KILTED DESIRE 2 - Russian Roulette

by A. B. McKINLEY

  “I hope you two manage to work things out. You are such a cute couple.”

  “Did she say anything tae yer aboot being pregnant?” Scott asked, hoping to get some information.

  “No, she hasn’t mentioned anything to me. Is that what all this is about?”

  “Nae. That is nae why we split up. But, she did say tonight she is pregnant. I’m nae sure what tae believe anymore. This is nae easy fer either of us.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Scott. I’ll talk with her in the morning.”

  “Okay, I should go. I’m tired. Her car is at my house doon in Ashville. It is parked in the street. I presume she’ll ask yer tae drive her doon there tomorrow tae get it.”

  “Okay Scott, thanks.”

  “Guidnight,” he said, as he turned to leave.

  “Good night Scott. Thanks for bringing Katie home.”

  As Scott drove home, lots of thoughts were racing through his head. If she was telling the truth about the baby, should he get back together with her? Would that be the right thing to do? He was unsure. He knew he needed to find out the truth, and it was something he needed to do as quickly as possible. He could not let this drag on. He arrived home without incident and went straight to bed. Although, he did not get much sleep after the night he endured.

  Chapter 4

  A week later, on the following Friday evening, Scott had not heard anything at all from Katie. He had expected a few voicemails or texts, or maybe even a call from her Mom but there had been nothing. Her car disappeared the following day but Scott hadn’t seen her take it. If she did try to knock on the door of the house when she collected it then he hadn’t heard her. He was in the dark about her condition and it was hard to concentrate. He wanted to call her to try and find out the truth but had decided against it.

  There were many positive things beginning to happen in Scott’s life. He was now officially a home-owner! All the details were finally completed earlier in the week. This home was now officially 100% his. He heard back from Chris, and he was to fly over for a visit. He planned to stay with Scott for a week and would leave on February 15th, the day after Scott’s birthday. Having a birthday on Valentine’s Day always caused Scott to be teased quite a lot during his military days. He really looked forward to seeing Chris again and knew they would be able to go out to celebrate his birthday together. They both experienced hard times recently, so the night out would do them both good.

  Scott’s physical health was greatly improved. Most of the injuries he sustained in Baghdad were healed. He still suffered from bad headaches though, but was told they were to be expected for a long time. He booked an appointment to see a neurological specialist in Columbus in early March, to get checked out. He hoped he would get the all clear, then.

  Scott needed to find a job. As of yet, he hadn’t any luck in that department. There wasn’t much need for someone with his particular skills, in Ohio. The house purchase had cost him a little more than he expected. Plus, he hadn’t collected quite as much money from the Baghdad job as he first anticipated. A good portion of the money was deducted for his brief hospital stay in Kuwait. He also paid off Katie’s ring, as well. That was something he never expected her to return to him, not that he really wanted it back. It didn’t take long for the money to disappear. He still had enough saved to keep him going for a little while. But, he needed a job fairly soon. He needed money for his upcoming hospital appointment too. That was something he was not accustomed to. Back home, in Scotland, all his medical care was free. Not here, in his new home.

  Scott was relaxed in front of the television with a beer. He hoped that this Friday evening would be less eventful than last week’s. He flicked through the channels and tried to find something good to watch when his phone rang. He grabbed it, half expecting it to be Katie. But, his phone said the call was from an unavailable number.

  “Hello?” said Scott. As he wondered who was calling him.

  “Hi Scott. It’s Britney. How are you feeling, now?”

  “I’m nae too bad. How are yer?”

  “That’s good. I’m fine. How’s Katie?” Britney replied, cheerfully.

  “Guid.” Scott didn’t want to go into details. He didn’t want to say anything to her about him splitting up with Katie, just in case she got any ideas. He didn’t want any more drama in his life at the moment. He knew he needed some peace and quiet. And, some time to recover properly.

  “Well, I don’t want to bother you Scott. But, my Dad wanted to talk to you. He’s here now. Is it okay if I put him on?”

  “Your Dad wants tae talk tae me? I’m nae sure why, but sure, okay.” Scott was a little confused. He waited, while he assumed Britney passed the phone to her Father.

  “Good evening, Scott,” he said warmly.

  “Hello Mr. Parnell. What can I do fer yer?” Scott answered, politely.

  “Please Scott, call me Bill. How are you feeling?

  “Okay, nae problem. I’m nae too bad Bill, considering what happened.”

  “That’s good. Yes, we heard all about your terrible injuries. It’s very scary to think about, especially for me, knowing that it could have been my daughter.”

  “Aye, well that sort of thing can happen in a place like that. I’m still in one piece. It could have been a lot worse.”

  “It certainly could have. I just wanted to speak to you and personally say thank you for keeping Britney safe. She has told her Mother and I many things about what happened over there and we both feel like we owe you a lot of thanks.”

  “Yer welcome. I’m glad she got oot of there safely. And, Bill, please make sure she does nae do anything like that again. It is nae worth it.”

  “You’re right, it’s not worth it. If I have anything to do with it she won’t be doing anything like that again. Listen Scott, I don’t want to keep you as I know you must need your rest. But please, if you ever need anything, please get in touch with me.”

  “Okay, thanks. I will do.”

  “Excellent, have a good weekend Scott. Look after yourself. I’ll put Britney back on.”

  “Thanks, Bill. Bye.”

  Scott waited, as Britney came back to the phone.

  “Hey Scott, my Dad has been asking to talk to you for quite a while. I hope you didn’t mind.”

  “I did nae mind at all. He seems very nice.”

  “He’s pretty cool, for an old guy,” she laughed.

  “Aye, he said to contact him if I need anything. Can yer ask him if he knows of any guid bodyguard jobs in Columbus? Preferably ones, where I will nae get shot at.”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I don’t think he has many contacts in Columbus,” Britney replied, jokingly.

  “Och well, it was worth a try. I have tae go now Britney. It was guid tae talk tae yer.”

  “Okay Scott. Nice talking with you too, and thank you for talking with my Dad. Take care.”

  “Guidnight.”

  Scott returned to watching his television. Although Britney wasn’t his favorite person, she seemed to have gotten over her obsession with him. Scott tried to put it down to the extreme circumstances which they had found themselves in. Maybe that was why she had acted the way she did. It was nice to have talked to her Dad though, he thought, and hear his appreciation for having protected his daughter.

  Scott was tired. He hadn’t slept well all week so he went to bed early. If Katie tried to mess with him by saying she was pregnant, it worked. The “not-knowing” the truth played heavily on his mind. If he was honest, he always wanted to be a father. But, the timing was never right. For whatever reason, it never happened.

  It was now Scott’s birthday, Chris had been there for nearly a week and the two men were having a good time catching up. Scott showed him around the area and they had ventured up to Cleveland for an NBA game. Both were big sports fans, and although Soccer was their main sport, they loved to watch almost any sporting event. The guy’s had reminisced a lot over the last few days about their past adventures. This pu
t many smiles on their faces. They planned to head out to a local bar, about half a mile from Scott’s house and then catch a taxi into Columbus later in the evening. Since the bar was quite close, they decided to walk. It was cold, but with no snow in a couple of weeks, it was quite dry. It didn’t take long to reach the small Sports Bar and they went inside. It was early, so the place was fairly quiet. Scott had dropped in a few times before, so the regulars knew him. They sat down at the bar and watched the various screens as they ordered a couple of beers. The barmaid who served them was Sam. She was a pretty, busty blonde, who was very pleasant when he came in. She always seemed to be there anytime he visited the establishment and they chatted many times. She was married, with three young kids. Her husband was out of work, so she worked a lot of hours to help support her family. Scott always gave her a good tip. They got along quite well.

  “So who’s your friend, Scott?’ she said, as she served up two bottles of beer.”

  “Hey Sam, this is Chris. An old friend of mine from back haem. And aye, he talks funny too.”

  “Well, hello Chris. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Guid tae meet yer too.” Chris replied.

  Chris was a tall guy, but was about an inch or so shorter than Scott. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes, and like Scott, was in good physical shape.

  “So, where’s a guid place tae go fer a night oot in Columbus, Sam?” Scott asked.

  “It depends what type of thing you’re looking for. Are you after live music? Lots of women to hit on? Or anything else in particular?”

  “I’m nae really sure, I guess music would be guid. As long as it’s nae too loud, we’re getting old now,” Scott said smiling.

  “So you’re not after girls tonight?” she replied, teasing them.

  “Probably nae, we’ve nae been having much luck with women recently.” Scott said.

  “Aye, yer nae wrong there,” Chris agreed.

  “Well, let me tell you this. No matter where you go in Columbus, looking like you two do, and especially talking like you do. You’re going to get attention from girls, trust me.”

  “Aye, I’ve noticed the accent does get noticed aroond here,” Scott added laughing.

  “I dinnae mind where we go. I quite like it in here. We dinnae get places like this back in Glasgae,” Chris said.

  “It should get quite busy in here a little later. The Buckeyes game is on, they are playing against Michigan tonight. It’s a big local rivalry game.”

  “Aye, that sounds guid tae me. I like basketball,” Scott said smiling, looking at Chris.

  “It’s yer birthday mate, whatever yer want tae do is fine with me.”

  “Happy birthday Scott. You didn’t tell me it was your birthday. I won’t ask how old you are,” Sam said cheekily, smiling at Scott.

  Scott smiled back at her. Chris liked to tease him about his age too, he was a couple of years younger than Scott and frequently liked to remind him of that. The bar started to fill up for the game. Sam returned to work since there were new customers coming in to take care of.

  “She seems nice,” Chris commented.

  “Aye, she is a nice lass. I’ve talked tae her a few times afore.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by Scott’s phone. He received a text from Katie. His face went pale as he read it. She claimed she had an abortion and there was no need for Scott to worry about the baby anymore. It was a short text and gave very little information. Scott knew it was most likely just more lies and games, but still, that little voice in the back of his mind told him that she could be telling the truth. He didn’t really feel like celebrating anymore. Was Katie really lying to him and doing all these nasty things? How could he have misjudged her this badly? He really thought she was a good, nice person. He was usually so good at judging a person’s character. He desperately needed to find out the truth, but how? This was something that was going to continue to bother him but he wasn’t sure what he could do about it. He didn’t want to call her, because if she was lying then that was what she would want. But, what choice did he have? How else could he find out the truth? Scott was upset, but he knew it was his last night with Chris so he tried to put it out of his mind and enjoy the evening with his friend.

  Chapter 5

  Three Months Later

  It was now mid May, the weather in Ohio was really warming up. Flowers were blooming and all the trees were green again. It was a Thursday evening and Scott was driving home from work. He had found a job at a new fitness center that had opened the previous month in Columbus. It was about a thirty minute drive but Scott enjoyed it, and he needed the money. He was teaching kickboxing again, like he had done many years before. He taught three classes a night, three days a week, to lots of different age groups. Starting with four and five year olds and continuing right the way up to adult classes. Also on Friday evenings he taught a women’s only self-defense class. Scott liked meeting new people, and although he would have preferred something a little closer to home, he was happy with his four evenings a week working arrangement. He especially enjoyed teaching the younger children, they made him laugh a lot.

  Scott also had his appointment with the Neurologist, in March. It went very well. He was told that everything looked good. The doctor wanted to see him again in September, just to make sure.

  He never heard anything directly from Katie. But, he ran into her Mom at a mall in Columbus, a few weeks earlier. It was an accidental, unexpected meeting. They happened to pass each other in a store and she informed him of a few things about Katie. She moved out of her parent’s house. Plus, she was now living with a very undesirable character near Mansfield, and was working two cleaning jobs. The girls still lived with Katie’s parents. Apparently, there was no room for them at her new boyfriends, yet! Scott learned that her new man was very abusive and had a long police record. Apparently, he used to have a construction business but received a very poor reputation for being an unreliable builder and never finishing the jobs. So he turned to dealing drugs. He was in and out of prison many times and enjoyed intimidating people. Scott could see that her Mom was very worried about her. But, he knew it was none of his business anymore. Scott didn’t mention anything about the ‘pregnancy’ or the ‘abortion’. He did find it strange that Katie had seemingly gotten herself involved with another abusive controlling man, after all the trouble she went through in leaving Michael. He also found it very strange that she would move in with this guy and leave her kids at her parent’s. Scott didn’t know for sure how much of what Katie’s Mom told him was accurate, but it still played on his mind.

  His thoughts wandered. He now wondered if Katie ever loved him, or just looked for someone to take care of her. Lots of memories continued to flash through his mind, particularly when Katie asked him to buy her things, and give her money. He remembered many instances, even the girls asked him to buy them things and to give them money, even when he was just home from Baghdad, around Christmas time. He never blamed the girls, but Katie never stopped them. They must have learned it from somewhere. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was better off, out of that situation. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any animosity towards Katie. He knew they shared some good times together. He genuinely hoped things would work out well for her and the girls.

  As Scott drew closer to home, he thought about the phone call he had received from Britney the previous day. She told him that one of her Father’s friends wanted to talk with him about some security advice and a possible job opportunity. Her Father asked if it was okay to give his friend, Scott’s number. He happily agreed and said he didn’t mind talking to any of her Father’s friends. It was the first time in quite a while that he heard from Britney. It was only a short call. Scott never told her that Katie and he broke up. He knew she would probably hear sooner or later though.

  It was just after 11:00 p.m., when Scott arrived home. He parked the car on his driveway and walked up the pathway to his front door. Lots of moths and bugs
congregated around the security light above the door so he closed the door quickly behind him to prevent as many of them as possible from gaining entry into the house. He made his way to the kitchen and opened the freezer. It was too late to cook properly, but he was hungry. As he decided which delightful frozen microwave meal to eat, his phone started to ring. It was a restricted number, so Scott let it go to voicemail as he pulled a frozen spaghetti meal from the freezer. Five minutes later he was sitting on his couch, a steaming plastic tray on his lap, and had turned on sports updates on TV. When he finished the relatively small meal, he checked the message.

  It was from one of Bill Parnell’s friends. It was a short, polite message from a man named Jim Robinson. He left only a phone number and stated that he had a proposition for Scott. He asked him to call back as-soon-as possible. Since he was a friend of Bill’s, and that he called so late, Scott presumed that he must live out on the West coast too. But, he never mentioned that in the message. Scott was intrigued, so he turned off the TV and called him back.

  “Hello, Mr. Robinson. This is Scott Maclaren, returning yer call.”

  “Hi Scott. Thanks for calling. How are you? And please, call me Jim. We’re very informal around here.”

  “Okay, Jim. I’m guid, thanks. What can I do fer yer?”

  “First of all, I have to tell you, my wife will love your accent. I’ll have to let her talk to you when we are finished.”

  “Och, okay. Nae problem,” Scott laughed. He could tell he was going to like this man.

  “Well then, down to business first. A very good friend of mine recommended that I call you. Bill and I go way back. We went to college together and have stayed very close friends ever since. I trust his recommendations immensely. Scott, I need some security advice and there are not many people who could help me with this.”