Chapter Fourteen
Rune
I barely slept.
Carmen was not similarly afflicted. Within ten minutes of her cheek resting on my chest, her whole body went lax as she passed out. It was like months (or in her case, years) of chronic stress evaporated and finally let her rest.
She hardly even moved for the next eight hours, save for sliding her leg between my thighs and slipping her hand up to my neck.
Otherwise, she was peaceful, quiet.
Unlike her sister, who—if I were placing a bet—I would say was practicing lines in her dreams, judging by the dramatic delivery.
Clearly, it was the norm, since the dog just snored peacefully beside her.
As for me, my hands drifted up and down Carmen’s back, over her hip, sifted through her hair. Just enjoying the closeness.
She was right earlier.
It felt good to be around someone who could at least partially understand how I felt about what happened with Victoria. No, Carmen didn’t have the images in her head that I did. But she had the backstory for the woman I’d been lacking.
It was more than the shared trauma, though.
I just… liked her. Her selflessness. Her desire to lift up everyone around her. The soft bits beneath the harder exterior.
I never really considered myself a caretaker. As an eldest child, I was better at management, at oversight and delegation. I didn’t do the soft shit. The back rubbing and the hand holding. My sister was better at that. Hell, Croft was better at that.
That lack of history didn’t change the fact that I suddenly found myself wanting to take care of Carmen.
I wanted to pick up some of the slack. Wanted to take some things off her plate. I wanted to be someone she could come to and unload when she’d been holding everything in for too long.
“Morning,” Sofia said, voice sleepy.
I glanced over, seeing her cheek all pillow-creased and her hair bed-messy.
“Morning. How’d that sleep audition go?”
“Oh, God,” Sofia said, burying her face in Hammy’s neck. “They were orcs. Orc producers. And they wanted me to do my monologue while doing calisthenics.”
“Did you get the part?”
“Nope. Jennifer Aniston was there. Dressed as a goth. She got the job.”
The laugh that escaped me had Carmen grumbling in her sleep, then snuggling closer.
Sofia sat up, her smile soft.
“She’s different with you. I feel better leaving knowing she has you.”
She didn’t, though.
Not in the way Sofia thought.
“What time is check-out?”
“Eleven.”
“Okay. I’m gonna jump in the shower and take Hammy for a walk. Then we can grab some breakfast before heading out.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
And there was no good reason for the way my stomach twisted at the idea of checking out, of helping the girls put their luggage in their car…
then watching them drive away from me. All the while knowing I wouldn’t have an excuse to travel all the way up to Carmen’s neck of the woods again.
At least not until I found the Jon asshole and took him out once and for all.
Then I could go see her. Tell her that we could finally close that chapter of our lives.
It was Sofia closing the door as she took the dog for a walk that had Carmen stirring.
There was a second when she still clung to me.
Then she flew away from me, eyes wide, almost unseeing for a second.
“Just me,” I told her. “You passed out about a third of the way through the movie. It was like movie night with my great uncle.”
That got a snort out of her.
“Where’s Sof?”
“Hammy.”
“What time is it?”
“Nine.”
“Nine? I slept in ’til nine?”
“Seems like you needed it.”
She exhaled hard. “I really did. Sorry if I drooled on you.”
“You slept like the dead. Your sister had an audition with orcs. Then lost the role to a goth Jen Aniston.”
“Not nearly as interesting as the time she got the job over a punk Brad Pitt.”
I made my way across the hall when Sof came back and Carmen went to take a shower.
That sinking feeling I felt only intensified as we all packed up our rooms then headed downstairs to grab breakfast.
“So, are you coming back to the house?” Sof asked.
“I’ve probably monopolized enough of Rune’s time.”
“Monopolized? That’s a weird way of putting it,” Sofia said.
Carmen’s eyes went round, remembering the cover story.
“Shooting aside, I’ve had a good time with you guys. But I really should be getting back.”
“Would you mind dropping Carmen home, though?” Sofia asked.
“What? Why?” Carmen’s brows pinched.
“I’m meeting the massage guy, remember? I don’t know him well enough to invite him to the house, so…”
“Ever ridden on a bike?”
“I have not,” Carmen said, glancing over at it. “Are they as dangerous as the medical TV shows claim?”
“Yep,” I said, nodding. “But it’s a short ride. And I’ll go slow.”
“All settled then. Go on. Get going. Carm has the Chicken Lady today.”
“The Chicken Lady?” I asked as Carmen and I walked to the parking lot.
“I have a client who has a house chicken.”
“A house chicken?”
“Yep. Her name is Paulatry. She has her own giant enclosure, but also runs around the house wearing a bird diaper.”
“You have strange clients, baby,” I said, grabbing the helmet.
“You only have one.”
“Yeah. Wasn’t planning on having anyone riding bitch.”
“Excuse me?” she asked, eyes narrowing.
“I’m not calling you a bitch,” I clarified. “Riding on the back is called ‘riding bitch.’”
“Oh, okay. I was gonna say. But you’re not allowed to ride without a helmet.”
“I’ll risk the ticket.”
“And your skull?”
“Better mine than yours,” I said, pushing the helmet down on her head, then adjusting the strap.
“Okay. So now what?”
“Now I get on and you climb on behind me. And you hold on.”
“But what about, like, when you take turns or—”
“You just hold on. I’ve got the rest.” I climbed on and looked over at her. “Trust me.”
That was a big ask for someone like her.
But she only hesitated for a second before climbing on and scooting close.
“Am I supposed to put my arms around you now?”
“You can hold on just with your legs if you want.” But I was reaching back for her arms and pulling them around me. “But I like this better.”
She scooted in closer, arms wrapping tight.
Only then did I turn over the bike and slowly drive off.
Her whole body tightened at first, then relaxed around me as we rode from the hotel back to her neighborhood.
Chip was mowing the lawn as we drove up, offering us a distracted wave, but keeping with his task.
“Wow, those windows look great,” Carmen said as we made our way to her porch.
“They should help with your electric bills too. The old ones were drafty as fuck.”
“Thanks for handling that.”
“I put window alarms on them too. So you might want to make sure you flick those off before you open a window, or you’re gonna alert the whole neighborhood.”
“Good to know.”
“You want me to do a sweep?”
“No. It seems like everything is fine now.” She paused on the top step, turning to face me, and sucked in a deep breath.
“Really, thanks for everything the past few days. I know you didn’t owe me anything after the whole trying to kill you thing.
But it was really nice not to have to handle everything myself for a couple of days. ”
“Don’t have anything to thank me for.”
We both stood there awkwardly for a second, clearly each having something to say, but not finding the words.
“You better go get to the Chicken Lady’s house. Can’t keep Paulatry waiting.”
“Right,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, um, see you around.”
But we both knew she wouldn’t.
There would be no accidental bump-ins at a local bar. No ‘I was just in the neighborhood’ drop-ins.
We were never going to see each other again.
And that realization had my damn legs feeling heavy as I turned and started back down the path.
“Where’s the little one?” Chip called, making me look over.
“She’ll be back later. She’s hanging with a friend. How have things been around here?”
“Quiet.”
“Did the cops do anything about those brothers?”
“No. But I came across ‘em in the food store last night. And the oldest one actually seemed kinda offended that I thought they would possibly shoot up two women and their dog just to get revenge on me. Starting to think maybe it was random. Or the wrong house.”
“I don’t know if I feel better or worse about that.”
“I’ll keep an eye when you’re not around.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wouldn’t be around again.
“I appreciate that.”
We shared a nod, then I made my way back to my bike on lead feet.
I thought maybe the sensation would loosen up as I got further away, or as I drove back into Navesink Bank.
But there was still a heaviness weighing me down as I climbed off my bike, grabbed the laundry out of the saddlebags, and made my way inside.
To a complete and utter disaster.
If I had to venture a guess, I figured maybe Fallon and Brooks hadn’t been by in a few days, because there was no way they would have let the prospects get away with the clubhouse becoming a complete disaster area.
It was one thing for there to be remnants of a party: cups, empty bottles, maybe some plates lying around. It was a complete other for it to look like a natural disaster had blown through the space.
Clothes were scattered in the common room. Days’ worth of dishes were on the coffee and end tables, the countertops, and overflowing the sink. Everything looked dull and in desperate need of a vacuum.
I found myself thankful for the distraction as I tossed my laundry in the wash, then started working my way around the clubhouse with the cleaning cart from the garage, tossing empties, piling recyclables to be washed and put in the bin, picking up random bras and underwear that went right into the trash since I had no idea who they belonged to.
No one came stumbling out until almost noon, when I was elbow-deep in the dishes that didn’t fit in the dishwasher.
“We were gonna get to that,” Croft said, making me turn to find him still pulling on a shirt, but not before I noticed a bruise over his ribs.
“The fuck happened to you?”
To that, he rolled his eyes. “Vas.”
“Vas? Vas bruised your ribs?” I mean, our younger brother was a little shit like all the other younger guys—bullheaded, impulsive, kind of reckless—but he’d never picked a fight with one of us before.
“I got between him and some chick’s ex-boyfriend who showed up, all jealous and shit.”
“And started shit with Vas?”
“Not at first. Vas was just sitting next to the pool where the girls were hanging out. The ex showed up, stormed over, and dragged his ex-girl out of the pool by her hair. Vas went fucking feral. Never seen him like that before.”
“How come you got caught up?”
“Because if I didn’t pull him off, I was pretty sure he was going to beat the bastard’s head in…
in front of all the witnesses. Had to do something.
Caught an elbow to the ribs in the process.
Spike and Cain had to pull him off and drag him inside.
Pretty sure they ended up locking him in the basement while we made sure the bastard got out of here and the girl got somewhere safe. ”
“Christ. Was this last night?”
“Yeah. Hence everyone sleeping in a little later than usual.”
“Is Vas still here?”
“Talking about me?” Vas asked, stepping into the doorway.
Yeah.
He’d been in a fight, alright.
His eye was black and blue and so swollen it was almost closed. He had a fat lip, a nose that wasn’t as straight as it had been when I’d left, and busted-open knuckles.
“You clean all that shit out before you went to bed?” I asked, gesturing between the injuries.
“Spike cleaned him up,” Croft said.
“Did anyone tell Fallon about this yet?”
“That was on today’s agenda,” Croft said.
I turned to Vas. “You gotta do it.”
“I’m not even a pros—”
“No, you’re not. All the more reason you need to be a man, go see Fallon, and tell him what went down at the club. You let me or Croft do the talking for you, and Fallon’s not gonna look at you the same. Get dressed and get over there before he hears it through the grapevine.”
Vas gave me a nod and turned to walk away.
“Vas?”
“Yeah?” he asked, turning back.
“You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m alright.”
“Good.” I waited for him to disappear before turning back to Croft. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“We had it handled.” He shrugged. “I figured you were… busy.”
“Never so busy that I don’t want an update on shit like that.”
“Want some help cleaning? Or are you working through some shit?”
There was no lying to him.
“Working through some shit.”
“Then I’ll put on the coffee.” It wasn’t until he finished the task that I felt his gaze on me again. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Not really, no.”
“Are you in some sort of trouble?”
“No.”
“A danger to yourself?”
To that, I snorted. “No.”
“Then I won’t bug you. But get your energy out here. It’s gonna be hot as the devil’s balls today. Don’t go running.”
“Got it.”
Luckily, the place was dirty enough to keep me distracted for hours.
And when I made my way outside, I found that the cement around the pool was covered in blood, so I got my ass to work on that, then pool maintenance, and, finally, back to my laundry.
By the time the place was shining, Vas was back after his talk with Fallon, declaring that instead of being pissed, he was now officially a prospect.
Not long after that, it was clear that the grapevine was doing its thing, because our old man flew in to check on Vas. And not far behind him, our mom.
It all should have been enough to distract me.
But my mind kept wandering back to a little duplex.
And the woman inside it who had started to mean more to me than she should have so quickly.