He shrugged. “Needed a change of scene. That your girl?” I snorted as I flicked ash, narrowly missing him.
“Nah, just a friend of a friend.”
“She’s hot.” He didn’t move and neither did I. “You seen them guys that were fighting for Malcolm around?”
I took a drag as I thought. So, he was here for Dawson and his friends. Fuck. “Not seen them in a while. Why?”
“Your brother set some of my guys up with them and they disappeared.” I nodded. I really should have kicked Jay’s ass myself.
“Don’t know anything about it,” I answered as I flicked my butt away.
He nodded as he watched me. “You hear, you let me know?”
“Most definitely,” I agreed. He nodded again and then looked around me to Lela. “See you again Lela,” he called out, lifting a hand to wave before walking back into the bar.
I waited until he was gone and then got into the truck. Lela went to speak and I stopped her before she could. “Shut it, or so fucking help me, I’ll leave you here.”
She wisely did as she was told and we drove back to Boulder in silence.
When I parked at the house, Lela got out and stormed to the door. I noticed with some amusement as she opened the door with the spare key. I followed her in as she kicked off her boots and then marched up the hall.
I locked the door, took my boots and jacket off and then followed her. The door to her room was closed. I smiled to myself. Yeah like that would stop me. I opened the door. She shrieked when I walked in. She had been taking her top off. I leaned against the wall and watched in amusement as Lela held her top up in front of her, like a shield.
“Get over yourself, I’m not interested in your scrawny ass,” I told her. She glared at me. “Now, what the fuck were you doing this evening?”
Lela threw the top on the bed as she slumped onto it. “I told you. I wanted out. It’s not fair to leave me in here when you get to go out.”
“It’s been two days. You’re hardly starved for company.” Ok, I had no real interest in her, she really was scrawny, but was she really just going to sit on the bed in her bra?
“I like mingling with people,” Lela muttered defensively.
“Yeah, well learn to not like it. I wouldn’t have been there this evening if you hadn’t gone there.” Her eyes shot to mine in disbelief. “I work, Lela. I don’t go to bars every night and I don’t have time for your temper tantrums and shit.” She looked away guiltily.
She stood up again and moved over to one of her cases – she pulled a cotton shirt from it and shrugged it on as she turned to face me. “How long am I here for?”
“Until they come back. I want to say it’s a week, I think it may be ten days, I really hope it isn’t any longer.” I shrugged. “I don’t like it any more than you do.” I sighed in resignation. I tried to reason with her. “Can you just stop fighting me all the time and just deal with it? You can go wild and party when your mom’s back.”
Lela shrugged.
“Alright,” I said. “I’m going to bed.”
I left the room, closing the door behind me. I paused outside her door and nodded to myself when nothing was thrown.
I made my way to my own bedroom and shed my clothes. I went and had a quick shower and then pulling on loose sweatpants, I made my way to the kitchen. I left the lights off, opened the fridge and surveyed the contents. I reached in and grabbed a bottle of water, while considering what I could eat. Deciding everything took too much time, I closed the door and made my way back to my room.
I walked straight into Lela in the dark hallway. Her hands flew up to steady herself as I grabbed her to stop her fall. The cold bottle of water settled against her briefly and she jumped closer to me. I held her close for a moment, her hands lay flat on my chest and I felt her racing heart. I dropped my hands off her waist and stood back.
“You scared me,” she murmured. She gave out a nervous laugh. “You tend to scare me a lot,” she admitted.
I took another step back and flicked the hall light switch on. Lela blinked a few times and she took in my appearance. I glanced down at myself. Ok, so the pants were maybe too low, but I was comfy, this was my fucking house. Lela was in those stupid sleep shorts again and a loose-fitting white t-shirt.
“I was thirsty,” she explained, gesturing down the hall to the kitchen.
I nodded. She continued standing in front of me, her eyes wandering over my chest and arms. Reflexively I crossed my arms; her eyes widened a little.
“Jesus, you’re like a ghetto GI Joe.”
I barked out a surprised laugh. “What the fuck does that mean?” I asked her. She flushed as she looked away.
“You look like an action figure, all that muscle and then covered in all those tattoos – you look like what a bad boy action figure would look like.” Lela shrugged, flushing in embarrassment. A bad boy doll? Was she for real? She took a step forward and her finger traced the skulls on my right arm, there were many and they all fit into each other. I took in a sharp breath as her hand trailed up my forearm. She had been so intent on tracing the skulls she jerked her head up to me in surprise, almost like she forgot I was there. She quickly dropped her hand in realisation.
“Sorry. That was…um…inappropriate.”
I smiled at her, it was fun to watch her when she was uncomfortable. “I don’t mind you touching me, just be sure you don’t complain if I touch you back.” What the fuck are you saying Aaron?
She glared at me. “Thought I was too scrawny,” she bit out.
I relaxed as I laughed at her. “Bother you, did it?”
“No,” she denied. She squared her shoulders and gestured to get past. “I was going for a drink.” I moved to the side and she walked past me with her head down and her face bright red. I watched her as she passed.
I headed back to my room, still smiling to myself from her reaction. “Aaron?” I turned my head as I got to my room. “Goodnight.”
I nodded and went inside and closed the door. Did we just have a civil conversation? Maybe miracles did happen. I climbed into bed. I needed a full night’s sleep, or I was going to be a complete bastard to be around. I closed my eyes and wished for a peaceful night.
I opened my eyes in the darkness. I don’t think I had been asleep that long, but once again I knew something was hovering over my bed.
“If you’re going to stab me, you shouldn’t hesitate, it gives me time to defend myself. If you’re here to climb into bed with me, I already told you I’m not interested. If you hear people outside, it’s a fucking racoon. If you make me get up, you better have a very good fucking reason.”
“I’m not going to stab you!” Lela whispered furiously. “There’s definitely something out there. It is not a fucking racoon.”
“Fuck me, I might stab you at this rate.” I threw the covers off and stood. Lela instantly stepped into me, whilst shushing me to be quiet. I pushed her back slightly. “Calm down jitterbug. I need to put my sweats on.” Once ready, I turned to her. “Right – lead me to our intruder.” She grasped my hand. “Lela, will you calm down?” I said softly to her. She was shaking. I let go of her hand and she whimpered but I needed my hand for my baseball bat. If there was someone out there, I would definitely eat humble pie, after I smashed my bat into their head. “Where?” I asked her quietly.
“Front of the house,” she whispered back to me. “I was watching TV.”
I guided her to just beside the couch. She grabbed my arm and I hesitated for a second; I pulled her briefly into me and gave her a squeeze. “It’s ok.” I felt her nod and I pulled away. I went slowly over to the door. I turned the lock very slowly and quietly and then flung the door open as I stepped out onto the path.
Nothing. Zip. Nada.
I growled low as I stepped further out and looked around. The street was empty, no sign of life at all. I went to turn back in to give her a piece of my mind, when I saw it out of the corner of my eye. In the snow was a perfect footprint. We
ll I’ll be damned. I moved closer inspecting it. The house had a thin layer of loose stones that separated the house from the grass, the cladding jutted out over the brick foundations slightly. To the left of the property I had a screen of trees, meaning that this corner of the house was the most protected, and even this early in winter, snow hadn’t made it all the way to the base of the house. The stones here had no snow covering, protected from the cladding and the roof trusses. However, right at the corner, there was less shelter and there was the footprint. Like they had been using the stones to their advantage to creep round my house perimeter.
I walked over slowly, ready to swing at any motherfucker that was coming my way. I turned sharply and noticed there were a few more prints leading under the kitchen window, then they moved off over the snow and away. They led away. I stood and considered for a moment, there were no prints leading to the house, which meant they came from the front. I frowned. Who the fuck was sneaking up to my house and why? I went back to the front and looked at Lela’s and my tracks from the truck earlier. I looked at my tracks in particular, had someone really stepped into my footprints, or was I drinking Lela’s krazy kool aid?
I turned back and made my way to the house. Lela was exactly where I left her. I closed and locked the door and turned the main light on.
“Who was it?” Her voice was quivering, she was still shaking. I took her in and smiled my cockiest grin.
“Raccoon, told you it was nothing.”
Her wide eyes regarded me suspiciously. “Animal? You sure? You sure spent time out there for a racoon.”
I nodded. “Making sure the rodent wasn’t trying to get into the house,” I lied easily. “I’m going back to bed, you coming?” I made my way up the hall. I heard her hurrying after me. “You were watching TV?” I asked as I got to her bedroom door.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.”
I went into the room and closed her curtains. “Might make you less jumpy,” I said jokingly. She frowned but I carried the lie on – I didn’t want anyone looking through her window. The idea of it pissed me off. “You’re alright Lela, go to bed.”
She stood in the doorway for a few moments more, still hesitating. “Ok.” Her voice was low and unsure. I made my way past her, she snatched at my arm. “Can I leave the door open?” I frowned at her but nodded. “Will you leave yours open?” I chuckled as I walked away from her.
I made my way to my room and heard her get into the bed. I sat at the edge of my own bed and began to list who could be sniffing around outside my house and why. I checked the time, it was just before two in the morning. I had been asleep longer than I thought. She moved like a damn cat in the house, that was twice she had been standing in my room with me none the wiser. At this time of night, I couldn’t phone Shadow, not with Maria in her condition. Fuck.
I stood and began to pace. I stopped when I heard Lela’s adjoining bathroom door open and close. She’d left her door open – I had to stop pacing or she would hear me. I didn’t want her frightened. Christ, now I was worried about the Brat? I sat back down again and considered the Brat more fully. I knew nothing about this girl – what if it was a boyfriend, or worse, drug dealer? I’d bought the story about the friend having the speed and poppers on hand, but what if it wasn’t a friend? Could she owe money and now with her funds cut off, she had nothing to pay them with? I felt my temper rise – no – I needed to play this calmly, speculation led you nowhere.
However, my mind was running with this more than I liked. Was this why she was awake at night? Was this why she didn’t want to be alone? Was she running from someone? I ran my hand over my hair, then clasped my hands behind my neck as I bowed my head in thought. She was back to pissing me off again, because I knew absolutely nothing about her and I was stuck with her.
I needed a punching bag or at least the stationary speedball. However, I couldn’t leave her here, I wasn’t sure if she was guilty and she was obviously shaken. I couldn’t take her with me, that would negate the lie about it being an animal. Maybe I was just being paranoid, I’d look into her more, ask more questions. The truth was there was a number of reasons there could be someone outside my house. I wasn’t exactly innocent. I lay down on top of the bed – I had zero chance of getting to sleep, but I closed my eyes anyway.
I heard Lela moving about again, and then since I was listening for it, I heard her approach my door. I half rose from my position. “Go to bed Lela,” I said quietly. I heard her pause. “Go to sleep woman. There’s no one out there.” I heard her retreat back up the hall. I shook my head. I turned onto my side and closed my eyes, praying for quiet.
At half past four, I knew she’d been still long enough to be sleeping. I got up and made my way to the kitchen. I stilled, listening for movement and then, after putting my boots on, I went outside. I turned my phone’s flashlight on, being grateful for Boulder winters, as I looked at the perfect crisp footprint. I took a few pictures of it and then covered the tracks with snow. I surveyed the ones on the pathway again and could see where outlines blurred with oversteps. Sneaky bastards. I took a few more pictures and then I went back inside. I listened quietly for movement. The house was silent. I lay down on my couch and looked at the photos.
Being so careful and shrewd enough to walk in my footsteps meant this person wasn’t stupid and had done this before. They didn’t want to be detected, the stones had provided cover. The area of the house they were at had no immediate window, so they at least weren’t looking in. However, around the back of the house, looking out over the enclosed back garden were the bedrooms. My curtains had been drawn but Lela’s had not. Although it didn’t look like they had gotten as far as her window.
This was a mindfuck – I didn’t want to be sitting in the dark trying to be quiet. I really needed a coffee but it would wake Lela and I didn’t want her to freak out. I didn’t have time for hysteria, she was on edge enough. I made my way back to my room and picked up my iPad. I started researching trainers – Shadow had said he had someone in mind, but my mind was working overtime doing nothing. After half an hour I had jotted down three names, I would run them past Shadow later. I then started looking for furnished homes in Watertown for my mom and sister to move too, that would be suitable for a wheelchair user. I needed lower counter tops, wider doors, open plan if possible. I didn’t know how I was going to move them now if there were people sneaking about outside at night. It wasn’t really the time to be leaving Boulder. I also had no idea what I was going to do with Lela when I was gone. When I had thought about moving them when Skinner was telling me about Lela, I hadn’t expected to be housing her for the whole time she was my problem.
At half past six, I went to the spare room and got on the treadmill – I was fed up waiting, it was time to start my day. As I finished the last mile, I heard sounds coming from Lela’s room. I met her in the hallway. Her eyes widened as she took in my sweaty body and running shorts.
“You’re perving again,” I mocked her as I passed her.
“No tattoos on your legs?” she blurted.
“Good morning Lela. Ever try normal conversation?” She ran her hand through her hair.
“Sorry. It’s just, you’re so...” She drifted off.
I turned back to her and raised my arms in frustration. “What? I’m so what?”
She shrugged. “I dunno, I’ve never met anyone like you. You confuse me.”
I turned away back to my room. “I’ll be out of your life soon enough, don’t sweat it.” I closed the door behind me. Thirty minutes later I was in the kitchen. Lela handed me a cup of coffee. I took it, saying nothing. I watched her as she took hers to the couch and switched the TV on. She had pulled her yoga pants on and a hooded cardigan over her sleepshirt, her feet were in slipper socks and she curled her legs up under her as she got comfy. Making herself at home. I wasn’t too keen on that thought.
I took a drink of coffee and felt my nose scrunch in distaste. Was there coffee in the pot at all? What the fuck was this?
The coffee was so weak. I inspected the filter. Good God there was hardly coffee in there. I put the cup down and debated about a new pot. My phone rang – it was the autoshop. I glanced at my watch; it was still before eight.
“Aaron,” I answered, heading to the door to get my boots on.
“Aaron, it’s Jim. Daisy rolled her ankle at Salsa class last night, so she has to stay off it for ten days she said. I’m in the office now but I haven’t got a clue what this girl has booked in for today.” I could hear the frustration in his voice and swallowed a curse. Mid-week was not a time for me to be missing a front desk girl.
“Who can we pull off the floor to manage the desk?” I asked as I reached for my hoody. Jim rattled off who was due in and who was out. I listened as I tried to work out the mechanics of the day. Lela moved on the couch. I watched her and the most unrealistic plan began to take form in my head. “I’ll call you back, if not, I’ll be in soon anyway.” I hung up. I considered her more. What did Skinner say she did again? Art school? Not the best fit for me right now, but I would chance it.
I walked over to the couch; she glanced up at me. “You want to come with me to the shop?” Lela’s face was so hopeful, I almost felt bad. “Get you out of the house?” Lela nodded enthusiastically as she got up off the couch. “You be ready in fifteen minutes?”
“Yes, of course!” I watched with some amusement as she ran up the hallway; she was so desperate not to be here alone all day, it made me feel slightly guilty.
Before showering, I had texted my mom a link to the house I’d found to rent. I didn’t have to wait long before she phoned me. I glanced up the hallway, seeing that Lela’s door was still closed.
“Hey mom,” I answered, moving into the living room so I could keep an eye on her door.
“Aaron, the house is really nice, the halls and doors are wide enough for my chair.” Hearing my mom sounding more positive made me smile. “The kitchen looks ok and it’s quite close to the college too for Alicia.”
Dark Heart Page 9
