Jake (Demented Souls #16)

15

J ake didn’t like the idea of Heather on the highway on her own, unarmed. Especially if they didn’t know anything about this Mitch or the men he’d apparently bartered her off to, or where they were.

“Hey,” he said when Iceman got on the line. “You have plans for this afternoon?”

“Not really, why?”

“You got time to take Heather out for a little target shooting? And possibly have or can get your hands on an extra pistol to let her carry for a while? She’s just let me know she’s unarmed. I don’t like it. Not with that asshat on her tail and especially not if she’s going to drive down here on her own.”

“I’m with you on this one. I’ll make the time and yes, I’ve got something she can borrow. I’m not sure what yet, but we’ll figure it out. She’ll be protected.”

“Good. I’ve got to talk to Lurch and get permission to park on the ranch. I’ll be in touch about that as soon as I get the details. She’s already agreed to wait until tomorrow to hit the road. Did you know she can tow? Will she be okay bringing your trailer down?”

Iceman chuckled. “Yeah. I knew. She’ll be fine, or I would make sure she’d have help.”

That made Jake feel better about her driving down here on her own. Iceman had known her the whole time he’d been out of the picture. If he trusted her with his trailer, who was Jake not to?

The other man continued. “I’m not sure if you’ve figured it out yet, but she does not take being told no well.”

He heard the smack of skin against skin, as if someone had been smacked upside the head, then Heather’s voice came over the line, but not like she had the phone. It sounded more like she was nearby, talking so they would both hear.

“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here.”

“Geeze, stop hitting me, woman. Don’t make me have to sit on you.”

Jake clenched his teeth to keep from saying something he would regret as he reminded himself Iceman was her family. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. He was trying to protect her and crap like what he’d just heard was nothing more than a squabble among cousins who’d grown up doing the same thing.

“I’ll take care of it. You get her the details on whether or not she can park the trailer there and I’ll make sure she’s safe to go.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you.” Jake hated admitting he owed anyone but for Heather, he’d do it.

“No, you don’t. Just make sure she stays safe, and you don’t hurt her, and that’s all I need.”

“You got it.”

“I’ll let you talk to her again. I’ll get your number from her and send you a message so we can stay in touch, in case that asshole shows up here.”

“I appreciate it.”

The line went quiet for a moment and Jake couldn’t help but wonder what was happening in Dickenson. Had she muted the line to read Iceman the riot act? He hoped not but he knew if she had, he was likely in for the same treatment. Not that he blamed her, and he’d do it again, to make sure she was safe, but she’d rather have her here in front of him while she did it.

If he had to listen to her tell him how she was a grown woman who could take care of herself, then he would prefer he be able to see the fire in her eyes while she did it. And from the way she’d said the same things in high school, he had no doubt it would be coming, the question was when.

After a couple of minutes, Heather came back on the line.

“So I guess I have plans this afternoon,” she said in greeting.

“I’m not sorry, Lynnie. I want to be sure you’re safe. Knowing your armed and know how to use it will make me feel better about you driving down here alone.”

“I will be fine. I drove myself all the way up here, didn’t I?”

“You did, and I love that. I’m so glad to see you again. Besides, since when do you not enjoy an afternoon at the range?”

“Never, but that’s not the point.”

“Then what is?” He didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to know that if shit happened, she could handle it.

“That you went behind my back and arranged it.”

“Sweetheart, if I’d gone behind your back, I wouldn’t have asked you to give him the phone. I would have gotten his number and contacted him without you knowing.”

“Then why did you have to talk to him instead having me do it?”

“Because I wanted the request to come from me. I wanted him to know I’m doing what I can to make sure you’re safe.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and made a silent plea for patience. He could do this, he wanted to, but he wasn’t used to explaining himself, at least not to anyone but his club leadership, and even then, only when he screwed up. “Another thing, though. I want you to give him my number.”

“So you can plan against me?”

Jake forced himself to take a deep breath before responding. “I can get his number elsewhere. I’m asking you to put us in touch with each other so he can let me know if your asshole ex shows up there. It would be nice to have a heads up if he’s headed for us.”

“Oh. I guess you have a point.” She sounded disappointed, and maybe a little let down that she couldn’t argue with him about it.

It reminded him of how fiery and opinionated she’d been in school. Was that because she liked to argue sometimes? Did she need a little safe conflict to feel secure? It wasn’t a deal breaker for him, but he wasn’t doing it over the phone, where he couldn’t read her body language and where he couldn’t kiss away any anger the disagreement might cause.

“You know, you make it really hard for a girl to stay pissed at you,” she said.

“It’s a gift.” Jake couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he imagined her rolling her eyes at his quip.

“It’s something,” her tone was deadpan. She let out an audible sigh. “I guess I should go. I have one more thing to add to my to do list today. You’ll let me know as soon as you have an answer? How sure are you they’ll agree?”

“I have little doubt I’ll get the go ahead. The question is where to have you set up and if there’s power. Oh when you give Iceman my number have him send me how big the trailer is too. That will give me an idea of where we can fit it.”

“Alright. I guess I better get started, or I’ll never be ready by morning.”

“If you need an extra day to be ready, take it. I’ll be here.”

“No. I can do it. I’ve been a lump on Matt’s couch for long enough. I need to do something, even if it’s just something different.”

“If you say so.” He wasn’t going to engage her now, even though he got the feeling that was what she was after.

They talked for a couple of moments longer, wrapping up plans and saying goodbyes, before they rang off.

Once off the phone, Jake went back to the common area, where most of the two chapters of the club were gathered, as it was almost lunchtime. He caught Lurch’s attention and tilted the top of his head toward the barn where they kept the equipment, as it would likely be at least mostly empty this time of day.

“What’s up?” Lurch asked.

Jake gave him a brief overview of what he’d learned a couple days earlier, as well as his history with Heather and what little he’d been able to learn about this Mitch since.

“I’d like to see here again. But it’s not feasible for me to go up there, not now. And I don’t know how long it will be until I can get away for that kind of time. But she’s hiding and we think we’ve found a solution.”

“Why does it feel like this place is becoming a sanctuary for battered women?” Lurch said with a shake of his head. “Other than that you know her from a million years ago and you want into her pants now, give me a good reason to tell you yes.”

“Aside from you having a hard time turning away a woman in need? How about it will put the Kings in our debt. They’ve been protecting her, or else she wouldn’t have been on the run. If we are keeping her here, that’s another stop, another layer of people to catch and stop him before he gets to her.”

“I like that element. Tell me what’s her plan. We’re fresh out of space, and I met her, she didn’t seem like the kind to want to camp in a tent, even short term.”

“She’s not,” Jake admitted with a grin, “but her cousin, Iceman, has a fifth wheel he’s willing to let her borrow, if we’ll let her park it here.”

Lurch stared at him a moment. “How big?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Jake checked his phone. “I take that back, it’s thirty-two feet.”

“So not small but not huge. I don’t care if she parks it here, but you’ll be responsible for her. You know how it works. Let’s go check with Tuck and see if he knows about anywhere we can at least hook her up to electricity.”

It took them a few minutes to find Tuck, he was in the horse barn brushing what Jake recognized as his favorite gelding. The horse he rode when he needed to go out on the ranch to do something.

Lurch explained what was going on, and asked if there was any place they could plug it in.

“Yeah. That pole out behind the bunkhouse? It has a power box for an RV on it. There’s also a sewer hookup out there somewhere not too far away. Though you might have to kick around a little to find it,” Tuck said.

“There’s actually a hookup?” Lurch watched the ranch owner, his head tilted to one side.

“Yeah, the foreman lived in a trailer out there while your house was being built.” Tuck shrugged as he continued brushing down the horse. “Might as well get some use out of it, though it might need a little work before it’s usable. Do we have anyone with electrical experience?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll ask around. I’m sure we’ll find someone who can at least check things out,” Lurch said, then turned to Jake. “How long do we have until the trailer gets here?”

“Not until tomorrow. Even if she leaves early, she likely won’t be here until at least noon.

“She’s already coming for sure?” Lurch asked, one brow lifted.

Jake shook his head. “She’s waiting to hear from me tonight before it’s a sure thing.”

Lurch nodded. “Go ahead and have her come down. We’ll get the hook up situation figured out. If worse comes to worse, hopefully we can at least get her power, even if she has to use the bathroom and shower in the bunkhouse.”

Jake pulled out his phone and started typing out messages to both Heather and Iceman letting them know everything was a go on his end.

Heather: Great. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.

While he was reading her message, his phone buzzed in his hand with a message from Iceman. He flipped to read that.

Iceman: I’ll make sure she’s ready. You keep her safe once she gets there or you’ll answer to me.

Jake replied to Iceman first since that would be a short message.

Jake to Iceman: 10-4

Jake to Heather: Me either, but don’t rush. Take your time and drive safe.

He looked up to find both Lurch and Tuck watching him.

“What?” he asked, looking back and forth between them.

Tuck shook his head. “Just wondering how long until you noticed us watching you.” He went back to brushing the horse.

“How long was it?”

“Not long,” Lurch said.

“Well, we’re done here, I think. Unless you have something else for me to do, I’ll go check out the trailer site, see if it needs cleaning up. Maybe I can find the sewer hookup.”

“At least we’ll know where to find you,” Lurch said before turning back to Tuck.

Jake nodded, waved one hand at them over his shoulder and left them behind as he headed to the bunkhouse. He went through the building instead of around, then stood outside the back door for a moment, scanning the area. He took in possible cover and escape routes just in case they were needed. Then once he had a mental picture of the space, he made his way over to the pole, picking his way through the scattered weeds, until beside the pole, he spotted the metal box that had to contain the power hookup.

From there he scanned the ground, trying to spot the septic hookup. He didn’t see anything obvious, but there were a lot of low weeds covering the ground. Getting rid of those would probably help.

His gaze played over the area as he considered the best way to do it. A hoe would be fastest, but it would leave roots that would only grow back in a week or two. No, he would be better off doing it right from the beginning.

After retrieving a pair of gloves he got busy, and managed to pull all the weeds in a little more than an hour. Another twenty minutes and he had them gathered and tossed in the compost heap to breakdown. He was standing next to the pole with the hookup, stretching his aching back and wondering if maybe he shouldn’t clear a bigger area when Steele approached.

“Hey, I hear there’s some electrical box that needs to be checked out?” Steele asked once he was close enough not to need to yell.

“Yeah. You know much about electrical?” Jake asked.

Steele nodded. “Three years as an apprentice, I’m not certified, but I can do simple jobs. Is this the box?” He motioned to the box mounted three feet from the ground on the pole by where Jake stood.

“This is it. The plan is to plug an RV in if it can handle it.”

“And if it can’t?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead. I guess I’ll have to figure something else out.”

“Let me take a look before we worry about it too much.” Steele went down on one knee, and lifted the lid on the box, doing something Jake didn’t see to get the box to stay open. He pulled some boxy looking tool with wires and sharp points on the end out of his back pocket and started poking the ends into the outlet.

Jake took a step back. There were a lot of things he could do, or didn’t mind trying, but getting fried by electricity wasn’t one of them.