Table

by ML Mystrom

  “Fuck my father! You see where that bastard is sitting now don’t you? It was his bright idea to stage the custody fight with the ex-wife, like that would fucking do anything. I know he had in mind to scapegoat Vivian for the foundation accounts, but what about the goddamn guns? Yeah, he’s fucking brilliant!”

  “The senator thought it best to keep her alive as long as he could keep the foundation running. His orders were to keep her alone and running.”

  “Yeah, you did a fucking great job with that, didn’t you? Like you think fucking up some farm equipment or leaving a goddamn scarf was supposed to do the trick. You fucked up with her van brakes bad enough, she should’ve died then. You’re not paid to think, you fucking idiot.”

  The guard had finally had enough. “I’m done with this shit show.”

  He barely got the words out before Jeffrey took the gun from Lori and shot him. The guard’s head flew back as bright red sprayed the wall behind him. Lori let out a short cry and clutched the screaming Angel closer.

  Table could see the perfect purpling circle on Lori’s forehead. Brick did too.

  “So fucking stupid, you bitch! I have a goddamn price on my head. The Feds will put me in jail alongside Daddy. The goddamn Columbians will kill us. Daddy told me to lay low in Rio, but then that goddamn photo came up on social media and all the fucking questions from the press about you.” He waved the gun around and spoke in a singsong mocking voice. “Where is Mrs. Townsend? What happened to her? Are the rumors true and she was really a victim of domestic abuse?” He pointed the gun back at her. “Shut that goddamn kid up before I do!”

  Table’s fury level jumped to level ten. Only Brick’s restraining hand kept in from rushing into the shack. He could hear Lori’s pleading through the red haze that filled his vision.

  “Please don’t hurt her, Jeffrey! She’s only a baby!”

  “Fucking press. Fucking Columbians. Fucking bikers. And that fucking bodyguard that let you go. I told him to kill you while you were in West Virginia. We were gonna put out a story about you dying of a fever in Africa. Instead, that fucker gave you money and let you escape. Apparently he had a soft spot for whores. He won’t be making that mistake again.”

  The man paced again, growing more and more agitated. Table knew it wouldn’t be long before he blew.

  “One big fat fucking goddamn mess, and you think you can give me a few million dollars and walk away scot-free? Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

  He swung the gun wildly and connected with Lori’s temple. Blood flew as she cried out and crashed to the floor, protecting Angel with her body by taking the impact on her shoulder. He reared back a leg to kick her while she was down. Lori curled up into a protective ball around Angel, ready to take whatever blow came her way.

  Table couldn’t hold back anymore. He couldn’t watch as his woman took more abuse while protecting his child.

  “Hey, Jeffie-boy? Big-talkin’ guy when you can beat up on a woman smaller and weaker than you. How ’bout you find your balls and be a fuckin’ man for a change? Come out here and face me, motherfucker!”

  Jeffrey was startled enough at the discovery he had an audience he forgot about Lori and started firing the gun randomly at the walls, sending shots through the thin material. The Dragon Runner returned fire. Bullets flew back at him from all sides, striking the deranged man in the chest and torso. Wood splinters rained down on Lori as she covered the baby with her body.

  Table burst through the door as he heard Brick yell, “Hold your fire!” Jeffrey’s look was a combination of surprise and fear as Table rushed him. He drew back his fist and let loose a roundhouse punch, and Jeffrey’s head snapped hard to the side. The gun went off again as he fell to the ground, out cold.

  Just like that it was over.

  Table hit the dirt where Lori still hovered over Angel’s screaming body. “I got you, baby girl. I got you.”

  Brick took over. “Mute, text Betsey that we got ’em and be ready. Dodge, get the truck and the first aid kit. We’re gonna need them ASAP.”

  Lori finally lifted her streaked face and stood up, burying herself into Table’s body, clutching and crying. Angel was still screaming, but the moment she felt her daddy, her angry cries diminished into fussy whimpers.

  “I got you, baby girl. Both my baby girls.” Table cradled the two females in his care as he repeated the words over and over. “I got you. I got you. Always, Lori.”

  A strange burn started in his chest. It felt cold and hot at the same time. A wave of dizziness hit his head and he couldn’t hold himself up anymore. The floor came up to meet his body as crumbled to the ground.

  “Table, oh my God, Table!”

  His eyes were glazed with pain as he reached up a hand to stroke softly over her cheek. He gazed with fading eyes at the streak of crimson his fingers left behind.

  “Love you, baby girl. It’s worth it, I promise. Take care of my Angel.”

  “I love you, too! Please don’t leave me, Table!”

  “Love you, Lori.”

  “Stay with me, please!”

  “Love you.”

  He stopped breathing.

  Twenty-Four

  Table was gone. In the chaos that ensued after the short battle, Brick and some of the other bikers took him somewhere and Stud took me and Angel back to the Lair. I felt as if my heart had been ripped from my body and all that was left was a shell of the person I had become. The woman Table had loved enough to die for. My fragile life meant nothing now that I was by myself again.

  I stayed in the bed in Table’s Lair room, smelling his scent on the sheets and keeping his pillow wet with my tears. I could hear other club people moving around in the main room. Two other members had some minor injuries and were being fussed over. Betsey came in with Angel attached to her hip and badgered me into taking a shower to get the blood off me. She stood over me and made me eat something, but it all tasted like cardboard and ashes. I was numb. A body with no purpose or drive.

  But I had to get it together. I still had Angel. My precious Angel, who was now the only part of Table I had left. She needed me more than ever and I needed her just as much. I held and played with her while surrounded by Table’s family. Both of us would have to work through our grief.

  Maybe I could find work in town and pay the rent on the apartment we had moved into as a family. It would be rough, because that’s where Table and I had been planning on starting a life together, but for Angel’s sake I would do it. I tried to talk to Betsey about it several times but she kept blowing me off with a flip of her hand and a pshhht through her red lips.

  “Ain’t no hurry. It’s all gonna work out just fine. Just wait for Brick to come home.”

  It was late when Brick and the others came back. I was holding Angel in the living area and listening to Betsey and the other club ladies talk about labor and delivery when he came into the room. His face was long and tired, and he looked every bit his age, but he still had a commanding air around him.

  “Lori, got a minute?”

  I nodded and handed Angel to Betsey.

  “You get some food in you and the baby?”

  “Yes, we did. Thank you.”

  The serious look on his face prompted me to silence.

  “In a little while, you and I are gonna take a little ride. I got something I need to show you and you’re gonna need to put it in your brain and keep it there. It don’t get said. Never. Not in this lifetime or the next. The safety of this club depends on it and I wouldn’t be doing this unless I knew I could trust you with it. You get me?”

  These people had accepted me without question into the family fold. It was an easy decision.

  “I’ll do whatever I need to do. I’m so grateful to you and the club for all your help. I promise I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”

  “Ain’t no payback for family. Table made you a part of us and that’s the way it is.”

  “Does that matter now since Table—since he’s—” My throat closed up
, denying me to say the words aloud.

  Brick glanced at a confused Betsey and then back at me. “Lori, do you think Table’s dead?”

  My heart jumped into high gear. “Brick?”

  The older man shook his head. “Darlin, Table’s over at the doc’s place. He was losin’ too much blood, and we had to get him there quick. I thought you knew. I ain’t gonna lie to ya, he ain’t outta danger, but he’s still here. Mute had to do CPR and breathe for him for a bit on the way, and Doc had to do some quick work, but he’s still alive and wants to see you. It ain’t pretty. Can you handle it?”

  Less than half an hour later, I found myself sitting behind Brick on a fat cruising bike, heading up the twisting, turning road known as the Tail of the Dragon. I had learned that being on the back of a bike made a statement about the people riding, but Betsey said it didn’t matter for this particular occasion.

  Brick pulled off the main road at some point onto what amounted to a long gravel driveway. He parked the bike near a yellow-and-white prefab house surrounded by woods. A matching two-car garage was nearby, as well as an above ground pool with a fountain spouting into the air surrounded by a redwood deck with lot of lounge chairs and a covered hot tub. This was clearly someone’s vacation getaway spot.

  Brick let me dismount the bike first before backing it into a spot next to two others. As we mounted the short steps to the porch, the door opened and an older man stepped out and jerked his head in greeting.

  “Brick. Nice to see you. This her?”

  “Yeah. Doc Holbrook, meet Lori Matthews.”

  The doctor stretched out a hand and pumped mine twice. “Nice ta meetcha.”

  He turned back to Brick. “We got at least another week or two ’fore he can be moved. Damn lucky to be here. Come on in.”

  Brick looked at me as the doctor shuffled back into the house. “Remember, Lori. Not a word. I’ll explain why later.”

  The sight that met my eyes shook me to my core. My knees lost their strength and Brick caught me before I hit the floor. In the middle of the living room was a hospital bed surrounded by an IV stand and two blinking monitors. Table was propped up in the bed, the covers at his waist revealing white gauze covering the right side of his chest. He looked pale, his face drawn with exhaustion. Even his tattoos looked faded, but he was alive and breathing.

  “Hey, baby girl.”

  His tone was tired and weak, but it was the best sound I’d ever heard in my life. He raised his arm that was free of tubes and beckoned to me.

  “Come over here and give me some sugar.”

  I nearly stumbled in my haste to get to him. Tears blinded me as I leaned into him, careful not to disturb the medical dressing. He kissed me lightly and pulled me into the bed next to him, tucking me close to his good side.

  Brick sat down heavily in one of the armchairs close to the bed. “Lung shot and gut shot. Died once while Doc was workin’ on him ’n had to use the fancy paddle to shock ’im back. We couldn’t take him to a hospital under the circumstances ’cause they gotta report any gunshot wounds to the police. That would put the club in the spotlight and open up a whole can of worms ’bout how it happened, who did it, and all that shit. Doc Holbrook ain’t no stranger to the club and we have this place set up for this kind of thing. Ain’t happen often, but if it does, we’re ready for it. I’m sorry you didn’t know ’bout him not being dead. I suppose with all the shit goin’ down, none of us thought to tell you and just assumed you knew. Almost became a fact, but he’s a stubborn cuss when it comes to takin’ care of you and his little girl. He’s still gotta stay here a mite longer ’til he gets healed.”

  Table’s heartbeat was strong and steady under my cheek and he held me close, stroking my arm with his fingertips. Brick kept talking.

  “I have an idea for you, if you wanna hear it. Bruiser’s got a lot of stuff he can do with all his computer shit. He can you set up with a legit ID, social security number, driver’s license an’ all that kinda stuff. He can also set up the death of Vivian Townsend so you ain’t got no binding to that life. You just say the word and he’ll make it happen.”

  I swallowed. “How would I die?”

  “Same as what them other assholes had planned. Fever. Bruiser’s fixin’ up a medical record for you for the Feds to find. Made it that you died from it and was cremated in Africa. Ashes scattered round the grounds of the school. He found the plan for it somewhere in the files he hacked from the Senator. ’Parently, they were gonna put that shit out after they pinned the money fraud shit on you. We just changed the dates to just after the Senator got arrested. Made it look recent. File’s gonna say ‘natural causes’, but I bet my last dollar, there’s people out there gonna think different. Don’t really matter none. You need to think on it some?”

  It was strange hearing about my death. It was more like I was hearing about a stranger who died on foreign soil and not me. “Please tell Bruiser to go ahead.”

  What happened to Jeffrey?

  The question ran through my head and stayed there. I knew it was best for me not to ask it out loud. I already knew the answer. He wasn’t coming back.

  “How’s Angel doing? I’m missin’ both my girls.” Table kept his soothing touch over my skin.

  “She’s good. I’m sure she wants her daddy back, but she’s getting very comfortable having Betsey play grandmother.”

  He chuckled and then grimaced in pain.

  “Fuck, I can’t wait to get outta this bed and back where I need to be.”

  “Ain’t no hurry. Tattoo shop’ll still be there when you’re on your feet again. Doc says it’s gonna be a while before you’re all the way healed. You got time.” Brick heaved himself out of the chair as he spoke. “We need to be gettin’ back to the Lair. I got stuff that needs doin’. I’ll give you a few more minutes and then we need to hit the road. We’ll be back in a few days and maybe bring the baby with.”

  I didn’t want to leave, but Doc’s place didn’t look like it was set up to receive guests, and it would have been too presumptuous to ask if I could stay. Table seemed to understand. “It’s okay, Lori. You can come see me in a few days, and I should be back at the Lair real soon.”

  I wiped my eyes and looked at Brick. “It seems inadequate to just say thank you for everything. You’ve given me my life back.”

  The older man nodded. “That’s plenty. You just take care of my boy and his little girl, and remember the people that have helped you in case you get a chance to help back someday.”

  He left the room and I was alone with Table. Tears started pricking my eyes again. “I’m so, so sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you. I can’t—I can’t—”

  “Hush now, Lori, none of this is your fault. You didn’t start this shit so don’t you own it. It’s over and I would do the same thing again if I had too. The only thing I wish I could change anything was where I got shot. That son of a bitch hurt like a mother.”

  I giggled while tears ran down my face. “Now what?”

  “Now we wait for me to get my ass outta this bed and start our lives. Bruiser took care of the Feds and there ain’t nothin’ to lead them to us or the club. I got some money in the bank. Not much, but enough to get us through the next month or two until I can get back to work. We still got us a place to live and I’ve already laid claim to you so you’ll be wearing my patch and stayin’ by my side every night. I know you’ve been used to having a lot, but I’m bankin’ on you wantin’ somethin’ else other than a fancy house and car. I’m hopin’ you’ll be willin’ to give up all of that mess and take on a broken man and his daughter. ’Specially since that man loves every cell in your body and would fight to keep you with him.” He grinned at me. “If love don’t work, I got some great guilt trip material.”

  “That’s not funny.” I tried to sound serious even though I smiled at his joke.

  “Maybe not but it’s true. I love you, Lori. You said to Brick that ‘thank you’ was inadequate to how you were feeling ’bout him an
d the club. I think the same ’cause those three words will never come up to what I feel for you and I’ll bleed my last drop to keep you and Angel safe. My biggest fear is that while I’m laid up in this bed, you’ll get the urge to run and this time I can’t stop you.”

  “I’m not running anymore, Table. I’ve found where I belong and I have no plans to give it up.”

  He seemed to relax at my words. His eyes fluttered closed as he gave a long sigh and I knew he was getting tired. He still had a long way to go in his recovery, but my man was a fighter. We would be okay.

  Bruiser met me at the door when Brick and I got back to the Lair and handed me a bunch of printed papers.

  “Don’t ask me how I did all this, just know it’s done.”

  The papers were the new me. I was now officially Lori Matthews with ID, driver’s license, birth certificate, and even a social security number. Joy burst in me as I realized Vivian Townsend was truly gone and in her place was a new life. Mine.

  Epilogue

  Eight Months Later

  Table looked at the clock on the wall and switched the XM radio from AC/DC to a different station. The buzz of tattoo needles filled the air along with a Sesame Street sing-along CD.

  The wheels on the bus go round and round.

  Round and round.

  Round and round.

  The man in the station chair visibly gritted his teeth against the noise. “What the fuck, dude? Change it back, man!”

  Table didn’t look up from his work. “Can’t do that for about ten minutes or so.”

  “Ten minutes? Who the fuck is in charge here?”

  The bell over the shop door tinkled and a pink-dress-clad body wobbled in and made a beeline for Table.

  “DaDaDaDa.”

  Table wiped the extra ink from the man’s skin and set the needles to the side just in time to catch the blabbering toddler up in his arms as he stood. “This is who is in charge. Watch your mouth around my daughter.”