by A. J. Wynter
She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Honey, I see all kinds of things in this line of work, and what I saw there, that’s not normal.”
“I’ll be fine.” I stood up. “Are we done here?”
“Yes,” she sighed and started to pack up her big blue medical bag.
“Good. Thank you for your help.” I smiled at her, trying to convince her that I wasn’t with a horrible girlfriend beater, but after the way Lawrence had looked at me, I wondered if she saw something in him that I didn’t.
“I’m going to give you two pieces of advice,” she said, holding up two of her latex gloved fingers. “One: don’t tell your fiancé every single detail about how Mr. Brady saved your life; and two: Google Michael Brady when you get home.”
Chapter 22 – Mick
The moment I walked through the cabin door, Chopper almost bowled me over, his thick tail whacking against the doorframe. I bent down and hugged him, “Want to go for a walk, Chops?” He whined happily, his tail wagging half of his body.
I clapped my hands and opened the cabin door wide. Chopper bounded out and headed down my fresh snowmobile tracks. I turned back to look inside the empty cabin, and even though there were embers in the fireplace, and the temperature was fine, it just felt cold. I saw the rumpled quilt on the couch where Lucy had been curled up only hours earlier. I sighed and grabbed my cross-country ski boots.
Nothing cleared my head better than being out in the fresh air and exerting my body. I hoped that a bout of good old-fashioned Nordic skiing in the cold mountain air would help to rid the memory of Lucy from my mind.
Chopper and I headed off into the trees, their branches strong even when weighed down with the fresh marshmallow pillows of snow. The only sound I could hear was the soft scratching and gliding of my skis on the snow and the sound of Chopper panting behind me. The silence was usually my friend, but today my mind wouldn’t stop racing. Back in the lodge, I had wanted to grab Lucy by the hand and get her away from that monster, Lawrence. I knew that she didn’t love him, and it broke my heart to realize that she was with him for his money. Lucy had shown her true colors, or color, gold -- a gold digger.
Even if she didn’t think that she was with him for his money and prestige, I knew better. I had seen it a million times. There have been a few women in my life that I thought they loved me for me, but if I had been a broke man living a simple life, they would’ve run for the hills.
The steam from my breath synced up with the timing of my ski strides, the sun glinted on the snow crystals falling from the trees. It was a magical phenomenon, as though diamonds were floating down around me. I found myself wishing that someone else could see the sparkly air. And, who was I kidding, I wanted that someone else to be Lucy.
Then I knew exactly what I had to do.
I glided to a stop, did a quick kick turn and headed back to the cabin as fast as my skis would carry me, Chopper bounding behind me.
Back at the cabin I radioed to the office and told Jeff to get ready for my arrival.
“Roger that,” Jeff said over the crackly radio.
“Also, I need you to do some background research for me on Lawrence Locklear and the Ames Founder’s Club”
Jeff read Lawrence’s name back to me and promised he'd have the information for me when I landed.
I brushed off my bird, removed the blade covers, and completed my safety check. Chopper hopped in first, and I followed suit. I fired up the engine, smiling as I always do at the sound of her power. In a swirl of snow and sound, we took off and headed for Seattle.
**
Jeff met me as I landed on the rooftop, raincoat in hand.
“Did you find anything?” I asked.
“Yeah. There are three Lawrence Locklears, did you know that?”
“Shit. I meant the young one.” I could kick myself.
“Oh Nelly, he’s the best of the three. That kid is involved in some pretty interesting stuff,” Jeff said, handing me the coat. “Oh, I’ll run and get you some um, shoes,” he said.
I looked down and realized that the Nordic ski boots were still on my feet.
I chuckled, “It’s ok, Jeff. I have some shoes in my office. What have you got there on the kid? Walk with me.”
“Here are the files on Mr. Lawrence Locklear the third, and here are the ones for the Ames Founder’s Club,” Jeff said, passing me the folders. “It took a bit of digging and a few phone calls.”
“Are the rumors true?”
Jeff cleared his throat, “It would appear that the AFC is a legitimate charity and that they do some good work. The rumors are out there, but I can’t find any evidence to substantiate them.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Jeff’s face was red, but he continued, “I wasn’t getting anywhere with the rumored activities, but one of our board members, Lenny Spinks, is a member of the AFC. I called him, but he wouldn’t give me any details that I hadn’t already found online. However, as soon as he heard that I was inquiring on your behalf, he changed his tune. I also think that he’s going to try to recruit you.”
“That’s perfect,” I smiled.
“Sir?” Jeff looked at me and I could see the concern in his eyes.
“I need to get some insider info for a friend,” I knew that sounded lame, but it was true. If I was going to save Lucy from making the worst mistake of her life, I had to know for sure what Lawrence and his club were all about. “Call Mr. Spinks and ask him to meet me in my office now.” I took the files and umbrella from Jeff and strode into the building, my ski boots clicking on the concrete floors.
By the time I got changed and seated at my desk, Lenny Spinks was waiting for me, a sly grin on his face. “I always thought that you would be the perfect prospect for the club. I mean you’re not Ames Alma Mater, but we can make an exception for you.”
My stomach churned.
“And how would I be perfect?”
“Well, sir. I would love to fill you in here, but we have a meeting tonight. You have to be invited by a senior member, and lucky for you, you’re sitting across from one.” He leaned back in the leather chair, clearly proud of his status and the fact that for once, he wielded some power over me.
“Just give me the executive summary.” I wasn’t in the mood for his games.
“Oh, I can’t do that Mr. Brady. We don’t talk about the Founder’s club outside of the clubhouse walls.”
My stomach sank. Would I have to go to this damn meeting after all?
“Oh, come on, Lenny. I’m mostly interested in some of the contests that you guys have. I’m pretty sure that I would win.” I winked at him when I said ‘contests’.
Lenny smiled widely and laughed. “You’d be a solid frontrunner for sure, but you have a lot of catching up to do - and have some serious competition. The pot is now over a million for the current contest.”
“What’s on the list?” I pried. “I could probably check off the whole thing.” It was true, my sexual conquests had been far and wide.
“It’s not retroactive, buddy. You’d have to start from scratch.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. Buddy?
“I mean, Mr. Brady.” He shifted uncomfortably in his chair and adjusted his tie. “I’ve already said too much. If you want to be considered for the club, come to tonight’s meeting with me.”
I did not want to go. “I have plans tonight. Maybe someone else in your club would be happy to give me the details and have Mick Brady as their recruit,” I said, trying to call his bluff.
“Listen, Mr. Brady. We are sworn to secrecy, and I’ve already told you too much. If you are serious about learning more about the benefits to being an AFC member, you’re gonna have to show up at our meeting and be approved by the seniors.”
My stomach knotted, but I plastered a big smile on my face.
“I suppose I can reschedule my appointment and go with you.”
Lenny slapped the arm of the chair, “Trust me, Mr. Brady, you’re not going
to regret it. The Founder’s Club is the best thing I’ve ever done. Bar none. I’ll pick you up here at 7 p.m.”
“Sounds good. Looking forward to it,” I said, and then added, “Buddy.”
He smiled and stood to shake my hand. “Get ready for one epic night.”
What had I gotten myself into? I had the feeling I was going to be in for the toughest sobriety test of my life.
Chapter 23 – Lucy
Mick didn’t even say goodbye.
Then he punched Lawrence in the face.
Over the past couple of days, I had seen Mick waver between being a thoughtful and kind man, to a cold and detached one. But a violent man? That just didn’t seem like him. I guess Lawrence was right, how could I possibly know the man after only a couple of days.
I wasn’t expecting a tearful, emotional send-off, but a goodbye would’ve been nice. Deep down, I wondered if I would’ve been able to hide the fact that I was more attracted to Mick than my own fiancé. When I heard his snowmobile rev to life and then growl off into the distance my heart sank deep into the pit of my stomach.
Now, sitting in the car next to Lawrence, his nose stuffed with gauze, I paused to think. My reunion with Lawrence had been disappointing. I mean, his hug was obligatory at best, and he practically pushed me out of the way to chase down Mick. But, the worst, by far, was Lawrence’s interrogation of my time with Mick. Wasn’t he supposed to just be happy that I was alive in his arms? Immediately he went to sex. Lawrence and I had been together for six months and we hadn’t made love yet, how could he think that I would give up my virginity to a man I had only just met?
Maybe he knew something that I didn’t know about myself. I had to wonder, if I had spent one more day with Mick, would I have slept with him? I grew angry and disgusted with myself because I knew the answer. I wanted to. I was a college virgin, saving myself for the right moment, not necessarily my wedding night, and I couldn’t help but wonder if the right moment had just passed me by.
Lawrence’s jealousy had cast further doubt in my mind about spending the rest of my life with him. I also wondered if I should be looking for someone who made me feel the way I felt when I was with Mick.
I dragged my nail along the frost on the inside of the passenger window and stared at the snowbanks as they rushed by. Could I live a simple life if the mountains? Would Mick ever consider stepping foot back into reality?
I sighed, and my breath melted a small circle of frost on the window.
“So, you’re being straight with me?” Lawrence said out of nowhere. We hadn’t spoken for the last hour, his tinny trance lounge music the only sound in the car.
“What do you mean?” I asked but knew exactly what he meant.
He sighed and turned the music down, “I need you to be honest with me.”
I turned to face him. I could feel my hands start to tremble. I wasn’t going to lie to him. If he asked me if Mick and I had kissed, I would tell him the truth - even if it meant losing him forever. If he asked if Mick and I had a connection, I would tell him the truth. If he asked if I was thinking about marrying Mick instead of him, I would say yes.
His hand rested on the gear shifter and I gently rested my hand on top of his, “I will tell you the truth.”
“Finally,” he said, tearing his hand from beneath mine to grip the steering wheel.
But he didn’t ask me any of those questions. He stared straight ahead and asked again, “Did he fuck you?”
When I realized that I had been holding my breath, I let out a sigh of relief, “I already told you. No.”
“So, you’re still a virgin.”
Again, I didn’t have to lie. “Of course, I am.”
Lawrence turned to me and grinned his huge perfect veneered teeth grin. “You have no idea how happy that makes me.”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. This was my first real relationship, but something deep down inside me told me that this was wrong. I had been prepared to tell Lawrence the truth, but he didn’t seem to care about anything, other than the fact that I was still a virgin.
“Your first time is going to be so special, Lucy. I’m going to treat you like a princess,” he said and reached for my hand. He squeezed my hand so tightly that the engagement ring pressed into the sides of my fingers. I inhaled sharply and pulled my hand away, massaging the red dents on my fingers.
As he drove, I stared at his profile. How had I not seen it before? The coldness in his eyes, the emptiness in his embraces.
After feeling real warmth and excitement, I knew that I couldn’t marry Lawrence. Maybe that’s the gift that Mick gave me – right alongside with saving my life.
I knew that I didn’t want to start a fight in the car; that I would have to wait for the right time to call off the engagement.
My thoughts were interrupted as Lawrence’s phone rang through the speaker system. The lodge’s name came up on the car’s display, but Lawrence wasn’t making a move to answer the phone. Before he could dismiss the call, I pressed accept on the screen. He snapped his head to face me, “What the fuck Lucy?” he whispered - anger flashing in his eyes.
“Hello. Mr. Lawrence Locklear, are you there?” the voice echoed through the car speakers.
Lawrence narrowed his eyes at me and sighed, “Yes. This is Lawrence.”
“This is Sheriff Harris, I’m here investigating the assault claim you lodged against Michael Brady.”
“No, it was some hillbilly named Mick,” Lawrence corrected the officer.
The officer sighed audibly.
“We were surprised that you left the lodge before we could get your statement, but there were two witnesses to the incident and we will not be pressing charges.”
I saw the redness rise from Lawrence’s collar up into his chiseled jawbone, “But he broke my nose.”
“Mr. Locklear, I don’t care who your parents are. The next time you fall to the ground and break your nose, don’t try to pin it on someone else – especially Michael Brady.”
“Wait, did you say, Brady?”
“Yes, Brady. And you’re lucky he can’t be reached, or else I would recommend that he press false allegation charges against you.”
Lawrence stabbed at the hang up button on the steering wheel, ending the conversation.
I looked at him, waiting for an explanation. When it didn’t come, I asked the question that had been weighing on me for the last two days.
“Where were you when I was unconscious?” I whispered.
“What the fuck do you mean? You know where I was.”
“I want you to tell me again. To my face.”
Lawrence slapped the steering wheel. “I was at a Founder’s Club weekend retreat. I couldn’t answer any calls from anyone, including Tania.”
“I thought you said your phone was off.”
“I… I didn’t. I just assumed that Tania would’ve been obsessively calling.”
That’s when it hit me. He knew about the accident. He knew that I was missing. Whatever he was doing in the boy’s club was more important than finding his missing fiancée.
I wanted to open the door and get out of the car as fast as I could, even if it meant flinging myself out onto the high snowbanks, but at the same time didn’t want to get hypothermia for the second time in a week.
I knew that I was going to leave Lawrence, but something in my gut told me to wait until I was out of the car. The rage that I had seen brewing inside Lawrence seemed dangerous, but I had an advantage - he hadn’t figured out that I had caught him in a lie.
“Did you know?” he asked.
I was tired now.
“Know what?”
“Did you know that you were alone in a cabin with Michael Brady?”
“No. The only thing that I knew was that he saved my life.”
I saw the corner of Lawrence's lip curl up into what I would’ve once described as a smile, but I would now call a snarl. “That explains everything,” he muttered under his breath.
> How could Lawrence know who Mick was? I mean, when the concierge and paramedics knew who he was, I had assumed it was because they were locals. But Lawrence and Mick couldn’t have run in more different circles.
I promised myself that as I got home I needed to break off the engagement, and I needed to find out exactly who I had fallen in love with.
Chapter 24 – Mick
Lenny led me through a few downtown back alleys, sprint walking and talking a mile a minute. On the car ride over, he had offered me some coke and I declined, but he had no qualms about sniffing it right in front of me, his boss.
“So, there’s no password to get in, or secret handshake, or anything like that,” he said, turning to talk to me as we approached the royal blue door emblazoned with a gold crest.
“How old is this club?” I asked. The crest looked like something from the 20s.
“The main AFC was formed in 1920, but the group you’ll be interested in was formed in the 70s,” Lenny said as he pushed the buzzer. “It started out as a gentleman’s club - not a strip bar, just a place for the cream of the crop to get away from their wives. At first, they sat around smoking cigars, gambling, and drinking hooch, but then they realized that it would be more respected if they turned it into a charitable organization. We’ve donated billions to schools across America--”
Lenny was interrupted as the metal plate in the door slid to the side.
“Lenny Spinks and guest,” he said to the dark eyes.
The door creaked open and I followed Lenny into the dim light of the foyer. It was painted the same royal blue as the door and leather bench seating ran the length of the hallway. Several raincoats were already hung on hooks along the wall.
As I pulled off my Gore-Tex shell and Lenny hung his trench coat, he continued, “Where was I?” He didn’t wait for me to respond. “Prohibition was basically the reason the AFC was started, and it was the place to be. Booze, showgirls, you name it, it happened here. They still did charity work, but it was just for show.
