Lori Armstrong - Merciless

He kissed me. Hard. “I’ll text you when I get there.”

“Drive safe.”

• • •

“What are your plans tonight now that the sheriff is gone?”

I tore my attention away from a riveting episode of Ice Road Truckers and looked at my sister. “Been a while since I’ve been to Clementine’s. Thought I’d catch up with the crew and the regulars.”

Hope swayed with Joy on her hip, softly biting her lip. I braced myself for the don’t-start-drinking-again plea. But she blurted, “Can I go with you?”

I think my jaw hit the floor. “What?”

“I never get to go out. I’d like to have a conversation with an adult that’s not Jake, Sophie, or you. No offense.”

Had Hope ever been to Clementine’s? The place had a bad reputation-deservedly so. Plus, I considered it my bar. Might be stupid, but I had the urge to protect it even from my sister.

“Of course, me goin’ would boil down to Jake watching Joy for a few hours.” She bit her lip again.

The fact Hope was willing to leave her baby, a baby she rarely let out of her sight, proved to me she needed a break. I smiled at her. “Sure, if you wanna come along, that’d be great. You can keep me from drinking until the wee hours so I’m not hungover when Lex gets here tomorrow.”

“Great. Umm… what should I wear?”

I checked out her outfit, a brightly patterned blue-and-black poet’s shirt paired with black leggings. “You look awesome. I’m not changing. I’m wearing this.”

“Can I borrow some makeup?”

“Knock yourself out. It’s in the top drawer on the right side.”

“Okay. Be right back.” Hope passed me Joy.

“Hey, Poopy.” When I smooched her crown, her little bitty pigtails tickled my nose. She smelled like graham crackers, apple juice, baby powder, and sweet innocence. I’d dealt with my fears-a butt load more than I’d first suspected-and let her become part of my life, which might seem like a no-brainer to most people, but I was at a dark place after I killed Anna. I thought by staying away from Joy, I was actually doing her a favor.

But Hope hadn’t allowed my distance from her child. It amazed me when I uncovered my sister’s pockets of strength.

The barking dogs alerted me to Jake’s presence right before he walked in. Joy squirmed and tried to jump from my arms to get to her father.

Jake only had eyes for her. He plucked her away and blew a raspberry on her neck until she squealed. Only then did he acknowledge me. “Hey, Mercy.”

“Jake. How did things go today?” He’d been dreading moving cattle. I didn’t know enough about what that entailed, except he did it multiple times a year.

“Better than I expected, to be honest. I had good helpers with Luke and TJ and their boys. Where’s Hope?”

“I’m right here.”

We both turned to see Hope leaning against the doorjamb.

“Wow, babe, you look great. Do we got a hot date or something I forgot about?”

She laughed self-consciously. “Mercy’s going to Clementine’s to have a drink, and I asked if I could tag along.” Her eyes anxiously searched his face. “That’s all right, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is. You deserve a night out.” He paused and looked from me to Hope and back to me. “Who’s your DD?”

“I plan to have only one drink, Jake. So we should be fine. Besides”-Hope smirked at me-“Mercy don’t want the sheriff to get wind of her arrest while he’s out of town.”

“You’re hilarious, sis.”

“Well, you two have fun. I’ll take lil’ punkin home.” He mock-whispered, “Now that your mama’s outta the picture for the night, I can teach you how to wrassle gators.” Jake shot me a smile before he took off.

Hope insisted on driving. Which meant it took us fifteen minutes longer to get there than if I’d been behind the wheel.

Clementine’s was hopping. Something had put this out-of-the-way, hole-in-the-wall bar on the map in the last year. John-John halfheartedly complained about Clementine’s becoming mainstream, but the steady stream of income softened the blow.

Muskrat was the bouncer. He didn’t give me one of his signature bear hugs, where I felt my spine brush the skin behind my belly button as he squeezed me tight. Maybe his lackluster response was a result of seeing Hope, since, like John-John, he wasn’t fond of Jake. “So what brings the Gunderson girls by tonight?”

Hope tittered. God. I hoped she remembered she was a married woman and didn’t flirt with every guy who paid attention to her, as the old, needy Hope would have. “Just looking to get out of the house for some social time.”

Some of the same regulars filled the bar. Vinnie, the biker, and his posse holding court beneath the TV. Construction workers and cowboys in the back shootin’ pool and shootin’ the shit. Lots of folks in here I didn’t recognize. I weaved through the crowd until Hope and I reached the main bar.

John-John saw us, but he was too busy mixing drinks to do more than nod.

I could tell Hope was trying to play it cool and not gawk at the customers who were blatantly checking her out.

Winona gave me a one-armed hug from behind. “Mercy! Damn, girl, I miss working with you. Why you hauling yourself in this mangy hole? You and the sheriff have words?”

“No, smart-ass. I’m here with my sister and we’re thirsty.”

“I’ll get you two beers since John-John’s glaring at me.” She slid two bottles of Bud Light in front of us.

Hope was stuck sitting next to Lefty. I intended to warn her about the crotchety old rancher. But Lefty, who hated everyone, seemed taken with my little sister.

I sipped my beer and kept playing Name That Regular to amuse myself. I was more happy about who I didn’t see-no Cowboy Trey, no Kit McIntyre, no Tiny, no Laronda. Didn’t appear Saro’s group was around, but that didn’t shock me.

I’d learned through the FBI that Saro was restructuring his organization after his brother Victor’s murder. Shay had hoped the resident rez drug runner would be crippled by the loss, but Saro rallied, although he and his group were staying pretty far off the radar.

John-John stopped in front of me and wiped his brow.

“Looks like business is booming.”

“I’d hate to see what crazies it’d bring out if we actually ran happy-hour specials.” He tossed a handful of nuts into his mouth. His eyes locked onto mine. “Why are you palling around with Hope?”

“Last-minute thing,” I said, and didn’t explain further. “When it dies down, I’d like to pick your brain about a couple of things.”

“Did Unci put you up to grilling me about my mom?”

“No.” Was he touchy and snappish tonight, or was it just me? “She’s worried about Penny.”

“Join the club.” He pulled taps and opened the cooler.

I should’ve waited to get a better bead on his mood, but the question had just popped out. “Has Saro been in lately?”

John-John lifted his head abruptly. The war braid with the red feather tip swung into his face, and he impatiently batted it aside. “Why are you asking me for this information?”

“I’m asking because I’ve had Saro’s blade at my throat, and I’m not eager to repeat the experience.”

He shot me a look that I interpreted as distrustful. Before I could cajole him or try charm, he said, “Why don’t you ask your partner? He’s been in here several times.”

Partner? At first I thought he meant Dawson, but I figured out he meant Shay. “Why has Turnbull been in here?”

“I asked him the same thing. He said he can drink anywhere he wants. Which sucks for me. If I blackball him, he’ll show up with a federal raiding party to see what I’m hiding, even though I ain’t hiding a damn thing.”