Chapter 9
Margo
Dad, after confirming that he wasn’t on speaker, let out a long low whistle.
“Go-Go, your taste in men…” he starts, but I don’t want to hear it.
“Is not up for discussion,” I cut him off. “Where are you?”
“I had to take care of a couple of things before leaving, so I’m in Alabama.
I’ll stay south and away from the storms as much as I can without adding on too many miles.
I just called to warn you that I called Jason, so he and the others will be showing up today, if they haven’t already heard from the sheriff. ”
Great, I think, but stay quiet. My half-uncles have every right to be involved, no matter what I think about them.
“What do you make of the sheriff, by the way?” Dad asks me and I realize that I hadn’t even thought about Clark, suddenly worried that he might be looking into my background.
“Stryker had his direct number,” I tell him, keeping my voice low. “He called Clark instead of 911. I spent more time talking to a deputy than him, she was nice. Stryker gave a statement to a different one.”
“You spent a bit of time talking to Stryker, also.” My Dad’s voice has deepened, letting me know that Stryker said something to him.
“I did. And I’ve been thinking about something you said to me,” I reply, frustrated at my certainty that he’s hiding something he knows about Mom’s death.
“Right now, I need you to drive carefully, because I’m not looking to lose anyone else I care about.
Once you get here, we can talk through everything. ”
*
Once we get to the clubhouse, I end up visiting with the waitress from the Stumble Inn. While she didn’t seem surprised to see me walk in with Stryker, I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped to find her nearly naked and playing poker with a couple of guys near the back of the room.
It turned out that the poker game was why she was down to her G string and tank top. After taking one look at them, Stryker told the men he needed to talk to them and told Jade to get dressed.
“Are you two together?” she asked me as soon as the room was clear.
“I’m not sure yet,” I answer her honestly as she assesses me.
“I heard he took you on a date, so he must be thinking of making you his property. That and that kiss he laid on you at the Stumble Inn,” she decides to answer her own question as she fans her hand in front of her face.
Although my mind hasn’t moved much beyond the word ‘property’.
“That was fire, and I’ve never seen him kiss anyone before. But I’ve only been here a few months.”
In the two times I’ve met Jade, she’s pretty much talked nonstop with minimum input needed. Then and there I decide to befriend her, for no other reasons than she is pretty likable and will basically tell me everything I want to know without me asking her any questions.
“I was kind of nervous about coming here today,” I start, pausing to test my theory.
“Oh my God, you have nothing to be nervous about, even though you don’t wear makeup.
” Hmm, well, she’s blunt, I guess. “I’ll introduce you to Bella, she’s been working at the salon in town part-time.
She’s taught me so much about shadowing and highlighting my features already, but anyway the vibe here has changed so much since Alli and them left. ”
Suddenly, she catches herself and looks around the room, before dropping her voice. “I probably shouldn’t talk about her though. Alli stole from them, and Bull was pissed. Like, I would never want anyone that mad at me.”
“Wow.” I breathe out the word, widening my eyes.
“Yeah, but I guess Alli and them gave the stuff back because the Kings are going to have a party tomorrow night when some other Kings from Ohio show up. I haven’t met the Ohio guys yet, but one’s called Voodoo and I just think that sounds sexy as fuck.
You’re going to come to the party, right?
You shouldn’t hook up with any of the other guys though, not if Bull wants you as his Ol’ Lady. ”
“Jade, honey, will you give us a minute with Margo please?” A tall thin man with shoulder length gray hair interrupts the font of information that I’m getting.
Beyond him is another man, shorter with his muscles well outlined under his long-sleeved white shirt.
I’d guess that he’s close in age to Stryker, while the first man has to be ten years older.
She smiles at them before sauntering away from us.
“Margo, I’m Halo and I more or less provide spiritual guidance around here. I wanted to extend my condolences about your grandfather and let you know that I’m here if you need someone to talk with.”
“I’m Sauce,” says the second man. “I knew Mr. Tucker since I was a boy…”
“Oh, you were talking to Stryker this morning,” I cut in interrupting him. I’m not much of a hugger, so I reach a hand out to squeeze his forearm. “I heard most of what you said, and it meant a lot to me. That you remember Granddad so kindly.”
“I let my mother know, and she’ll be at the service,” he tells me, sounding choked up.
“Oh! She still lives nearby?” I question him, feeling like I’ll be on steadier ground with him than with Halo, who is looking at me with a combination of sympathy and caution; as if I might break down at any second.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replies, his mouth spreading into a grin that lights up his face. “When we moved here, she got a job at The Lodge at Deadwood, as a housekeeper and now she’s the Assistant General Manager.”
While Granddad and I headed to Deadwood for Oktoberfest and to hit the casinos once or twice, I’m not familiar with the place he mentions, but there’s no denying the pride on his face, so I make the appropriate comment about her success.
They join me at the table, and while Halo occasionally contributes to the light-hearted conversation Sauce and I are engaged in, the phrase ‘still waters run deep’ is ringing in my mind whenever Halo catches my eye.
When Sauce wanders off, promising to return with drinks, I look back at Halo, who’s studying me as he sits back with arms crossed over his chest.
“Are you a pastor?” I ask him, trying to figure out how he fits into the mix around here.
“Of sorts,” he says with a shrug. “It’s not my day job, but when called upon, I handle weddings, funerals, christenings and the like.”
“Confessions?”
“Nah, I’d have to be a priest in good standing to hear confessions. If people want to talk something through, I’m willing to listen though.”
“Sometimes that’s all people need to feel relief,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
It never occurred to me that I’d find someone who I trusted enough to tell them that I killed a man, and I sit there, wondering if it’s trust that I’ve found with Stryker, or just the knowledge that he’s, minimally, been disposing of bodies since he was a teenager.
Maybe that was what made it so easy to confess the burden I’ve been carrying these past few months.
“Margo?” Halo gently calls my name, as if waiting for an answer.
“If you’re Catholic and would rather a priest,” he patiently repeats himself. “There’s one that I would recommend.”
“No, I’m not. Thank you, though. I’m sorry, I didn’t sleep very much,” I say by way of explanation.
“No, I imagine not.”
“Here, I didn’t know what you’d like to drink and given the hour, I decided on a Moscow Mule for you,” Sauce announces, placing the drink in front of me.
He’s also got a beer for Halo and what’s probably whiskey for himself. Obviously, the hour isn’t an impediment for either of them.
“I thought you were going to crash,” Halo asks him with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
“Got my second wind,” Sauce replies, tilting his glass in my direction. “Cheers!”
While I’d heard of them, I had never had a Moscow Mule before, always considering it a country club kind of drink.
It was refreshing, even with an ungodly amount of ice for this time of year.
By the second one, I didn’t mind the bitterness of the ginger beer and the third one was downright delicious.
It was during that third one, or it might be a fourth one, that a large pair of hands clamped down on my shoulders. Leaning my head back, I relaxed when I realized it was Bull, oops, Stryker, hovering over me.
“You’re even handsome from this angle,” I announce.
“Am I?” he responds, not thanking me for the compliment.
“Yes. You have a strong chin. Like you could take a punch,” I continue on until I hear someone let out a snort.
Lowering my eyes, I level a glare at Halo, except he points to Sauce.
“I asked you to keep her company while I handled shit, not to get her drunk,” Stryker growls and I tilt my head to look up at him again.
“I’m not drunk,” I assure him.
“How could she be after that breakfast you cooked her?” Sauce contributes in my defense. At least I think he does until I catch the glint in his eyes. “Did you really crush up Cap’n Crunch and put it into the waffle batter?”
“And bacon, too,” I remind him.
“The sheriff wants to talk to you,” Stryker informs me and that’s when I realize I might be buzzed. “Exactly. I bought us some time. We’ll go pick up some clothes for you and pump you full of coffee.”
“I don’t like coffee,” I reply, reaching for the drink in front of me without thinking.
He quickly tugs it out of my hand and throws it over his shoulder before placing the empty cup on the table in front of me.
“Are you going to clean that up?” I sputter out the question, more than a little annoyed that I didn’t get to finish it.
“No.”
“No?” I stand up to face him.
“It’s one of the perks of being President,” he snaps back.
“What other perks are there?” I wonder, momentarily sidetracked.
“That when I claim a woman,” he says, leaning down so that we’re practically nose to nose. “No one else would ever think of touching her.”
“You’re the only man I’ve ever, you know,” I whisper, my lips nearly touching his.
“And we’re going to keep it that way.” Stryker’s lips finally close the hair’s breadth between us and he leans down, grabbing my ass and pulling me up to where I can easily wrap my legs around his hips.