Twisted Steel (A Sinners Syndicate MC Novel)

by Derek Masters

  Kayla

  As I hung up the phone, I wanted to scream, jump up and down, or hug the next person I saw. Of course, I was standing in line at Starbucks, so I had to keep myself composed.

  I’d just come from a job interview at Odin Manufacturing, one of the biggest factories in the Midwest. They make all types of products ranging from consumer goods to materials for the military. Having never worked outside of office complexes, I thought I was going to be in way over my head. Much to my surprise, the interview was great. It was probably one of the best interviews I’d ever had in my life.

  When I was being escorted to turn in my visitor’s badge, the woman who had interviewed me told me that they had a couple more interviews and that they’d be making a final decision by the end of the week. It came as a surprise that my phone would ring 45 minutes later with a job offer, but I wasn’t about to question it. I was ecstatic and must have made a great impression.

  Going back into the workforce was going to be strange. It had been just over 10 years since I’d left my last job where I worked as a receptionist. About to leave for my honeymoon, I was teary-eyed as I said goodbye to everyone I had worked with, knowing that when I returned, I was going to be a housewife.

  One year earlier, my husband Dillon graduated from medical school and had become an MD. He worked in a local doctor’s office for a year to get his name out there, but what he really wanted to do was start his own practice. We both knew that was going to mean long hours, making it more difficult for us to see one another. It also meant that there would be more money, making the decision to leave my job much easier.

  I make being a housewife sound like it’s been a bad thing, but I honestly have loved every minute of it. My man, hard at work all day while I was at home keeping everything in order. I looked forward to him coming home each night. I’d have dinner on the table, and we’d talk about his day and our future. It was nice for a long time, but it also got very frustrating. When Dillon and I got married, I had pictured things much differently.

  My dreams of being a housewife included being a mother. Since it was just me in the house most of the time, there was really just minor tidying up each day. Other than that, I mostly did a lot of reading and watching television.

  What I had really wanted all along was to be a mother. I had it all planned out in my head. I wanted to have one boy and two girls, in that order. That way, my daughters would have a protective big brother to make sure nothing bad ever happened to them. We would spend afternoons in the park or on a big swing set in our backyard before reading them bedtime stories at night.

  Instead, the backyard is empty other than two large oak trees in the center of the yard. I’ve intended to start a garden for the last couple of years, but I don’t see much of a point. Anything I grew would end up going bad before being eaten. The dinners I used to make for Dillon began getting fewer and further between. I knew he was working long hours, but it was starting to have an effect on us.

  Before I knew it, he was no longer interested in my day, and I stopped asking about his. I had come to accept the fact that his life was all about his practice and that starting a family wasn’t even on his radar. There had even been times when I wondered if I was even on his radar. It sure as hell didn’t feel like it.

  I had lost track of the last time he and I spent any real time together, and that’s just referring to something as simple as sitting on the couch and watching a movie together. I certainly wasn’t being taken on anymore. It had been close to two years since he took me out on the town. The only time we even went out to dinner was when he was meeting with pharmaceutical reps, and he wanted me there on his arm.

  Our sex life was no longer anything to write home about either. During our first few years of marriage, everything was fun and exciting. We were always experimenting in the bedroom and trying new things. We would get frisky outside of the bedroom just as much as we did inside. We would role play and have lots of fun. Those days were apparently over.

  Although our sex life wasn’t dead, it was very much on life support. I was lucky if I got laid once a month. On the rare occasions that we did have sex, it had become very routine. It was always the same thing. I’d go down on him for a couple of minutes, he might rub me a bit, then he’d roll me over and screw me in missionary position until he was done. I didn’t even get off most of the time anymore, at least not with him. I’d wait until he was asleep and then finish the job myself.

  Passion. If there is one thing that I miss the most, it’s the passion that he and I used to share together. I love him, I really do, and the last thing I want to do it lose him, but something had to give. I was beginning to go crazy sitting in a house by myself day in and day out, so I went looking for something to occupy my time. I found what I was looking for in a job. I just hoped he would understand.

  I knew he had a free spot in his schedule during the afternoon, so I took a deep breath and gave him a call.

  “Honey, I have some news for you.”

  2

  Dillon

  What do you mean you got a job? I didn’t even know you were looking for a job. How long has this been going on?” I asked her, completely caught off guard.

  “I’ve been looking for something to do for a few weeks now. I wanted to tell you, but you’re always so busy, and I didn’t want to use the little bit of time that we have together fighting and arguing about this. I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

  “I’m not mad at you Kayla, but I am pretty confused. This feels like it came out of left field. As I said, I had no idea you were even looking for a job. What brought this on?”

  “Honestly, I feel like I’m going stir crazy looking at these same four walls every single day. It was one thing when you were home more or when I was able to talk to you throughout the day. Now that it’s just me sitting here by myself, I can’t take it.”

  “You know, it isn't exactly my fault that I’m not available to call you throughout the day anymore. We both knew that this practice was going to take up a lot of time once it started to grow. You can’t act like you’re shocked by this.”

  “Yeah Dillon, I’m well aware. You’ve been telling me this for a while now. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m lonely. I just went looking for jobs to try to find something to get me out of the house and seeing some faces that aren’t mine in the mirror. I didn’t even think anything would come of it, at least not this quickly. I just went on an interview this afternoon, and it went well, so they hired me.”

  “I can’t believe you were going on job interviews and I had no clue you were even looking for a job. You’ve kept me out of the loop on this one.”

  “You’re making it sound like I was trying to hide it from you, but it isn’t like that at all. As I said, you’re never here so when was I supposed to tell you?”

  “Exactly the way you’re telling me right now.”

  “Yeah, anyway, I was calling to tell you because I’m excited about it. I was hoping you could be excited for me as well, but I can see that’s not happening. I’m gonna let you go.”

  “I’m sorry. If you’re excited, then I’m excited for you. We’ll talk about it more tonight. Love you.”

  “Okay,” she replies. “Talk to you later.”

  I hung up the phone and sat staring at the receiver. Other than being a doctor, there was one thing I was good at, and that was pissing off my wife. Of course, that wasn’t my intention, but I’m not sure how she expected me to react to her news.

  When we got married, she was all about being a housewife. She loved it, or at least she seemed to. When we were signing the papers to close on the house, she had a hard time hiding her excitement. All she could talk about was all the things she wanted to do in the house.

  She was all about how she would decorate, how she would set up the rooms, all the cooking she was going to do, how she was going to learn to garden so she could prepare meals with fresh produce she grew herself.

  I have to admit; she
is a beast in the kitchen. For years, I would pull into the garage and could smell what she was making in the kitchen. One day it would be spicy sausage and peppers, the next would be homemade pasta sauce and hand-made noodles. She loved being in the kitchen, and I often wonder how I’m not overweight by 100 pounds.

  Over time, all of the little things she used to do began to stop. She went from cooking meals every night, to most nights, to pretty much never. I’ve never once complained, although I do miss coming home to the food on the table. Not so much because I feel like a woman has to cook for her husband, but because she was so damn good at it.

  Kayla’s food could rival any restaurant in the area. The restaurants that we mostly live on now since cooking is not one of my strong suits. Takeout, takeout, and more takeout is what we eat now. Dinner plans typically consist of her texting me and telling me what she’s picking up and me replying with my order.

  We don’t even go out to dinner anymore. I used to like to get dressed up to take her somewhere nice at least a couple of times a month, but she isn’t interested in that anymore. The only time I can get her to come out is when a pharmaceutical rep is taking me out, and I have to basically beg, plead, and grovel to get her to do that.

  I’m not entirely sure what has changed in our marriage. I work long hours, but it isn’t like she didn’t know what she was getting into. I’ve always been a hard worker. I worked hard through medical school, and I work even harder to build my practice. I figure working hard now will allow me to enjoy life later. I bank my money so I can retire early and spend my time with my wife.

  Now I’m wondering if it’s been worth it.

  I’ve always had a plan for our future, and I always assumed she’d be on board with it. While it was never formally discussed, I always figured that once I had the practice thoroughly established, she’d come and work for me in the office. Hell, if she wanted to get out of the house, I could have used the help. I’ve thought about asking her many times, but she has put some much space in between us, I figured she was enjoying her time at home without me.

  Maybe that’s exactly what this was all about. Perhaps she wanted to get away from the house altogether. Maybe the life I was giving her wasn’t the life she wanted.

  I feel like I’m missing something.

  Something didn’t make sense, and I was trying to figure out what it was. Was my marriage on its last legs and I’ve just been too blind to see it?

  3

  Kayla

  My stomach was in knots, and I felt like I was going to throw up. I felt like a kid getting ready to go on their first day in a new school, except the school year was already halfway over, and everyone had already made friends.

  I couldn’t believe I was about to have my first day of work in nearly a decade. I was so nervous that I couldn’t even touch the breakfast I’d made for myself, and I had to force myself to suck down my coffee.

  The hours at a manufacturing plant are far different from any of the office jobs I’ve worked at in the past. I was accustomed to a work day that was a standard 9 to 5, but my new schedule was going to be 11 am to 11 pm, four days per week. I only hoped that there would be some cool people to talk to or that was going to make for some long work days.

  I didn’t know much about what my day was going to entail. The only thing I knew for sure was that there would be someone with me in the office until 3 pm each day, which is when their shift ended.

  If I had to choose a couple of words to describe how I felt as I looked at the clock, it was scared shitless. What was I getting myself into? Why in the hell did I apply to work at a factory? Why in the hell did they hire me? Surely there had to be someone much more qualified who applied. Maybe I was making a huge mistake.

  For some reason, I’d gotten up before the sun. It was partly nerves and partly because I wanted to do something nice for Dillon since this was new to him as well. Despite what he might be thinking, my choice to get a job outside of the house didn’t have anything to do with him, and I intended to talk to him about that as soon as our schedules meshed up.

  Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I forced myself to start getting ready to start my first shift. Even though my stomach was twisted up in knots, I figured I’d be starving at some point, so I packed myself a turkey and cheese sandwich, a bag of chips, an apple, and a banana for lunch and threw it all in a cooler along with a couple of bottles of water. I sat the cooler next to the front door, so I wouldn’t forget and made my way to the bathroom so I could jump in the shower.

  I turned the water on as hot as I could stand it and propped my tablet up on the sink so I could listen to my music while I washed. It was a habit that I’d started when relaxing in the tub and it became an obsession.

  I hit shuffle, and the sounds of Hey There Delilah by Plain White T’s filled the room. Since it was one of my favorite songs, I hoped that it was an indication that the day was going to go great. Little did I know that my day was going to be ruined before I even made it out of the house.

  “All ready for your first day?” Dillon asked, walking into the bathroom as I was drying off.

  “I’m not really sure,” I replied. “I didn’t think I’d be as nervous as I am. I feel like I could vomit.”

  “There’s still time to call them and tell them you changed your mind. It’s not like you signed a contract or anything. You can still stay home.”

  “Dillon, please don’t start with me. I know you don’t want me to do this, but I need to do it for me. You’re gone at the practice all the time, and I’m here by myself. At least this way, I can get out of the house during the week and contribute to the household.”

  “Have you seen the bank account lately?” Dillon asked with a load of snark in his voice. “We don’t exactly need the household to be contributed to. You make it sound like I’m out running around at the bars or something. I’m gone all day for us. I’m gone all the time at the practice because I’m putting in the hard work so we can have anything we want in life. I always thought you appreciated that.”

  “I do, Dillon. I appreciate it very much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t get lonely.”

  “Do I need to remind you’re the one who said you wanted to be a housewife? You were so excited and used to tell anyone who would listen that you get to take care of the house while your man works to pay the bills. Hell, when we were dating, you told me that you were old fashioned and dreamed of being a housewife.”

  “That was always my dream, but this wasn’t at all what I had in mind. When I said I wanted to be a housewife, I imagined being a wife and a mother. I pictured my days being spent playing outside with our children, preparing their meals and cleaning up after them. I never dreamed that I’d be a housewife in a house all by myself.”

  “Kayla, we have gone over this time and time again. There’s a time for kids, but this isn’t it.”

  “Well, I have a feeling that that time has passed anyway, so it doesn’t really matter anyway.”

  He sat in silence, looking at me as I dried my hair and got dressed for work. It felt weird getting dressed in jeans and a t-shirt since every job I’d ever had required me to be dressed in business attire except for the occasional casual Friday’s.

  Even weirder was having to put on a pair of steel-toed work boots. Although I technically had an office job, there were going to be times when I had to walk around the plant, so the footwear was required. They were a lot different from the pumps I used to choose for comfort and style. These boots were not only uncomfortable, but they were ugly as hell.

  Dillon remained silent, looking down at the tile, not sure what to say. If there was one thing he was used to, it was getting his way. Throughout life, he got what he wanted. It was never handed to him, and he had to fight and claw for everything he had, but in the end, he was used to getting his way. I could see the fact that he wasn’t winning this one was eating at him. Part of me felt guilty, but a larger part of me was utterly annoyed.

  “So what is this
all about?” he asked as I finished curling my hair and was starting to put on my makeup.

  “What’s all of what about? I’m not sure what you’re asking.”

  “Well, you’re going to work in a factory, right?”

  “Yes,” I replied, hoping the conversation wasn’t heading in the direction that I thought it was.

  “Aren’t most factories dirty and dingy?”

  “I guess so, although this place is actually really clean. Besides, I’m wearing jeans and a t-shirt. It’s not like I’m dressed in any of my nice clothes.”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about, Kayla. What’s the deal with the hair and makeup?”

  “You have a problem with me wanting to look nice on my first day of work?”

  “Not necessarily, but let me ask you a question. How many women work at this factory?”

  “I don’t know, Dillon. I haven’t started yet.”

  “Okay, but you were there for your interview, right? How many women did you see?”

  “I don’t know, a few?”

  “Right, a few. That means the majority of the people that are going to be working there are men, right?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Exactly, so don’t play me for a fool. The hair, the makeup, you’re doing that all so you can look nice for the men at work.”

  “Are you fucking crazy? You do realize that I’ll be working in an office with another woman, right? I’m getting made up to make myself look good, not because I’m going to be around a bunch of guys.”

  “I’m sure that has nothing to do with it.”

  “What is the matter with you today? I get that you're upset about all of this, but what have I ever done to make you think that I would be unfaithful or try to get the attention of other men?”

  “Nothing, I suppose.”

  “No, I’m not going to accept that answer. You’ve obviously got something in your head so why don’t you tell me what it is? Why makes you think that me doing my hair and makeup has anything to do with the guys I’ll be working around?”