Chaotic

by Jadyn Chase

  I thought he was long gone. I thought he would never come back from LA and the gang life and his newfound friends. Now he was here in Barstow to haunt me all over again.

  At that moment, he looked up and stared through the door. His gaze came to rest on me standing at the nurses’ station. I froze in my tracks. Should I run away? It was too late now. Here he came toward me.

  He stopped. “Hey, Ruby,” he murmured. “I want to apologize for the other night if me and my boys made you uncomfortable at the diner. I know it was probably a shock seeing me there. If you don’t want me coming into the diner again, I won’t. I don’t want to make you nervous or anything.”

  His words snapped me out of my trance. “No, it’s okay. You’re welcome to come into the diner. You did surprise me, and I’m sorry if I was rude. I didn’t know how to handle it.” What in the world made me say that? I should have said, yeah, I didn’t want him coming around. That would have been the smart move to make.

  He broke into a grin. “You and me both.”

  I jumped. “Hey! I’ve got that money you left.” I dug into my handbag and pulled out the two fifty-dollar bills. “Here. I can’t accept this. It’s way too much.”

  “You keep it,” he told me. “You need it a lot more than I do.”

  I stood there like a fool with the money burning a hole in my palm. I couldn’t take it back, but he wouldn’t touch it. “I’m serious. It’s…. it’s…..”

  “It’s what?”

  I bowed my head. I shouldn’t even say it. “It’s gang money.”

  I expected him to take offense, but he only burst out laughing. “Is that what you’re worried about? Call it compensation for that jackass throwing his food all over your shoes. Buy yourself a new pair of shoes and call it even.”

  I waved the bills at him. “You really won’t take it back?”

  “Nope.” He squared his shoulders, but his eye twinkled with fun. “If that’s the kind of asshole you have to deal with in that job, then consider this my way of evening the score. I want you to have it, so keep it. There’s no obligation or anything. I don’t expect you to take my phone number in exchange if that’s what you’re worried about.”

  My arm falls to my side. “All right. If you feel that way.”

  I tucked the bills back into my handbag, right next to the hospital invoice. How convenient. Just when I really need money, Eli came along and gave me some. How did that happen?

  He glanced around the ward. “What are you doing here, anyway? Are you visiting someone?”

  “My dad. He had a health scare with his diabetes.”

  His eyebrows flew up. “Yeah? Is he all right?”

  “He’s fine. I just need to take more of an active part in managing his care. He’s not as compos mentis as he used to be, you know?”

  He nodded. He didn’t make a joke out of it, thank God. “I’m sorry to hear that. That’s gotta be tough on you.”

  “Well, that’s my job. That’s why I moved back here from San Diego when my mom died. I knew he needed help, so that’s what I’m doing. I was just thinking I need to change my schedule at the diner to the night shift so I can work from home during the day. So if you come into the diner, I’ll probably be there.”

  He cocked his head. “You were working the night shift when I saw you there last time.”

  “I was just filling in for someone. Usually, I work from home at night. I got my accounting degree at San Diego State and now I freelance online.”

  “Wow,” he remarked. “You really did something with your life, didn’t you?” He glanced down at his jacket. “Unlike me.”

  I didn’t know what to say. “Anyway, I guess I’ll see you around sometime.”

  He brightened up. “I hope so.”

  I turned away. Only then did I notice that Christopher wasn’t with me. He stood down the hall reading the notices on the bulletin board. When I checked over my shoulder, Eli was halfway down the ward on his way to the elevator. He waved to me before he turned the corner.

  Did he even see Christopher? Did he even register that Christopher was with me? I raced through the conversation I just had with him. I didn’t mention Christopher once. Of course I didn’t. Eli Walch would be the last person on Planet Earth I would ever mention Christopher too.

  I walked away. I glanced over my shoulder one more time to make absolutely certain Eli was nowhere in sight before I approach the bulletin board. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go see Grandpa.”

  He turned his deep brown eyes up to me in that way he did when he saw straight into the depths of my soul. “Who was that man, Mom?”

  “No one, sweetie.” I couldn’t look at him. “He’s no one you need to be concerned with.”

  He peered toward the corner where Eli disappeared. “That was a cool jacket he had on. I really like the dragon.”

  I wheeled around and grabbed him by the shoulders. I shook him before I could stop myself. “Don’t ever let me hear you say anything like that again! That jacket—that dragon you think is so cool—that means he’s in a gang. Do you know what that means?”

  He nodded fast, staring up at me like I’d lost my mind. In a way, I had lost it.

  “He’s dangerous,” I snapped. “He’s in one of the most dangerous gangs on the North American continent. Do you understand what that means? It means he kills people for a living. He goes around selling drugs and dealing guns and killing anyone who gets in his way. I don’t want you near him. I don’t want to see you talking to him. I don’t want you even looking at him. Understand?”

  I hated the look of fear in my child’s eyes, but I couldn’t stop myself. He had to understand. If he wound up like Eli, I couldn’t live with myself.

  I spun away and started walking. I shouldn’t have let myself lose my composure like that.

  Christopher slipped his hand into mine. Precious heart. I wished I could spare him from all of this. I wished I could protect him from the whole world.

  We got to Dad’s room. Christopher tugged my hand to stop me before I entered. “If that man is so dangerous and bad, how do you know him? If I’m not supposed to talk to him, why were you talking to him?”

  I heaved a sigh, trying to get my pulse to stop racing. I had to calm down and fast. “I used to go to school with him. I knew him when he was younger, before he got involved in the gang. I…I guess you could say I even cared about him then.”

  He studied me closer. “Is he your friend?”

  I turned away to hide how much this conversation disturbed me. “He used to be.”

  4

  Eli

  I pulled my bike inside the fence and scanned the surroundings. A bunch of derelict warehouses dotted the horizon. A few wayward cars whispered along Old Highway 58, but none of them came near this place. They wouldn’t dare.

  I parked my ride at the end of a long line of Harleys gleaming in the sun. I kept my shades on and walked through the open doors to find twenty other Diablos gathered there.

  The Boss stood over a table piled with maps. The others crowded around listening to him. He pointed to the yard where our shootout took place. “Miguel and Rico will be stationed here and….” He looked up and noticed me.

  Silence fell over the assembly and the crowd parted to let me through. Everyone drew back and left an unencumbered path between The Boss and me. His eyes flashed when he spotted me. “There you are. How’s the boy?”

  “He’s fine.” I hesitated to approach the table. “One bullet nicked the lung. The others did only some minor tissue damage. He’ll be back to normal real soon, they say.” I jerked my chin at the table. “What’s this about?”

  “We’re planning next week’s delivery.” He scrutinized the map.

  I stiffened. “Excuse me, Sir, but you can’t be thinking to take another delivery from those cocksuckers. They tried to kill us all. Maybe Patrice and Rico and Kane didn’t tell you, but they….”

  “They told me,” he snapped. “They told me all about it and I’m no
t about to turn my back on five million in merchandise because some bean-eating lowlifes from south of the border don’t know how to shit in the toilet instead of the sandbox. We’re going ahead with the shipment.”

  Hot blood rushed to my head. My pulse pounded in my temples. I didn’t hear what he said giving orders to the others. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t ask me and the other boys to show up to that God-forsaken yard again, not after what happened last time. That would be asking too much.

  I clenched my teeth to hold back any further arguments. What was I thinking getting mixed up in this shit? The Boss never made a blunder like this before. Hell, he never made blunders at all. What was wrong with him? Why didn’t he see the danger?

  If The Furies hit us once, they would be itching to do it again. They would get bolder and more brazen the longer we let them get away with it.

  The Boss straightened up. “You all have your orders. I hear you’re staying at the Motel 6. Is that right, Eli?”

  I cast my eyes to the floor. “Yes, Sir.”

  “Then the rest of us can stay there, too. Go on. Get out of here and stay out of trouble. We don’t need the local authorities catching wind of what we’re doing.”

  The others drifted away. I stayed where I was and glared at him. He pretended not to notice me. He hadn’t lost any stature or strength in his years leading this club. His short hair gave him a fiery, dangerous appearance. He was the only man in the club who wore his hair like that, but instead of weakening him, it only made him a more effective leader. It set him apart and marked him as The Man everyone else obeyed and admired.

  The roar of the last bike faded into the distance. Without looking up, he murmured under his breath. “I know you’re still mad about what happened. Just between you and me, you have my word. We’re gonna pay those sons of bitches back for what they did.”

  I blinked up at him, too flabbergasted to think straight. “Sir?”

  He pointed down at the map. “The boys will be posted here and here and here. You and me and Kane will be here, by the shipping container to welcome the shipment. The minute the vehicle drives through the gate, we’ll detonate the charges we laid in the concrete pad. We’ll blow the tractor sky high and the guns will remain untouched. We’ll hitch up our own tractor and take it back to LA as pretty as you please.”

  “But Sir!” I stammered. “You didn’t say. You didn’t…..”

  He drew his languid gaze around and locked his eyes on me. “I didn’t say anything because no one knows. You and I are the only ones who know the real plan. I’m telling you so you know I have no intention of letting an incident like this go by. I’m trusting you to keep this to yourself until the time comes.”

  “You can count on me, Sir, but….” I don’t know which objections to raise first. “That plan will only kill the driver. That won’t accomplish anything. It won’t send a message—not a very strong one, that is.”

  He bowed his head and chuckled. “I should have known I could never pull one over on you, Eli. You’re too sharp. You’re right about that. It wouldn’t send a message except that we won’t only be blowing up the driver. I already called Federico Salazar in Guadalajara about this. I complained about the last shipment. His son Alfonzo manages all these side deals for their family. I suspected it was Alfonzo who orchestrated this little fiasco, so I demanded Federico send Alfonzo along on the next shipment to ensure nothing went wrong.”

  My jaw dropped. “Are you saying, Sir…. that….?”

  The grin vaporized off his face and left him stone cold. “That’s right. I’m guessing Alfonzo will bring a few of his generals with him in a big fancy limo or some such display of his own importance. The minute he drives through that gate, kaboom! We know where the truck will be. Once it drives through the gate, there’s only one place straight enough it can park. We don’t know where Alfonzo’s driver will park, but it doesn’t matter. We’ll have a few boys posted in key places with rocket launchers to take out the trash.”

  I stared at this man. Never in a million years would I have believed he could be this brilliant, this vindictive, this ruthless. I admired him so much more now. I worshiped him. I could only pray that maybe someday I would get to be like him.

  I couldn’t think of anything sufficiently helpful to say in response to his plan. To my relief, he saved me by laying his hand on my shoulder. “Go back to your hotel room and stay there. Keep playing the part of Logan’s concerned friend. The others all have orders to stay away from the hospital so we keep a low profile in this town. As soon as we hit Alfonzo, we’ll take our merchandise and hightail it back to LA. You’ll have to stay here until Logan gets out of the hospital. I’m sorry about that. I know you hate Barstow, but it’s the only way.”

  I nodded to myself. I didn’t care about staying in Barstow. I would stay in Barstow until Armageddon if it meant being a part of this plan to rain holy vengeance on The Furies.

  I went back to the Motel 6 and slunk into my room. I did my best to ignore all the other bikes crowding the parking lot. Twenty Diablos couldn’t get within a country mile of each other without cooking up a party, but now each man staying in his own room, as quiet as dormice. Orders were orders and took precedence over everything else, including having a good time. There would be plenty of time to celebrate afterward if everything went according to Hoyle.

  I drummed my fingers until six o’clock. I couldn’t sit still a second longer. I got on my hog and motored to the one place The Boss gave me permission to go: the hospital. I parked and approached the entrance when I spotted Ruby helping her father into a car.

  When I got closer, I had to check myself in horror when I saw the old man. He really went downhill in the last seven years. I never would have recognized him. His long white hair hung in limp, sparse strands from an exposed scalp. His hands shook and he stooped over with a hump in his back.

  I recovered in a flash and edged up to them. Ruby saw me a few paces off, but I couldn’t figure out whether she was happy to see me or taken aback.

  I put out my hand to the oldster. “Hello, Mr. Lewis. Do you remember me? It’s Eli Walch.”

  He frowned at me. “Eli Walch?” Then his eyes shot open. “Oh, Eli! Good to see you. My, you really grew up, didn’t you?”

  I shook his hand and smiled. “Yes, Sir. I guess I did. It’s good to see you again.”

  He nodded and seemed to lose his train of thought. He glanced to one side like he was trying to remember something. My existence sailed right out of his awareness.

  Ruby touched his arm. “Come on, Dad. Get in the car and we’ll be home in time for dinner.”

  He kept nodding to himself while he let her ease him into the passenger seat. She stooped low to buckle his seatbelt for him. I still found it hard to believe this was the same man I used to know when I dated Ruby in high school. I used to be so afraid of her dad. Now he was nothing but a frail, fragile relic of his former self.

  Ruby stood up and faced me. “Thanks.”

  “For what?” I asked.

  “Just for talking to him. He seldom sees anyone he knows. It’s good for him to remember faces and people he used to know. It won’t stop his mind from going, but it might just slow it down some.”

  I peered into those green eyes of hers. I didn’t know how to communicate to her what she made me feel. I couldn’t understand it myself. “If there’s anything I can do for you or for him, just let me know.”

  Just then, a young boy appeared at her side. “Can I use your phone on the way home, Mom?”

  “Sure, sweetie. Here you go.” She handed him her phone and he looked down at the screen.

  I gaped at her and my world rocked on its foundation. “Mom?”

  She turned bright pink and lowered her eyes. That blush ought to excite me, but the whole scene made my hair stand on end. “This is my son, Christopher. Get in the car, sweetheart.”

  The boy ducked into the back. He was too intent on the phone to notice me. I stared at Ruby with new eyes
. So she hooked up with another guy in the last seven years. That alone made me want to tear someone in half, but to cap it all, she had a kid with him.

  The guy wasn’t around now, though. Either she left him in San Diego, or he left her to raise the boy alone.

  She shut the door to close her father in. The sound woke me from my shock. She started to move away toward the driver’s side. I couldn’t let that happen. “Ruby?”

  She turned around and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. How familiar that gesture was. It conjured up so many memories. “Yeah?”

  “Would you…..I’m just asking if you want to go out sometime, just to catch up—no obligation, you understand—just a friendly catch up. I promise. What do you say?”

  She shrugged and scanned the parking lot. “I don’t know…..”

  “Come on.” I did my best not to sound too much like I was begging. “I haven’t seen you in seven years. I understand you don’t want us to go back to the way things were. Just have dinner with me. That’s all I’m asking. Come on. I’ve got nothing better to do in this town than visit my friend in the hospital. Please?”

  Her mouth twisted and her impervious façade started to crack. “Oh, all right, as long as you’re clear we’re not going on a date or anything.”

  I laid my hand across my heart and closed my eyes. “Scout’s honor.”

  “All right.” She held out her palm. “Give me your number.”

  My hands flew to my pockets. I patted everywhere. “I don’t have a pen.”

  She dug in her handbag and pulled out a notepad and a pen. “Go.”

  I told her my number. She put the cap on the pen. When she looked up at me, her features erupted into the most glorious smile I ever encountered. She was back. She was the same Ruby I used to know back again. She was alive and well behind that granite wall.

  She put her pen and pad in her bag and pushed it behind her. “All right. I’ll text you about the time.”

  I could hardly believe my good luck. The clouds parted and a ray of sunshine from Heaven shone down on me. I almost died of happiness right then and there. “All right. See ya.”