by M. Stratton
Looking at the clock, she shook her head. “No, most of them are on their way home for homework and dinner.”
“Lock the door after I’m gone and don’t open it. For anyone.” He squinted his eyes at her hoping he was making his point. Unfortunately, he figured her as the kind to disobey just because.
“I can do that.”
“Make sure you do. I’ll call when I’m on my way back.”
“Do you need my number?”
“Lady, I’ve got your number.” He turned and started to walk away.
“Now who’s judging a book by its cover?”
Hating the fact she was right, he stalked out the door and threw a leg over his Harley parked on the sidewalk in front of her bookstore. Shoving the helmet on, he thought about how much he hated it when people assumed he was stupid and a criminal; even years later, when he worked hard to better himself, it always went back to where he came from and the persona he had to keep up for his work. Just once he craved being able to be himself and have people see him for who he really was. He turned around and saw Stormy staring at him through the glass. Why did it matter what she thought? Flipping the visor down, he started the bike and with a roar sped off to a meeting he didn’t want to go to.
“What’s up, old man?” Bender asked as he leaned against the brick building in a dirty back alley two towns over.
“Is that any way to talk to your elders?” Murdoch said.
“When it’s you, yeah. Start talking.” Bender didn’t look at his watch but he wanted to. It had taken him longer than he wanted to drive over here and Murdoch was a few minutes late.
“Remember those two goons you stopped from harassing Stormy?”
“Dumb and Dumber? Yeah, so what?”
“They’re dead.”
Bender stood up straight. “That was quick. How do you know?”
“We know Mick and Nutter are the two heads to this operation. We also know where they like to hang out. We’ve set up surveillance on them.”
“I’d think they’d know they were being watched.”
“See, the thing is, they either don’t care, or they know the cops they have on the payroll will keep them out of trouble.”
“Which is why I was called in.”
“Exactly. Now at some point, I’m assuming soon they are going to make sure the finest in blue are going to be showing up at your place to ask some questions.”
“I’ll be ready for them.” He shrugged. “It’s nothing new for me.”
“Yeah, I know, but this might be.” Murdoch pulled out a phone and showed Bender a video. “Yeah, this will make a seasoned vet toss his cookies.”
Bender watched in horror as Nutter went about painting a picture with the blood of the two guys he just killed. There was something cold and calculating about him. “Is that . . .”
“Keep watching; here, let me turn the volume up.”
Bender’s blood ran cold when he heard Nutter say Stormy was going to taste divine. “Why haven’t you arrested him? You’ve got proof right here.”
“You know better than that.” Murdoch put his phone in his pocket.
“So what, who cares if he kills Stormy, an innocent woman? We’re here to protect them, not get them killed.” Bender paced back and forth around the alley and was unprepared when Murdoch came at him and pinned him against the wall. The old man still had it in him.
“Listen here, boy, you know how I feel about the innocents. Why the hell do you think I pointed you in her direction? If anyone is going to keep her safe, it’s going to be you. Now calm the fuck down and think. It’s not just about Nutter, there’s Mick; and while he didn’t do anything to stop him, you can bet your sweet ass, he knows what Nutter is all about and lets him do it. We need to stop both of them, and right now, this isn’t enough. If we are going to clean up this neighborhood and give it back to the families who have to live here, we need more. We need to find out who is on the take and how we can get around them.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to; you just have to do your job. Now, get back to her and keep her safe.”
Bender started to walk away. “She’s only going to stay safe for so long.”
“I know, son. We’ve just got to work harder and faster before she pulls something stubborn and gets herself killed.”
“Why do they always have to do that?”
“Because, they always think they’re right, and nine times out of ten they are, but it’s that one time they don’t want to listen and it gets them killed.”
Bender looked down and closed his eyes. “I still miss her.”
“I know you do, but there was nothing either one of us could do. We tried everything, she wouldn’t leave.”
“They fought every night. She’d stand up to him trying to focus his attention on her, and not me. I wish we could have left. She wouldn’t even listen after I got out. She still stayed, until that night, why that night?”
“No one knows why she finally decided to leave; you’d been gone for years. Maybe she felt it was the best time for her to go.”
“Couldn’t she have picked a better way? She didn’t need to kill herself.”
“Sometimes those in the deepest, darkest pits can’t see there is light up there, just waiting for them, if they’d just reach their hand out for help. She took the only way out she knew.”
“Murdoch . . . I’m scared for her, for Stormy; she doesn’t have a clue what she’s getting into.”
“No, she doesn’t. She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met, but she trusts too much and doesn’t understand the danger she’s really in. You’re just going to have to help her, keep her safe.”
Bender thought about his mother and how even when she was free to leave she didn’t; the only way out she could see was to kill herself. His monster of a father walked around soaking up all the attention from the women in the neighborhood who wanted to take care of him now that he was left alone. It made his stomach roll every time he thought of it. He knew his mother wasn’t always that way. Once she’d been too naive to know what was going on and she’d gotten hurt. Then over the years it had gotten so bad, the only way she could see to get out of it was to slash her wrists in the bathroom. He didn’t want Stormy to lose her innocence. “I’ll do everything I can.”
“That’s all we ask for, son; that’s all we ask for.”
Mick gave Nutter time to calm down and get rid of the bodies before they got together to try to decide what to do. With Bender in town, everything changed. Mick had spent his time checking with the old contacts from the neighborhood. Before they took over a territory, there was extensive research done. If you knew everything, you wouldn’t end up with surprises. Everyone he talked to confirmed the original research, Bender was trouble. Seemed all the men in the family were trouble. They’d been there for generations, and none of them ever backed down from a fight. Once they became focused on something, they were like a dog with a bone; they never let it go.
“Something smells delicious.” Mick crossed over to the stove and lifted the lid. Taking the wooden spoon, he stirred the pot and didn’t flinch when an eyeball floated to the top.
Nutter breezed into the room. “I thought we’d have stew tonight. It’s a bit chilly out.”
“Good thinking. I talked to the old timers. The Benders have a long history around here. Short tempers, never backing down, hot headed. Seems this one disappeared for about twenty years, but when he was here, he caused a lot of problems. So did every other male in his family. I was able to talk with someone on the force who knew him in high school and he gave me these.” Mick pointed to a large stack of files. “This should give us some info.”
“So dinner and some light reading? Good timing, the bread is almost done. Why don’t you put on some music while I finish up here?”
Having Nutter as a roommate had its benefits. The fact he was a skilled chef was one of them; the other was he knew the man just as well as he knew himself. He ch
ose some classical Beethoven to keep Nutter’s soul calm. The last thing he wanted was to put something on that would make Nutter want to kill again so soon. He had to make sure he kept the killing sporadic so attention wasn’t drawn to them.
When dinner was on the table, they both grabbed a folder and started reading; both eating and highlighting the pertinent information in silence except for the rise and fall of the notes from the stereo. The more Mick dove into the Bender family, the more he was worried about what the outcome was going to be. He was just going to have to plan more, be smarter, and if a few extra people died, well, it’d be of no consequence.
Nutter dropped his spoon in the empty bowl and wiped the corner of his mouth with the napkin. “Well, it would appear we have a bigger problem than we originally thought.” He sat back in his chair.
Using the last of his bread, Mick sopped up the juices on the bottom of the bowl. “Yes, now how do we stop him?” He popped the bread into his mouth.
“Yes, well, sitting back and watching what he does isn’t an option any longer. We should have known something more was up when he purchased The Night Club with cash. By the looks of him, he shouldn’t have that much cash lying around. I didn’t find anything in my files about where he gets his money, did you?”
“No, there’s nothing, and you know what they always say, follow the money. There’s more to this guy than meets the eye. If we find where his money comes from, we find who we are really dealing with.”
Mick ran his hands over his face. “I can’t believe he was able to make all that money on his own; it has to come from somewhere. It’s widely known we run this territory; no one in their right mind would come in here and try to take over.”
“Yes, however, there have been the few who thought they were better than us.” Nutter smiled and Mick knew what he was remembering.
“Oh, but they found out quickly, didn’t they, my friend?” At Nutter’s quick nod, Mick laughed. “It’s been awhile since we’ve watched the old movies, maybe we should tonight?” When they had ‘taken care of’ the competition, they had filmed the killings. Nutter had taken great pride in coming up with the script and Mick was more than happy to follow him. Being able to take out half a dozen men had been more fun than he ever could have realized. Then, when another group came along, well, they continued to film sequels until finally, their reputation was known, and they were left alone.
He patted Nutter on the back as he stood up to take his bowl to the sink. “Ahhh, my friend, those were the days. It would seem no one wants to play with us anymore.”
“Maybe we’ll just have to come up with a new game.” The gleam in Nutter’s eye was unmistakable.
“You may have an idea there.” He looked at Bender’s files. “We’ll have to come up with something.”
Nutter stood and danced to the kitchen. “You get everything set up. As soon as I’m done cleaning the kitchen, I’ll gather some snacks and we’ll stay in tonight and watch a movie. I’ve got a nice Shiraz, which would pair nicely with an independent killer flick.”
“Why that does sound perfect.” Mick whistled to himself as he went to their media room. Nutter had decorated it himself with mementos from their various kills together. Mick pulled his phone out and made a phone call, knowing they were both going to need a release once they finished watching. Making sure the women would be here in a couple of hours, he started the equipment up, and then jumped in the shower quickly to get ready for a night of death and sex.
Stormy didn’t know why she was so nervous riding behind Bender on his Harley. She’d watched videos and read books, so she knew what to do. Maybe it had something to do with the fact her arms were wrapped tightly around him and she could feel his muscles move beneath them. Feeling his heat radiate out and warm her as she nestled him between her legs, she became lost in thought about him and didn’t realize she had started tracing patterns on his stomach.
When the bike came to a sudden stop, she blinked and looked around. They were at her building. She reached over and with one hand punched in the security code to get into the garage. Before she could point in the direction of her parking space, Bender took off; with a small squeal, she tightened her one-arm grip on him and quickly grabbed him with the other. Up one terrifying level and around the corner, he came to a screeching stop in her spot. With her eyes still closed, she felt his hands on hers, prying her fingers from around his waist. Once she was free, he jumped off the bike and ripped his helmet off before starting on removing hers. Looking up into his eyes burning with some unknown emotion, she was lost and couldn’t look away, even when he spun her around and pinned her against the wall.
“Lesson five; never lose your focus, especially when on a bike.”
Stormy stared at him. “What . . . what do you mean?”
“You were so lost in your little world, I could have driven anywhere with you and you’d never have known until it was too late. You might have noticed if someone was following us and let me know. There were any number of things you should have been doing instead of going off to La-La land.” His grip tightened on her upper arms.
“It wasn’t that long, and there is no possible way you could know where my brain was.” He was infuriating, but she couldn’t deny he was turning her on looming over her, keeping her in place with his body. He was everything a good romance was made of in the books she loved to read.
A deep rumble came from his chest as he growled in frustration. “How do I know? Lady, you spent half the drive over here drawing pictures all over my stomach with your fingers. Shit, at one point, I thought you were going to unzip my pants and take my cock out.”
Her eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open. “How . . . no . . . I wouldn’t.” Her face flamed bright red.
“Ha! Lady, I know that.” He squinted his eyes at her. “Hell, you’d probably scream and go running in the other direction if you saw one.”
She couldn’t believe the nerve of that man, talking to her like that. “I’ll have you know—”
Spinning quickly, he completely covered her body with his and faced the car, which was coming around the corner. Once it passed, his body relaxed against hers for a brief moment before he pulled away. She felt the immediate loss of his warmth.
“That is how you pay attention to two different things at once. Come on.” He started walking toward the elevator. When she didn’t follow, he stopped and turned to look at her.
“How do you know so much about my building? Where my parking space is?”
“I told you there was a reason why I didn’t want you coming back here last night. With very little effort, I can find out more about you than you are comfortable with.”
“But, no, that’s just wrong.”
“Yeah, well, life’s not fair. Now come on; I want you to get what you need and back to my place before its dark.”
She shuddered when he said those words. Knowing how easy it was for him to find out about her, she wondered if she’d ever feel safe again. They were silent riding up the elevator to her condo. She tried to remember everything the association had told her about the building security. She had always felt safe here because no one could just walk into the building without going past a few levels of security. Maybe she should have taken more responsibility herself.
When they got to her door and he held his hand out for her keys, she turned them over to him without a word. She watched as he stealthily pulled his gun from its holster before opening the door. With tension radiating from him, he quickly searched her unit before locking them in.
“All clear. Grab what you need.” He started wandering around picking up a random book she had lying around here and there. “Today would be nice.” He said with his back to her. “And sticking your tongue out at me isn’t going to change anything.”
“How did . . .”
He pointed to the mirror above the fireplace and he looked up meeting her confused expression in the reflection. “I think I’ve already told you to pay attention t
o your surroundings. Reflections are a great way to see what is going on without people knowing what you are doing.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“I’m sure you will.” He grinned at her as if he knew some inside joke and wasn’t going to share it with her.
Sighing loudly, she turned around and walked into her bedroom pulling a suitcase from the closet before she stopped and walked back into the living room. “We’re on the bike. How can we get this stuff back to your place?”
“Pack what you need for tonight only; and tomorrow when I come back to install a proper security system, I’ll pick the rest up.”
“But if you’re going to install a security system, why do I need to pack anything? Can’t I just stay here?”
He turned to look her in the eye. “Stormy, you don’t fully understand what you are up against.”
“Why don’t you fill me in? And what about you? What makes you so sure of anything?”
He glanced out the window at the approaching darkness. “We don’t have time for this. Just get what you need for tonight and we’ll talk as soon as we get back to my place.”
They stood staring at each other for another minute before he said, “Please.”
“You’ll explain everything?”
“Yes.”
Without a word, she turned and walked back into her bedroom. Thinking of what she would need for the night, she began putting it in a backpack, while everything else went into a suitcase. She was confused by her reaction to him; and by the fact, she typically didn’t stand up to anyone, let alone someone who was so used to getting his own way.
Once she finished in her bathroom, she went back out into the living room and went over to the end table to add a couple of books to her backpack. “Yes, I need these.” She met his eyes in the mirror.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. I know what people think about my book obsession. I know what goes through their heads the first time they look around where I live.” She gestured to where books filled every nook and cranny of her space. “But these are my adventures; these are my lives. This is where I learn, where I live.”
