Stand Off

by Jamie Begley

  Max stared at Lizard who was weaving drunkenly on his feet.

  “Max…” Ice cleared his throat, breaking the silence of the clubhouse.

  “KC?”

  “Yes, Max?” KC wound his way through the crowd.

  “Do me a favor and follow her home.”

  “Sure thing.” KC threw Ice a worried glance as he passed.

  “Max… Let’s take this outside to the backyard,” Jackal began, but it was already too late. The temper Max was famous for exploded on Lizard, Snake, Stump, and anyone else who tried to intervene.

  “Not the fucking bar!” Jackal yelled when Max tossed Lizard over the counter, smashing all the liquor bottles.

  He picked up one of the stools, going behind the counter to use it to beat Lizard.

  “You’ll kill him… Max, back off.” Ice ran behind Max, putting an arm around his neck and trying to pull him back.

  Jackal tried to reach over the counter and take the stool away, but he had to dodge it when Max swung it at him. Ice and Max fell backward into the wall, leaving a massive hole in the plaster.

  “I’m going to kill the motherfucker then piss on him!” Max roared in fury.

  “You should have told us you changed your mind about sharing her.” Snake staggered to his feet, holding his broken nose. He froze when Max broke away from Ice.

  “Run!” Jackal and Ice both yelled as Max charged forward.

  Stump turned, running for his life.

  “Shit!” Jackal ran to Ice’s office when Max caught Stump by his long braid, jerking him off his feet. Max felt the skin on his knuckles split when he bashed his fist against Stump’s mouth.

  A shock of electricity coursed through his body, knocking him to the floor.

  “That’s enough, Jackal!” Ice ordered. “Fade, knock him out as soon as Jackal stops!”

  “Fuck, no! I’m not going near that crazy fucker.”

  Ice took the gun Fade tossed him, going to Max who was trying to get up. He slammed the gun down on the back of his neck, and Max fell back to the floor, unconscious.

  “Hurry. Tie him up and toss him on his bed before he comes to,” Ice ordered, wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth.

  “Do we have to? I don’t want to be near him if he comes to before we can tie his hands.” Fade cautiously moved closer with a couple of brothers sliding behind him as backup.

  “Jackal, bring the SUV to the front. We have to get some of them to the ER.”

  They ended up taking two vehicles. Once there, they blamed their injuries on bike crashes.

  “They all wrecked their bikes?” the nurse quizzed Ice as she noted their injuries.

  “Yeah, they were hit by a semi.”

  Chapter 23

  Max banged on Casey’s door. He was fed up with her ignoring his calls and not answering when he came by her apartment. It had been three days, and they needed to talk to get things settled between them.

  “Can I help you?” Max dropped his fist from the door, turning to see the dark-skinned woman he recognized from the bank Casey worked at.

  “I’m trying to get Casey to open her door.” He knew she wasn’t at work, since the bank had a large sign outside stating it was closed for repairs and directing the customers to another branch.

  “She’s not there.” The attractive woman stepped forward. “I’m Gianna, a friend of Casey’s. You’re her stepbrother, Max, aren’t you?”

  He gave an abrupt nod.

  She held up the key in her hand, inserting it into the lock and opening the door.

  Max went inside the eerily quiet apartment. He went through the rooms, checking to make sure she wasn’t there, before returning to the living room where Gianna was standing with a somber expression on her face.

  “Where is she?”

  Gianna placed her purse on the kitchen counter, tilting her head to the side. “You don’t know?”

  Max shook his head.

  “Casey’s moved away. She came by my house two days ago and gave me the key to her apartment.” Sadly, she stared around the apartment. “She asked me if I would clean out her apartment and sell everything then give the money to her mother.”

  Max had expected to find Casey and have a massive fight before making up, not to find her gone. He looked around the living room before going back into her bedroom. Opening her drawers, he found her clothes still inside. She had even left her cell phone on the nightstand. Picking it up, he slid it into his pocket before going back into the other room.

  “Do you know where she was going?”

  She shook her head. “She wouldn’t tell me…” Her voice broke off. “She just said she was leaving town after she gave her statement to the police.”

  She had left town without taking one item with her as far as he could tell. The only things gone were the pictures of her and Cole that had hung on her wall.

  “Thank you. If you hear from her, will you give me a call?” Max went into Casey’s kitchen where she kept a pad of paper and a pen. Scrawling his number down, he handed the slip of paper to Gianna.

  “I’m going to miss her,” Gianna said, slipping the paper into her purse. “She talked to the head branch so I could be trained as the president when the bank reopens. She could have given that job to anyone, but she made sure it was locked in place for me.”

  Max’s hands clenched by his side.

  “If she contacts you, call me,” he reminded her.

  “I will, but Max, I don’t think she will. There was something wrong. She wouldn’t tell me what it was… I tried to talk to her, but Casey’s never been one to let anyone get too close.”

  Max knew Casey didn’t have many friends, but he had believed she had someone she would confide in. Gianna had dispelled that illusion.

  There was only one person who had the information he needed, and it was long overdue for them to have a talk.

  * * *

  “Where is she?” Max asked his stepmother as she painted her fingernails.

  “Who?” Renee looked up at him from her seat on the couch.

  Max retained his temper out of respect to his father, who was standing next to him after letting him inside.

  “Casey? Where is she?”

  “How would I know? I haven’t seen her in months, not since she tried to get the Predators arrested.” She finished painting one hand and waved it in the air. “Have you tried calling her?”

  “Yes, she’s not answering her calls. Casey asked her friend to sell all her things and to give you the money.”

  The greedy excitement in her eyes before she concealed her expression disgusted Max. How could the woman not be concerned for her daughter, who had disappeared without a trace?

  “Where would she go?”

  “How should I know? She never tells me shit.” Renee shrugged. “Casey will turn up.” She began painting her other hand. “Don’t worry about her. She knows how to take care of herself.”

  Max wanted to shake the woman; instead, he went outside to stand on the porch.

  “I’ll talk to her and find out if she has any idea where Casey could be,” Mugg said, coming outside to stand next to him.

  “Find out what you can. If I talk to her any longer…” Max took a good look at his father’s worn expression. “Everything okay?”

  “We’re not exactly getting along right now. Renee bought an expensive ring I told her we couldn’t afford. I barely have enough to pay the bills this month.”

  “I could help,” he offered.

  “Not going to take money from my son again. If she doesn’t take it back, I’m leaving. Ice said I could stay at the clubhouse.”

  “You talked to Ice and not me?”

  “You’ve had a lot on your mind lately. Didn’t want to trouble you with my problems with Renee. She’ll take the ring back.” Max heard the doubt in his father’s words.

  “If you change your mind, I have a few bucks I could let you have,” Max offered again, seeing the stubborn pride that would kee
p his father from accepting any help from him.

  “No, thanks. Don’t worry, Max. Either she takes the ring back, or I’m leaving.” Mugg gave him a wry smile. “I’m too old to let a woman destroy me. Sometimes, you have to know when to walk away.”

  “Are you talking about yourself or me?”

  “Both of us, son, both of us.”

  Max rode back to the clubhouse, finding the Predators sitting around. Many of them still watched him warily, keeping their distance.

  “Where have you been? I’ve called you three times,” Ice questioned.

  “Been busy.” Max went behind the counter, getting himself a beer. “What did you need?”

  “We have a buy in a couple of hours. I need you and Jackal to make sure everything goes down okay. You up for it?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” Max drank his beer, staring coldly at Lizard, who came into the room with crutches under his arms. The cast on his leg didn’t make Max feel better. He wished he had broken his other leg so the son of a bitch had to get around in a wheelchair.

  “Leave him alone. I don’t want any more trouble between you two. He’s going to give you his cut for the next two months to make it up to you.”

  “He shouldn’t have touched her like that. We don’t force women.” Max raised his voice enough that Lizard and the other brothers could hear him.

  Buzzard stopped before crossing the floor, hobbling toward him.

  “You’re right. I was stoned and drunk. It’s not an excuse, never done a woman that way in my life. I want to tell her I’m sorry. I feel like shit for—”

  “She’s gone. I don’t know where she is.” Max slammed his beer down onto the counter.

  “Gone?” Ice asked sharply.

  “Disappeared, asked someone from work to clean her apartment out and sell her shit. Didn’t want the money, either. Told her to give it to Renee.”

  “Doesn’t sound like she’s coming back to Queen City,” Ice said.

  “No, it doesn’t.” Max ran his hand through his shaggy hair.

  “Want me to get Jackal to find her?”

  “Yeah.” Max knew he was opening himself up to ridicule from the brothers, but he needed to straighten things out between him and Casey. Then he could move on and close the door between them.

  “What are you going to do when you find her?” Ice questioned.

  “Hell if I know,” Max confessed both to himself and Ice. Casey wouldn’t forgive him easily, and he was still unsure how much of himself he was willing to give to Casey.

  * * *

  It took two months before Jackal admitted he was unable to find Casey. Max was sitting on the couch when Jackal told him. His father had been just as unsuccessful finding out any information on her.

  “She’s closed all her accounts, hasn’t asked for any references. I couldn’t find her brother Cole, either. I started searching for him when Casey tried to snitch us out. Seems like neither of them want to be found.”

  Mason quit playing pool, listening to their conversation. Max studied the man who used to be married to Renee.

  “Any ideas?”

  “No. Sounds like she doesn’t want to be found. How long you going to keep acting like a pussy? I like Casey, but even I can see she doesn’t want anything to do with you.” Mason bent over, making his shot.

  “I think he’s right. She gave the bank her resignation a month before she disappeared. Casey was planning on leaving before the brothers told her you were trying to fuck her over.” Jackal grabbed Crush as she passed. “Maybe it’s time you moved on, brother.”

  Max reached up, taking Crush’s hand and tugging her down onto his lap. Her arms circled his shoulders. It didn’t feel the same as when Casey had touched him, but Jackal was right: it was time he moved on and forgot about Casey.

  “Want me to keep looking?”

  “No. Leave it alone. The best thing about pussy is that they’re all alike.” He had always been able to replace a woman. Casey would be no different. Hell, he had only wanted to tell her goodbye, anyway.

  After not fucking a woman for two months, he consoled himself with the feel of Crush under his hands. Some goodbyes weren’t said with words but actions, and Casey had said goodbye two months ago. Now it was time to say his.

  Chapter 24

  “Hey, trouble,” Max greeted Vida, Colton’s wife, as he placed a hand on Maxie’s back, pushing her farther into the tattoo shop. He had picked her up at the dance studio next to the tattoo shop Colton owned.

  “Hi, Max.” Vida smiled up at him from behind the desk. “What brings you in today? Another tattoo?”

  “No.” He laughed good-naturedly. “I wanted to stop by and pick up the book of sketches Colton made for me. He said you finally decided which headboard you want me to make.”

  “I’m so excited! I really like the ones in the furniture store, but Colton wanted one out of a different wood. He drew up a beautiful design.”

  “It will be when Max gets finished with it,” Colton said, coming into the room from the back of the store. “Come on out back and I’ll show you. Maxie can hang out with Vida.”

  Max followed Colton to the back to study the drawings.

  “I like it. It’s going to take me a few weeks to make it, though.” The brother had an eye for detail that was going to take longer to complete.

  “No problem. It will be worth it when it’s done. Go on back out front with Vida, and I’ll make some copies for you.”

  “Okay.” Max left.

  As he approached the doorway, he heard Maxie and Vida talking. Maxie had gotten to know Vida when she attended picnics or birthday parties.

  “I really miss her. I could talk to her.”

  Max stopped, listening to the conversation. He knew Maxie was talking about Casey. Every time his daughter had mentioned her, he had changed the subject, telling her Casey had moved away.

  “I can see how you would miss her. I’m sure Casey misses you, too. I didn’t know her very well, but she was a nice person,” Vida told her.

  “You met Casey?” Max’s curiosity had him stepping into the room.

  Vida glanced toward him. “I saw you two together at the concert, and Colton told me you were seeing each other.” Max guessed that wasn’t all Colton had discussed about them.

  Sensing he wasn’t happy with Colton, Vida explained, “I asked him about Casey. It had been a long time since I had seen her.”

  “How did you know her?” Max casually leaned across the desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Sawyer and I both know Casey.”

  Max was surprised they knew each other. Queen City was large.

  “She stayed for a while in an apartment building that we lived in. Well, Casey and her brother, Cole.”

  “You knew Cole, too?”

  “Not very well. She and Cole kept to themselves. When we were out on the playground, Sawyer, Callie, and I would try to play with them, but they usually just stuck together. She lived down the hall from us. My mother and I could hear the arguments coming from there. Usually, they would go outside and play until the fighting stopped.” Vida stood, going to the coffee pot in the corner to pour herself a cup before facing him again. She brushed her long dark hair from her face with a trembling hand.

  “I remember one day they came running outside. I could tell they were both afraid. Later that night, everyone on the floor heard what the fight was about. Cole had told one of the teachers at school about Callie, and they had sent a social worker to Brenda’s apartment. After they left, she had threatened Renee and her husband. I think his name was…” Vida paused for a second. “I can’t remember. It was so long ago.” Vida returned to her chair as Max and Maxie avidly listened about Casey’s past.

  “They moved away after the fire, and I didn’t see her again for years until she changed high schools sophomore year. I believe her mother married a man named Mason, and that was why she switched schools. Sawyer and I tried to become friendly with her, but other than say
ing hi in the hall, we never talked much. It was always her and Cole. Even when he had girlfriends, Cole would let her tag along. Her brother was a year older than her, but when he graduated, Casey still kept to herself. I don’t believe she had any friends.

  “One day, a couple of girls were picking on her, so Sawyer and I broke it up. We told her she should go to the principal’s office, but she wouldn’t. She said that, as soon as Cole found a job, he was coming back for her. He never did. She graduated a year later, and I didn’t see her again until the night of the concert. I’ve always regretted that I didn’t make more of an effort to become friends with her.”

  “She never said why Cole didn’t come back?”

  “No, but a few months later, she missed a week of school. Casey never missed. When she came back, she was even more withdrawn. I offered her my notebook to copy.” Vida shook her head, laughing.

  “What?” Max prompted.

  “Nothing. I gave her my notebook. I felt stupid offering her the notes. I was an average student, while Casey was smart. She graduated as valedictorian. She flipped through my notes then handed them back to me. It hurt my feelings because I thought they weren’t good enough for her. I started apologizing, but she stopped me. She didn’t need to make notes—Casey had a photographic memory. At first, I didn’t believe her, but I think she saw I was hurt, so she opened the notebook and repeated everything on the first page, word for word. It was amazing. I wish I could do that.”

  “Me, too. That would be awesome.” Maxie swung her legs back and forth. “Casey was awesome.” Maxie lowered her head, looking up at him from under her lashes. “She talked to me about Fisher, told me I needed to be careful about my first kiss.” Maxie turned bright red. “She told me that it should be special, not to be pressured. She said her first time wasn’t perfect, and she had done it for the wrong reasons, but she would never forget it because he was special. She made me feel as if I could tell her anything.”

  Max had a terrible feeling that he had misjudged Casey.

  “We better go. Your mom will be waiting for you.”

  “Here’s the drawing.” Colton handed Max the design for the bed.