by A J Storm
“No, darlin’, you didn’t. No need to feel guilty about anything. Maybe someday I can show you other tats and what they represent to me—just not now.”
Willow smiled but didn’t say anything for a while. She just turned and watched a group of kayakers float by on their trek down the river, giving them a wave when they shouted their ‘hellos.’ She then finally faced him with a smile.
“You mind if I ask about the lavender rose on your neck with the skull in the middle?”
Chaos laughed at her, throwing his head back. “You kill me, girl. No, I don’t. That one represents the beauty in the world but also shows evil can be a part of it if it isn’t contained. No big deal.”
After a few minutes, she reached up and touched her nose. “I think my nose is sunburning.”
“You’re right, it is. Let’s get going so we’re on time for our shuttle back. I’d hate for the two of us to have to try to paddle up river—wouldn’t work.”
When they got back to the Penthouse, Creeper’s door was open, and he was asleep on his bed. Chaos called and ordered pizzas to be delivered to the front desk and suggested he and Willow shower and change clothes. He didn’t have to tell her twice.
11
Like the Mad Hatter, Creeper ran into the kitchen, grabbed a slice of pizza from the box sitting on the table, and announced he was on his way to spy on his target. His bedroom door had been closed when Chaos and Willow walked out from their showers.
“Are you taking back-up with you? I don’t want to have to go to the morgue to identify your body,” Chaos complained.
“I wasn’t planning on it, ‘Mom,’” Creeper snarled. “I promise I won’t need it. Tonight is just to watch and get a feel for him and his buddies. I want to see this Viper person before I go in to order a baby. I’ll be home late, guys—don’t wait up.”
He sprinted to the elevator before Chaos could offer more reasons to take someone with him. It was for him easier to scope the bad guys solo.
When he reached the underground parking, he strolled to his Ford F150, hitting the key fob, unlocking the doors. Hell’s Garden was in the rough part of Austin which meant it would take him thirty to thirty-five minutes to reach.
The parking lot was packed with cars when he finally found the place and finding a spot drove him nuts. First order of business was to calm down before he got inside. Any attention drawn to himself wouldn’t be a good thing. He needed to be unnoticed for this to go right.
A few deep breaths—walk slowly—yeah, I’ll be fine.
Stepping inside the bar, he was immediately hit with smells of booze, thick smoke, and sex. He scoped out the scene, looking for bodies getting it on but didn’t see any. It didn’t mean there weren’t hands under the tables, stroking off or back rooms being used.
He chose a table in the middle of the room where the dark and smoke were a bit more concealing but still able to see everything he needed to see. The seating area wasn’t big, to begin with, in fact, the entire bar wasn’t huge. Probably a small-time organization if he were to guess.
After gaining the attention of a waitress, he ordered a beer and sat back to watch the front door and bar. Creeper knew what Viper looked like from the snapshot his contact had given him. So, all he had to do was wait for him to walk in.
Two beers and an hour and a half later, he was close to giving up and leaving when the man showed up with his entourage of badasses. They were dressed in leather, top to bottom, but Viper was the only one not wearing a doo rag. What the hell are they wearing? Are they playing at this shit?
He sat at a table directly in front of the bar and five rows in front of Creeper. Immediately, the man was inundated with scantily clad waitresses. He waved off three of the ladies, leaving one to sit on each side.
Creeper discreetly snapped a couple of photos on his phone, then took one of each of his guys sitting at the bar watching the room. Rather than another beer, he ordered a cola and tortilla chips.
Viper wasn’t aware a set of eyes was watching him, and that’s exactly how Creeper expected it to go. He’d dressed in such a way to not draw attention to himself—rugged, torn jeans, t-shirt, old boots, and a cowboy hat pulled low on his head. Normally, he wouldn’t be caught wearing this stuff, but he had to blend in. He was just another cowboy sitting in a bar, getting sloshed.
Thirty minutes later, what appeared to be another one of Viper’s goons walked into the joint, gripping the wrist of a very pregnant young woman. Her eyes were swollen and red as if she’d been crying, fighting like hell to get the guy to let go of her. Creeper sat up straight, barely able to not go deck the guy.
Instead, he shot several more pictures of the woman and Viper’s reaction to her. He sent his ladies away and ordered the pregnant female to sit beside him with his man on the other side of her. Creeper could tell Viper was quietly issuing orders to her by the fear on her face and in her eyes—she was terrified of the man.
Viper leaned over, whispering in her ear as she cried, not moving a muscle. Her head shook side to side, answering whatever he said to her. He then grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling it backward, sticking his face nose to nose with her. The woman froze.
Both men stood and forcefully took the woman down a hall to a back room. Creeper wanted to go after them and help her. Conflict flooded his soul—he knew he would blow his cover and the plans to buy a baby from the man. Even though he understood Nova wasn’t that far along in her pregnancy, on the off chance this lady was Nova, he couldn’t risk causing a brawl without help.
God, he wanted to follow them. After paying his tab, he left the bar before he did something to get his ass in trouble.
Chaos waited for Creeper to come home. It was much later than he expected. The minute his little brother stepped off the elevator, he knew Creeper was ready to explode and waited for him to speak first.
His brother stood at the end of the dining room table, hands plastered flat against the wood, bent over, staring at the grain.
“I’ll never get used to the scum that operates in the underbelly of life,” he growled, looking up at his older brother. “If I’d been smart, I’d have taken my rifle and popped him when he arrived at the bar. That wouldn’t solve everything.”
“No, little brother, that would’ve started gang wars and more deaths than just one man. What caused your anger to grip you like this?” Chaos asked.
“Where’s Willow?” Creeper asked.
“Asleep. You can talk.”
Explaining how he’d sat in the bar, waiting on Viper, Creeper described the man and his goons as they walked in. He also told how the whole bar appeared to be home base for the slime and his business. Creeper pushed buttons on his phone, then pushed it over to Chaos.
“You can scroll through the photos and get an idea of this upstanding lawyer in the heart of his nightlife.”
Chaos took the phone and studied each shot, then stopped on one. He looked up at his brother. “Who’s the woman?”
“I have no idea, but if my gut is right, she’s due to have that baby. It was all I could do to not walk to the table and take her out of there. Especially, after he grabbed her by the hair and forced her to go with him down a hallway. She was scared shitless—it was all over her face and eyes. I came close to blowing the investigation. I wanted to, Chaos. I wanted to save her,” he declared, his voice rising in pitch and volume with each word uttered.
“Keep your voice down—don’t wake Willow. I don’t think this is Nova, but we can ask her tomorrow. Do you know what the problem was between the woman and Viper?”
“No, I couldn’t hear any of their conversation. She was crying, and he just whispered in her ear. Chaos, I wanted to kill him—I wanted to get her away from them.”
“I understand, but I’m glad you kept your cool. It would have blown everything wide open. If he wasn’t physically harming her, you did good.”
Without a word, Creeper went into his room, slamming the door. Chaos sat down at the table with his head in his hands. The lo
nger he sat, the more his anxiety grew.
Five minutes later, he was up on his feet, pacing his dining room, searching for a way out of the situation. It had to stop—not again. He had to make this feeling go away. He wasn’t useless, and he refused to let it keep growing. Ten minutes later, he picked up his phone and made a call.
“Yeah, it’s me. I need you. Can you do it now? Great, I’ll be there in fifteen.”
Two and a half hours later, he was parking his truck in his regular spot in the underground garage. He sat behind the wheel, coming down from his high. To look at his face, anyone would have thought he’d just shot heroin. Only he knew the tattoo needle was his drug of choice. Anything to deal with the pain and made the skin bleed freed his pent-up insanity.
A few more deep breaths and I’ll be as good as new. Sneak in, change clothes, and be ready for work before Willow and Creeper open their eyes.
When he stepped off the elevator, the two were sitting at the table, drinking coffee. Sunrise was just cresting over the high-rise buildings around theirs.
“Where have you been?” Creeper demanded.
“I went out and tried to get my head straight,” Chaos answered.
“You on drugs? Your pupils are dilated, and you’re sweating,” he brother accused.
“No, I don’t do drugs. What kind of shit question is that?”
Willow didn’t say a word—only sat and listened to the flow of conversation. When Chaos looked into her eyes, he had a feeling she knew exactly what he’d done. He jerked his gaze away from her.
“Sorry. You looked rather out of it when you walked in…” Taking a minute before he spoke again, Creeper continued. “I showed the photos to Willow, and the woman isn’t Nova. No matter who she is, it’s still upsetting.”
“Yes, it is. Any way to find out who she is? Any of your guys know the bartender or any of the waitresses to ask?”
“I’ll check and let you know. I’m meeting with my friend who’s going to go with me to order a baby. We’re going over information we’ll need to agree on and get our story straight before making an appointment with the lawyer. I may or may not stay here tonight. I’ll let you know that too. See y’all later.”
Chaos poured himself a cup of coffee and sat across from Willow. After he took a large sip, he watched her, waiting for the hammer to drop. She smiled, set her cup down, and folded her hands on the tabletop.
“Where did you put it, and what did you get?”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“You know exactly what I mean. You went and got a tattoo. So, answer my questions.”
His eyes studied her for a moment before he answered. “It’s on my upper thigh in the back, and it isn’t complete yet. It’s the outline of a woman holding her newborn baby. It’ll be beautiful once it’s finished.”
“Nice. Did you find a bit of release, Chaos?”
“What?”
“Did your panic go away?”
“I don’t have time for this. I’m going to shower and get ready for work.” He left the room, closing his bedroom door behind him, shutting off the conversation.
Willow held her coffee in both hands as she thought about what had just transpired. She felt lucky he didn’t tell her to go home, but she knew he was trying to avoid her confronting him. A few of her friends in high school took care of their anxiety and self-worthlessness that way. They, however, didn’t do it the expensive way, leaving beautiful colors behind to hide the scarring.
She heard his shower shut off and figured he wouldn’t be long getting ready. Several minutes later, his door opened, and Willow fought hard not to turn into a puddle in her chair. Not a three-piece suit this time but a starched, light denim shirt, skin-tight wranglers hugging every inch of his ass and thighs, and of course his boots adorned his fine-looking body enough to gather all her attention.
“Anything special going on today,” she asked.
“No. Why?”
“No reason,” she shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “You’ve worn suits since I’ve been here.”
“Thought I would dress comfortable today,” he told her.
“You got any plans this afternoon?”
“Not that I know of. I’ll need to check with Maggie to be sure. Why?”
“Since we’re waiting for Creeper to do his thing, I thought I would take you on a little adventure, show you a bit of my world. Oh, and Chaos, don’t forget to ask when my house will be ready.”
Walking toward the elevator, he turned around, tilting his head to the side. “You tired of being around me already?”
“Not at all,” she answered. “I just need to get on with my life.”
He nodded his head in her direction and punched in the code, letting the doors close without a word.
Did he even agree to the outing?
12
The elevator doors opened, and Chaos walked right past Maggie’s desk without saying a word.
“Morning, boss. No song for me this morning?” she asked, showing a very toothy grin across her face.
“Maggie, I’m not in the mood this morning.” He slammed the door to his office shut behind him as he stepped inside. Maggie was immediately on her feet, stomping after him, flinging his door open wide.
“Oh, no, you don’t. You don’t get to walk in here in a bad mood, shutting me down when day after day I’ve put up with you singing ‘Maggie Mae’ over and over. Now, tell me who put a burr under your ass.”
“Nothing earth shattering—someone poking their nose into my personal business. Problem is, I can’t seem to stop telling her things.”
“Well, that can’t be me because you never tell me anything.” Maggie stood, waiting for a smart comeback from him, but she didn’t get one. “Oh, you’re talking about Willow—I see. She’s getting to you, and you don’t like it,” Maggie added, grinning once again.
“No one’s getting to me—okay, Maggie? Can we do some work around here, please? Call the contractors on Willow’s house and ask if it’s ready. Make sure they installed the new security system. Have you added anyone to my agenda this afternoon? If not, don’t. I will be out of the office after one o’clock.”
“You’re free this afternoon. I’ll let you know what the contractors say. You have a new client at eleven this morning and a conference call at twelve. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“That would be wonderful,” he answered, watching Maggie grab his cup off his desk and walk through the door. She was out of view for a few seconds and walked back in with a full cup.
“Willow is a very nice young lady. A person would be very lucky to hold her interest, I would think.” Maggie set his cup down on the desk as Chaos expelled a huge sigh.
“Yes, Maggie, I agree.”
“I’m just saying…”
“Just say it right out the door, or I swear I’ll start singing.” He grinned at her as she hurried out.
Willow was waiting for him on the couch when he walked into the penthouse. Her books were propped on the coffee table, and she wore skin-tight jeans with a form-fitting tunic covering her upper body.
“Right on time. Go change clothes—you’ll need horse riding attire, especially some you don’t care about. Don’t forget boots,” Willow ordered.
“You can be a bossy little thing, can’t you, sugar? So, we’re riding horses? Are you taking me back to your ranch?”
“No, a better place—a surprise that’s fun. Now go.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, giving her a smile and a salute.
While she waited, she thought about the conversation early this morning. He didn’t leave happy, and she had no idea whether he would take off this afternoon. She was glad he did and pledged to herself she wouldn’t bring up anything about what happened. She didn’t want their fun spoiled.
This would be a day to spend outside and bond with him.
Chaos stepped into the living room, buttoning up his shirt, tucking the hem into the jeans. “You want to take the bik
e or my truck?”
“Let’s take the bike. I love riding on it—it flows.”
“Okay, lead the way, sugar. I’ll follow where you lead.”
Willow winked at him, stepping into the elevator. At the garage level, he helped with her helmet and pulled her onto the bike behind him. She wrapped her arms around his chest, molding her chest to his back.
After he started the bike, she leaned up to his ear and shouted, “Head out like you’re going all the way to Bastrop. I’ll tell you where to turn before we get to the place. Take I-35 to Hwy 71 across the river and get off on Water Street. We’re going to McKinney Roughs. You ever ride a horse in the river?”
“That would be a ‘nope.’ This should be interesting.” Chaos took off out of the garage and roared down the street toward I-35.
They passed cars and moved in and out of traffic at a high rate of speed, making Willow giggle as she held on to Chaos. Her body moved with his as if the two were bolted together from head to hips. His body pressed back into hers, and he smiled at her in the mirror on his right side.
“You enjoying this?”
“More than you know.” He grabbed her hands with one of his, squeezing for a moment, then went back to concentrating on the road.
Willow watched his face in the mirror. She couldn’t see his green eyes due to the aviator sunglasses he wore—reminded her of Top Gun. He caught her watching him and stuck his tongue out, then took off faster around a semi-truck on the interstate.
He pulled off near the Park and followed a road around to the stables where Willow had instructed him to go. Horses were standing in a corral, already saddled and ready to go. He helped her off the bike and took care of the helmet.
“This trip is on me, Chaos. I have a friend who manages this outfit, and he’s letting us take two horses out by ourselves. He knows I know what trail to take. You do know how to ride, right? Of course, you do. I’m being silly. Your parents have a ranch—I knew that. At least, I think I did. Oh, well, I’ll be right back.”
