Chapter Five #2
Pat rolled his eyes, and now it was time to head to Reubin’s. Pat had a few pieces of ink, and if Edith didn’t have a problem working on him, after what Rusty had done, he might go back to her and get a few more on his arm and back.
Arriving at Ruebin’s, he saw the same neon red sign declaring that he was open. He stepped into the main reception. Where Edith’s place was light and airy, this place seemed dark, almost dangerous. Pat was instantly on the alert.
“Can I help you?”
The gruff voice came from the doorway, leading into the main room.
“Yeah, have you done this ink?” he asked, stepping toward him.
The man, who he was going to assume was Ruebin, looked at him like he was a bug. Clearly, the man wasn’t used to having to look into another’s eyes. He was tall, but so was Pat.
Rusty stayed quiet on this one. His arms were folded, and there was a glare coming from him.
Pat waited.
“What is it to you?” Ruebin asked.
“You know who I am. You know what my patch means. What does it mean? If you want to continue running this fine establishment, then I suggest you tell me who it is.”
“Or we might assume that you’re in line with the cartel,” Rusty said, stepping forward.
Now, Rusty was a good-time man. He was fun, and he loved to get laid.
Some people looked at his strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, thinking of him as the “guy next door.” But—and this was a big one—Rusty was a mean motherfucker.
When he fought, he did so hard. He made people hurt. He broke people. The guy had a gift.
Ruebin must have understood what was at stake.
“I did this three months ago,” Ruebin said. “I take it I’m not going to have any trouble with giving out private information and shit.”
“Not at all.”
Ruebin went behind his counter, opened up a drawer, and Pat tensed. He saw Rusty did the same. The guy could have had a gun. He wasn’t fucking dumb.
Ruebin pulled out an address card. “The guy paid in cash. It was a lame-ass cog, with spikes coming off it. It was tacky as shit, but he wanted it done.” He held out the card. “Didn’t know he was up to shit, you know? I don’t want no trouble. I’m just running a business here.”
“You’re not going to get any trouble,” Pat said. He thanked him for the card, and then left.
Once outside, he looked toward Rusty.
“We going there right now?” Rusty asked.
“Yeah, why, you got itchy balls or something?”
“You know what, dude, I’m starting to think Grant is right, and that VP patch you wore might have rubbed off on you.”
Pat laughed. He climbed on his bike. On the way to whoever this guy was, they passed the fabric store. He was tempted to stop and check on Ava to see how she was doing.
Pat knew he had taken her by surprise, and she didn’t get a chance to answer his question. He wanted to fuck her. For a moment, he had thought about just being the good guy, playing the gentleman, but he’d be denying who he was.
There was a gentleman in there, but when it came to Ava, he wanted to do a lot of dirty things to her. He wanted to play with her, have some fun.
He liked that Rusty hadn’t touched her. But he wanted to touch her.
He wanted to fuck her and wipe out every single memory of any other guy she had been with.
Pat had never felt this way about a woman before.
This is why he kept going to the coffee shop.
Sure, the coffee was nice, the cake was delicious, but that didn’t compare to the company and the visual pleasure he got from watching Ava.
So, the guy on the paperwork claimed to be Samuel Johnson. Pat didn’t know if it was a made-up name or a genuine name. It also didn’t matter because the guy had paid in cash, not card.
The journey took them to an old trailer park, just inside the boundary of Carnage. He brought his bike to a stop as Rusty joined him.
“Isn’t this where Grant saw that Miguel guy?” Rusty asked.
“Yeah, it is.”
“I thought this place was closed down after the fires torched a couple of them.”
“It was, but I’m guessing it was opened again.”
“Yeah, obviously.”
There were only half a dozen trailers. Most of them seemed covered in dirt. A few had moss growing on the outside. There was no sign of the original color of any of the trailers.
Parking their bikes in the main field, there were six trailers with numbers on them. According to the paperwork, Samuel lived in trailer 206. Two, zero, six. It was the trailer closest to them.
Pat moved in close as did Rusty. He slammed his hand on the door and waited. Rusty had already checked to make sure there was no way out.
He slammed his hand on the door again, and no one answered. He gripped the handle, expecting it to be difficult to open. It wasn’t. There was no lock on the door.
He looked toward Rusty, who had already discreetly pulled out his piece. Pat did the same, keeping it hidden from any prying eyes.
Stepping into the trailer, he noticed the horrendous smell. Dirty dishes were piled up against the sink. Used car parts, empty beer bottles, uneaten takeout on every surface.
Pat looked in the corner and saw this body covered in ink on perfect display, only it had a syringe needle right through the center of one arm. On the table were lines of what looked like cocaine. Blood came out of the man’s nose, and there might have been some coming out of his mouth.
“He didn’t do this to himself,” Rusty said.
“No, he didn’t, which means there is a potential hit man in town,” Pat said.
He pulled out his cell phone and started to dial Bull. That was when he heard the ticking.
“What the fuck is that?” Rusty asked.
Pat stepped closer to the table, and it was then he saw a single word had been written in the drugs: Soon .
“Get out,” Pat said.
He and Rusty got out of the trailer and were running toward their bikes when they were thrown to the ground, and ringing filled Pat’s ears.
The trailer had a bomb, and it had just been detonated.
****
A va’s feet hurt from spending all day on them at the fabric shop, and now as she worked on Saturday night at the coffee shop.
There were a lot of late working locals, who were talking about the trailer blowing up.
She was only paying half a mind to the story.
Listening to gossip was not something she liked to do.
She served coffee, listened to people talk, sliced cake, served up cinnamon rolls. She checked on Lauren, who was cleaning the kitchen and seemed quite happy in her little world.
Ava was happy. Only, she had yet to see Pat. It was still a little early. As the hours ticked on, and ten o’clock rolled by, she had a feeling he was not going to come. By two in the morning, it was time to close shop. Lauren thanked her, and they closed together.
Ava got into her car and drove back home, where she got Bernice.
She was tempted to stay at her mother’s, but she really needed to get back to her apartment.
Driving home, she parked, and then walked with Bernice to the main building.
Typing in her code, she walked in and went straight to the elevator.
Bernice stepped inside with her, and they made their way up to the third floor where she lived.
She couldn’t stand heights. The third floor was far enough off the ground for her.
Stepping into the main hall, she went to her door, flicked the locks open, and stepped inside. Instantly, Ava knew she wasn’t alone. Bernice growled, and she reached into her bag for her pepper spray.
“It’s me.”
Bernice stopped growling, and Ava quickly flicked on the light to see Pat sitting in one of her chairs.
“Pat?”
He got to his feet and stepped toward her.
“How did you get into my apartment?” she asked.
“I have my ways,” he said. “I wanted to come and see if you’re all right.”
“You want to check on me? What about you? It was your bike that was targeted. People were talking about a trailer exploding today. Is that true?” Ava asked.
He nodded and came toward her. He wore his leather cut, and the serious expression on his face made part of her think she should run, but she didn’t. She was not afraid of Pat. She stood her ground.
“It’s true?”
“Yes. It’s true, and I can’t give you any more details. You’re not going to see me at the coffee shop for a while.”
Disappointment hit her hard. “I’m not. Why?” This was not fair. One of the reasons she loved working in that coffee shop was the prospect of getting to see him. Tonight, and several days he hadn’t been there, were just boring. She missed him.
“It’s for your own safety. Something is happening, and I can’t tell you about it. I’m not going to let it affect you.” He reached up and cupped her cheek.
“But ... what about what you said?” Ava asked.
Her cheeks were on fire. They were burning. She had no idea what to do.
“That hasn’t changed, Ava. I want to fuck you, but it’s not safe to be seen with me.”
Every fiber of her being was telling her to listen to him. It wasn’t safe, and he was only promising sex. He was a biker. Sex was all they were going to get.
“Then come here,” Ava said. “You were able to sneak in here, I’m sure it won’t be hard. I want ... what you want.”
Pat just stared at her and didn’t move. He wasn’t sure he even breathed.
Ava couldn’t believe what she had just said.
He cupped her face and tilted her head back. She had no choice but to keep looking at him. She did not want to look away. He captured her heart, her soul, her very essence. She doubted very much that he felt the same way about her.
“Say it,” he said.
She licked her lips. There was no point in asking him what he meant. She knew what he meant.
“I ... want you to fuck me, Pat,” she said.
And she didn’t get a chance to say another word as for the first time in her life, she was kissed. Pat was not gentle. This was a passionate kiss, and ended up with her back to the door. Her heart raced as he ravished her mouth. This is what a kiss was meant to feel like.
He took control, licked across her lips, and Ava couldn’t help but moan as she opened her mouth and he took complete and full advantage.
He tasted like mint and chocolate, one of her favorite combinations.
The kiss made her nipples ache, and she felt a rush of warmth between her thighs.
She gripped his waist, kissing him back.
Ava didn’t know what she was doing, so she went with her gut, moaning his name as she did.
“Fuck me, you’re perfect,” Pat said. He broke the kiss, pressing his lips to her head. “But soon. I will be here soon.”
With that, he kissed her lips, and then within a blink of an eye, he was gone.
Bernice had already gone to lay on her bed. The moment she had seen and sensed it was Pat, she had settled right down.
Ava touched her swollen lips. Pat had kissed her. She had told him she wanted to be with him. She had no idea what was going on in her head. There was no offer off a future. Just sex. She was a virgin, who up until tonight had never even been kissed.
“I have no idea what I’m doing.”
And it felt so very good.