Chapter 18 Whore in the Shadows
Nell
I managed to get three consecutive days together in the new studio space.
The guys did an amazing job of organizing everything, and apparently I had Grease and Grunt to thank for that.
They were both mechanically inclined and it helped because they actually put my space together better than I had it in my old studio.
It was easier to get to the things I needed, at any rate.
Granted it was also a more compact space but with plenty of room for me to still move.
Classic Sin would most likely be as large as I would go on a piece unless it was something I installed in sections on site.
I didn’t really want to go that route and have to take equipment to use remotely, though.
“If you keep going at this rate, you’ll finish much sooner than anticipated,” Brady warned me when I popped in that morning.
“If it gets done sooner, it will sit here until the alotted deadline. An artist is never truly finished anyway. I’ll keep toying with the little details until then.”
“Fair enough.” He glanced around ,and when he didn’t find whatever he was looking for, his brows furrowed. “Where is your shadow?”
“There’s supposed to be a prospect on me today, but he seems to be running late.”
“Okay, well, I’ll be here until he gets in.”
“No problem. I’ll be in here most of the time.
” I clunked my knuckles down on my welding helmet to indicate what I meant.
Brady had learned the hard way that once I put that thing on, it was like I transported into another universe where nothing else existed outside of my art.
I tried to get the welds in during the early morning hours while it was still relatively cool.
Later in the day, I worked with regular garden variety tools for some basic shaping and a Dremel and other engraving tools for finer, detailed work.
It was a system I’d inherited from Russ who didn’t always have the money to keep air condition running in his garage.
Considering it got a lot hotter in the summer months in Violence than it did in Flagstaff, I wasn’t going to take any chances with switching up the routine.
“How long will you be around today?” Brady asked as he walked away.
“I’ll probably head back around four to get ready.
It’s date night.” I waggled my eyebrows at him.
I was downright giddy for a date night with my man.
We were getting away from the clubhouse and going somewhere to do something just the two of us.
That meant a ride on his motorcycle, which was one of my favorite things.
Rick also hinted at us going to dinner at a restaurant, though he wanted to surprise me, and wouldn’t give up any other details.
Brady chuckled. “Baffle on a date night.” He shook his head in disbelief. “Never thought I’d see the day. Then again, also never thought Bigfoot would end up married to my niece, so there’s that.”
I smiled at him as I asked, “Does it bother you?”
“Nah. I give them hell, but I couldn’t have chosen better for Sammy. They fit.”
“They’ll be back tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Rick… Um, Baffle,” I corrected because I noticed people were a little puzzled when I called him Rick around the clubhouse. “My husband keeps telling me that he thinks Sammy would be a good friend for me. Honestly, he’s hyped up our future friendship so much that I’m nervous about meeting her.”
Brady threw his head back and let loose with a cackling laugh.
“Sammy will make you her friend whether you’re nervous or not.
She doesn’t like socializing with many people, but she throws herself into relationships with the good ones with all her freaking might.
You fit the bill, Nell. Nothing to worry about there. ”
“Thanks, Brady. I needed to hear that.”
“Anytime.” He hesitated a moment and then tipped his head back toward the RV park portion of the property. “You making friends with Angel?”
“I’ve been trying to give her and Rick space to get to know one another without me interfering. My time will come.”
“You’re a good woman, Nell.” He walked off then and I pulled my helmet on to get to work.
The past few days, while I’ve been working my butt off on Classic Sin, Rick had been gone a lot.
From what he’s mentioned, Squeak - who had been in Flagstaff since they went to pack up my original studio space, sent back intel about the Mojave Devils that has been useful.
A few of the guys have been heading over to Arizona a good bit to handle some business, and more importantly, to disrupt whatever shit the Devil’s had going on.
I wasn’t supposed to know that last bit, but I couldn’t help what I overheard in the clubhouse, especially when I was paying attention when I wasn’t supposed to be.
I giggled at the thought. There were perks to living in the clubhouse with my husband.
The crappy part was the opposite side of the same coin - little to no privacy.
Our meals, when we were able to eat together, were usually shared with whoever else was in the clubhouse and hungry at the time.
That was why I was so damn giddy at the thought of our date night and going out to eat.
Yes, we would still be surrounded by people in a restaurant, but they wouldn’t be inserting themselves into our conversation the way everyone does when they live on top of one another as a giant family.
The one update I hadn’t heard yet was if Johnny Culver had finally stopped being useful.
I really couldn’t wait for the day that he was no longer a concern of mine and I didn’t care what that might mean for him.
If he ended up as food on a pig farm, I wouldn’t be upset about it.
The man used and abused women for fun. As far as I was concerned, if my husband and the Kings took him out, then they’d be doing a lot of potential, future victims a huge favor.
I worked through most of the day and only realized, hours later when my welding helmet came off, that the prospect from the clubhouse never showed up. When I glanced around, there was a note sitting under my phone from Brady.
Nell,
Assuming your prospect went to take a leak or something. Going to help Angel with a sewage problem she’s having. Back soon. Call if you need anything.
555-0272
Brady
It looked like I was completely on my own for the first time since Vegas. About five minutes after I read the note from Brady, I got a text while I was cleaning up my workspace.
HUBBY: Need you to get a ride back to the clubhouse with the prospect.
If he’s on his Harley, see if Brady can give you a ride instead.
We got an emergency call and I need to head out to go collect Roxy and Lila.
Some devils were harassing them. Sorry to cancel on tonight, sweetheart. No one else able to do it.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I growled at my phone as if my angry response would change the message my husband sent me.
Our first real date night as a married couple and that drama queen was probably just playing the whore who cried, ‘save me’ so the biker she wanted would come running.
I threw a wrench across the bay and accidentally broke the clock that was on the wall.
I winced because that clock wasn’t mine to break.
That had been something that was already in the space when the guys moved my stuff in.
I’d have to apologize to Brady when I saw him again.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be today because I was too mad to stick around or go off in search of him to beg for a ride back home.
Chances were, he was still helping Angel, though I had no clue how long ago he had left the message for me.
Still, I had a sneaking suspicion that Brady had a crush on the youngest Mendoza sibling and I wasn’t about to get in the way of someone else’s personal time with the opposite sex.
That left no choices. One thing Violence didn’t have was public transportation of any kind.
We didn’t even have a single Uber driver.
It was a three-mile walk to get from where I was to the highway and then another mile or so on the other side of the highway to the clubhouse.
It would take me more than an hour and some change to walk that far, but I desperately needed that time to cool down.
I didn’t want to take my anger out on anyone who didn’t deserve it.
My idiot husband probably wouldn’t be there when I got in, since Roxy was far more important.
He canceled our date that was still hours away at this point, which meant that the bitchy-duo couldn’t be very close to the clubhouse.
At the same time, if they were near enough that the Kings could dispatch someone to their location, they might continue to be a problem - for me.
I was sure the club didn’t care. They seemed to take keeping their people secure pretty fucking seriously.
I thought the club’s protection on them had been revoked, so that left me with an even shittier feeling in my stomach because my husband chose to ignore that and go save her anyway.