Jerry Langton Three-Book Biker Bundle Read Online Free Page A

didn’t want to reinforce any negative opinions.
    â€œNo, I just wanted to make sure the package was safe.”
    â€œDon’t be such a fuckin’ dork all the time; it wasn’t going to walk away by itself .”
    â€œI know, I know, but it makes me nervous—can we get moving?”
    â€œYeah, sure, but Vladimir doesn’t leave for work until twelve-thirty, so we should probably get a bite to eat first—bring your new friend along.”
    â€œNo fuckin’ way!” Ned protested. “What if we get caught? What if it starts to smell?”
    â€œWe won’t get caught; didn’t you wrap it in plastic? I know you did. I saw you do it.” Gagliano shrugged in exasperation. “Where is it now?”
    â€œIn the freezer . . . downstairs.”
    â€œIn a fuckin’ freezer all night and you think it’ll smell—like what, hamburger? You are such a fuckin’ chickenshit. Grab the bag, grow a pair, get in the car, and take me to Smitty’s; I’m starving.”
    Ned laughed, hit his friend on the arm, and headed downstairs. Gagliano shouted after him: “And bring money, lots of money—you’ve got some people to pay.”
    When he returned, Gagliano laughed at him. “So you keep your cash in the bedroom? Bad idea, first place I’d look.”
    They drove about five minutes to a family-style restaurant. Gagliano knew the waitress. She was a heavyset woman in her middle forties, although she looked somewhat older. She was ordinary in just about every way, although an ace of spades tattoo on her left wrist betrayed some wayward history.
    â€œWhat’s good today, baby?” Gagliano asked. “Besides you?”
    â€œHow about the usual?” she said. “And what will your friend have?”
    â€œNothing, just coffee,” Ned muttered.
    â€œBullshit!” Gagliano shouted, disturbing a nearby table of elderly ladies. “Get him two eggs over easy, bacon, home fries, white toast, coffee, and orange juice—I have to order for him, sweet pea; I’m still teaching him to be a man.”
    The waitress looked at Ned. He returned her gaze sheepishly and said, “Yeah, yeah, that’s fine, but could you make it grapefruit juice instead?”
    After the waitress left, Gagliano started scolding Ned much the way Steve had. “You act like this has all been thrust upon you when you actually did it all yourself and we are just helping you out,” he said. “We know what we’re doing. You have to trust us; it’s your only safe way out of a situation you created—so suck it up, grow some fuckin’ nuts, and do what the fuck I say.”
    â€œYou’re right; I know you’re right,” Ned said. “I just wish it never happened.”
    â€œWish in one hand and shit in the other—see which fills up first.”
    â€œYeah, you’re right.”
    â€œDamn right I am.”
    â€œSo what happens next, I mean . . . ” he cut himself off when the waitress returned with their drinks.
    â€œThanks darling,” Gagliano said, unconcerned by what else she may have heard. “Well, we take your package over to Vladimir’s and he gets rid of it; then you show your gratitude to some of the people who helped you out last night.”
    â€œAnd that’s it?”
    â€œThat’s it.”
    Gagliano then shot Ned a look that made him feel even worse. “What’s the deal on you?” he asked.
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œYou show up, you’re a big earner like the next day,” he said. “No offense or nothing—but the rest of us had to come up through the pipe.”
    â€œThe pipe?”
    â€œYeah, the fuckin’ pipe,” Gagliano was clearly getting angry. “I started hanging out with these guys when I was thirteen; I wasn’t even in high school and I got a guy to weld an extra couple of forks onto my bike to make it