Page 88 of Zeus

Billy nods as if I've confirmed something he was suspicious about.

"I heard that you guys left him in the parking lot here, passed out," Scott says, also leaning in as if he's worried others around will hear our topic of discussion.

I shrug. "Didn't know what else to do. Didn't know where he lived. I bet he was pissed."

Scott shakes his head. "He thought it was funny. Ballsy even. It got you guys home faster than I've seen it happen before."

Home.

He means not only the compound but also into the brotherhood as if it's a highly sought-after position.

"I was thinking it was a little fast," I say, hoping the wording gives them what it would take to keep talking.

I look over the menu, fighting back the urge to laugh when I notice there isn't a single salad listed for order, not that Zeus would risk ordering one in the first place. Manly men don't eat salads. They want a steak or a greasy bacon cheeseburger and fries.

When neither of them speaks, I continue. "He must've seen something in us that made him want us closer."

Scott chuckles, but the sound has a sinister edge, as if he knows something about Bobby's true intentions for us that he doesn't plan to disclose.

"What's the point in washing your fucking hands if they don't have paper towels to dry them off on?" Zeus complains as he walks up, wiping his wet hands on his shirt.

"What can I get you guys?" a woman asks as she approaches, preventing the guys from pointing out that the rest of us weren't worried about germs on our hands before eating, and he shouldn't be either.

"Well, look at you?" Billy says, his eyes wandering over her as if she's one of the items on the menu. "Are you new here, pretty girl?"

She nods with a grin that seems genuine and will surely fade the more she learns about these guys.

"Go easy on me?" she teases as if getting attention from him brightens her entire day.

"Only the first time," Billy says, grinning widely.

She doesn't seem at all disgusted by the chunk of breakfast the fucker still has lodged in his teeth, and it makes me wonder what kind of life the poor girl has had up until this point that would make her standards so fucking low. The guy is young, possibly in his early twenties. I can see how he might've been traditionally attractive before he started using drugs, but the sunken cheeks and handful of sores on his face and arms should turn off any woman with a hint of self-preservation.

"What's your name, beautiful?"

"Melody," she says, a slight uptick of her chin.

"You look like a Roxie, to me," Billy says, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The guy is fucking scouting right before my damn eyes.

"I'll take a Coke, cheeseburger with extra pickles, and fries," Zeus snaps, pulling her attention from flirting with a man who could easily get her killed.

She jots down his order on her pad before looking at me. "And you?"

"I'll take the chicken sandwich. It's fried, right? None of that grilled shit?"

"It's fried," she confirms. "Fries? Drink?"

"Fries and a beer," I tell her.

She jots it down. This place doesn't have a liquor license, making it illegal to sell beer, but that won't stop me from getting one. I doubt we'll have to pay anyway, so that skates the line of illegal activity, and it could be argued that they're doing nothing wrong.

"And you?" she asks, looking at Scott. She grins again at Billy when he huffs at being made to wait until last.

It's just enough to make his eyes narrow, and it puts her in his crosshairs in a way that won't be good for her later.

"Cheeseburger, fries, and a beer," he says without looking at the menu.