12. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
Noah
After trying to talk to Sally, I saw a knock on my door. I open it to see Arthur standing there with his hands in his pocket with an annoyed look on his face.
“Can I come in?” He sighs as he looks back to Sally’s place. She complained about me. I open the door and walk into the living room. “Thanks. This shouldn’t take too long.”
“Did Sally complain to you?” Arthur nods. “There was arguing between her and two male voices. I got concerned. I won’t promise it won’t happen again. I’m not built that way.”
“I understand that, and I’m like that too, but you can’t help someone who doesn’t want it.” His phone buzzes. He pulls it out and curses. “I need to go. Amelia had some trouble tonight.”
“Give me a minute, and I’ll go with you,” I tell him as I throw on my sneakers. After the run-in with Sally, I put on some sweats because I knew I couldn’t fall asleep yet. I kept going over it in my head. Was there something I should’ve done differently? Did I come on too strong? Should I have stayed quiet? So many thoughts.
“Why?” Arthur’s question stops me as I stand straight up.
“She’s my boss’s sister, for one, and for two, something about her intrigues me. I need to know more. I can’t explain it.” He looks me over before nodding. I follow him to his car and slide into the front. ”Do you know what kind of trouble we’re looking at?”
“Knowing her, it’s probably a dead body.” I turn to him to stare at him. “Hey, I’m sure TJ told you about the motorcycle club. It’s not just a bunch of women riding bikes. There’s lots of guns, booze, sex, and fighting. Sometimes that comes with dead bodies. If you can’t handle that, I can let you out now.”
“It’s a good thing I’m a lawyer. Lawyer, client confidentiality.” I smirk. “Besides, I like TJ. He’s a good guy. Amelia is his sister, so she needs to be protected too.” We drive in silence as I take in the difference of neighborhoods. We went from downtown to a community where many houses were boarded up. We pass through there quickly and get to a more affluent neighborhood. It’s not precisely screaming rich like I grew up in, but it is compared to the homes we just drove through. Arthur rolls his window down and punches in the code. Once he’s finished, the gate opens, and when there’s enough room for the old Oldsmobile, he moves forward. I whistle at the house.
“Amelia had a dream house when she was growing up. She drove the architect crazy with every detail. It had to be right.” He chuckles. He speaks of her with such fondness, almost fatherly.
“How long have you known Amelia and TJ?” I ask as we are getting out of the car.
“Over twenty years. We all grew up on the same block.” I followed him into the house. I looked around and loved the feeling of home when I first walked in.
“What the fuck is he doing here, Smitty?” I hear Amelia’s voice go hard.
“I was with him when I got your text, and he was concerned. I wasn’t going to say no. He’s also a lawyer, so all that confidentiality bullshit applies.” TJ comes over and shakes my hand. I see the guy’s face then look at my boss.
“He’s from earlier today. He’s the one who was in your face.” TJ nods. My eyes finally connect with Amelia’s, and I see red. “Did he hit you, Merida?” I step over to her, taking my hands to cup her face. “Did this fucker hurt you?”
“It’s just a little bruise. It’s better than being dead. I’m fine.” Her voice shakes.
“I’m assuming you called your girls.” She nods. “Let’s get some ice for your cheek and get you out of the center of attention for a few. You’re shaking, which is adrenaline or shock.” Amelia stares into my eyes and nods. “Lead the way.”
“Thanks, man.” TJ claps my shoulder. “I’ll bring Smitty up on things here.” She leads me to the kitchen. I stop, grab her by the waist, and put her on the counter.
“You stay there and let me do the work,” I smirk at her.
“Why are you here?” She crosses her arms, pushing her boobs up, and I can’t take my eyes off them until she clears her throat. “Really?” I chuckle.
“Sorry, I get easily distracted with your body. You can’t blame me.” I search her freezer for an ice pack. But all I can find are frozen veggies, pizza, and something freezer-burned. I grab the peas. I place it on her cheek. “Arthur was in my apartment when he got the text from you. I was concerned. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Why? You don’t know me, and I just met you today.” Staring into Amelia’s eyes, I see something. She doesn’t trust easily.
“I’m not going to lie to you; I am extremely attracted to you. You are my boss’s sister, and how he talked about you made me think you hung the moon and made the stars. You are someone I want to get to know.” She shakes her head while holding the peas. I lean into her, and our foreheads are touching.
“I don’t know,” Amelia whispers.
The roar of the motorcycles breaks us apart as TJ yells the cavalry has arrived. We walk back in with the peas on her face. Smitty takes a look at us before narrowing on Amelia’s cheek.
“Concussion?”
“No. He hit like a sissy. He just caught me off guard. That's why it’s bruising.” The door swings open, and women come piling in, all asking questions. I moved closer to TJ, who is out of site as well.
“I know I’m not going to get answers, but if there is anything I can do to help, let me know.” He shakes my hand.
“Are you into my sister?” TJ squeezes my hand harder.
“Remember, that is my working hand. I find her intriguing and want to know her more. Where that leads,” I shrug. “I’d like to find out.”
“I don’t know. She doesn’t lead an easy life and tends to jump before knowing what’s happening.”
“Michelle is involved!” I hear Ruby’s voice above all of them. Every eye is on her. “Who else would’ve given them that code? Take your fucking blinders off with her. She almost got you or TJ or both of you killed! When is it going to stop?” My eyes take in everyone in the room. Everyone is staring at Amelia, then TJ. Who is this, Michelle?
“Stop.” TJ’s booming voice gets everyone’s attention. “Michelle is our sister, and we will deal with her.”
”She just made this club business.” Some blonde speaks up. “I love Michelle like she is my sister too. I was there when your mom brought her home from the hospital. The only people with that code are the officers in the club, Smitty, you,” she points to TJ, “And Michelle. She’s been dodging all of us for months now. When was the last time you saw her face to face?”
“I saw her two weeks ago when she came to the shop.” TJ stares at Ruby, who confirms it. “She was good. We have this jackass’s cell phone, and Joker can do her thing. Leave Michelle to Amelia and me.”
“No, we can’t do that,” Ruby speaks up. “I’m sorry, Teej, but that is her handwriting. She set up your sister, our club president. Michelle could be working for the DeMarcos for all we know.” Amelia scoffs.
“Can we please talk about why we’re here? Him.” She motions to the dead guy. “Tripline, you do your thing. We got everything we needed from him. Make him disappear.” The woman, who I’m assuming is Tripline, steps forward with gloves on and begins working on laying out a blue tarp, rolling him onto it. “As far as Michelle is concerned,” she sighed, looking at TJ, “give me a couple of days to figure out what needs to be done. She is my blood.” She swallows hard. She and TJ walk together into the kitchen.
“They need time to talk.” Ruby stands next to me. “Thanks for being here.”
“I’m here to help like I told Arthur—I’m a lawyer, so it’s all confidential.” I wink at her. She laughs.
“We now have a lawyer for the club.” She high fives me after handing me a dollar bill to pay my retainer. “We never had that before. We might need you some time.” We laugh. Ruby is becoming one of my favorite people. I hope we become friends and can help navigate club life for me. “Michelle is a touchy subject. Those two have always kept her in the dark about the dangers of the real world. She doesn’t know if guys use her to get to Medusa. Michelle’s never had a broken heart. She’s in college but is heavily guarded.”
“I was like that to a point growing up. I came from money, and it came with conditions. My Dad is a high-profile defense attorney who has had a lot of unsavory clients. We were threatened a lot, so I had the driver and the bodyguards, and everyone needed to be checked by the security team. It wasn't delightful. I understood how the world worked, though. My Dad is an ass and made sure to remind me what a God he is.”
“So you have a different perspective and could help Medusa and TJ through this minefield called Michelle. I love her.” Ruby rattles on. “I just think they need to give her some tough love.”
“It’s not for you or any of them,” I motion to the rest of the room, “to tell Amelia and TJ. They need to figure it out on their own. They have to pull the trigger, metaphorically speaking.” Ruby nods. I look back toward the kitchen, where TJ and Amelia are still talking.