by A. L Long
“Do you know Nikki’s last name?” Peter asked.
“No, I don’t know anything about her, other than Paige and her were friends back in New York.”
“I’ll see what I can find out. I’ll get back to you as soon as I come up with anything.”
The minute I hung up with Peter, I started thinking about the kind of trouble Nikki could be in. I remembered that Sabrina had a friend named Nikki. Agnew it was a long shot, but it would be worth it to find out if she was the same one. Swiping the screen, I searched for Cop’s number.
“Hey Cop, its Hawk. I have a question for you,” I said
“Shoot bro,” Cop replied.
“Didn’t Sabrina have a friend named Nikki?” I asked.
“Yeah, they worked together at the Happy Cow. Nikki Jennings, why?” Cop asked.
“Because I think she is in Stillwater. I think she may be in some sort of trouble. An SUV showed up at Boomer Lake. It stuck out like a sore thumb, so I got the plate number and had Peter run it. Thought it was kinda strange that it showed up after Nikki did.”
“What does she look like?” Cop asked.
“Well, she is gorgeous, but not in the same way that Paige is. Nikki has that model look to her. You know, tall, thin, nice body, the kind you see on the cover of one of those girly magazines.”
“Yep, I know exactly. The girl you just described sounds just like her. I’ll check with Brie to be certain. She would know if Nikki was making any traveling plans.”
After I hung up, I felt better knowing that Paige’s, Nikki, might be Sabrina’s, Nikki, as well. I just needed to find out what the deal was with her, and what kind of trouble she was in. I told Paige that I would be back to talk with her and knowing what I do, it needed to be alone. I just needed to come up with an excuse to break away from Nikki.
~****~
I must have sat on the lumpy bed in my motel room for at least two hours before I decided to wait until tomorrow to have that chat with Paige. After explaining that I wouldn’t be able to make it back for our little chat, I got the feeling that she was relieved that our little talk wouldn’t be happening until tomorrow. Postponing the chat gave me some time to think about my next move. Even though I didn’t have a laptop or a tablet, I still had my smartphone. Pulling up the internet, I began searching anything that had to do with Paige Harper. Usually something would come up,but there was nothing. Paige didn’t even have a Facebook page. I found this to be odd especially since the majority of all the people in the US had one.
With no results for Paige, I decided to try Nikki Jennings instead. The web lit up with her name. Not only did she have a Facebook page, but she also showed having a Twitter account and several other accounts. Clicking on her Facebook link. I opened her page. “Wow, this girl was very popular with 3094 Facebook friends. Who the hell has that many friends?” I thought to myself. Scrolling down her timeline, I tried out find anything that would tell me who she was and who her friends were. When nothing stuck out, I began looking at her friends list. Maybe someone would stand out there. As I began scrolling down her friends list, I noticed that Paige wasn’t one of her friends. I found this odd, considering she came down all the way from New York to visit her. Another thing I thought was odd, was that Sabrina wasn’t amongst her friends list either.
Looking at the time on my phone, I realized that I hadn’t had anything to eat since this morning. That would explain why my stomach was talking to me. Pushing from the bed, I grabbed my keys form the nightstand and decided to head over for a bite at the corner diner. It was the best place to eat in this town, unless of course you wanted a hamburger and fries. As I got in the car and began backing up, I noticed the same SUV parked across the street at the town park. The fact that it was parked next to a weeping willow tree didn’t do much to hide their presence. Because I was in one of those moods, I decided to go check it out and find out what it was that they wanted and why the fuck they were following me.
Stepping on the gas, I headed their way. They must have seen me approaching, because not sooner I punched the gas, they were pulling away from the curb. There was no way I was going to let them get away this time. As they sped up, so did I. I knew I was breaking every speed limit posted, but since they had a head start on me, I had to increase in my speed if I was going to catch up with them. Turning the corner, I could her the wheels of the SUV squeal. If I had to guess, I would say they took that corner at 40 MPH. It was a good thing I was in my Mustang because turning the corner with my car was no problem at that speed.
I was gaining on them when a beat-up station wagon pulled out in front of me. Trying to avoid crashing into it, I yanked my wheel to the right which caused my car to hit the curb and jump up onto the sidewalk missing the little flower shop. Looking back in my rearview mirror, I could see the back of the SUV as it drove away. There was no way I would be able to catch them now. Slamming my hands down on my steering wheel, I was beaten once again and left empty. Contemplating my next move, there was a light tap on my window. Looking over, I saw a little old lady wearing wire framed glasses that reminded me of Mrs. Beasley standing outside. Rolling down the window I heard her say, “You should be a little bit more careful, I almost hit this beautiful car.”
“Yes, ma’am. Just in a bit of a hurry. I’ll try to be more careful,” I replied, feeling guilty at the way she was looking a me.
Patting me on the shoulder, I watched as she turned away and got back inside her beat-up station wagon that looked to be just about as old as her. Putting my car in reverse, I slowly backed off of the curb and headed down the street to my original destination.
Parking the Mustang in front of the diner, I got out and noticed an attractive girl holding the hand of a little boy. I assumed that by the resemblance that the little boy was her son. It wasn’t until she turned around that I recognized that face. It was Erica, the girl I use to get my kicks with whenever I was on leave to see my brother. I knew the minute she looked up at me, she knew exactly who I was. There wasn’t anything that I wanted to say to her, so when she started towards me, I was at a loss for words. The closer she got , the more I could feel my chest tighten. Even though everything we did together was consensual, some of the stuff was pretty hardcore, even for me. She claimed that she loved everything I did to her. I felt guilty as hell when the bruises and red marked began showing up the next day when were at it again.
“Jayce, is that you?” she asked softly.
“Hey Erica, how are you?” I replied, shoving my hands in my pockets.
“Good. Wow, you look different,” she answered.
Looking down at the small hand in hers, I followed it to the little face that was staring up at me. Taking in the little guy’s features, I could see that there was something about him that was all too familiar. His eyes. It was like looking back at myself twenty-seven years ago. Kneeling down in front of him, I looked up at Erica and asked, “Who’s this little guy?”
“This is my son. His name is Charlie,” Erica said.
“Well, hello Charlie. My name is Hawk. At least that is what everyone calls me,” I said, holding out my hand.
I just about fell over when he took hold of my hand and said very softly. “Nice to meet you sir. Did you know I have a red truck?”
Letting go of my hand, he reached behind him and pulled a little red Tonka truck from his back pocket. “Wow, that’s a really nice truck,” I said with a smile.
“We are meeting Mom and Dad for dinner. It was really nice seeing you Jayce,” Erica said.
Standing to my feet, I watched as the two of them headed for the steps of the diner. Knowing they would be inside, I turned the other way and headed back to my car. A hamburger and fries sounded better.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Paige
Hearing that Hawk wasn’t coming back to my apartment was the best news I could have had. It meant that I had one more day to come up with an explanation for what happened today. I had a pretty good feeling that the little act Ni
kki put on wasn’t as convincing as it looked. I thought maybe Nikki could give me a few pointers on how to make up a story that would sound believable enough even for Hawk.
After telling Nikki my pathetic story we decided to chill on the couch, Nikki ended up ordering pizza while I opened a bottle of wine that I took from the bar. Merrill was really good about the employees taking liquor from the bar. He didn't really care as long as there was money in the till to cover the charge, and what I meant by charge was the fifteen percent mark-up he had on all of his liquor.
Pouring a glass for myself and Nikki, I shifted my feet in her direction and held out a half-full glass to her. Taking a seat beside her, we sat in silence for a minute enjoying the peace and quiet. At least until she asked, “So what are you going to tell the hot alpha-male?”
“I’m not going to say anything, and you better not either,” I replied.
“I pinky swore with you. That is like the holiest of all swears,” Nikki confirmed, placing her hand across her heart.
“I know you did. I just need to come up with something that Hawk will believe,” I hinted.
“Why don't you just play dumb and tell him you don't know anything?” Nikki suggested.
After Nikki told me what I should do, maybe she was right. If I played dumb, at least I wouldn’t have to remember any details of the story I would be telling him. I knew how lies could snowball into more lies and then even more lies. Drinking the last of my wine, I heard a light knock on the door. It had to be the pizza delivery guy. Walking over to the door. I pulled back the dark curtain and looked out. Holding a white box with the lettering ‘Santino’s’ across the top in big red letters, it was definitely the pizza delivery guy. Giving him the correct amount and a healthy tip, I took the box and closed the door. Nikki was already in the kitchen getting some plates and refilling our glasses with wine. It was nice having her here. I didn’t have very many friends, given my current situation, but I knew that my secret was safe with her.
After we polished off the bottle of wine and consumed all but two pieces of the ‘everything under the sun’ pizza, Nikki suggested we go to Hell’s Gate for a game of pool and a drink. I wasn’t that keen on playing pool, so I suggested we go for a quick drink and relax. Grabbing her things, we headed down the stairs to the back entrance of the bar. The minute we opened the door, we could hear the music and the faint sound of male and female conversations taking place. Merrill was behind the bar talking with an attractive young girl sitting on the other side. Although I would have preferred to sit at a table, Nikki convinced me that we needed to be at the bar between two cute guys. As hopping as the place was, I was surprised to find that there were two empty seats available at the bar, and being between two hot guys was an added bonus, at least for Nikki.
As we took our seats, Merrill spotted us and came over to take our order. Nikki ordered some tooty-fruity drink that I had never heard of and I ordered a Cosmopolitan. Right when Merrill stepped away, the guy sitting next to Nikki began to hit on her. I couldn’t hear everything he was saying, but whatever it was brought a smile to her face. It wasn’t long after we got our drinks that Nikki and the guy got up and headed to the pool tables. Spinning my chair, I took my drink and followed them over to where the tables were set up. I would have never thought of Nikki as the kind of girl who would even be interested in playing pool.
After I sat watching them for a while, another guy came over and sat down at a table just inches away from me. Not wanting to seem like I was checking him out. I picked up my drink and took a sip. Getting a pretty good look at him, he was very good looking. His hair was light brown and his eyes were a lighter color. Considering how dark the bar was, I was pretty sure they were either blue or green. When he got up and placed four quarters on the table, my eyes were focused on the nicest ass I had ever seen. Hawk was gorgeous in every aspect of the word, but this guy wasn’t too bad either.
Drawing my attention away from his ass, I was greeted with a smile that made me so embarrassed, I knew for certain that he knew exactly what I was looking at. Watching him walk back to his table, I turned my head in the opposite direction so that I could hide the redness that was burning like fire on my cheeks. Thinking I was pretty safe, I heard the screech of the chair against the wood floor. Turning toward the sound, there he was pulling the chair out that was positioned right across from me. As I looked at him, he was even more handsome than he looked from a distance.
Setting his drink on the table, he asked with a slight whisper, “Do you mind if I join you?”
I knew that my mouth must have been hanging open long enough for him to realize that I was gawking at him. With an embarrassed breath, I replied, “Yeah.” I was thankful that I was at least able to get that much out.
“You look very familiar to me. Have we met before?” he asked.
“I don’t think so. I have only been in town for a week or so. I’m Paige, by the way.” I said as I held out my hand.
Expecting him to just shake it like a normal person, he lowered his head and lightly placed a kiss on the back of my hand. As he looked back up at me, he said, “My name is Victor Walsh.”
“Well, it is nice to meet you, Mr. Walsh,” I said.
“Please call me Victor,” he demanded.
“Okay, Nice to meet you, Victor,” I said with a smile.
As we began talking there was yelling coming from the two guys that were playing at the next table over from where Nikki and her guy friend were. I thought for sure something bad was going to happen the way they were slinging profanities back and forth. As I watched the two guys argue, one of them finally gave up by planting his fist against the other guy's cheek. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Nikki’s pool partner looked over and all of a sudden he was part of the fight.
This was the most excitement I had seen in a long time. I wasn’t sure what all the drama was about, but I knew one thing for sure, there was way too much testosterone in this place for me. Rising to my feet. I headed over to where Nikki was. By the look on her face, I could tell that she was just as amazed as I was. It wasn’t until Victor stepped in that I realized the little argument at the pool table between two guys ended up being a brawl with four guys going at it. All I knew was that we really needed to get out of there and fast. Grabbing Nikki by the arm, I pulled her towards me and said, “Let’s get out of here, before things get really bad.”
Taking my lead, Nikki followed behind me to the back of the bar where I knew we would be safe, away from the male egos. With our drinks in hand, we slipped inside Merrill’s office and shut the door. Even with the door closed, I could still hear the commotion outside. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it sounded like every male in the bar was getting in on the action.
Sitting on the plush couch that had to have been from the seventies, Nikki and I looked at each other and tapped our glasses together, with Nikki saying, “Here’s to men and all their bullshit hormones.”
I had to laugh at her toast. Not because it was funny, but because she was so spot on. As we sat there perfectly content to be away from all the drama, the door to the office opened. Thinking that the only person it could be was Merrill, we were both surprised to see Victor opening the door.
“It is like a damn zoo out there. Mind if I join your solitude?”
Nikki and I just looked at each other and began to laugh. Who says stuff like that anyway? After we had finally composed ourselves, I said, “Sure, the more the merrier.”
There wasn’t any other place to sit except behind Merrill’s desk. Victor took a seat like he belonged there. It was kind of strange seeing him sitting behind the large desk. There was something very commanding about him sitting there. Like he belonged there.
“So, crazy stuff out there,” he said.
“Yeah. What were they fighting about anyway?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, I think it may have had something to do with a girl,” he assumed.
There was no way that the two guys playin
g pool were fighting about a girl. If I had to guess it was more about cheating. Finishing the last of my drink, I had enough excitement for one night, Pushing to my feet, I looked over to Nikki and said, “I don’t know about you, but I think I am ready to call it a night. Before she could respond, Victor was standing.
“Wait, I haven’t even had the chance to buy you a drink,” he offered.
“There’s no need, really. I’m good,” I replied.
Nikki and I were at the door when Victor asked, “Can I at least ask you to join me for dinner?”
“It’s late and I am really not hungry, but thanks for the offer. Maybe another time,” I suggested.
