Tarnished Soul: A Nine Minutes Spin-Off Novel

by Beth Flynn

  Chapter 59

  The happy couple seamlessly fell back into the routine they’d established the previous summer. Only this time, it would include their newfound marital bliss with the added luxuries so generously supplied by Christy and Anthony.

  Only two days later, they easily found Jonas’ keys during their first excursion into the pond. “It’s a good thing I had spares at the Bait & Tackle or I’d have been shit out of luck when you got rid of my first pair,” he gruffly told her while they sunned themselves on a blanket. “No pun intended.”

  “You didn’t need spares,” Lucy added matter-of-factly. “I didn’t throw the first set in the outhouse. I’ve had them all along.”

  Jonas’ response was to roughly roll on top of her and start tickling her sides. Until the tickling segued into something more carnal and urgent. Afterwards, they lay depleted under the sun and he explained his demeanor at their wedding. “It wasn’t because I didn’t want to marry you, Lucy. As a matter of fact, I could actually hear my heart pounding in my ears when I saw you walking toward me. You were like a vision. I couldn’t believe you were there for me. Nobody else existed at that moment. I don’t even remember saying our vows.”

  She sat up and rested her arms across her knees. She reached for her bottle of orange Nehi and after taking a sip asked, “Then why did you seem so disinterested? Or mad? Heck, I couldn’t get a read on if you were either one of those things because you were so stone-faced.”

  He rested his hands behind his head as he peered up at the bright sky. “I was mad at myself. I knew the moment I saw you that marrying you was all I ever wanted. I stood up there and watched you coming toward me, surrounded on each side by a bunch of drug addicts, hardcore bikers, and self-proclaimed whores. I was pissed at myself for putting you in that position.” He reached over and stroked her thigh. “But loved you even more for having bigger balls than me and most of the men that were there. You are one brave woman, Lucy Brooks.”

  She tilted her head. “Lucy Brooks. I love how that sounds.” She bent over and kissed him, and when she sat up, she noticed the scowl on his face. “What’s wrong?”

  His regret was obvious when he said, “Your brother should’ve been there to give you away.”

  She shook her head with a laugh. “Lenny wouldn’t have been able to handle the camp. He would’ve fainted before he even made it out of the car. I did him a favor by not asking him to give me away.” After a second sip of her soda, she posed another question. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Who is Grizz? I heard one of the women at the wedding comparing you to him. Apparently, he’s some ruthless biker, and she was of the opinion you’re just as bad, if not worse, than him.”

  Jonas had his eyes closed and Lucy heard the amusement in his tone when he said, “You saw him once. There’s no way you could’ve missed him. The first time I had you on the back of a motorcycle, we pulled up next to him. He was in a black Corvette.”

  Lucy’s response was so loud, Jonas opened his eyes. “I remember that guy!” she shouted. “He’s supposed to have done worse things than you? Now that I think about it, he did have a rather menacing appearance.”

  “We’re probably equally yoked in that department,” Jonas admitted while sitting up. “Except I’m not into younger girls.”

  “What?” Lucy asked, unable to mask the shock on her face.

  He reached for her soda and after helping himself to a long swig, replied, “He married the woman he was with when she was fifteen.”

  “Fifteen? The woman he was with didn’t look fifteen.” She scrunched her nose in disbelief.

  “She’s not fifteen. It was about three years ago, I think, so I’m sure she’s legal now, but she wasn’t when he married her.”

  Lucy shook her head in disagreement. “No, she’s not eighteen either. I got a decent look at her, Jonas. She’s at least my age, if not older.”

  “Well, that’s not what I heard back then,” he offered.

  “Maybe you heard wrong. Or maybe it was a rumor to make him look bad.”

  Jonas shrugged. “Possibly. Regardless of her age, there’s no doubt he loves her.” He reached for Lucy’s hand. “He’s offered a ridiculously huge reward for the man who raped her earlier this year. The guy left her for dead. They still haven’t found him.”

  Lucy’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my gosh! The same thing happened to Christy, Jonas. Is that type of horror to be expected when engaging in a biker’s lifestyle?”

  His eyes grew serious. “It can be. It’s why I did what I did to Davey. Why I announced anything concerning you was off-limits the day we came out of the movie and found the bikers parked around my truck. It’s another reason why I didn’t like seeing you at the camp for our wedding. You’ll never lay eyes on that place again, by the way,” he quickly added.

  She stared past his shoulder. “I still don’t see him as liking younger girls because she was no girl. There has to be more to that story.”

  “Maybe there is, but it’s one we’ll never know. And it’s better that way,” he assured her. He stood up and offered her his hand. “C’mon, sweetheart. We need to get ready.”

  “Get ready for what?” she asked as he pulled her to a standing position.

  “Your honorary dinner.”

  Lucy looked confused but only for a moment. When she’d asked to finish up her classes early and announced she’d accepted a job offer in Atlanta, the university wanted to have a banquet to celebrate and officially say goodbye to the youngest person in the school’s history to have earned a doctorate. She’d politely refused after hashing out the wedding surprise with Christy. “Oh, I declined that invitation when Christy and I planned our honeymoon. There is no dinner.”

  “Apparently, there is,” he told her. “Christy went behind your back and told them you’d be there. With your new husband.”

  “She what?” Lucy cried.

  “You heard me right. I guess you haven’t peeked inside that garment bag she has hanging on a peg in our room. There’s a dress in there for you.”

  “It was the bag my wedding dress came in. I didn’t realize Christy snuck an outfit in there. I would’ve found it if I’d put my wedding dress away instead of laying it over a chair.”

  “That’s what you get for being too lazy to unzip a garment bag,” he teased. “Are you ready for me to meet the faculty and staff of your university?”

  Her eyes were hopeful when she asked, “You’re coming with me?”

  “Do you want me to come with you, Lucy?”

  “I won’t go unless you’re with me, Jonas. You’re my husband and I want everyone to know it.”

  On the drive to the school’s banquet hall, Lucy couldn’t help but cast admiring glances at her man. He was wearing the same suit he’d worn days earlier for their wedding. He’d been complaining while they’d been getting ready that his hair was getting out of control.

  “I love your long hair, Jonas,” Lucy admitted as they bounced along some of the rougher terrain while leaving the Everglades. “I’ve always thought your gold earring was pretty hot too.”

  “Do you want me to take it out for tonight?” He glanced her way when she didn’t answer.

  Shaking her head she told him, “I don’t want you to take it out ever. And I don’t care if your hair grows down to your butt, I love it.”

  Jonas tapped the steering wheel. “Sometimes it feels like it’s too much. Especially in the heat of summer. And I’m not a ponytail kind of guy.”

  Lucy had a thought. “What about cornrows? A professor at the school wears them. You might even meet him tonight.”

  Jonas shrugged. “People have been wearing cornrows forever. And ever since they’ve been promoting that movie that’s coming out next year—the one with the blond running down the beach—everyone acts like they just now discovered them.”

  “I don’t know anything about the history of cornrows except that I like them on Dr. Butler and they might be a good look for you too.” Lucy shrugged.
“Just an option since you don’t want to cut it and don’t like wearing it back in a rubber band.”

  As they drove, their conversation steered toward more practical matters. Lucy would tell her mother she decided to stay in Florida so she should pull the house off the market. They would live in her childhood home and she would revisit the local job offers from the CDC as well as other firms. They would wait until they were settled before sharing the news of their marriage with her small family.

  They’d stopped at a red light and Jonas looked her way. “I don’t care what they think about me, but I will care if they give you a hard time.”

  “Don’t worry about them,” Lucy advised him. “My mother already gave me the speech about how even though she didn’t like what her father did, she loved him. She’ll understand this more than you might think. Not to mention, I stood up to you, Jonas. If I can do that, I can handle my mom and brother.”

  He scratched at his jaw. “And even though I appreciate your buddy Brad helping you with the house and taking care of Chaos while we’re at the cabin, I don’t want him to be a permanent fixture, Lucy. At least not for a while.” She started to protest, but he continued. “I don’t care about him being gay. Not even a little. It has to do with our marriage. There is no doubt we’ll be on a learning curve with blending our lives. We need to keep it between us for now.”

  Lucy patted her bun. “You’re right. And I’ve no doubt Brad would agree. He was even happy for me when I told him the truth about us.” As an afterthought she added, “I hated lying to him about the dolls but completely understand why I had to. He still thinks they were stolen out of his car, but I’m pretty sure I convinced him how really pleased I am with the new ones he got me. He’s a good person, Jonas. The poor guy still hits up pawn shops and thrift stores thinking the dolls will show up.”

  The light turned green, and as they proceeded through the intersection, Lucy couldn’t help but comment on their financial situation. “I know you probably spent most, if not all, of your money on the private detectives and the two cars you bought me. And I feel really bad about that. I want you to know that based on some of the salaries I’ve been offered, as soon as I get set up with a new job here, I’ll be able to cover our expenses. Especially since there isn’t a mortgage on the house.”

  His roaring laugh startled her. “You think I’m broke, don’t you?” He didn’t give her a chance to answer when he launched into an explanation. “I’m not. Far from it. I don’t work as a bouncer at Ruthies because I have to. For the first time in my life, and only since meeting you, I’m paying rent. I’ve either been in jail or prison or bouncing around and living on people’s couches. I’ve even slept at the camp and the Bait & Tackle, which provides a steady income in case you were wondering.” He grumbled under his breath when he caught the next red light. Looking over at Lucy, he told her, “I’ve made a fortune working for Anthony Bear, and I’ve had nowhere to spend it. You don’t have to find a job unless you want to, Lucy.” He smiled when he realized he’d rendered her speechless. “As a matter of fact, I have more than triple what your parents were accused of stealing all those years ago. In today’s money, not what it was valued at back then.” The last comment caused her jaw to drop, and laughing, he reached over and lightly lifted her chin to close it.

  “I’m too shocked to say anything,” she told him as the light turned green and he pressed on the gas.

  “We can even buy the house from your mother if you think she needs the money. Or we can build a new one or buy any house you want.”

  Lucy was too overwhelmed to comment as they made the next right and drifted into the college parking lot. After finding a spot, he went around to open her door. He offered her his arm and announced, “Let’s go, sweetheart. It’s showtime.”

  Chapter 60

  They easily found their way to the banquet hall and weren’t surprised when a hush fell over the crowded room upon their entrance. They were greeted at the door by the university’s chancellor, who was unable to mask his surprise. He nervously glanced from the college’s star student and honoree to the specimen of a man who stood next to her. When Jonas offered his hand in greeting, the man’s eyes fixated not only on the tattoos that covered it, but the fact that it was so large, it engulfed his own. It was like he was shaking hands with someone who was wearing a baseball mitt. There were shocked smiles and some whispers as the newlyweds made their way to the table they were to share with the chancellor, his wife, and another couple. If the chancellor had appeared stunned by Lucy’s husband, his much younger spouse had the opposite reaction. Lucy smiled through gritted teeth as the woman practically devoured Jonas with her eyes.

  There was an awkward ten minutes before curiosity got the best of the crowd, and one by one they started making their way toward Lucy and Jonas, who’d sauntered over to the open bar. At one point, the barrage of comments and questions came at them so quickly, Lucy was afraid they’d never make it back to their table.

  “How in the world did you two ever meet?”

  “I heard you accepted a job in Atlanta.”

  “I must say those are some interesting tattoos. Where do you have them done?”

  “Congratulations, Lucy. I wish you would reconsider staying on as a professor. The school could really benefit from having someone like you on the faculty.”

  “I think I’ve seen you before. Would you happen to ride a Harley?”

  “I thought I was your favorite instructor. How come I wasn’t invited to the wedding?”

  “Did I see you driving a new car recently with a black Doberman in the back?”

  “What are you, six foot five? Maybe six-six?”

  Jonas and Lucy politely extricated themselves from the small crowd and made their way back to their table where Lucy took a seat between the chancellor’s wife and Jonas. Lucy had heard rumors about her numerous affairs and was aggravated when she’d obviously set her sights on Jonas. She stifled a smile as her husband ignored the woman’s attempts to engage him in conversation. She was practically in Lucy’s lap as she tried to get Jonas’s attention. He was completely disinterested and was too busy discussing motorcycles with Samuel Hyatt who’d been seated on his other side. Lucy listened with half an ear as Dr. Hyatt, Dean of the School of Medicine, described in painstakingly slow detail the highly desirable vintage Harley-Davidson he’d been restoring in his garage for the better part of five years.

  During dinner, Jonas wrapped his arm around Lucy and pulled her closer as they listened to several speakers who sang his wife’s praises. When she was asked to say a few words, he was beaming with so much pride he was certain he was emitting light.

  The night was coming to a close and Lucy excused herself to use the restroom. She was coming out of the bathroom when she heard the chancellor’s wife speaking with someone around the corner she was about to turn. She stopped suddenly when she recognized Jonas’ voice.

  “Lady, I don’t care who you’re married to or what you think you have to offer, I wouldn’t touch you with another guy’s dick, let alone fuck you. So get the hell out of my way before I take the piss I’ve been holding and aim it at your slutty-assed face.”

  Lucy swallowed a laugh and was getting ready to make herself known when she heard Jonas say, “And if I ever hear you make another unkind remark about my wife, I will drag your trampy ass out to the Everglades and feed you to the first shit-eating alligator I can find.”

  Lucy picked that moment to make herself known and stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Without looking at the woman who she knew was fuming, she told him, “I love you, husband. And I can’t wait for you to fuck me in the shower tonight.”

  The evening finally ended and after they’d gotten in the truck, Jonas couldn’t help but comment, “That was the first time I heard you say a bad word, wife.”

  Lucy laughed. “I don’t really cuss, but she had it coming. And watching her stomp off was worth it.”

  “Too bad we don’t have a shower at the c
abin. I’d like to take you up on that offer.”

  They pulled onto the main road and Lucy made a suggestion. “No. But you do have a shower at your apartment. Which I’ve never seen,” she said as an afterthought. “Let’s stay there tonight.”

  Hours later, and after making good on Lucy’s earlier shower suggestion, they lay in a tangle of limbs in Jonas’ king-sized bed.

  “I saw you met Dr. Butler,” she replied in a sleepy voice while using her fingertips to draw invisible circles on his rock-hard stomach.

  “Which doctor would that have been?” Jonas asked. “I met so many I couldn’t tell you who was who.”

  “The one with the cornrows I mentioned. I saw you talking to him over by the stage.”

  “Yeah, I met him. Is he the only black dude on the entire school faculty?”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” she replied. She heard Jonas grunt and waited for him to comment. She was curious about the conversation she’d witnessed from afar. Lucy remembered seeing Jonas with a look of irritation on his face after he’d turned away from Dr. Butler. Had her teacher said something to upset him? Or worse yet, had Jonas said something offensive to Dr. Butler? But, she would have to ask him another time. She could tell by his breathing he’d fallen asleep. It was only moments before she too succumbed to sleep and dreamt she’d stumbled upon an alligator in the Everglades. An alligator that was heartily chewing on the head of the chancellor’s wife.

  Chapter 61

  As much as Jonas and Lucy appreciated Christy’s efforts, they were both excited to begin their lives together away from the seclusion of the cabin. They cut their honeymoon short by two weeks, even offering to reimburse Christy for all the wedding expenses she’d incurred. She politely but firmly declined their offer.