by Harlow Brown
After I bottled up the booze got it ready to leave, I let Chief know where I was going. I ran into Rumor in the hall and nerves shot through me.
"Hey, you, where you headed?" she asked.
"Uhh. I have some errands to run."
"You want some company?"
Well, I did, but she was not going with me on a run. I wouldn't put her at risk. We are dealing with Jay, and he was liable to get pissed and crazy.
"Thanks, but no thanks," was all that I said to her in hopes of her dropping it.
Much to my surprise she did. "Fine, suit yourself. I'm going to swim then."
Away she went, dressed in her bathing suit and cover up. Barefoot and ready for the sun, she momentarily took my attention away.
"Either go after her or leave and go do your thing, but don’t mix the two. If you are going to run the liquor, you need to do it without her on your mind. If you can't do that, then call Jay and postpone the meeting and go talk to her. Fury, it's written all over your face that you want to. Go do it."
"I'll go run this and get it over with. If she is still around when I get back, I will consider it. I make no promises."
"You big, dumb son of a bitch. I suppose you will learn one way or the other. Looks like you are going to choose the hard way."
"Learn what?"
"To listen to either your gut, or your president. Damn it boy, we are both trying to tell you the same damn thing. It isn't going to hurt you to talk to the girl."
He walked away and mumbled something about being a hard-headed idiot that wouldn’t know a good thing if it hit him upside his head with a few expletives thrown in for emphasis, I’m sure. Internally I reassured myself. My first priority is this club. I have a run to do, and making money comes first.
I loaded up the truck and got out on the highway. Jay and Sully were in route to the tattoo shop where we always did business, but something just felt wrong with this run. I drove on with caution to see if it was a fluke feeling or if there were flames close to the smoke. When I arrived, there was nothing too out of the ordinary. Sully's car was where it usually was. Roxxi's car, too. Jay's motorcycle was there instead of his car. How in the hell is he going to haul the loot on his bike? Nah. This isn't happening, not today, not on my watch. From the get-go they have known that things stay the same and nothing changes on delivery days.
I picked up the phone and called him.
"Jay, hey man. Are you around? I have someone interested in some ink." Code for I have your shit and I'm close.
"Yeah, I'm real close. Go ahead and pull on in. I'll be right there."
"Nah, man. It's cool. I'll wait on you to get there, but hurry. I have things to do and I’m tired of driving around."
"I am five minutes away. Go ahead and stop in at the shop. Sully is there and will help you."
"You know what Jay? I am driving by now and see your bike, not your car. Tell me, how the blue bloody fuck you going to… never mind. Something is wrong here. I smell a snitch. We are done. Don't call me, don't speak my name, or my clubs name." I hung up and headed back to the clubhouse. I took a back road and didn’t leave the way I came in. I had to throw the cops off if there were any around. That deal had gone south and was shady as fuck, I wasn't taking chances. I actually went several different ways and took many different, unnecessary turns and side streets to throw off anyone who might be tailing me.
I only passed two cop cars and they were at the local diner. I made it back home safely and unscathed.
I went to find Chief, Whiskey, Magnum, Shooter and Briar. They all needed to be up to speed with the situation. We all gathered in the kitchen, after I got Chief updated.
"So, we are down a buyer and I have a feeling that we are being watched heavily at the moment. No runs till further notice. Jay and Sully were setting us up. It's a good thing that Fury didn’t blow his gut off this time," Chief said to me as he grinned my way.
I knew what he was referring to. The blonde bombshell, and how I had purposely put her off and ignored her to make the run.
"What do you want us to do now?" Mag asked with concern etched on his face.
"We wait. That’s all there is to do. Take a couple of days off and don’t worry about anything." Chief tried to settle him down a little. "Think of it as a vacation and think of the girls that are here to spend it with you."
He knew that was the soft spot for him. Girls were a weakness for Magnum. Calling him a man whore was an understatement. He changes women like a teenage girl changes her mind.
"We need to notify our other buyers that we are taking a little break and are out of commission for a while. I'll get Riddick to do that." Briar chimed in as he stood up to leave.
"Where are you going?" I asked a little more hateful than intended.
"To be with my girl, not that it’s any business of yours." he said without anything further.
"I’m going to have a drink and mull over the situation and try to figure out how to get Sully and Jay back. No one fucks with my club and gets away with it," I said as I smacked my hand down on the table and scooted the chair away hastily, causing it to make screeching noises on the floor.
"Do not do something stupid. I mean it Fury. Tame it." ordered Chief.
"Yeah." I said as I went to find a beer in hopes that it would help calm my nerves.
Those two have messed with the wrong club, and they will pay for this. I have to be smart. I set out to let my thoughts run rampant, just me, my beer, and the sand. I need to be all alone where I can get some peace. No giggling girls, no obnoxious Magnum, no clear-blue eyes just asking for me to come talk.
I was trying to justify the thoughts in my head. The part of me that wanted to speak with Rumor and the part that was telling me to run battled with one another. I wanted to listen to Chief, but there is the whole I'm dead thing that won't go away. Eventually it will come out, and I don’t want anyone getting caught in that. It isn't fair for me to keep my life a secret from her. I don’t feel like she would keep hers a secret from me. Hey moron, you aren't even talking to her. You can stop with the endless scenarios of what-ifs. The more logical part of my inner self chimed in.
Throwing back the last of the beer, I saw her walking down the beach with Riddick. She was staying an arm's length away, and her smile didn’t look like it had lately. Upon looking closer, she looked irritated.
I acted like I had been on a stroll and was headed back in the direction of the house, I purposely stopped in front of them. She glanced at me, then back to him and her eyes got big. She nonchalantly tilted her head to him. I read between the lines.
"Riddick." I nodded to him.
"What are you doing out here by yourself, dude? There is a whole house full of girls and you are walking on the beach alone."
"Clearing my mind, that’s all. Why would I go in there with all those girls when you have delivered the only one that I care about talking to? Thanks, now go back to the house and find someone else to woo." I turned to Rumor and her face softened some.
"Really, dude. You seriously just stepped right in on what I was trying to do!"
"Oh, honey. I don’t know what kind of delusional bullshit you are feeding yourself. You ain't my type and the only reason I was even walking with you was because you didn’t take a hint to fuck off. I think you are an arrogant asshat, and you need to work on your courting skills. Don't even think I would humor the idea of anything involving you." Rumor let her real feelings fly.
"Whatever, bitch." he said as he walked away.
"What the fuck did you just say to her?"
"You heard me, and so did she."
"Fury, I don’t give a damn if he calls me a bitch. So, what if I am? My feelings aren’t hurt because I don’t give a good hot damn if he likes me or not. Take me to find sand dollars."
Stunned, I stood stark still and stared at her. Did she just tell me to do something? Did she just totally put Riddick in his place and not care what the repercussions were?
"Uh, let'
s go then." I obliged so the awkward situation would end.
"Thank God I ran into you. I can't stand that jerk."
"Don't worry about him. I will handle him later. He won't disrespect you and get away with it. Since when do you get to boss me around?"
"I don't, but it worked. Fucker is gone, isn’t he?"
Yes, yes, he was. No fists were used or blood shed, and the end result is still the same.
"Well played, Rumor. Well played."
"Thanks. I do what I can, and Fury?"
"Yeah?"
"I honestly couldn’t care less what he thinks of me. If he doesn’t like me, then that is just one less person to say goodbye to."
"Valid point."
"Now, about these sand dollars. Was that just a ploy to get me away from him?"
"Both."
"Let's go find some, shall we?"
We walked down the beach a way before she asked me anything. We took in the peace that was surrounding us. Then it hit me that I was at peace with her. Not that it means anything big, but I wasn’t rushing to get away from her. It was the opposite.
"How long until you start talking to me? This is a bit on the boring side, and I don’t know where to look for these sand dollars."
"Look, I don’t have a lot to say. How's the weather and are you liking your time here seem to be all I can come up with."
"You haven't talked to anyone in a while huh?"
"Correct. So, I don’t really know what to do or what to say. I find it is easier to just stay to myself."
"How about you just ask me whatever it is you want to know. I will do the same."
I didn’t give her a chance to say anything else, just butted in and said, "There are things I don't talk about. Just remember that."
"Well, rude ass, I won't know what those things are unless you tell me, so just don’t be a dick when I ask you something you don’t want to answer. I am a big girl and can handle the words I don’t want to talk about that. My feelings won't be hurt a bit."
"How long have you been single?" I asked her.
"This time, a couple of years."
"This time?"
"I've had two serious relationships and they both ended abruptly. The last one was a couple years ago, and the other was a year prior to that, you?"
"Four years, or so." That’s as much as I've ever told anyone. "Abruptly too. Let's not stay in our pasts. It's my fault for asking."
"Look, I don't want you to tell me anything you aren't ready to tell. I don't care about your past. I don’t really care about your distant future. I don't aim to be a part of it, but I do care about the here and now. I want you to tell me whatever it is that you want me to know."
"You don’t hold back, much do you?"
"What purpose would that serve? Tell me when we could, or would, talk to or see each other? There's hundreds of miles and several states separating us."
"Right again."
An awkward silence found its way to our moment. We quit walking down the white sand beach and sat in the sand where the water meets the shore. She made foot prints over and over as the waves gently washed them away.
"My first real relationship was my high school sweetheart. He was my everything. I loved him with every ounce of my being. He had flaws but, what new high school grad didn't? His one vice was drinking. He wasn't of age, and his older buddies supplied it to him. He was drunk the night he told me that he would never be good enough, and shot himself in the head, all while I was begging him to stop."
"Damn." I thought out loud.
"Then I ended up with his best friend."
"And?"
"He disappeared. No note, no body, no call. Nothing. I'm not convinced he isn't around somewhere."
"Double damn."
"What about you?"
"I don't want to discuss it."
"Alright. Fair enough."
She turned her head from me to the ocean, trying to get a grip on the night’s revelations.
"I've not told many people about Creed's disappearance. Sorry it slipped out."
"No worries. I won't tell anyone."
I thought long and hard about what I was about to offer her. If I did it then it would ensure I have contact with her after she leaves, but it might backfire on me. With worry and concern in my voice I asked, "Would you be interested in investigating it further?"
What did I have to lose? If we found out that he really was gone, then that meant we could still have an open connection. If not, it just means I'm simply not meant to have any kind of relationship with this woman, although I'm not sure that is even what I want. I could see if Chief can get in touch with his connections and pull a favor.
"Chief is in good with some people in law enforcement. I can see if he would mind looking around in this."
"I'm not sure I want to know. If he turns out to be alive, then I'm just going to be pissed off and hurt that he couldn't, or didn't, tell me goodbye, this ain't working, fuck off, or something. I got nothing. And if he turns out to be dead, well, that's two that have gotten away. I can't deal with any more heartbreak. I lost my soulmate and then fell in love with his best friend, and lost him, too. I like being in the dark. It means I don’t have to face reality. However, the cops might finally leave me alone if the truth was revealed."
"Cops?"
"Well, it looks suspicious because Crosby committed suicide, and then Creed just disappeared. In their eyes, two people close to me have ended up dead or missing, so I must be the culprit, or I know more than I'm telling." She stopped and took a breath and realized she left the conversation open to speculation. "Which clearly I'm not. I have nothing to hide. They have searched my house, my car, my parents’ house, everywhere, and have come up short every time. Why would I purposely do something to ensure that I am lonely forever?"
"It doesn’t make sense. Just let me know what you decide, and I’ll see if Chief will pull some strings."
She nodded her head and said, "Let's head back. I'm all talked out. You can take me sand dollar hunting later."
We got up and walked back to the house, neither of us saying a word. It was mutually understood that we both needed the silence. As we walked back towards the house, our hands innocently touched, and we both looked down at them. Our eyes caught the sight of them hanging so closely together. It was as if she knew I was too scared or nervous to do anything, she took my hand in hers. She gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled at me. With her clear eyes looking at me, I stopped our trek and stood in front of her. I bent down to kiss her but hesitated. She noticed the hesitation, and lifted herself up on her tip toes and closed the space between us. When we kissed, time stood still. My nerves were temporarily gone. It wasn’t a deep dueling tongues kiss, but a sweet one. One that I hadn’t experienced since Daisy. I pulled away and took in a deep breath. She smiled at me and tugged on our connected hands and urged me to lead the way back to the house.
Chapter 8
Rumor
WORD VOMIT POURED out of my mouth, spilling the truths that cluttered my reality. I didn’t even care that I poured my shit storm of a life out for a biker to sort through, especially one that doesn't talk much. The kiss we shared last night had woken a part of me that I hadn’t seen in a long time.
"Fury, why have you opened up to me? You’ve made it very clear that you don’t talk to people."
"I like you. You don’t annoy me, and I feel like you will understand me more than anyone. Everyone else just wants to get to the bottom of who I am or solve my problems. You said you didn’t care, and that's a relief because I don’t want to drudge up my past. In the beginning, I'm not going to lie, it was because you are fine, and I couldn’t stop looking at you. Then you spoke and put me in my place, and just didn't take my shit. I respect that."
Alright then, the biker is not as harsh and crass as he portrays. This man clearly has layers as well as mystery. How many would he reveal? How many would he pull back so that I might get to know him better? These are the questions
plaguing my mind. I also question, do I want to peel them back? He seems deep, dark, and intense and I am not sure I want that in my life. I have enough dark, deep shit in my own life, and I know I am not hanging around here long.
We continued walking in a quiet.
"A penny for your thoughts?" He interrupted the tranquility.
"My thoughts are worth more than that."
It was true. I have never liked that saying. Of course, my thoughts are worth more than a freaking penny.
Once we were back at the house, we made our way through the kitchen and stopped by the fridge for a cold one. He handed me a Michelob Ultra Light and grabbed a Busch Light for himself as we made our way out to the deck with the rest of the crowd.
The summer sun was setting and casting beautiful hues of orange, pinks, and reds across the sky. I sat and stared at the oceanic view as long as possible in solace. I wasn’t bothered by the chatter of Haze and the rest of the girls and the few guys who were also there. I proceeded to tip my beer back and enjoy the view in front of me. I suppose it is just against some unwritten rule to be happy alone, because Haze be-bopped over to me and asked me how I was doing and if I was sure I wanted to be left alone.
“Yes, Haze I am fine. No, I’m not upset. Yes, I’m sure. No, I don’t want to talk about it. There is nothing to talk about. Go on and have a good time. I was thoroughly enjoying my quiet time. It’s totally okay to not talk or be in the center of the crowd all of the time. Now go. Please, have a good time. I swear I am okay. I was taking in the breathtaking sunset against the ocean.” I rambled in almost a run-on sentence, so that she didn’t have time to ask me the questions that I knew were soon to follow.
"Fine, drink alone. They say that’s the first step to becoming an alcoholic though." She winked at me and grinned big.
I shook my head and tipped up my bottle again, remembering all of the day's events. How much Fury opened up to me. I realized I still knew next to nothing about him, but it's more than anyone else knows, apparently. I'm just unsure of how I feel about it.
