Life to My Flight

by Lani Lynn Vale

  “Fuck me,” multiple someone’s said from behind me.

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Cleo said as he stepped up next to me. “Load two.”

  “Pull,” I said.

  Boom.

  Boom.

  Two clay discs shattered.

  “Hot damn, it’s a match made in heaven,” Trance drawled.

  I giggled, and had a blast.

  It felt good to be a part of them.

  Used to be, I was on the outside looking in. Now, however, I was there with them. A part of them.

  So this was what happy felt like.

  Chapter 13

  Do I want my own bike? Why would I need one? I have my own biker!

  -Text from Rue to Cody

  Rue

  I blinked my eyes open and looked at the clock.

  4:37 A.M.

  What. The. Fuck?

  Sliding out of my nice warm bed, I walked half awake, half asleep, to the front door, wondering who in the world would be knocking on my apartment door at this hour.

  We’d gotten home from the day…and night, of fun, and I’d collapsed into the bed, not even taking the time to say goodbye to Cleo.

  Had he forgotten something?

  No, I decided.

  He’d have just broken in like he usually did.

  So who was at my door?

  I turned the corner into the living room and squeaked when I saw a shadow blocking out the security light through my front window.

  Walking to my door, I unlocked the deadbolt, twisted lock on the doorknob, and then cursed when I forgot to unarm the system.

  Quickly punching in the buttons that shut the system down, I turned back around to see the door slam open and stop when it caught the chain on the door that I’d yet to unlock.

  It saved my life.

  A couple months ago when I’d made the move, I’d thought the extra heavy door was ridiculous.

  Nonetheless, I’d remembered what Cleo had told me about having a good door, and a chain that could withstand hundreds of pounds of force, and I’d felt secure.

  Now, I was thanking sweet baby Jesus that I’d listened.

  “Open the door, bitch,” a man’s rough voice hissed.

  I blinked and backed away from the door.

  The man’s hands went inside the crack and started grappling for the chain at the top of the door.

  Not knowing what the hell to do, but knowing I had to do something, I did what any sane woman would do. Something I knew wouldn’t feel too good for the occupant of that arm.

  Using my body, I ran and slammed into the door with all the force my body could muster, without breaking myself in the process.

  I hit hard, and I head the audible snap of the radius and the ulna breaking in the man’s arm.

  Bile rushed up my throat, but I tamped it down as my flight or fight response started to really kick in.

  Running back to my bedroom, I grabbed my phone and ran back to the living room with the phone to my ear.

  “911, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked.

  “My address is 3332 Point Dunes Road. Apartment 1C. Shreveport. Someone’s trying to break into my apartment,” I blurted out.

  “How do you know someone’s trying to break in?” The operator asked.

  I looked at the door, and something silver caught my attention.

  A knife.

  On the floor.

  What the fuck?

  “I went to open the door and the chain was still on. That stopped him from bashing my face in with the door. I broke his arm, though,” I explained quickly.

  Why she couldn’t just dispatch units first, and ask questions later, was beyond me.

  However, I wasn’t a dispatcher, and what the hell did I know?

  “You broke his arm? How are you aware it’s a male?” The woman asked.

  I could hear her fingers moving on the keyboard on the other end, so I hoped she sent someone.

  Quick.

  I swallowed quickly, trying to keep our late dinner down as I watched the door warily, too scared to actually go check to see if the man was gone.

  “He yelled at me to ‘open the door, bitch’ but I didn’t,” I explained.

  Sirens started to wail in the distance, and I started to breathe again.

  “They’re coming,” I said gratefully.

  “Yeah, honey. They are,” she said soothingly. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

  I blinked, surprised at the abrupt shift in her demeanor, and tone of her voice.

  “I’m Rue Loden,” I said softly.

  “Alright, Rue. Well, just stay on the line. The police should be there any second. Okay?” She asked softly.

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “Yes, ma’am.”

  She giggled. “Good. What do you do?”

  I knew she was just trying to keep my mind off of what was going on, but it worked. I calmed some.

  “I’m a nurse at Christus Health,” I said.

  Which reminded me that I had less than an hour before I needed to leave for work.

  Mother fucker.

  A scratch outside the door made me freeze, and I started to get scared all over again when a flashlight’s beam of light swept over my window, door, and the porch area.

  “Are the cops here yet?” I whispered as softly as I could.

  “Yes, they are. There’s a police officer at your door right now,” the 911 operator said.

  I felt relief pour through me. “Thank you.”

  I could practically feel the other woman on the other end of the line smiling. “You’re welcome, dear. Just stay there until he makes sure the scene is secure. He’ll announce himself when he’s ready for you to open it, okay?”

  I agreed, and waited for a good ten more minutes before I heard what I’d been waiting for. “This is the police, you can open up now, Ms. Loden.”

  I walked slowly to the door. “Can I see your badge?”

  A shiny metal object wormed its way through the door, held by a man with black sleeves covering his arm all the way to the wrist.

  “Ask the operator what my badge number is,” he said soothingly.

  I followed directions. “He wants me to ask you what his badge number is.”

  “916464. Officer Ray Murano,” she said quickly.

  I flipped the entryway light on, and read the numbers that were on his badge.

  “Thank you for staying with me, the right man is here,” I said to the woman.

  My legs started shaking as respite coursed through me.

  “I’m glad you’re all right, sweetie. Take care now,” she said as she hung up.

  I opened the door, and was surprised to see a nice looking older man in his late fifties standing at the door, badge still in his right hand and holding it up for me to see.

  “Hi,” I said opening the door wide. “Thank you for coming so quick.”

  He winked. “It’s my job, ma’am.”

  I smiled. “Still. It means a lot to me.”

  “No problem, honey. That’s what I’d want if my own daughter was in trouble. Now, I want you to stay back and let me get some fingerprints. He wrote something on your door, too. So just stay away, and let me work, okay?” He instructed.

  I nodded, and turned to the TV, clicking it on.

  The sound of 50 First Dates started to drone in the background as I watched the older cop start casing my door for prints.

  An hour and a half later, the cop was finished with the front door, and the surrounding area.

  “Property is clear. Her car is trashed, though. Needs to be towed to the yard. Already dusted it for prints, but we’ll see if we can’t find anything better,” the youngest of all the cops said.

  My heart sank. Mother lover, I just got that bitch back!

  “Are you needing to tow it into the police impound yard, or can I tow it somewhere I can have someone fix it for me?” I asked, causing all three men to look at me.

  I blushe
d when I had all of their attention.

  Thank God I was wearing my jeans still!

  “You can have it towed anywhere you want. We’ll just need to run a crime scene crew through it. Shouldn’t take very long, though. You’ll need to call the insurance provider as soon as you can. That bad boy’s gonna need some work,” the second cop said.

  He was huge.

  His skin was the color of ebony, and his hair was cut tightly to his scalp. The edges perfect.

  He was extremely good looking.

  He wore that uniform well.

  “Uhh, thank you. I’ll just give him a call right quick, if you don’t mind,” I said as I backed away to the kitchen where I’d left my phone.

  They all nodded and went back to inspecting whatever was written on my door, the knife on the floor, and the area surrounding my front porch.

  I walked to my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart.

  It rang five times before a husky female voice answered. “Hello?”

  I hung up, knowing I had no desire to deal with Molly’s shit right then.

  “Okay, well change of plans. Take it to wherever. I’ll figure it out tomorrow after I get off work,” I said as I shoved the phone into my pant’s pocket.

  “No problem. It’s there when you’re ready. Can I give you a ride anywhere before we go?” The older cop asked.

  I looked at the time on the stove and nodded. “Yeah, actually, if you don’t mind. I need to be getting into work here shortly. If you’ll give me about fifteen minutes to get ready, I’d appreciate it. You can make yourselves some coffee, and you’re welcome to the muffins on the counter.”

  I’d made those to take to work this morning, but it seemed like a better idea for the cops that had helped me out when I most needed it.

  ***

  Rue

  “So what did your door say again?” Cody asked as I took a bite of my sandwich.

  “Keep your mouth shut. Or something to that affect. I didn’t really look. It was too dark,” I said around a mouthful of food.

  Cody blinked. “And you’re not the least bit worried about this?”

  I shook my head. “Not really, no. I’ve had this happen before. It probably has something to do with the trial that’s coming up next month.”

  He blinked again.

  “You got something wrong with your eyes?” I worried.

  He shook his head. “No. You’re just being really flippant about it. You nearly had someone break into your apartment last night. I’d think you’d at least call someone and tell them instead of just letting it slip out when you tell me why you didn’t bring the muffins you said you were going to bring.”

  “I’d like to know that, too,” I dark, menacing voice said from behind me.

  I tensed, sensing the anger in Cleo’s voice before I even turned around to look at his face.

  I swallowed thickly, choking down the partially chewed piece of bread and meat like it was a rock.

  I turned slowly to see Cleo standing behind us in jeans, a black shirt, and his motorcycle vest.

  He had on his aviator glasses and a blue ball cap that said Life Flight on it in red embroidered letters.

  It was me not being able to see his eyes that really set the tone, letting me know that he was extremely pissed off.

  However, I didn’t know what for. I’d tried to call him.

  Once.

  Kind of.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  He stared at me for a few long moments before his gaze moved to Cody. “Give us a few minutes, please?”

  Cody stood and patted my shoulder. “I’ll cover for you for another half hour or so.”

  I watched him leave with reluctance.

  “You wanna know what I heard today on the way to work?” He asked with a deceptively soft tone of voice.

  I shook my head. “No, what?”

  “My sister called. Told me she answered my phone this morning at five, saying that you’d called while I was on my run. Stupid me, but I didn’t call you back because I was running late for work. However, then I got another call from a cop buddy on the Shreveport PD who said you’d had your place broken into, and your car vandalized. I probably wouldn’t have known at all if I hadn’t asked the man to keep an ear out for your name,” he snapped.

  “I tried calling you!” I accused.

  “Really? You tried? Or did you just go through the motions? ‘Cause if you’d wanted me to know, you would’ve left a message instead of hanging up as soon as you’d heard my sister’s voice,” he growled.

  I stood and faced the man who was doing a really, really good job at pissing me off. “You want to know the truth of why I didn’t talk to her? Because your sister’s a fucking bitch. In fact, all of them are bitches to me. They’re so fucking selfish. All they care about is keeping you to themselves. They don’t care if you’re happy. That’s your job, after all. To make them happy. Don’t you ever wonder why I’m never around when you’re sisters are?”

  He blinked, surprised at my vehemence. “You don’t like my sisters?”

  I laughed in amusement at how truly cuckolded he was when it came to his sisters. “Do me a favor. Next time you see them, bring up my name. In fact, I know you’re supposed to do lunch with them tomorrow. How about you call me when you’re done, and we’ll pick this up again there.”

  I didn’t spare him another glance, annoyed that he wouldn’t even ask me what had happened.

  I probably wouldn’t have told him if I’d been a little less sleep deprived.

  No one told him what to do when it came to his sisters.

  They had their big brother so wrapped around their fingers that it was comical.

  The man did absolutely anything and everything he could when it came to them. So much so that it was well and truly hard to get in there.

  Somehow, though, I’d managed it this time around, and I could tell just by the expression on his face as I left that he’d be thinking about what I’d said.

  Which was good, because I wasn’t coming fourth to him any longer. I deserved first.

  Chapter 14

  It’s throat punch Thursday, and I’m offering free tickets.

  -Cleo to his boss

  Cleo

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” I said incredulously. “You’re telling me, that if I don’t get my girlfriend not to testify against the case that’s in less than a month, that I’m going to be let go? Is that what I’m hearing?”

  Did he know how illegal that was?

  Seriously, was I hearing what he was saying correctly?

  The man standing in front of me, the same man that I’d once had the upmost respect for, nodded. “Yes.”

  I walked forward until I was standing in front of him, nearly nose to nose. “Fuck. You.”

  He blinked at me, surprised. “What?”

  The funny thing was, was that he actually looked surprised that I hadn’t taken him up on his offer.

  “You heard me,” I confirmed.

  “But…but if you don’t tell her not to testify, we’ll lose everything anyway, and you’ll lose your job,” he stuttered.

  I smiled at him. “Yeah? Well who says I want this job anyway? Do you know that I had at least eight other offers when I started this job?”

  He swallowed thickly. “No.”

  “Well, I did. In fact, the hospital in Longview also offered me one. It’d be a little bit of a drive to go to Longview and back every day, but I could do it. That’s not too far away. I think I’ll go talk to them. Maybe we can start things rolling,” I snapped.

  I walked away from the man and my job.

  Fuck him.

  He could take that job and shove it up his ass.

  I’d made it nearly all the way out to my bike when a thought struck me, causing me to turn and walk back inside and to the man’s office.

  He was on the phone. “No, I can’t get him to. He just quit rather than ask her not to testify. I’ve done ever
ything you’ve asked me to do.”

  Alonzo Potts, the man who’d just fired me, looked scared.

  So scared, in fact, that he was almost ashen.

  “He did exactly like you told him to do. In fact, he has a broken arm for it now,” he pleaded.

  The man must’ve said something horrible, because the look on the Alonzo’s face when he hung up the phone spoke of anything but happiness. He looked downright terrified.

  I left the same way I came, my mind whirling.

  The same thought kept going through my head, over and over again.

  What had she gotten herself into?

  ***

  Cleo

  I was late for my lunch with my sisters.

  However, I’d needed to inform Silas about what I’d learned and get his opinion on things.

  He’d set to work on finding out what he could on his end, and he’d had an interesting possibility for my job as well.

  I drove to The Blind Tiger with my mind on Rue.

  Then what she’d said yesterday about how my sisters were selfish popped through my mind.

  They’d really only met a handful of times. Surely she was just overreacting.

  As I pulled into the parking lot and parked next to my sister, Meredith’s, car, I made a note of the tires.

  They’d need to be replaced.

  I’d do that this week since I didn’t have anything else to do seeing as I’d just quit my job less than two hours ago.

  I walked into the dark room and went straight to the bar where my sisters were already in full swing.

  Each had a half empty glass of something blue sitting in front of them, and they were all carrying on about something.

  None of them saw me though.

  Which annoyed me to no end.

  I was always telling them they needed to be more aware of their surroundings than they were.

  “No, she called and as soon as she heard my voice she hung back up,” Molly tittered.

  I froze, stopping two tables down and listening.

  “That’s funny. A year ago she did that to me, too. She’d called looking for Mikhail, and I’d told her he was gone,” Meredith said around her straw.

  I’d always wondered about that.

  I’d gotten two calls from Rue after I’d left her. If I’d gotten anymore, I’d probably have caved and gone back to her.