.
“Good. Now, let’s get this shit done.”
Not wasting any time, we stacked the remainder of the crates and pushed the dollies down to Ronin’s boat, a souped-up seventy-foot yacht, and took them below deck, hiding them beneath the storage compartments. Once they were all loaded, we got the horses back in the trailers, and in no time, we were on our way back to Memphis. We hadn’t been riding long when Murphy announced, “We need to stop to fuel up and grab something to eat.”
“Usual spot?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
I nodded, then sent a message to Gauge, letting them know that we’d be taking the next exit. Not long after, we were pulling up to the diner where we’d stopped many times before and parked. As we headed towards the entrance, I heard Rider say, “I still can’t believe he blew up a fucking boat.”
“You’re just jealous that you didn’t think of it.” Gauge taunted him.
“Maybe just a little.”
They continued back and forth into the diner. Once we were seated, they carried on with their banter even as we placed our orders. While waiting for the server to return, we talked about everything from the run to work in the garage. Our food had just been brought over to the table when I overheard Murphy say, “Yeah, we gotta be careful when we get them together. You never know what those women will come up with.”
“You got that right.” Rider shook his head. “I still can’t believe they actually wanted to float the fucking Buffalo.”
“It had to be the beer talking,” Gunner replied with a chuckle. “Once one of them saw a fucking water moccasin, it would’ve been all over.”
“Yeah, that or a fucking tree in the river. Nothing worse than getting caught up in one of those damn things,” Rider grumbled.
“I don’t know,” I told them both as I took a bite of my burger. “The right day with a cooler full of beer, some good tunes, and sweet lookin’ women in bikinis, and a man could have a damn good time.”
Blaze glanced over at me with a smile. “The man’s got a point.”
“Maybe, but he’d need to find him an ol’ lady before that can happen.” Hyde snickered.
“He’ll find one soon enough.” Blaze gave me a wink. “Maybe sooner than you think.”
Hyde’s smile quickly faded as he asked, “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, brother.” Blaze smirked as he picked up his burger. “Nothing at all.”
“Can I get you guys anything else?” the waitress asked, bringing an end to Blaze and Hyde’s conversation.
“Nope. We’re all good.”
After we finished eating, Shadow paid the check, and everyone headed back out to the trucks. After we checked the horses and fueled up, we started back towards Memphis. We were following behind Riggs and had just crossed the state line into Mississippi when one of the back tires on their trailer blew, causing it to sway dangerously across the white line. Murphy followed behind Riggs as he eased over to the shoulder and stopped. We all got out to lend a hand and to check on the horses while Shadow pulled out the spare and jack. Just as Shadow started to crank the jack, our attention was drawn to the flashing lights behind us. Dread washed over me as I watched the state trooper get out of his car and start over to us. “You boys okay?”
“Yes, sir. Just trying to get this flat changed so we can be on our way,” Blaze answered.
“Hmmm.” The cop clicked his tongue as he glanced around the trailer. Maybe it was his snarled-up nose or the hillbilly sideburns he was sporting, but there something about the guy that gave me an uneasy feeling. I knew we didn’t have anything to worry about. We’d already unloaded the weapons, but I still