He thanked the keep and stepped out into the gathering gloom. He glanced at his phone and realized that Stella would be going on shift at the diner in about thirty minutes and that he hadn’t eaten yet. With a smile he remounted his motorcycle and thumbed it into life. He kicked the bike into gear and arrived at Carolina Diner just a bit after nine.
“How many?” the hostess asked as he paused inside the door.
“One. Stella’s section please.”
“She’s waiting a large party at the moment.”
“That’s fine, I’ll wait.”
The hostess shrugged. “Right this way.”
The diner was divided into two large rooms either side of the kitchen, with two smaller rooms at the front flanking the entrance vestibule. She placed Royal’s menu on a table in the corner well away from the boisterous party in the center of the room where eight tables had been pushed together. There were several balloons announcing someone’s eighteenth birthday, along with a cake and a few presents.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“Sweet tea, no lemon.”
The hostess nodded. “Stella will be with you as quick as she can.”
“No rush.”
For the next fifteen minutes he sat nursing his tea as Stella scurried about, delivering drinks and taking orders. She had help, but the diner was unusually busy for such a late hour, a number of people arriving with high school age kids wearing baseball uniforms.
“Are you sure you want to wait?” the hostess asked. “I can move you to another section.”
Royal shook his head. “If you can just fill my glass, I’ll wait.”
The hostess smiled and nodded, returning in a moment with another glass that she placed on the table.
“Why are you being such an asshole?” Stella asked as she stopped at his table a few minutes later.
“What? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Sitting here. Why didn’t you sit somewhere else and give me a break?”
Gabriel shook his head. “I told them there was no rush.”
“What do you want?”
“I’ll have the meatloaf, along with mashed potatoes, corn, cornbread, and you allowing me to take you to coffee when you get off.”
“Got it,” Stella said as she moved off, snatching the menu off the table as she turned.
Gabriel looked out the window and grinned so she wouldn’t see him smile.
“He’s back again, I see,” Tara teased.
“Yeah, and being a jerk, too.”
“Why?”
“Why couldn’t he sit somewhere else?”
“Maybe he wanted you to wait on him.”
“Couldn’t he see I was busy?”
Tara shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t care.”
Stella grunted as she picked up the pitcher of tea and made rounds, filling glasses, including Gabriel’s.
Four waitresses, working as a team, brought out the food for the twenty people as Stella quickly passed the plates around, returning a moment later to top off their glasses again, then brought out his plate and slid it in front him.
“Need anything else?”
“This will do. Thanks.”
He ate slowly, wanting the other party to leave before he finished. It was almost ten-thirty before the birthday group finished and left, and he had long since finished his meal.
Stella cleared the table and with help from another waitress, moved the tables back into their positions. Task finished, she stopped at his table. “Why are you still here?”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
She paused as she thought. “If you get to say whatever it is you’re dying to say, then you’ll leave me alone?”
“You have my word,” he said with a firm nod.
She glared at him a moment. “Fine. I get off at midnight.”
Gabriel smiled and nodded. “I’ll be waiting.” As she stomped away, he slid out of the booth, tossed four twenties on the table, and walked out the door.
“Did you agree to go?” Tara asked as she watched Gabriel stride out the door.
“Yeah, just so he would leave me alone.”
Tara nodded but said nothing.
CHAPTER TEN Stella dialed her phone and waited as it rang. “Grammy? I’m going to be late tonight. I have something I need to do. I’ll be by to get Katrina in the morning.”
“It’s okay, dear,” Connie said. “Enjoy yourself.”
“I wish I were doing something fun. It’s just some business I need to take care of.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine. Gabriel is back in town and is bugging me. I’m going to put a stop to it.”
“Gabriel? The Gabriel?”
“Yeah, the Gabriel.”
“What does he want?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m going to find out.”
“Be careful,” Connie said, her voice full of worry.
“He said he just wanted to talk. I’ll be fine.”
“Call me when you’re done so I know you’re okay.”
Stella smiled. “I will. Don’t worry.”
“I’m your grandmother. It’s my job to worry.”
Stella giggled. “I’ll call you. It shouldn’t be long. An hour or so.”
“Okay. Don’t forget. I won’t sleep a wink until you do.”
“I promise,” Stella said then killed the call. She squared her shoulders and marched out the door, Tara following her to lock it behind her.
Gabriel was parked in front of the door, propping on his motorcycle. It was considerably nicer, and newer, than the bike he had before.
“So what do you want to talk about?” she demanded as she approached.
“Not here. I found a place that’s open until two.”
She sighed. “Fine, I’ll follow you.”
“Why don’t you ride with me, for old time’s sake?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Gabriel.”
“Stella,” he said softly. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to ask anything from you. I’ll bring you right back here when we’re done. It’s a beautiful night. Remember how we used to go out and ride on nights like this, just the two of us?”
“I don’t have a helmet,” she said has she crossed her arms over her chest.
He smiled and pulled a helmet from behind him and offered it to her.
She giggled. “You arrogant shit.” She took the helmet and began to buckle it on. “This changes nothing, you realize that?”
“I know.”
“Where are we going?”
“A place called Beans .”
“Never heard of it,” she said as she mounted the bike and he thumbed it to life.
He shrugged and looked back over his shoulder. “We can go somewhere else if you like.”
“No, Beans is fine.”
Traffic was almost non-existent and they rumbled through town without a stop. She hadn’t been on a bike since Gabriel left and, despite herself, she enjoyed the half-hour ride to the coffee shop, the cool night air flowing over her skin like a lover’s caress.
He pulled into the Beans parking lot and backed the bike into a spot. There were only two cars there, so they should have plenty of privacy. She stepped off the bike and removed her helmet, shaking her hair out as he ran his fingers through his own in a way that made her stomach flutter.
The shop was small and smelled wonderful, the earth-colored brick walls left exposed with small two-person round tables dotted around the room. They sauntered up to the counter and looked over the menu.
“Eye opener?” Gabriel asked the perky blonde behind the counter.
“Yes, sir. It’s our stout mixed with espresso. I wouldn’t recommend it this late unless you want to stay up all night.”
Gabriel snickered. “I’ll take that challenge.”
“For you?” Perky asked, looking at Stella.
“I do have to sleep, so give me a hot chocolate.”
&nbs
p; “Would you like to try a horchata, instead?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“It’s ground rice, mixed with sweetened milk, cinnamon and vanilla. We can serve it hot. It’s really good and it won’t keep you up.”
“Sure, I’ll have that.”
“I’ll bring them right out.”
Gabriel paid then they moved to the farthest corner and sat at one of the small tables. “Thank you for doing this,” he said to open the conversation.
“Just say what you have to say. I have to get up in the morning.”
He looked down, trying to figure out how to start. He’d been rehearsing his speech all evening, but now that he had to give it, he found he was at a loss for words. “First, I want to say I’m sorry. I was a jerk with the way I ended it. At the time I thought I was doing the right thing, but, in hindsight, I realize what a shitty move it was.”
“Just tell me why. Why did you leave? Was it something I did?”
“No. You were perfect. I was a fool for letting you go.”
“Why, then?”
“Because I was messed up. I was twisted up inside.” He paused as Perky placed their drinks in front of them. “I know this will sound trite, but I did it for you. Or I thought I did. I thought you deserved better than me. I was a failure at everything I tried. I—”
“You’re blaming me for you leaving?”
“No. I’m not blaming you for anything. This is all on me. You were going places. You had just received a promotion, and I couldn’t find a job. I expected, still do, that someday you will own your own bakery, just like you want. You didn’t need my dead weight hanging around your neck, dragging you down.”
“I never asked you leave. I loved you.”
“And I loved you. I guess, in a way, I still do. I’ve tried to forget what we had, and I thought I had, but when I saw you again, I realized, again, what a dumbass I’d been.”
“So you left me to join a gang, and didn’t even have the balls to tell me in person?”
“Not a gang, a club. They wanted me. They asked me to join them. You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that.”
“ I wanted you. That wasn’t enough?”
He met her eyes. “You’re beautiful, strong and smart. I felt I was holding you back. I had no prospects and no future. I couldn’t bear the thought of you supporting me the rest of my life as I worked at one dead-end job after another. I hated myself, and I hated that I had to depend on you. The Chrome Kings, they promised me a future, a place I could belong and contribute.” He looked down. “I didn’t want to stand in your way. I didn’t want to drag you into the club life or make you choose between me and something I knew you wanted. I had no way to support you and I lived in the clubhouse for months. You’re too…special, I guess…for me to do that to you.”
She tasted her horchata. “This is really good,” she said as she stalled for time to collect her thoughts. “This is awfully convenient, this excuse that you did it for my own good.”
He shrugged. “It’s not an excuse. It’s the truth. And it’s not convenient. It was the stupidest thing I ever did. Yes, joining the Chrome Kings is probably the second best thing to ever happened to me, but I should have fought like hell to keep you. I should have never willingly let you go.”
“I begged you to come home. You said you didn’t love me.”
“A lie. I knew if I came home I would never be able to leave you. That’s why I came and got my clothes while you were at work. Did you miss the scarf?”
“What scarf?” He reached inside his vest and pulled out a rust and grey scarf and handed it to her. “You had this? I wondered where it went.”
“I’m sorry. I always loved that scarf on you. I took it with my clothes. It smelled like you and I wanted something to remember you.”
She was beginning to soften as she read the pain and regret in Gabriel’s eyes. “Why did you lie to me? Why didn’t you give me the choice?”
“I lied because I was afraid you would choose to follow me, and I knew you wouldn’t be happy. I wanted you to hate me. At the time I had convinced myself I did it so you would forget about me and move on. I think now I wanted you to hate me as much as I hated myself.”
She gave him a sad smile. “That part worked. I did hate you, for a long time.”
“As you should.”
“You’ve changed.”
“Yes. For more than a year, I was totally fucked up. Booze and women were my life. I was looking for something, but I didn’t know what. Finally, one of the old timers pulled me aside and set me straight. Well, what he actually did was kick the shit out of me for hitting on his old lady. I’m lucky he didn’t kill me. That’s when I started getting my act together and realized what I’d done.” He shook his head. “I must have started to call you a thousand times in the next three years, but I couldn’t face you.”
“But now?”
“You deserved better than what I did. I have to face this and to take ownership of it. I couldn’t let things stay like it was between us. I had to tell you that I understand what I’d done. If I could change one thing in my life, it would be that decision. I might have still left, but I would have manned up and let you make your own choices rather than me making them for you. That’s the thing I regret the most, thinking I knew better than you what you wanted.” He took a sip of his coffee. “This is good.”
“You’re not worried about not being able to sleep tonight?”
He snorted. “There was no danger of that, even before the coffee.”
“What did the gang, club, whatever, give you that I couldn’t? I would have done anything for you.”
He smiled softly. “They gave me hope, I guess. They didn’t care I was a total fuck-up. So long as I pulled my weight, I was welcome.”
“I don’t understand.”
“There’s nothing to understand. I was messed up. It doesn’t make sense to me now, either, but it did at the time. I was trying to change my life, trying to find my place. I was lost, looking for something to grab onto. I was afraid if it was you, I would drag you down with me.” He shrugged. “What a difference four years of perspective makes. What they gave me was a swift kick in the ass. You never did that, and that was what I needed, I just didn’t know it at the time. They didn’t put with my bullshit. When I screwed up, they let me know I screwed up, then they gave me another kick in the ass while at the same time telling me they knew I could do it. They wouldn’t accept failure. If I made a mistakes, and I made plenty, they made me do it again, and again, and again until I got it right. They wouldn’t let me fail. They gave me pride. I remember how proud I was when I was finally accepted as a full member and given my club name.”
“Club name?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of like your handle. They call me Royal.”
“Royal?”
“Yeah. Sometimes it’s a play on your last name, like mine. Prince, Royal. Doctson, Doc. Sometimes it’s has something to do with a skill. Dirk because he’s good with a knife, or Circuit and computers.”
She nodded. “I can see that in you now. You have a confidence you never had before.”
He smiled slightly and looked at the tabletop. “I would give anything to feel like this when I still had you.”
She took another sip of her drink. “I noticed your bike. You’ve moved up in the world. What do you do now? What do the Chrome Kings do?”
He gave her a crooked smile. “I’m a bond runner.”
“What’s that?”
“A bounty hunter.”
“You’re kidding me!”
“Nope. We, me and my team, track down people who skip bail and bring them back.”
“Your team?”
“That’s right. Me and three others, all from the Kings.” She looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly, and he chuckled. “It’s all perfectly legal. I’m licensed by the Great State of South Carolina and everything.”
BENT AT THE ALTAR: Broken Lions MC Page 31
