Chapter 2 #2
“There was a car pulled over on the shoulder with the trunk open and a middle-aged man sitting on the back bumper with men in black suits surrounding him. He looked like he was in bad shape, like they had beaten him up. There was blood.”
I’m already getting a bad feeling about this situation.
“How much blood?” I ask.
When Tommy shoots me a dark look, I realize that I should have just let her finish the story.
She glances at me. “He had a swollen eye, a bloody lip, and some kind of wound on his upper arm that they tied a cloth around. He was bleeding through it.”
Tommy curses under his breath before asking, “How close were you when you passed? Did they get a good look at your face?”
“Probably. I was close enough to see their faces.”
Tommy leans forward. “Jules, you were driving past at highway speed in the dark. You probably saw some guys having car trouble and your brain filled in the rest.”
She gets that stubborn pout on her face that I know so well. “It was more than that. One of the men was yelling at him and waving one arm around.”
“So, they were arguing,” I say. “It could have been a bar fight or just some guys roughhousing.”
Jules frowns at me. “It was more than just an honest disagreement between folks,” she insists.
Tommy keeps talking, calmly walking her through the logic of why a tired person driving alone at night might misread a situation. It is a reasonable argument, and he makes good points. “Are you leaving anything out of the story, Jules?”
She comes to her feet and shoots us both an annoyed look. “You know, this is exactly why I don’t like to come to you with my problems.”
I have a million questions to ask, but I don’t because now Jules is angry with us and Tommy has already pretty much told me to shut the fuck up with that look he gave me. There’s no point pushing either of them tonight.
Tommy stands up as well and tries to take charge of the situation. “We can talk about this some more another day. For now, you’re staying here.”
Jules doesn’t argue. Unless I miss my guess, she actually looks relieved.
I grab her suitcase from where Tommy set it by the door. It’s heavier than I expected. But then again, women never do travel light. I follow them upstairs, to the guest room and set the suitcase on the floor beside the bed, check the window lock out of habit, and step back into the hallway.
When I turn to leave, she calls out, “Thanks, Flint. I appreciate it.”
I jerk my chin at her and respond, “Get some sleep. After a drive like that, you’ve earned it.”
Tommy comes back after a few minutes, and we head out back to his backyard and sit down with our beers.
We always brainstorm when someone throws a curveball at us.
My friend doesn’t have a single neighbor for miles in every direction.
And his sister is probably in the shower or in bed by now.
So, I feel reasonably confident that we can talk without anyone overhearing us.
Tommy takes a long draw off his beer and says the last thing I expect.
“We gotta keep the club brothers away from her.” He sounds like he’s half-joking, but I know better.
He’s extremely protective of his little sister, and I can’t say I blame him.
“The last thing I need is one of the brothers sniffing around Jules. She’s too young and innocent to start hooking up with Ragers. ”
I don’t care for that term, but I don’t say anything. Instead, I murmur, “I’ll pass it along.”
He looks at me like I’m part of the problem. “I’m being serious.”
“She’s your sister. If you say she’s off limits, then she is. I’ll back you up on this a hundred percent.”
He takes another drink of his beer. Staring out at the fireflies lighting up his yard, he muses out loud, “I can’t get my head around the fact that she’s grown up, you know? She grew up too damn fast if you ask me.”
I try to be supportive. “Your sister’s a woman now. She’s got a degree and will soon have a career. I get that you’re not ready, but you can’t keep her on a short leash forever. You know that, right?”
Ignoring my question, he redirects the conversation. “She isn’t telling me everything. I know Jules. Something else happened,” he says bluntly. “Why do you think she did that?”
I snort a laugh, swallowing the last of my beer. “Because we’re both fucking assholes. We kept interrupting her, trying to convince her there were no fuckin’ monsters in the dark, when we both know there are.”
Tommy shakes his head. “Yeah, I wish we hadn’t done that. She’s just stressed. We’ll give her a few days to decompress and then ask again. That’s the right move, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, it’s worlds better than how we fucked it all up tonight.”
He is quiet for a moment. “She’s my sister, Flint. I know what’s best for her.”
Tommy does know her best. He also loves her. Both of those things can cloud a man’s vision if he’s not careful.
I ask him, “You reckon she’s planning on staying here?”
Tommy shrugs. “I thought she’d stay in LA once she graduated. There’s so many opportunities there. But I guess I’ve been telling her how great Cedar Falls is.”
“They’re looking for someone to help Onyx in the office while his old lady is on maternity leave. You know he’d never try anything with her. If she’s looking for a job, then that might be something?”
“Hell the fuck no!” he shoots back firmly. “I don’t want her unattended on club property.”
“Where the hell is this coming from, Tommy? You have to know that family is safe at the Sons of Rage clubhouse. Rock and the club officers would beat the ever-loving shit outta anyone that got handsy with her against her wishes.”
“That last part is what I’m worried about. Most of the Ragers can charm a snake out of its skin.”
I tell him mildly, “Watch it, Prospect. You’re gonna have to stop calling the brothers Ragers. It’s a name our enemies tagged us with.”
“Yeah, I get that. I’ll try harder not to slip up.”
“We could use an extra set of hands around our shop. If we could train her up on how to handle customers, it would free you up to work on guns. I know that’s not your specialty, but you’d do well at the simple jobs. I could see a set up like that pushing us into a whole new tax bracket.”
He gives me a warm smile. “Now you’re talking, Flint. I’m all for keeping her close and paying her a fair wage.”
“I’ll leave all that to your good judgment,” I tell him.
We talk a little more about what Jules working at the gun shop would look like, and then I take off.
The ride home is mostly on empty roads because there isn’t a lot of traffic out our way.
The crisp, cool air feels good whipping through my clothing.
Riding the open road is just what I need to get my mind off some fuckin’ mobsters getting their hands on Jules. That just wouldn’t fuckin’ do.
I pull into my driveway, cut the engine, and sit there for a minute.
My house is nothing like the family-friendly farmhouse Tommy lives in.
It used to be a small commercial building, some kind of fabrication space.
I bought it cheap and spent the last year turning it into something I felt comfortable living in.
It’s got a steel frame and glass panels where the old, loading bay doors used to be. I like the shop aesthetic. It suits me.
I get off my bike and go inside my house. The polished stone floors look great. They go with the rest of the interior. Everything looks clean and streamlined. I even have a workshop out back.
I’m mentally and physically exhausted by the time my head hits the pillow. I don’t know how long I slept before the nightmare starts.
It’s the same one I always have, one about being in the military during the Afghan war.
It’s a strange mixture of all my worst fears and the bad shit we endured fighting there.
We’re moving in a line along a wall, Tommy’s on my six, and I have a strong gut feeling that things are about to go sideways.
In the blink of an eye, the wall is gone and we’re out in the open.
We’re getting fired at, but instead of bullets it’s all fire and brimstone.
The next thing I know, Tommy is on the ground, and his arm is literally on fire, the flames crawling up his sleeve.
I try to get to him, but my legs are like lead and I’m somehow wading through quicksand.
Every step I take mires me deeper instead of allowing me to move forward.
I finally fight my way through it and reach him.
When I grab his shoulder to roll him over, the face looking up at me is not Tommy’s.
It’s Jules’ face. Her eyes are open wide, and her mouth is open in a scream of pain that never comes.
I know all the way down to my bones that she’s asking for help.
I want more than anything to save her, but I can’t move.
The flames are growing and she’s slowly turning to dust right before my eyes and I can’t do a damn thing to stop it.
One fiery hand comes up to cup the side of my face, searing the memory of this moment into my mind for all time.
I jolt awake from the sheer shock of it.
I’m dripping sweat and the sheets are twisted around my body.
Rolling out of bed, I walk to the side wall, open the glass sliding doors, and step out into the cool night air.
I can finally breathe again and every lungful of air I take into my lungs helps me understand it was just a dream and nothing more.
I stand there staring up at the full moon, wondering why I’m dreaming of Jules after all this time.