Anxious
Travis
“What the hell has been wrong with you lately?” Victor asked as he kicked his boots up on my desk while eating one of his damn brownies. He was a guy I had very little patience for because of his drug use.
“Well, I’m about to show you if you don’t yet your damn boots off my desk and throw that fucking brownie away. You’re fucked if you get hurt on the clock. No workman’s comp for you, dumbass.” He had no idea his brownies were replaced by Morgan, so I always played along.. She’s been doing that shit to him for months. At one point he even cursed about being sold oregano because the brownies were too weak.
I looked up and saw his new appearance and laughed my ass off. He had his beard in two braids, then his long ass hair was also in two braids, and he wore a bandana on his head. “Willy fucking Nelson.” I laughed. “Or Pippy Longstocking. I can’t decide.”
“Fuck you.” He smirked and I still laughed. “Seriously, what’s up with you? You’re not acting like yourself.”
I shook my head, once again avoiding his question. “What’s with the braids in your beard? Getting bugs from all the crumbs you drop in it?”
“The old lady likes it.” He felt the braids. “She put them in last night.”
I tried to settle my laugh. “By old lady, which one do you mean? Is it Sunflower, Rainbow, or maybe that Sunshine woman this time?” He was such a damn hippy, talented, but a fucking hippy. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he had more than one woman sharing his bed on a nightly basis.
“It’s Poppy, and it’s her real name, asshole.”
“Did she shampoo it and get the stink out too?” I was more than amused.
“It smells glorious this morning, like fresh pussy.” He licked his lips, and I gagged.
“That’s fucking sick.”
He ran his hand over his beard. “Nope, just one of the benefits to all this masculinity. I can still smell her the whole day after.”
“You’re a sick son of a bitch, Victor. Anyway, how is the Aussie bike design coming along?”
He stretched with his hands behind his head. “Good, the first draft is almost done. Anyway, let’s get back to you. You’re normally in the shop by now. Haven’t seen you all day and it’s almost time for our ride to see Mrs. Hoffman.”
It was getting cold out, but we always rode for as long into fall and winter as possible.
“Nothing is wrong. I just closed a deal for another movie bike and the guys are all hitting their sales goals. Just tying a few things up before lunch.”
He scratched his cheek, and I always imagined he had fleas when he did that shit. “Magnus and Axton said they’re busy today. What’s up with that? They never miss our rides.”
I lifted a brow because he knew better than to ask questions. He was one that didn’t know of the special ops contracts. Not to mention he was my least favorite person, wo I was never always chatty with him.
“Oh, so it’s some of that top secret shit. I get it, keep leaving me out of the inner circle.” He sat straight like he was about to stand.
“It’s not a big deal. There’s an orientation on Monday. They’re heading to the airport to pick up some new hires for Creed’s Lake.” I stood to grab my leather coat, mask, and all my cold weather riding gear.
“Sounds about right, I’ll meet you out front. Oh yeah, when is Creed returning? I wanted to ask him something about the new designer he is bringing on to the team.” We sold enough bikes it was time to bring on another designer. He came across a woman in LA that had the right skills for the job. I was just thankful I didn’t have to go scout one out.
“Tomorrow, but without the boys. He wants to get back to Morgan and he was never really that close to his mom anyway.” I answered.
He chuckled. “Yeah, like most of us. Have you ever noticed that? We’re a bunch of fuck ups that never really had good parents.”
I glared at him. “Your parents are fucking farmers in Wisconsin. They visit once a month, and your mom knits us all hats and mittens. What the hell are you talking about?”
He shrugged. “My parents smothered my ass. It fucked me up.”
I shook my head. “No, the LSD fucked you up. Don’t blame Phil and Martha.”
He pointed at me. “Hey! You have no clue how hard it is to be on a good trip when old Phil drags you out to play with titties all day. That kind of shit fucks with a kids head.”
“You were milking cows, Victor. You lived on a dairy farm. Remember?”
His eyes grew. “Oh yeah.” He scratched his beard again. “Damn, who the fuck was I out there in the barn screwing? Maybe it was just a trip and not real.”
I sighed. “No Victor, that was Daisy the sheep. Remember that’s why they sent you to rehab the first time?” I had to remind him all the time. He’s damn lucky he was a talented artist. He would have been gone a long time ago if he wasn’t. I got a call every week from Martha checking up on him. He was like employing a talented special needs kid. All the drugs kinda messed him up and every once in a while he would have some really weird flashbacks. He also never caught on that Morgan was replacing his pot brownies with normal ones almost on a daily basis. She didn’t want him high while riding his bike.
He looked off into space and I snapped my fingers. “Jesus, Victor. Come back to the present. You and those damn flashbacks.” I shook my head. That asshole had more flashbacks than all of us war veterans put together.
Before long, we were on our way to town to have lunch. All I could think about was Wrenly. I had no clue if they would drop by the shop or go straight to their apartments. I was nervous, mainly because I didn’t know what seeing her would do to me. Hell, I was pretty much willing to hang out with Victor all day if it meant I could avoid it. If I could just get my feelings straight and had even a little hint of what it was going to feel like to see her, it might have helped. Creed wanted to be back before they arrived, but that wasn’t going to happen. I could see him hosting a dinner to welcome them. What made me nervous was the fact that I didn’t get to talk to Creed. I didn’t want to bother him with my insecurities while his mom was literally dying. I just wanted to know how Wrenly reacted when she learned about me. Was she upset about it? Was she asking to see me? I was down to hours or maybe even minutes before I’d see her and I was like a scared little kid.
We froze our asses off all the way into Cold Springs, but the ride was just what I needed. I sat with the old men and was listening to Bill’s story about the prostitutes during Vietnam when my phone rang, and I saw it was Axton.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“We decided to have lunch at the airport. I’m thinking we need to have some sort of welcome to Creed’s Lake gathering for dinner at the community center, because I don’t want Morgan freaking out. You know how she gets, she will push herself into cooking way too much food and you know as well as I do she will invite them over to her place. Do you think you can organize that for us?”
“Now? Like we couldn’t have planned this a week ago?” It was an insane idea.
“Not for everyone, just the Originals and our top operatives. Of course, their families as well. See if Steph can help you pull it off and since the kitchen isn’t prepared, send a prospect into Clarity for food. I don’t know, ask Felicity what restaurant she thinks could cater it last minute. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”
I internally groaned. “Fine.”
He paused for a few seconds then whispered into the phone. “Wait until you see this chick. Jesus Christ, Irons. I think she might be even hotter than Morgan.”
I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “It’s not the first time you’ve seen her.”
“I know but damn, we have to keep Drakos on his best behavior. Blonds are his thing and she’s…Jesus she’s hot.” He whispered, and it was the last thing I needed to hear.
“Alright, I’ll get things ready.” As if I didn’t already have enough to do. Like have a stroke or heart attack as I waited for her arrival.
I stood. “Well, it’s been great, but I have to head back.” I looked at Drakos and Granger as I ended the call. “Let’s head out.”
I went to pay and looked at Mrs. Hoffman. “You don’t happen to make lunch meat trays or something that could feed a large group, do you? We have some new hires coming in and Axton just now asked me to throw together a welcoming gathering. I’d say for around fifty to sixty people?”
Her eyes grew. “I do, and could have sloppy Joe’s and a few cold cut trays with all the fixings ready tomorrow.” She answered as she rung me up.
“Actually, I would need them by around six tonight.”
She paused and looked up at me like I was insane.
“I’ll pay you double your normal price. Triple if you add everything we need, like some side dishes.”
She thought about it for a moment. “I could if I had some help.”
I nodded. “Okay, I’ll send a few people over to help.” I’d rather she made the money than some stranger in Clarity and we had a few prospects that I could send over to help.
I settled my lunch bill and made arrangements with her before leaving with the guys behind me. It was cold enough that I was almost dreading the ride back. Soon it would be too cold to ride at all. I sent Steph and Melissa a text before I got on my bike.
The more time marched on, the more unnerved I became. It wasn’t that I hated the idea of Wrenly being around, it was the threat of past feelings bubbling back up to the surface. I had come a long way, the Army helped build my confidence and Creed’s Lake gave me the sense of belonging I always needed. I overcame the guilt my parents pounded into me, and I no longer stumbled into trouble. All that anger subsided, and I hadn’t felt that monster inside me for years.
Once back at the Community Center, Steph was already at work. Melissa’s job was to keep Morgan away. She needed her rest and we all knew if she found out too early about the gathering she would jump into the planning. Morgan loved entertaining, not just by making us laugh and through her kind heart, she loved feeding us and planning parties. Creed snagged himself one hell of a wife, which did stir some lonesome feelings up inside me. Hell, I think all of us wished we could find what Creed found when he met Morgan, even if we would never admit it out loud.
“Uncle Twabis!” I turned around just in time to see my sweet little angel, Addie, before she jumped into my arms.
“What’s up, kid?” I picked her up and she wrapped her arms and legs around me like a monkey. I gave her a good squeeze then she let go and pushed back to look at me.
“Niko had twaining and jumped from a helicopter! Then Uncle Patwick put his suit on. Niko bit him and knocked him over. It was awesome.” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Niko is da best.”
Her German Shepherd pup was in training and must have propelled from the chopper with a few operatives. Creed was making sure Addie had all the protections she needed, and that dog would kill to protect Addie. She was also going through the typical training we have for our K-9 operatives. Yes, they go on missions and they’re extremely skilled. Niko was spending extra time in training with Addie. Addie is learning sign language and Niko is learning to take commands through sign language and several spoken key words. Addie is also learning how to appropriately use Niko for protection. I was a bit wary about the idea because of Addie's love of everything evil and hatred toward boys, but so far so good. If it were up to Creed they would have three more dogs living with them. One for each twin and one for Morgan, but she put her foot down. She’s too obsessive about cleanliness to have any other dogs in the house. She didn’t even want Niko because she will shed a lot when she gets bigger.
“Oh, so Uncle Patrick volunteered to help during training today?”
She shook her head. “Nope, mommy made him. Mr. Cummings is gone for da week.”
Oh, that’s right, Magnus had a group out on a mission.
“Day got more puppies too!” Her eyes were huge, showing how excited she was about the program. It was my idea to offer a trained protection dog to our DV victims when they left Creed’s Lake. It wasn’t a free service, and they would actually have to pay for the dog with their earnings for a discounted price while at Creed’s Lake. Not all DV victims were poor either, some just had more dangerous people after them, and a safe house wouldn’t have been enough to protect them. We also provided trained K-9 officers to law enforcement and other private buyers. Creed was a lover to all animals, so every buyer was properly vetted. It was just another way to bring in more revenue to explain our cash flow to the public.
“Where’s your mom?” She better have been at home getting some rest.
“She taking a nap, Mewissa here.” She pointed at Melissa.
“We’re not going to tell mommy about the party yet, right?”
She shook her head real slow and looked very serious. “Don’t wake her up, pwease. Fatass is bitchy.”
I gasped. “Adeline! Don’t say that about your mommy, and let me guess, that’s what Patrick said?”
She nodded real big.
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Uncle Patrick is dumber than a Marine. You don’t want to sound dumber than a Marine do you?”
Her little eyebrows grew closer, and she looked at me through hooded eyes. “No way.”
“Then don’t ever repeat anything Uncle Patrick says, okay?”
She nodded. “Dat pwetty wady is coming today. Uncle Scott will be a dipshit.”
I shut my eyes in defeat. It was sad that even little Addie knew Drakos could be such a dickhead when it came to women. I wasn’t real happy that people weren’t watching what they said around Addie. She had a hard enough time keeping her inner badass tamed, so she didn’t get into trouble at school. Bad language seemed to be the newest behavior she picked up and it’s an uphill battle. She didn’t have a good childhood up until she moved to Creed’s Lake with Morgan and Creed, and Bolton was working with her to help with the anger. Addie also didn’t have many good people or other kids around her to teach her more positive behavior. It hadn’t been long since her biological parents died, so she was only a few months into her therapy. “Yeah, so I’d say to stay clear of Uncle Scott for a few days and watch your language. That was another bad word, Addie.”
Her eyes softened. “Awe, did dat hurt your fewings Uncle Twabis? Do you need a safe spwayce?” She patted my cheek. “Are you going to cwry?”
I laughed. “Addie, you’re too much.”
She looked away from me and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose again, although they were already there, and it must have been a habit for all the years of ill-fitting pairs. “I know. I da best.” She looked around the room then gasped. “Sam!” She squealed and quickly jumped from my arms and ran, but stopped like she forgot something and turned before she ran back to me and wrapped her arms around my legs. “Lub you Uncle Twavis!”
I chuckled. “Love you too, kid.” She let go and ran away from me and toward Sam. Sam Owens was our other superstar resident at Creed’s Lake. He was a pro football quarterback for the Jets, then his brother was killed in action. The dude literally walked away from a pro ball career to join the Army and then Delta Force. Unfortunately, he was injured and now uses two prosthetic legs. I winced as Addie ran straight into him, but he had it under control. He was one tough son of a bitch that fought damn hard to get where he is now and still manages to be one of our most valued operatives. When he’s not on a mission, he helps out with the K-9 training center.
I went back to moving tables and setting out chairs after the disappointment of Addie running off. If there was anyone that helped calm my nerves it was Addie. Like her mom, she was like a ray of sunshine that could entertain just about anyone. As I worked I thought about how much she and her mom changed Creed’s Lake for the better. Sure, Club X was just as raunchy as always, but there were new programs put into place, and it was more upbeat. Morgan was always up to something, and her newest project was a black tie New Years celebration. It was a ways off, and most likely she would be having the twins around that time, but she wanted a formal event and Creed always gives her exactly what she wants. Most of us just wanted to get through Thanksgiving and Christmas in one piece. Dread came over me as I realized what Morgan and Felicity were putting together for Christmas. The next few months were going to be insane. I knew Morgan would turn Creed’s Lake into a winter wonderland. All while pregnant with twins, it was crazy.
After I was done setting out the chairs, I went to Club X to grab a keg of beer for the banquet hall and asked a prospect to bring several bottles of whiskey and wine over. I was hooking up the keg behind the bar in the banquet center when I paused. It felt like the hairs on my neck stood up and my heart began racing so fast it took my breath away. Something inside of me said not to turn around, while something more powerful told me to do the opposite. The prickly sensation only grew as I realized my breaths were coming faster to keep up with my racing heart. I was the only one in the room up to that point and the silence was almost deafening, but I knew I was no longer alone. The feelings overcoming me were ones I had not felt in almost fifteen years. Slowly, I turned, and my eyes met a set of blue ones that struck something painful in my chest.