Collin

by Jessie Cooke

  Gilberto was still gasping for a breath as Jace said, “Walking away from a deal you made with my club is disrespectful, and I can’t stand for it.”

  “I didn’t make no fucking deals,” Gilberto said. Pops was at least smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Gilberto got the steel toe of Jace’s boot in his crotch. Even as Gilberto was still crying like a little girl, Jace went on:

  “Not talking to you…yet. I’m talking to Pops. You listening Pops?” Pops choked out something that could have been a “yes,” and Jace continued. “See, Pops and his collection of losers that he calls a club made a business deal with us and we kept our end of the deal. Isn’t that right, Pops?”

  Pops was looking up at Jace out of one eye. The other was still flat in the dirt. When he didn’t answer Jace, Streak nudged him on the back of the head and said, “You were asked a question, show some respect and fucking answer it.”

  “Yes,” Pops groaned out. It was obvious that the two men’s fall to the dirt wasn’t the only beating they had taken that day.

  Jace went on, “Then one day, you just up and decide that you don’t want to uphold your end of the deal…”

  “No,” Pops croaked. “That wasn’t what happened.”

  “No?” Jace asked. “Because my men told me that you refused to pay them what you owed me. Are you saying my own men are lying?”

  “No,” Pops gasped.

  Jace went on as if he hadn’t been interrupted again. “As if not upholding your end of the deal wasn’t bad enough, Pops, you decide to align your piece of shit club with an even bigger bunch of losers, and those losers…here’s where you come in, Gilberto,” he said, stabbing him with his toe again. “Pay attention. See, these losers that the Scorpions have allied with think they’re going to move in on my territory and take what I worked for…” Jace looked around at his crew and said, “What we worked for, and built with our own hands. What that says to me is that you think we’re weak and you don’t respect us.” Gilberto spat at Jace again; this time the spittle landed in the dirt several inches from Jace’s boot. Jace smiled and said, “Remember how wrong you were, both of you. And remember, the Phoenix Skulls will be here long after both of your names are forgotten.”

  “I don’t think you’re weak…” Pops tried, but Jace was finished. He put his arm around Beck then and as he walked by, he looked at Finn. Without a word passing between them, Finn nodded. Once the rest of them were gone, Finn looked at Collin and said:

  “You up for this?”

  Collin nodded. He had made a pledge to this club, he trusted Jace, and he was all in 100%. Collin helped Finn put the two men back into the van and once inside, Finn picked up a roll of silver duct tape lying in the back. He tore off a piece and put it over Gilberto’s mouth as he spewed profanities, and another over Pop’s mouth as he begged them to spare his life. The doors were slammed shut once the men were gagged and Finn went around and got into the driver’s side of the van. Collin got into the passenger seat and both men were quiet as Finn drove the van away from the club and up into the hills dotted with cacti and Joshua trees.

  No one but the four men that went up there would know exactly what happened that day. But by the time they returned to the club, there would only be two of them. The only part of the story Finn would tell was one about Collin Kelly hitting his knees in the desert and saying a prayer, and that would be how Collin earned his road name. From that day on they’d call him Thaddeus…the Irish patron saint of desperate cases and lost souls.

  36

  “Ciara, order up!” It was Ciara’s first day on the job and she thought she was doing okay. So far, she’d been following another waitress around, but the other girl had gone on her break and for half an hour, Ciara was on her own. She was doing her best to remember everything the other girl had told her. It wasn’t anything too difficult, but she was preoccupied with her own thoughts. She couldn’t stop thinking about the night before with Collin, and even Noah busting in that morning didn’t damper the memory. She tried now to shake it off, but she was sure the goofy smile was still on her face as she said:

  “Got it, Sam, thanks.” She took the plates that the cook had put in the window and took them out to the couple that had ordered them. After making sure they had everything they needed like the waitress training her had told her to, she turned and noticed a woman who had sat down in their section by herself. Ciara smiled as she walked over toward her and said, “I hope you haven’t been waiting long, I’m Ciara. Would you like some coffee?”

  The woman didn’t smile back. In fact, she was looking at her strangely. She had a look in her eyes that Ciara thought she recognized and didn’t like. It was the look that women used to give her when she was on the streets, like she was trash. Finally the woman said, “Yes, coffee, and a menu.” She looked Ciara up and down again with a disgusted look in her eyes and Ciara was sorely tempted to ask what her problem was. She had to remind herself she wasn’t that girl on the streets any longer. Trying to hold onto the good feelings that had flooded her system earlier she took a deep breath and said:

  “Sure, I’ll be right back.” Ciara smiled again, forcing it this time, but the woman still didn’t smile back. When she got to the coffee pot, her hands were shaking. Her senses from all the years on the streets were fine-tuned and she knew somehow that this woman was going to be trouble. Ciara almost had to force herself to go back, but she did. When she got to the table the woman said:

  “I don’t need the menu now, I know what I want.”

  “Oh, okay, great. What can I get you?” Ciara poured the coffee into her cup and waited through another long stare. The anxiety she had been feeling was quickly beginning to seethe into anger. What is this woman’s problem?

  The woman lowered her voice so that Ciara could barely hear her and said, “I’m here to give you something.”

  “I’m sorry?” Ciara thought she’d heard her wrong.

  With her head down toward the table and still whispering the woman said, “I want to remind you of something in case you’ve forgotten. You are and have never been anything but pure trash. You live in that fancy-ass house because your brother feels sorry for you, but where you belong is right back out on the streets and Collin knows it too. He’s a man and weak where sex is concerned. God will forgive him, but I doubt the same is in your future.”

  “Excuse me? Who the fuck are you?” Ciara knew she’d said that too loudly even before the people in the booth behind and in front of her were suddenly staring at them. The woman sat quietly and waited until the onlookers went back to their own plates before saying in another whisper:

  “I’m Collin’s future and I suggest you remember that. If you try to stand in my way, you will be sorry.”

  It suddenly dawned on Ciara who the pretty…but obviously psycho…woman was. “You’re Collin’s stalker…Ann, right?” What is she doing out of jail?

  Ann looked up and smiled at her. Her eyes were cold as she whispered, “Collin has a big heart. He never wanted to see me in jail; that was all your brother’s doing. Collin will forgive me once he realizes everything I did was for him. He’ll come back to me. He got what he wanted from you.”

  Ciara knew she was baiting her, but something about her brought out the street fighter that she thought she’d suppressed. “You need to get the fuck out of here, now!”

  “Ciara!” She heard her manager’s voice but didn’t turn around. She was sure she had said that loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, but suddenly she wasn’t worried about her job. She just wanted the bitch out of her face, before she lost it. Ciara still had the hot pot of coffee in her hand and suddenly Ann looked at it, glanced around at the people now staring at them, and with a terrified look on her face loudly said:

  “She’s going to pour that hot coffee on me! Can I get some help over here, please?”

  Ciara was shocked at how quickly Ann had gone from threatening to suddenly becoming the helpless victim. “Ciara what’s going on?” Dave, the
manager had come out of the office in the back and Lucy, the waitress who had been training her, was now standing at the counter. All eyes were on Ciara and she began to feel sick to her stomach. She felt like she was going to throw up, especially when Ann turned her big, tear-filled eyes on Dave and said:

  “She just started saying nasty things to me. I think something’s wrong with her.”

  “You fucking liar!” Ciara spat out, before she could catch herself.

  “Ciara! Stop it!” Dave looked back at Ann and said, “I’m sorry miss. I’m going to have someone else come and take your order. Please order whatever you’d like, on the house.”

  “I think I’ve lost my appetite,” Ann said, wiping away a tear that had rolled down her face.

  “Dave, you don’t understand,” Ciara tried. “She’s been stalking my boyfriend…”

  Ann sucked in an audible breath and said, “She’s crazy. I feel sick—I need to go.”

  “You’re an evil, lying bitch!”

  “Ciara, go in the back now or you’ll be leaving with your things,” Dave said through gritted teeth.

  “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble,” Ann said, almost meekly. “I’m going to go.”

  “Miss, please don’t go. Let me make this right,” Dave said to her. Ciara tried to force herself to do what Dave was telling her to do…but she just couldn’t leave it at that.

  “Your specific reason for coming here was to get me into trouble,” Ciara said.

  Dave finally had enough. “Go home, Ciara,” he snapped.

  “You’re not hearing me Dave. Call the police, they’ll tell you. She’s supposed to be in jail…”

  “If you don’t go now, the police will be who I’m calling on you. I’m sorry that I put my trust in you.”

  Ciara’s mouth dropped open. Ciara had spoken with Dave several times when she was in rehab. He supposedly built his business on giving people second chances. Apparently those chances were tenuous ones. Ciara was trying not to cry when she caught sight of Ann out of the corner of her eye. The other woman was smiling at her and Ciara was so tempted to slap the smile right off of her face. She wasn’t stupid enough, however, to believe she wouldn’t go to jail for it. With a frustrated sigh, she gave up at last and walked to the back. She could hear Dave still apologizing to Ann as she went.

  Ciara slammed through the back, grabbed her things, and went out through the back door. She didn’t stop moving until she was at the liquor store at the end of the street and found herself standing in line for a pack of smokes. She was sorely tempted to add a bottle of whiskey to the order, but she found the willpower to resist that much at least.

  Once back outside, she lit one of the cigarettes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down. The nicotine calmed her quivering insides and she took out her phone. She hated having to tell Noah she’d lost her job on the first day, but there was no way around it. He’d dropped her off at work that morning and would be back to pick her up in a few hours. She started to press in Noah’s number and that’s when she heard Ann’s voice again:

  “That cigarette looks more appropriate on you than the apron did.”

  Ciara narrowed her eyes and said, “You’d better back off. We’re not inside the safe little restaurant any longer.”

  “What are you going to do…beat me up? I’ll just bet Collin would love getting that call. The people in the restaurant will confirm that you started the whole thing. While you’re sitting in jail I’ll be making sure Collin forgets all about his little fling with the whore.”

  Ciara didn’t even realize what she was doing until her fist connected with Ann’s face. She saw blood spray out of the woman’s nose and for one second, she had a satisfied feeling, but it was gone that quickly. Ann was crying, people were on their cell phones, and Ciara knew she was going to jail.

  Noah had just gotten off the phone with Hayden. They were working together on another case, this one having to do with the Russian Mafia. Hayden was slowly coming around to the idea that there were things Noah could do as a PI that Hayden wasn’t able to do as a police officer, thanks to all the rules and regulations. Hayden wasn’t quite ready to give up law and order completely, but he was definitely getting better at learning how to blur the lines if that’s what was necessary. Noah put the phone in his pocket and picked up his keys. It was just about time for Ciara to get off work and Noah didn’t want her having to wait around downtown after the restaurant was closed.

  “Noah, that was Collin; Ciara doesn’t need a ride home from work.” Ava came into the office and as soon as she said “Collin,” Noah was immediately annoyed.

  “Well, Jesus, why don’t they just move in together? She’s been home for two days and he’s seen more of her than any of the rest of us,” he snapped.

  “Noah, stop, please. Ciara’s in jail.”

  “What the fuck? For what?”

  “Apparently Ann got out on bail today. She went to Ciara’s work and harassed her. Ciara left at some point and Ann followed her and Ciara ended up breaking her nose.”

  Noah couldn’t help it, he laughed. He hated that Ciara was in jail, but he loved that she was standing up for herself. She was so much tougher than she knew. Ava looked like she was trying to keep a straight face, but she ended up smiling too. “Good girl!” Noah said. “Let’s go get her out of there.”

  “Collin’s taking care of it,” Ava said.

  Trying to be diplomatic, Noah said, “Collin shouldn’t have to do that, it’s not his responsibility.”

  “Noah, do you really not know how my brother feels about your sister?”

  Noah felt sick. Ava was staring at him with her wide green eyes on his face and her hands on her hips. He took a deep breath and said, “Baby, I love Collin, I really do…but since I’ve known him, he’s slept his way across the entire city of Phoenix, and none of them stuck. Ciara’s not going to be any different, only this time it’s my sister that he’s going to hurt.”

  “They’re in love, Noah.”

  “Ciara is, I get that. But baby, Collin doesn’t fall in love.”

  “Hmm,” Ava said, “I recall when Noah Campbell wasn’t supposed to fall in love either. You were a bigger player than my brother when I met you.”

  “I wouldn’t say bigger…”

  Ava laughed and said, “Okay, as big. The thing is, I never would have believed that I’d be able to trust you like I do, but look at us now.”

  “It’s because you changed me.”

  “That’s sweet…but I didn’t change you, Noah. You changed because you wanted to, because you loved me, and Aiden. Collin is just as capable of doing the same. I’ve never known him to care about anyone the way he does Ciara.”

  Noah didn’t want to talk about Collin and his sister. He just wanted Ciara out of jail and back home. “Come on, I want to be there when she gets out,” Noah said, as if he hadn’t even heard Ava.

  “Noah…”

  “I’m going, Ava, are you coming with me or not?” He started walking and Ava followed him. Neither of them said a word on the way to the jail. When they got there Collin was waiting in the lobby.

  “Hey, you guys didn’t have to come. Ciara asked Hayden to call me as soon as they set bail.”

  “Why did Hayden call you? I just talked to him and he didn’t say a word to me,” Noah said.

  “Because Ciara asked him to call me,” Collin said again. Feeling pissed again, Noah stepped away from Ava and Collin, and dialed Hayden. As soon as he answered Noah said”

  “Did you forget to tell me something earlier?”

  “I didn’t tell you about Ciara because she asked me to call Collin, not you.”

  “Collin is not her brother.”

  “So if something happens to Ava I should call her brother instead of you?”

  “No, how is that the same thing?”

  Hayden laughed and said, “Noah, listen to me. I know you missed a lot of time with Ciara. But the fact is that she’s thirty years old and she’s
in love with Collin Kelly. You need to accept that and move on.”

  “How the hell would you know who my sister is in love with?”

  “She told me, and I could hear it in Collin’s voice when I called him.”

  “So because she loves Collin I’m suddenly just cut out of her life…again?”

  “Maybe not because she loves Collin, but because instead of being happy for them, you’re acting like an ass.”

  “He’s going to hurt her,” Noah said again. No one seemed to get that but him.

  “Maybe, but that’s part of life, Noah. She’s going to get hurt, but from what I’ve seen of Ciara she’s also going to get up, brush herself off, and move on.”

  “She’s already been hurt so much.”

  “And none of that was your fault, Noah. You have to let go of the past. If you don’t, she’ll be stuck there with you, and I know you don’t want that for her.”

  “No, the past is definitely not where I want her.”

  “Then let her move on. I have to go but remember this: you have a gorgeous wife, an amazing son, a big-ass Irish-Catholic family that welcomed you with open arms, and a sister that adores you. You don’t have any fucking problems unless you keep looking to make them.”

  Noah hated to admit it, but Hayden the Grouch was right. His life was pretty damned perfect and the only thing missing was his appreciating it, and not waiting for something bad to happen. “Hayden…?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You want to be my best man?”

  Hayden laughed and said, “I’ve been your best man since the day we became partners a dozen years ago. Maybe you should ask your new brother-in-law instead. Go appreciate your family, Noah.”

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  Collin squeezed Ciara’s hand, stood up, and took the microphone he was being offered. He looked around at all the faces staring back at him, all three hundred or so of them. Poor Noah had tried so hard to keep the wedding small…but he’d sorely underestimated the Kelly clan. When all was said and done, Ava’s side of the big Catholic church had been so full that it had overflowed into Noah’s. There were firefighters, some of them with so much brass on their uniforms that it was a miracle they didn’t fall over. There were teachers and clergy from the parochial school that Ava and all three of her brothers had attended. There were friends of the family that had been present when she and all three of her brothers were born and there were scores of aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives, some who had flown in all the way from Ireland just for the wedding.