by L. Wilder
“Well, hello there. You must be Marley.” He smiled and extended his hand out to me.
“Yes,” I told him as I shook his hand.
“I’m Jacob Daniels. It’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard lots of great things about you from Tom, and we’re delighted to have you here working with us.”
“I’m excited to be here. I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to get here. I’ve been under the weather, and—”
“Don’t give it a second thought,” he told me as he turned and started walking down the hall. He looked over his shoulder as he said, “Come with me, and I’ll show you to your new office.”
“Great,” I replied. As I walked down the short hall, I noticed several small offices much like the ones we had back at home. He stopped at the third door and motioned me inside.
“This will be your new home.” He chuckled. “Make yourself comfortable, and if you need anything, just let Gladys know.”
“Thanks so much,” I told him as I stepped over to my new desk and sat down.
I looked down at my desk, seeing that there were several cases already waiting for me, so I didn’t waste any time beginning to sort through them. I’d been burying my head in work all day when my cell started to ring. I grabbed it out of my purse and when I saw that it was Brandon calling, I answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, sis. How’re you doing?”
“Well, I actually got out of the bed today, so I’d say I am doing a little better.”
“You gotta start somewhere,” he laughed. “What about work?”
“I’m here now.”
“And?”
“It’s good. Same ol’, same ol’,” I said sarcastically. “How are things back at home?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. I think something’s up with Dad. He hasn’t said anything, but I’ve heard people talking.”
“What do you mean talking? Talking about what?”
“I don’t know really. Just talk, I guess.”
“You’re not giving me much to go on here, Brandon. What are people saying?” I pushed.
“There’s some kind of investigation going on. They’re saying he was involved in something suspicious.”
“Dad?”
“Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what they are saying.”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
“I overheard some of the guys at work talking, but they froze up when they realized I was there.”
“That can’t be right. Have you asked Dad about it?”
“I have, but you know him. He blew it off like there was nothing to it,” he explained.
“I’m sure it will be fine. You know how rumors are. They fizzle out. I’m sure this will, too,” I assured him. “We both know Dad would never do anything to jeopardize his job.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” he agreed. “I won’t keep you. Just wanted to make sure things were going better there. You had me worried.”
“I’m sorry. I’m trying, but it’s just really hard. I miss him so much. I can’t imagine what he’s thinking. He must hate me right now.”
“There’s no way he could ever hate you, Marley Jo.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I left without even talking to him.”
“And what were you supposed to say? Dad didn’t give you a choice. You did what you had to do, but you never know. Things have a way of working out.”
“I wish that were true. Especially now. This whole thing is just crazy. Dad is being so unreasonable. It’s just not like him,” I sighed.
“Give him some time. If you still feel like this Evan guy is the one, then you’ll have to convince Dad that he’s wrong about him.”
I sighed. “I’m not sure that would ever happen no matter what I said.”
“Words are cheap, sis. He needs cold hard facts. You know that.”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
“You’ll think of something,” he assured me. “You always do.”
“We’ll see.” I looked at the clock and saw that it was already after six, so I told him, “I better go. I have a few things to finish up before I head home.”
“I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, Brandon. I appreciate it more than you know. Let me know if you hear anything else about Dad.”
“Will do,” he answered before he hung up the phone.
I spent the next half hour finishing up my paperwork, and then I headed back over to Aunt Miranda’s. There was a note on the door telling me that she’d gone to play bridge with some of her friends, so I went straight to my room to get ready for bed. When I walked in, I found a small bowl with a little goldfish in it with a note that said, “Thought he’d be good company for you.” I groaned, thinking that I was so not a fish kind of gal. Hookers like that chick from the club were goldfish kind of people. I was more of a dog or cat kind of girl. I wanted to put it in another room, but I didn’t want to hurt Aunt Miranda’s feelings. So I picked up the bowl and placed it on the dresser across the room.
I was beyond exhausted, so I slipped on my favorite pair of sweats and crawled into bed. As usual, as soon as I closed my eyes, Smokey was there, haunting my dreams. I could almost smell him and feel his warmth against my skin, and before I had a chance to pull myself together, the tears began to fall once again. I ached for him with every fiber of my being, and I wondered if he missed me like I was missing him.
Chapter 15
Smokey
I was running on autopilot. I’d tried to keep my mind focused on the club, tried to keep myself from thinking about MJ, but each day it got more and more difficult. When Big Mike finally told me she was staying at her Aunt’s in Tacoma, I’d gone to try and see her, but her aunt had refused to let me see. Just like Brandon, she told me that MJ needed time. I tried to wait her out, thinking I’d get my chance when MJ left the house, but that didn’t happen. She stayed holed up in that damn room for days. I tried calling her phone, but she never answered. It always went straight to voicemail. I’d get occasional glimpses of her when she’d come to the window. She looked so lost, and it killed me to see her hurting. If she truly didn’t want to be with me, then why the hell did she look so heartbroken? Things just weren’t adding up with her. My gut told me there was more to all of it than that damn letter, but at the same time, she was leaving me no choice. She’d made no attempt to contact me, and she had given me no sign that she was coming back to me. So there was no reason for me to stay. Whether I liked it or not, I had to do what she asked. I had to let her go.
Over the next few weeks, I stayed at the club doing what I could to keep myself busy. It wasn’t hard. Nitro had made arrangements for our next shipment and was set to deliver at the end of the week, so we were all doing what we could to prepare. Cotton called us all into church, explaining that we were in for several long nights of patrol before and after the delivery, and we should all consider ourselves on high alert. As soon as we were dismissed, I headed to the bar with Clutch. We were sitting there talking when Boozer came up.
With an eager smile, he said, “Hey, man. You heading over with us tonight?”
“I’ll be there, but it will be later. Got something to tend to first,” I answered. “Two Bit and Q’ are heading over there now. Maverick’s already there.”
“Sounds good, brother.” He smiled. “It’s been pretty quiet for the last couple of nights. No sign of anyone.”
Clutch looked over at him and said, “That’s good. That’s the way we want to keep it, but I doubt it’s over just yet. Keep your eyes open.”
“Always,” he assured us. Over the past few weeks, Boozer had stepped up to the plate, doing whatever was asked of him and more. He’d worked hard to prove to all of us that he was ready to take on the Satan’s Fury patch, and I was proud of him. I had known that with a little push he’d show what he was made of, and he’d done just that.
“Keep me posted. I’m leaving now, so I should be there before dark,” I explaine
d.
“See you then,” he answered as he turned and headed out of the bar.
When I stood to leave, Clutch asked, “Where are you headed in such a hurry?”
“Got to go check on things at the farm.”
“You haven’t mentioned it lately. How’s that all going?”
“Wouldn’t know. I haven’t been out there since the day MJ left. Wes has been handling everything for me,” I told him as I ran my fingers through my hair. “Hell, I haven’t even seen what Guardrail’s done with the house.”
“Damn, brother. It’s been over a month.”
“It is what it is. Wouldn’t go now if I didn’t have to.” I was in no mood to discuss why I couldn’t face going back to that house and reliving the day MJ left, so I started for the door as I said, “Better get to it. I’ll check in later tonight.”
I had my reasons for staying away from the farm, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t been keeping tabs on the place. Wes checked in every so often to let me know how things were going, and he had no problem handling things himself until he ran into an issue with the fencing that surrounded the orchard. Several acres worth had been destroyed and would need replacing. He needed me to sign off on an order for wood and supplies before he could start working to repair it. Even though I had no desire whatsoever to go out there, it was something I had to do.
Just as I had expected, dread washed over me as I drove down the long, gravel driveway. Guardrail’s truck and several others were parked in front of the house. Lumber and equipment were scattered throughout the front lawn, and thankfully, large tarps were draped across the front of the porch. I had no idea what was hidden beneath them, and really I just didn’t care anymore. I bypassed the house altogether and parked in the back next to the barn.
As soon as I got off my bike, Wes started walking towards me. He was wearing a pair of old jeans with cowboy boots and a hat that looked a couple of sizes too big. A smile spread across his face as he said, “Hey there, partner. Long time no see.”
“Sorry about that, Wes. Been meaning to come out, but time just keeps getting away from me.”
“Don’t you worry about that. I know you’ve got lots going on, and I’m sorry that I had to bother you with this today. I just hated to spend this kind of money without getting your approval first.”
“It’s no problem,” I assured him. “What happened with the fence?”
“Looks like a buck had his mind set on knocking the darn thing down. He did a fine job of it, too,” he grumbled. “Shouldn’t be too hard to get it back up, but we’re going to need to make sure we give that section some extra support so he doesn’t do it again.”
“I’m good with whatever. You know that.”
“Well, since you’re in the giving mood,” he chuckled. “I could use a hand clearing out the old fencing if you’ve got time.”
“I’ve got a few hours. I’d be glad to help.”
“Great,” he replied as he started towards Dad’s old UTV. As soon as I got in and sat down next to him, he started up the engine and headed towards the back of the orchard. The last time I’d been there, the trees hadn’t started flowering, but now they were in full bloom. Rows and rows of beautiful white and pink flowers surrounded us as we drove along the old dirt path.
We’d been riding for several minutes when he turned to me and said, “Haven’t seen our girl around here the past few weeks.”
“That’d be because she’s gone. Packed her shit and moved out of town.”
Confusion crossed his face as he asked, “Why’d she go and do that?”
“Beats the hell out of me. I’ve been asking myself that same damn question for weeks.”
“I gotta say… that surprises me. She sure seemed happy, seemed to have a real thing for you.” He paused for a moment, and then continued, “Thought you two had something good going.”
“Maybe, but it wasn’t enough to keep her here. Guess that’s how it goes. Sometimes it doesn’t always work out the way we want it to.”
“Then again… sometimes it’s just a matter of patience.”
“I’m not a patient man, Wes.”
“Then it looks like you’ve got your work cut out for you,” he told me as he pulled up to the broken fence. The old wood had been ripped to shreds, and it was hard to believe that some deer had made such a big fucking mess. We both got out of the UTV and started to work. We’d just finished loading everything onto the trailer when my burner phone started to ring.
When I answered, Maverick said, “We got action on the home front. Need everyone on deck, now.”
Knowing he meant that there was trouble at the warehouse, I answered, “Headed that way.” I immediately turned to Wes and said, “Need to get back to my bike. Now.”
Without asking for an explanation, he followed me over to the UTV and started driving towards the house. In a matter of minutes, I was on my bike and headed to the warehouse. I had no idea what was going on over there, but I knew it wasn’t good. I could hear it in Maverick’s voice. The sun had already set by the time I made it out to the dock, and it was quiet—too quiet—as I pulled up to the side of the warehouse. Cotton’s black SUV and my brothers’ bikes were parked at the front gate, but there was no one in sight. I pulled my gun from my side holster and started walking towards the back gate. When I stepped inside the building, I could hear the low rumble of my brothers’ voices and stopped dead in my tracks when I heard Two Bit say, “Fuck, man. He’s lost a lot of blood. We gotta get him out of here before we lose him.”
I followed the sounds of their voices to the back of the building and found Two Bit and Q’ lifting someone off the ground. When they shuffled past me, I saw that they were carrying Boozer, and he was barely hanging on.
As I followed them out, I spotted Maverick talking to Cotton and asked, “What the hell happened?”
“We spotted them when they pulled up. There were four of them, but we couldn’t get a good look at them. They were all wearing ball caps pulled down around their eyes, so we waited for them to come inside. We could see them starting to come towards us, then one of them suddenly got spooked. When they bolted, Boozer chased after them and…”
“He got himself shot. Damn. What the hell was he thinking?”
“He just wanted to get a good look at them,” he told me as we watched Boozer get loaded into the back of the SUV. Maverick winced as he saw all of the blood covering Boozer’s chest. “We were right there behind him…”
As Doc started to close the back hatch, he said, “We need to get him back to the infirmary room. He’s running out of time.”
“Hold up,” I told him as I started to climb into the back of the truck. “I’m going with him.”
With Cotton behind the wheel, the truck lurched forward as we raced towards the clubhouse. I looked down at Boozer, seeing the color draining from his face and the blood soaking his clothes, and I knew it was bad. I placed my hand on his shoulder and said, “Hold on, brother. Doc’s the best around. He’ll have you fixed up in no time. You just gotta hang in there.”
His face twisted in pain as Doc pressed against his wound, trying to stop the bleeding. Boozer groaned, “I don’t think I can… I’m trying, but… Damn… I’m sorry, Smoke. I didn’t mean to fuck it all up.”
“Don’t,” I snapped. “It’s going to be alright. You’ll see.”
“Thanks for not giving up on me, Smoke… You never gave up.”
“And I’m not giving up now. Just hold tight. We’ll be at the clubhouse soon.”
“You gotta do something for me… Don’t tell my mom that it played out like this. Tell her I was out for a ride… She knows how I like to ride… Tell her the sun was out… that it was a real pretty day… and I was doing what I loved… Tell her I was good,” he pleaded. “Tell her that’s how it all ended.”
“Stop talking like that, Boozer. You’re going be fine.”
“This is it for me, brother. I can feel it,” he gasped.
I could see t
he life draining from his body, and I felt completely helpless. I looked over the back seat. “We gotta hurry!”
Boozer grabbed at my sleeve and said, “I recognized one of them, Smoke.” With a strained cough, he tried to clear the blood from his lungs so he could tell me, “The guy that shot me… he’s a cop.”
“Who was it, Booze?” I asked, but got no answer in return. I placed my hand on his shoulder, giving him a gentle shake as I asked again, “Boozer… which cop?”
Chapter 16
Marley
I’d always been one to go after what I wanted. Nothing could stop me if it was something I truly desired, until now. In my mind, I knew I couldn’t be with Smokey. I knew I couldn’t talk to him, hold him, love him… but my heart just didn’t understand it. I felt like a part of me was missing, like I was walking around with a huge hole in my chest, but no one seemed to see it but me. My aunt, my brother, and everyone around me kept telling me to “give it time” and that I had to put Smokey behind me and move on, but it was just too hard. I missed him too much. There wasn’t a minute that passed by that he wasn’t on my mind, and it was exhausting. I tried to do what they said. I forced myself out of bed each morning, even with the constant nausea and headaches, and made myself go to work. I did it all with a smile on my face, even though I felt like I was dying inside. It was just easier to pretend that I was moving forward.
I even went to look at apartments, but nothing seemed to interest me. After the tenth tiny, creepy, mold-infested apartment, I finally gave up. I decided to stay with Aunt Miranda for just a while longer, thinking that eventually I’d find a place that didn’t make me feel cold and empty as soon as I walked through the door. In my mind, it really didn’t matter. I was rarely at home anyway. It was one of the benefits of getting a little behind with work: I was constantly busy. As soon as I finished one case, another one miraculously found its way onto my desk. It was the way I liked it. I was getting into a groove, trying my best to make a place for myself at the office. With each assignment, I continued to prove that I was reliable and good at my job, even with all the craziness that was going on in my head.
