Chapter Nineteen Wild Guns And Gossip
Liberty
I stared at her. “Who are Briget and—”
Fate knocked on the car window.
Looking up at him, I rolled it down.
“Are we going shopping?” Fate asked me.
“We are parked at a store, Fate,” I replied flippantly. “So what do you think?”
Belle looked panicked as she opened the door and hopped out of the car.
I opened my door and bumped Fate with it.
“Hey!” he exclaimed as he stumbled back.
I moved him over to get to Belle.
“Manners, Lib. What the hell is your problem?” Fate griped.
“Come on guys, we need to hurry,” Belle ordered as she marched away.
“What is happening?” Fate asked.
“I’ll let you know when I find out,” I told him as I caught up with Belle and grasped her arm. “Who are Briget and Daisy?” I asked again.
Fate trailed us closely as he said, “Briget and…”
“I can’t believe I forgot about them.” She pushed her hair back nervously as we went into the store.
Dropping her arm, I got in front of her and pulled a shopping cart out before she could.
“Who are we talking about?” Fate asked.
“I couldn’t call her before,” Belle went on as if she never heard him. “And I bet she is panicked by now.”
I shook my head and followed her as she headed to the food aisles. “Who are you talking about, Belle?” I repeated my earlier question.
“I bet she ran out of money too,” Belle went on as if she never heard me. “I hope she had enough for Daisy to eat. I mean…” Belle was tossing all kinds of items into the cart as she hurried along. “I had a lot of other stuff happening, but to totally forget them?” She then again got busy tossing in cans, and boxed goods while looking more and more agitated.
“Let’s go to the microwave section,” Fate suggested. “That way, I can get stuff to just heat and eat.”
Suddenly, Belle halted and turned her head to stare at Fate. “Then what am I gonna tell her about you?”
He looked from her to me in confusion. “Me? Why me?”
“Well, just look at you!” Belle exclaimed. “Good looking, single…Oh wow, she is gonna flip the F out!”
I had heard enough of this babbling confusion, so I gently took Belle’s arm and asked, “What on earth are you talking about?”
She halted and stared at me then opened her mouth to reply.
“Hold it right there!” someone said loudly.
We all looked over to see a uniformed cop, holding a gun, aimed at me.
“Let go of her and step away with your hands up,” the cop ordered.
I stared at him and did as he said, letting go of Belle”s arm and stepping away with my hands raised.
He nodded at Fate. “You too.”
Fate raised his hands up.
“Officer, what is this about?” I asked.
“You don”t get to talk!” He seethed at me then turned to look at Belle. “Are you okay, Belle?”
I blinked at this. He knew her name?
Nodding, she said, “Nicky, they aren’t the bad guys, ok? Please put the gun away.”
The cop stared at her then looked at us suspiciously again. “Are you sure? I mean they’ve been holding you hostage, right?”
“Hostage?” Fate blustered.
“I said shut up!” Nicky the cop said.
“No, they aren”t holding me at all, Nicky.” Belle shook her head. “Can you put the gun away and let me explain?”
Nicky stared at me and then at Fate. Finally, he uncocked his pistol and lowered it.
“This is Liberty, my boyfriend,” Belle introduced me.
Nicky holstered his weapon then turned his head to stare at me as his eyes went wide. “Holy shit! You are Liberty fucking Walker!” he exclaimed.
I slowly lowered my arms and nodded at him “Yeah, that’s my name.”
“The UFC champ!” Nicky gushed. “Holy hell, I almost arrested the Tiger himself!”
I slowly shook my head.
“Nicky!” Belle said as she tried to get his attention. “This is so embarrassing.” She rolled her eyes and told Fate, “You can lower your hands now.”
My brother slowly did so as he looked a bit pale.
Nicky looked back and forth at us. “I am so sorry, Belle. But Briget has been calling me for days, asking if our APB had brought any results. She said you’ve been missing for a long time. No calls, nothing. She filed a missing person’s report on you.”
“Oh, shit,” Belle muttered.
“I am so confused,” Fate said.
“Yeah, that makes two of us,” I agreed.
“No,” Nicky the cop said. “It makes three and if you count me and my cousin Briget, makes it four.”
“It’s just a huge misunderstanding,” Belle tried to explain. “But I am not missing or kidnapped, ok? Please let the police know that, Nicky.”
He nodded. “You’d better be telling poor Briget. She has been upset for days.”
Belle looked troubled. “I am so sorry and I will talk to her.”
Nicky nodded his head. “Oh and one more thing…” He took out a ticket book from his uniformed pocket and smiled at me, then he produced a pen as well. “Can I get your autograph?”
I stared at him and smiled despite almost being arrested by this guy. “Sure.” I took the small book and pen. I signed my name as I joked, “As long as this won’t be used as a confession or something.”
He chuckled. “No, but man, are the guys at work gonna be jealous. I almost got to arrest Tiger Walker of all people!” He took the book back and tipped his hat at us. “I’ll see yah around, Belle.” He finally walked away.
Fate and I turned our heads to look at Belle.
She bit at her lip. “Ok, I know this all looks bad to you. But I figured out what must have happened, I think? So, when Deacon came to me and we devised this plan, I told my best friend and neighbor Briget very little. I mean what could I tell her? The truth was preposterous. I could not tell her that Deacon was FBI and he was going to have me help him to get my kidnapped sister back, because she was being held by a family of monsters, who dealt drugs and killed people.”
I kept shaking my head. I still had trouble with how Deacon had fooled her by laying his and his mother’s crimes at our feet. That she honestly believed the Walkers were drug dealers and slave peddlers.
“So instead, I told her I had a family emergency,” Belle went on with her explanation. “That I took a short leave from work, but I thought I would be back in two weeks or less. I had her watching my apartment. You know, watering my plants and getting my mail. Then when my phone was destroyed because of the tracker Deacon had put in it, I imagine that she couldn”t call me anymore. I bet she then tried to call my mom or went over there and my mom was missing too by then. And that just made it all even more suspicious. Then you both know the rest. I was forbidden from calling anyone at all after that and I was being held there by Talon. Then I had to arrange a wedding? Not to mention you, Liberty. You are enough distraction for anyone to deal with.”
“Perfectly understandable,” Fate replied with a nod. “Liberty’s a real piece of work. Loud, obnoxious—”
I glanced over at him and slapped the back of his head.
“Hey!” Fate grumbled as he rubbed his head. “And did I say abusive?”
Belle giggled a little then shook her head and looked down into the shopping cart. “We’d better get some fresh food next.”
We headed to the produce section then hit the meat aisles. Finally, we finished our shopping, but when we got to the checkout lane, Belle let out a gasp.
Looking over at her, I asked. “What is it?”
“I forgot food for Daisy.”
I slowly shook my head. “Is this another friend or what?”
Belle laughed. “Yes, as a matter of fact she is a friend. Wait here a minute, ok?” She turned and hurried away.
“Where”s she going?” Fate came up to where we stood as he held a small basket in his hand.
“To get food for Daisy.”
“Who is Daisy?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I looked down at his basket. It was full of junk food. Oreos, potato chips, mini sausages, microwave popcorn, a six pack of bottled beer and a pack of soda. “The hell, Fate?”
He glanced down at the basket. “I like my comfort food and since I will be up at night watching you both, I will need TV snacks.”
Belle came over with her an armful of canned dog food and a chew toy. Setting it down on top of our food, she nodded. “All done.”
I smiled at her. “So Daisy is a dog?”
“Yep, best dog in the world. Briget and I both adopted her, so we share custody.”
“I love dogs,” Fate said as he popped a chip into his mouth.
“Hey brother, you haven’t paid for that yet,” I admonished him as I pushed him ahead of us in line. “Pay up first, dude.”
He laughed and set his stuff out on the conveyor belt. Then he paid.
I set our stuff up onto the belt.
“Oh, no!” Belle exclaimed.
I looked over at her. “What is it now? Are we gonna get jumped for some other crime or what?” I joked as I gazed around at the shoppers and clerks.
Belle nodded at me. “Maybe, if we can’t pay.”
I raised my brows at her. Pulling my wallet out, I shook my head. “I got plenty enough to pay for groceries.”
“Well, I don’t!” Belle exclaimed as she looked pink in the face. “I lost my purse at that quarry.”
“Babe, we can pay for what we need easily. No worries.”
She bit at her lip. “I don’t like it.”
I took the dog food from her grasp and set it on the conveyor belt. “I literally have more money than I can spend in a lifetime, Belle. That won’t be one of our worries.”
“I pay for my own stuff,” she grumbled.
I shook my head. “Yes, an independent woman and I respect that. But look at it this way, Fate and I will be eating at your apartment too, so I am paying for us as well.”
She looked a bit relieved by this and then rose up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek.
Fate nodded as he had a mouthful of oreos. “And…we can eat…a lot!”
“Oreos, Fate? In the store, man?” I smacked the side of his head. “And don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“Stoppp with the head slapping, Liberty,” Fate whined. “You need to chill and just use your words, like Justice keeps telling you. I mean it. You’d better not touch my head again!”
“You two are hilarious,” the clerk said with a laugh. “And your names are Liberty and Fate?” She looked over at Belle. “Where did you find these guys, Belle?”
Her head snapped up as she stared at the clerk. “Oh hey, Melanie.” Belle laughed a little nervously. “If I told you where and how, you would never believe me.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’ve heard a lot of wild gossip while working here.” Melanie winked at her.
Belle let out a long breath and muttered, “Yeah, and I don’t want to be part of the wild gossip.” She looked all around.
I handed the money to Melanie to pay for the groceries and took a look around too.
People were staring and whispering to each other.
I shook my head. Small towns were all the same. Ramton was no different from Sugarland. I pushed our basket out of the line and through the front doors.
“You see what I mean?” Belle complained when we got outside. “And my apartment building is an even bigger gossip mill, Liberty.”
When we got to the car, I opened the backseat door and started to shove the bags in. “It doesn’t matter Belle. Who cares?”
“Who cares?” she replied as she took some grocery bags and went around to the other side of the car. “This is where I live.”
I shrugged and shut the door. “So? I’m with you permanently, so they all can gossip about that if they want to.”
“Oh, they will, believe me. Then what about Fate?” She tossed her hands up in disgust.
“What about me?” he asked as he sat on his bike next to our car, listening to us.
“They are gonna wonder why you”re moving in with me too,” Belle explained.
He stared at her then seemed to get it as he raised his brows. “Oh, wow. They will think…”
Belle nodded. “Yeah, they will! Then what am I gonna do?”
“Do?” I asked as I came around the car hood and opened the passenger side door for her. “Nothing. Why do you care so much? I mean I’ve been gossiped about for many years now. Sometimes I even get a little paparazzi too. I don’t give a fuck what they print.”
“Oh, no!” Belle sounded panicked now. “I forgot that you are semi-famous! Ooohh, what am I gonna do?”
“Semi famous?” Fate said as he laughed. “You hear that Lib? Semi.”
I shook my head. “Semi, all the way? I never cared.” I got behind the wheel and started the car. “Ok Belle, so are we running any more errands?”
She didn’t reply.
“Belle?”
She kept staring ahead and not even blinking. “Like even people I don’t know are staring at us.”
I lowered my head a bit and looked through the car window to where she was staring.
The car in that parking spot suddenly pulled out in reverse and raced through the parking lot.
“Who was that?” I asked her.
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t know, but that’s not the point.”
“You cannot control what other people say or do, Belle.” I grasped her hand. “If you care too much, it gives them power over you.”
She looked over at me as she squeezed my hand. “Yeah, I know you”re right. I just always liked blending in and not being noticed. I’ll get used to it.”
“You are with me now and I get noticed, Belle. I’m not sorry about that and I don’t try to get attention. I actually just do not care what anyone else thinks. With the exception of you.” I chuckled. “Well, the way we fought at the beginning, I suppose I didn”t care about that either.”
Belle laughed. “Nah, believe me I could tell that you didn’t care.”
“Well, I do now. But as far as anyone else is concerned?” I shrugged. “You”ve seen me with Fate. I don’t even care what he thinks of me.”
Belle nodded her head as she grinned at me. “Yeah, I noticed that.”
“Ok, so from now on, ignore what people are saying, K?”
Nodding, she said, “I got it and I will try.”
“Good, so give me directions to your place,” I said. “And let’s be sure to make a grand entrance when we get there. Maybe we can all sing or something?”
Batting her eyes at me Belle stared at me.
I laughed at the stunned look on her face.