20. Taylor
Chapter twenty
Taylor
The next morning, I’ve got a text, but it’s not from Player.
RANDALL: Caught a load to San Francisco. Pays good money. You better be there when I get back.
I know enough about his business to know that a round trip from the East Coast to the West Coast and back takes a solo long-haul trucker about ten to fourteen days on average.
He can only legally drive so many hours each day, and for whatever reason, Randall has always been a stickler for keeping his driving logs clean.
I pull up maps and check the distance there and back.
It’s almost three thousand miles each way.
Driving straight across the country would take him about four to five days of solid driving as a solo driver.
Plus, a huge part of the total time depends on wait times to find a return load.
Waiting for a new cargo assignment on the West Coast can add days or even weeks, if I’m lucky.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
At least it’s bought me more time to figure a way out of this mess.
Still, I haven’t given up on the idea of looking for a weapon in Player’s room at the clubhouse. If Randall returns before Player does, I may need it.
I swear to myself, I’ll never let Randall hurt me like he did last night.
Climbing from bed, I force myself to eat something and take another pain pill. I carefully dress and grab my purse and keys. I know I probably shouldn’t drive on these pills, but I have no choice.
Half an hour later, I pull up at the Kings of Anarchy clubhouse.
Glancing at the car parked next to me, I realize it’s Cici’s. She’s sitting behind the wheel, crying.
Frowning, I get out, walk to the driver’s window, and tap on the glass.
She rolls it down, brushing the tears from her cheek.
“Sweetie, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m not okay.”
“What is it?”
“Guys are so stupid.” Her voice trembles.
The image of her and Drae together at her graduation party flashes before my eyes. “Is this about Drae?”
Her eyes get big, and then she looks away. “Why would you say that?”
“Honey, I saw you with him the other night.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. And you’re right. Guys are stupid.”
She huffs a laugh and chokes on her tears, then her eyes drop to my bandage. “What happened to your arm?”
I think about lying, but maybe she needs to hear the truth. I pull back the corner of the bandage and reveal my burn. It’s covered in ointment, but it still looks awful. I know I’ll carry the scar for life.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?”
“I will be.”
“What happened?”
“It’s a long story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
“Can I sit with you?”
She nods.
I climb into the passenger seat and look up to see security cameras on the side of the building. I wonder if the prospects are even monitoring them. Maybe they’re in there sleeping off a night of partying in the empty clubhouse.
Glancing at Cici, I know she’s not as na?ve as Player wants to believe she is, but she is young. I waffle on how much to tell her, but maybe I can be a warning to her.
“Cici, promise me you’ll be careful with the kind of man you hook up with. I’m living proof that hooking up with the wrong kind is dangerous.”
“What happened to you?”
“I met this really bad guy a few years ago. I broke up with him and came here. He followed me. He’s one of those guys who doesn’t take no for an answer. He thinks he gets to decide when we break up, like I don’t have a say in the matter.”
“He did that to you?”
“He showed up at my mother’s house while she was in the hospital. He was pissed I left him. Anyway, last night he saw a text from Player on my phone, and he went crazy. He burned me with the curling iron.”
“Oh my God. Are you okay? Where is he now? My brother will kill him.”
I touch her hand. “You can’t tell Player. Randall left town on a job. He’s a trucker. He left to haul a load to San Franscico.”
“What about when he returns?”
I turn and look at the clubhouse. “I think Player has another gun in his room here. I was going to see if I could find it, but I have to get past the prospects.” I glance at her. “What are you doing here?”
“You want the truth? I was going to try to sneak into Drae’s room.”
“Why?”
She lifts a shoulder. “I don’t know. Steal a shirt. Sleep in it until he comes back.” She looks over at me. “I miss him. Does that sound crazy?”
“No.” I smile. “Not so crazy. Come on,” I shoulder the door.
“Are you serious? What about the prospects?”
I shrug. “I’ll just tell them I left my birth control pills in Player’s bathroom. Or maybe my diaphragm. You mention stuff like that, and guys don’t want anything to do with it. It’s like asking them to buy you tampons; they take off in the opposite direction.”
She giggles. “Okay. Let’s try it.”
We head inside and find one prospect asleep on the couch. He bolts upright, shielding his eyes against the bright sunlight coming in through the door.
“Shit, Cici. What are you doing here?”
“My friend, Taylor, left her diaphragm in Player’s room. We’re going to get it. Wanna come?”
“Uh…” He looks dumbfounded. “No, that’s okay. Just hurry up. I’m not supposed to let people in here.”
I grin at Cici, and we head down the hall.
As we pass a room, it’s obvious by the sounds inside that someone is having sex. Cici and I stare at each other, and I put my finger to my mouth. “Shh.”
We hurry to Player’s room and slip inside. I’m surprised it’s unlocked but glad it is. We did leave in a hurry that morning.
When I shut the door, Cici looks at me.
“Who do you think that was?” she asks.
“It was probably one of the other prospects,” I say, and an image of Molly standing with them hits me. I don’t make another comment, instead moving to Player’s dresser to look in the top drawer. “Bingo.”
I pull out another 9mm and check that the safety is on. There’s a stack of cartridges and slip a couple into my bag.
“Should we be doing this?” Cici asks. “My brother would kill me if he knew I was snooping around his room.”
“We can leave. Do you still want that shirt of Drae’s?” I ask with a lift of my brow.
“Yes.”
“You know which room is his?”
She nods, and we both slip out into the hall.
I follow her to another room. She looks around, and I wonder since she knew where it was, if she’s been in here before.
I think about asking her, but we hear a noise in the hall.
Then I realize it’s not the hall; it’s coming from the bathroom on the other side of the wall.
I press my finger to my lips and lean against the paneling. The walls are thin, and I can hear everything. It sounds like someone has their phone on speaker.
“I’m at the clubhouse now. Stop texting me. I almost got caught,” a woman says, and I immediately recognize Molly’s voice.
My eyes widen.
“What?” Cici hisses.
“Shh.” I keep listening.
A muffled voice responds. I can tell it’s a man but can’t make out the words.
“I can’t hear you; the connection sucks. Hang on. Let me put you on speaker,” she hisses.
“I said Prez is tired of waiting.”
“I’m not doing it, Duck.”
“You’ll do exactly what I tell you, bitch.
Just like the day you set up that fucking VP.
Only you fucked up, and we blew away their president’s ol’ lady and daughter-in-law.
Now we’re at fucking war, and it’s making buying that land harder.
Prez wants that goddamn land. He’s tired of waiting.
We’re taking her, and you’re gonna give her to us. ”
“But Duck… Duck?” There’s a bang that sounds like she kicked the wall. “You stupid son-of-a-bitch.” The door opens and closes, and we hear footsteps stomp down the hall.
I pull away from the wall and stare at Cici.
“What?” she snaps. “What’d you hear?”
I frown. “Does your dad have some land for sale?”
She shrugs. “You mean besides our house?”
“Yes.”
“Well, he’s got some hunting land south of here near the state line. Daddy says it’s been in the family for generations. But he’s always said he’d never sell it. Of course, that’s what I thought about our house, and he sold that. Why? What did you hear?”
“I’m going to text you this message. I want you to remember it when the club comes back so you can tell your father exactly what I just overheard.” I’m busy typing it out.
“Do we need to call Player and tell him now?”
“I don’t want to bother them. It may be nothing. I’m not even sure what it means, but it sounds like someone might be trying to cheat him out of that land.”
“No one would ever try to cheat my father. That would be stupid.”
“Like I said, maybe it’s nothing.” I want to ask her what she knows about the bombing, but since her mother was killed in it, I think better of it.
Could Molly really be involved in it somehow?
Is she working for enemies of the club? Is that why she hangs around?
If she is, then I’m not sure it’s safe for us to be here.
She could be texting them to attack the place while the club is gone.
“We should go before someone catches us in Drae’s room. ”
She moves to the closet and pulls a blue denim shirt off a hanger, bundles it up and shoves it in her purse. “Okay. I’m ready.”
I peek out the door and see no one in the hall, then motion to her. “Come on.”
When we get to the main room, Molly is sitting at the bar with the two prospects. She’s smoking a cigarette, and when her eyes hit mine and she glances at the hall we just walked out of, those eyes widen.
“You find that thing you left?” the prospect calls out.
“Yep,” I reply and shove Cici toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“Hey, Cici,” I hear Molly say behind us. “Where are you going?
I keep herding Cici toward the door with a hiss. “Don’t stop.”
When we get outside, I run to my car and point to hers. “Quick. Follow me.”
She doesn’t argue, just jumps in her car and does what I say. I haul ass out of there and see Molly coming out the door and waving her arm.
I don’t stop until I pull into the parking lot of an ice cream drive-up place in Rehoboth.
Cici pulls in next to me.
I get into her car, and we order ice cream.