Equilibrium (Marauders #4.5) Read Online Free Page B

character in Transmetropolitan, but it was pretty close. As opposed to Spider’s completely bald head, Roach had a short stubble of both hair and beard, but he usually wore black jeans and t-shirt with a coat reaching his mid thighs. I’d wondered about the coat because I hadn’t seen a biker with one before, other than the biker on the Marauder patch. It seemed a bit impractical.
    “Haven’t been able to get the right glasses, though,” he answered.
    “Got any of his ink?”
    Instead of answering, he tipped his head forward, and even though his hair was dark, I could see the shadow of a small spider on the right side of his head. I laughed again.
    “That’s the one you picked?”
    “I was seventeen and stupid,” he chuckled. “Just glad I was too poor to get the rest of them.”
    “Some of them are nice.”
    After a quick side-glance, he put the comic down. “You better get going, Princess, before your dad comes over here and rips my face off.”
    Oh, yeah, I hadn’t thought of that, and I nodded. I tried to think of something to say, but with a shrug, I said, “Okay. I’ll see you.”
    “Yeah, see you,” he smiled. “Hopefully with my face intact.”
    He’d actually been smiling the entire time, and I wasn’t sure if it was, like, an ‘it’s nice talking to you’ smile, or more of a ‘let’s amuse the princess to get on her dad’s good side’ smile.
    “Yeah,” I mumbled.
    I noticed Dad staring alternately at me and at Roach, so I said, “Don’t rip his face off,” when I sat down next to him. He’d been nice, and pretty normal with me, so I didn’t want him hurt just because of that.
    “What?” Dad asked with a laugh and put an arm around my shoulders.
    “Guess you made him nervous last time.”
    “I was just wondering why the fuck you were hiding in an alley with him.”
    “I wasn’t hiding with him, Dad.”
    “I know that now,” he said and gave my forehead a kiss. “I’m not gonna beat him up for talking to you. I’m not that bad. Unless you’re asking—are you asking?”
    “No!” I decided to try to change the subject. “Did you know he has a spider tattooed on his head?”
    “No, I thought it was a mole. I’ve been thinking he should get that checked out.”
    “Nope. Spider Jerusalem thing.” I smiled and held up the cup in front of him. “Want a sip?”
    We had our coffee the same way, so sometimes we shared a cup. It had been a thing when I was younger. I always sat next to him at the table, and in the mornings I’d tried to take a sip from his cup without him noticing. He hadn’t thought it was a great idea, since he didn’t think I needed more energy than I already had, which obviously had meant I really wanted coffee. In the long run it had meant I liked my coffee the way he had it—black with two sugars—just like I smoked the same brand of cigarettes as he did.
    “Yeah,” he answered and looked really happy when he took the cup from me. At first I wondered why, and then I realized it could’ve been the smile. So I kept smiling.
    “A smoke?”
    “If you’re a nice girl and don’t tell your mom, you can have a smoke.”
    “I’m a nice girl.”
    “Yes you are.”
    I found that very interesting. A smile and he just gave me a cigarette, and watched me light it and smoke it. Maybe that was the easiest way to get people to back off? Just become what they wanted to me to be.
     
    ~oOo~
    Brick
     
    Eliza had given him a hug before taking off with Mitch. There had been a while after she’d been taken when she couldn’t stand being touched even by him. It had broken his fucking heart, but he’d tried not to push. It had taken a few months, and then she’d carefully taken his hand while they were walking down the street, just like she’d done when she was a little girl. These days, she was back to normal with him, Mel, her brothers, and Bull, but that was it. Maybe Billie, he wasn’t sure about that, but Billie wasn’t a very cuddly person. Eliza,