Nick had a lot of regrets piled up in his life. The time when he was seven and got duped into climbing the junkyard fence. The time he was fourteen and got talked into signing up with the Genovese. Especially the time he turned twenty one and decided to marry into the damn Family. Yeah, the conman had a lot of regrets, and he was quite vocal with these complaints. Though, not as vocal as a certain mechanic was about his eventful past.
A few paces ahead of the group, Ellis jabbered on about some time he and his redneck buddy did something. Nick had stopped listening the moment the phrase "This one time" was spoken. The conman idly wondered if he should fall back with Coach and watch the rear, when Rochelle gently bumped her shoulder against him. "You seem a bright ball of sunshine today," she teased, "I think this the longest you've let the poor boy talk."
Nick chuckled. He glanced back up at the country boy, who was still oblivious to his lack of an audience. "Yeah, well...maybe if we're luckily he'll talk himself to sleep."
"If not, I'm sure you'll find some way to wear him out," Rochelle nonchalantly remarked.
The conman clenched his teeth at the jab. His shoulder's squared as his gaze turned to a glare. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he forced out.
The ex-journalist shrugged, suppressing a sly smile. "Not all safe-house doors are sound proof. Actually, I don't think any are."
By now Coach had wandered to catch up to the pair. Nick cursed himself for not noticing the older man sneaking up on him. He must be out of sorts if that just happened. "Mind if I have a word with him," Coach asked Rochelle, jerking his head at the conman.
Nick didn't appreciate the attitude. Rochelle could tell. She gently patted the conman's arm, reminding him to watch his tongue, before speeding up to join Ellis at the front of the group. Nick scowled. "What did you need, Coach?" Nick asked, false cheer dripping from his voice. He never was good at following advice.
"Take it Ro told you that we know about you and the kid," the older man remarked.
"Knew I should have gagged him," Nick lamented. He held up his hand at the scowl he received from his older companion. "It was a joke. Easy there big guy."
Coach shook his head. "Just don't break his heart, and we won't have problems," the older man warned.
"I didn't know you cared," Nick scoffed.
"Boy I could care less about what you decide to do with your own life, but if you risk our asses by upsettin' Ellis and causin' tension..."
The threat hung in the air. Shit. Coach had a point, of course. If he fucked with the mechanic's head they were all screwed. Nick hadn't thought that far ahead, to be honest. The conman looked up and watched Ellis and Rochelle talking ahead of them. Ellis was gesturing widely, no doubt regaling the ex-journalist with a tale from his past. Rochelle politely nodded along, "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing in the right placed. After a moment, the fight faded from the conman's stance. "Guess I'm stuck with the kid for the long haul, then," he replied. His tone lacked its earlier bite. Coach clapped the younger man on the shoulder before falling back again, resuming his post and watching for zombies behind them. Nick watched Rochelle and Ellis talking for a moment longer. The conman felt himself smirk as Ellis burst out laughing at something Rochelle said. There were worse things to be stuck with, he supposed. After all, with all the things that he'd done in life, all the cons and bad decisions, Ellis was one thing that Nick couldn't bring himself to regret.