by Marla Monroe
“Fuck! Sitting so close to her had my fucking dick hard as concrete. I had to wait until you distracted her before I could adjust myself so she wouldn’t notice. This going slow is probably going to kill me,” Scope admitted.
Gunner nodded without looking at him. “I expect we’re both in the same boat where that’s concerned. I’ve never wanted a woman like I do Darla. It’s a little, um, scary. I’ve always been fine with whoever you chose to play with, but this is different, and I’m not real comfortable with it.”
Scope just stood there staring at his friend before turning to look out at the darkness beyond their house. He hadn’t expected this. Gunner having feelings for Darla was worth shouting about, but he knew the other man well and just kept quiet. He couldn’t stop the huge grin that exploded across his face though. If the other man fell in love with their woman, he’d be hell to recon with if anyone dared hurt her or even cause her to break a fingernail.
His faulty hearing wouldn’t endanger her should someone attack them somewhere where their alarm wouldn’t alert him. He’d worried about that, thinking that Gunner would spend most of his time away from the house, at work or something. He didn’t worry about that nearly as much now. Gunner in protective mode was a force to be reckoned with.
“She’s good for you, Gunner. Don’t fight the feelings. Let her sooth whatever it is inside of you that still burns. I know it’s there, but I’ve never snooped or probed. Maybe she can help ease it some,” Scope said in a low voice.
“She’s too good to be anywhere near that part of me. That’s why I like control. Losing it scares me. I’ve always had to fight the anger issues inside of me. I don’t know if it’s something inherited from one of my parents who didn’t bother to stick around, or if it’s just from having to survive as a kid,” he said.
“Did you ever think that maybe they didn’t have a choice? Maybe they were killed in a car accident or a plane crash. Maybe…”
“They weren’t! When I was ten and sent back to the home because the foster family couldn’t handle me, I overheard two of the social services people talking about me. They said if I didn’t learn to control my temper I’d never get adopted and wouldn’t amount to anything in life. The other one said it was probably from a head injury or something since they found me in a garbage can outside of a service station. Evidently my mom had me in the bathroom at the gas station then dumped me and kept going.”
Scope watched as Gunner clenched and unclenched his hands over and over again. Each time they formed tight fists he expected him to swing and demolish their front porch. The man could fight and had a deadly right hook. When he didn’t, and his features slowly relaxed a bit, Scope relaxed as well.
“I’m sorry man. I didn’t have the right to say that.”
“It’s fine. You didn’t know, and I don’t talk about my past. The anger that gets me sometimes has always been with me so I’m pretty sure it’s hereditary. Why else would a newborn not end up adopted and living in a family?” Scope watched as he drew in a deep breath then let it out slowly. “From what I’ve found out, I stayed in the hospital for several weeks while they searched for my mother and treated me for exposure and some kind of infection from the garbage she’d dumped me in. Then I was held until I was a year old since they didn’t have papers turning me over to the state. By that time, I’d already started exhibiting anger issues I guess.”
“That’s ridiculous. You were just a child and too young to have any kind of issues,” Scope said with a frown.
“Evidently not. I threw temper tantrums that had them taking me to the emergency room several times because I’d either hold my breath and actually pass out or hurt myself while thrashing around. One of the women assigned to help at the home where I lived off and on until I was fifteen refused to have anything to do with me. She called me the spawn of the devil,” Gunner said with a half laugh. “Maybe she wasn’t far off.”
“That’s all bullshit, Gunner. You’re a good man. You’ve controlled whatever it is that does that to you. Weaker men would already be dead or in jail by now, but you’re stronger than that. You’ve proved it over and over to me.”
“I hope you’re right, Scope. All I know is that when she’s close by, I get a quietness that lets me feel almost normal inside,” he said, looking over at Scope for the first time. “The thing that worries me now is how will I react if something happens to her or to Tommy? I’m not sure I could control myself if that happened. If I get any more attached to her and the boy, I might kill someone just for looking at them the wrong way.”
Scope knew it cost his friend to admit that to him, but it didn’t matter to Scope one bit. If anything happened to Darla or Tommy, Gunner would be hard pressed to handle it before he took care of the problem.
* * * *
Monday morning Gunner stood outside Carpenter Big Rigs at fifteen before seven, waiting on someone to show up. At seven on the dot, a big king cab diesel pulled up in the parking lot. The man who stepped out looked nothing like what they expected out of a diesel mechanic who owned a big rig shop. He stood around five feet five inches with a head full of curly red hair and a face full of dimples.
“Hey there! What can I do for you guys?” The man walked over at a quick clip and stuck out one hand that, though clean, had obviously seen its share of time in the grease. “I’m Joey Carpenter.”
“Mr. Carpenter. I’m Chester Nettles, but everyone calls me Scope.” He turned to his friend. “This is my friend Gunner Barnes. We’ve been back from serving overseas for a couple of months now and looking for work. We heard you might have some openings for diesel mechanics.” Scope watched the other man’s face for any sign of what he thought. He didn’t give anything away.
“Nettles. Hmmm. That name’s familiar to me. Are you originally from Perkins City?” he asked.
“Yes sir, I am. My dad worked for the electric company but they moved away after he retired. I’ve moved back, and Gunner and I bought a house and plan to settle down here. A job would go a long way to helping us,” he said.
“Oh. Um, I see. Well, I don’t have any problem with gays, but you’ll need to be careful if you work here. Some of the guys might not be comfortable with it,” Joey said.
Scope couldn’t help but laugh despite feeling his friend’s ire brewing beneath the surface. Joey started looking a little uncomfortable so Scope reined it in.
“We’re not partners like that,” he told the other man. “We served together overseas and watched each other’s backs for nearly eight years. After what we’ve seen and been through, we just feel safer living together and watching out for each other. It’s no different than if we were just sharing rent.”
“Okay. I understand. Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you or nothing. Like I said, it makes me no never mind one way or the other. The jobs are yours if you still want to work. I’ll be honest with you, though. We’re backed up to our eyeteeth and the hours are going to be long, and there will be few days off until we can catch up. When can you start?” Joey asked them.
“We can start today, but there’s one thing we’re going to need. One of us needs to be off every Saturday or Sunday. We’re working on the house and helping someone who’s raising a child alone. She has a lot of things at her house that are falling apart.” Scope waited to see what Joey would say to that.
“Tell you what. I’ll go for that since I know this is going to help catch us up a lot quicker. I’ll give all the guys a day off each week, rotating it so that it’s fair. I want the trucks overhauled fast but right. No shortcuts here. This is a huge contract that I want to keep. Got it?”
“No problem. We don’t take shortcuts. From where we’ve been, shortcuts lead to deaths,” Scope said.
“Exactly. Come on in and I’ll show you where things are. You can choose a locker and stow anything you need to there. I’d bring a lock if you plan to keep anything in it overnight. I trust all our guys or they wouldn’t be working here, but we’ve been broken into before,” thei
r new boss advised them.
“We might can help you out with that, too.” Gunner said. “Security is something we’re well versed in. You want to put up an alarm system, let us know and we’ll do it for you.”
“Thanks. That’s really a good idea. With more trucks here we need to be able to protect them. We can talk more about that later.” He turned at the sound of another truck pulling into the drive outside. “Looks like Joe and Brian are here. Joe and Brian are second cousins, so they carpool in. You’ll like them.”
As the other two men walked inside talking about fishing, Scope studied them. Both men looked to be in good shape without the belly that a lot of mechanics tended to get with time. They were also clean cut and wearing clean clothes. It was a good sign they would be hard workers as well.
When the two men noticed them, Joey gestured them over. “I want you to meet the newest members of our team. Joe, Brian, this is Scope and Gunner. They’re just back from overseas and settling in Perkins City.”
Joe thrust out a hand then Brian followed. He and Gunner shook hands with the two men and waited for what they’d say to set the tone of their relationship. Men were much more straight forward than women tended to be.
“So where did you serve?” Brain asked.
“Kuwait, Afghanistan, and few places we can’t talk about,” Gunner told him.
“Marines,” Joe said with some authority.
“Yep. You, too,” Gunner acknowledged.
“Only served one tour. I had a family to take care of and my wife was having trouble here at home,” Joe said.
“Family has to come first,” Scope agreed.
“Got much experience in diesel?” Brian asked.
“Good bit. I worked on most of the transport we had over there when I wasn’t out scoping,” he told them.
“I’ve got enough, but Scope’s the expert,” Gunner told them.
Brian nodded. “Good to know. Want to start out on general service until you get your feet wet again? Straight forward tune ups, so to speak.”
“That suits me fine,” Gunner said with a nod.
“I’m good wherever you need me. I can work service or troubleshoot.” Scope had always been right at home elbows deep in an engine of just about any kind.
“Hell, we needed you a week or so ago,” Joe said with a wide grin. “My wife is going to be so happy the two of you are here, she may invite you over for supper one night.”
“If she knows Darla Sanchez then she’s the reason we’re here,” Scope said.
“You’re kidding.” Joe and Brian exchanged looks. “You know Darla?”
“Yeah. She’s the one who told us about the jobs being open,” Gunner said, stepping closer to them.
“Darla’s a good woman. I hope you know that and aren’t playing around with her or anything. She’s had it rough and doesn’t deserve being jerked around, if you know what I mean,” Joe said, a serious expression taking the place of the earlier easygoing one.
“We have no intentions of doing anything to hurt her. We plan to help her all we can. I grew up with her. She and I were best friends before I joined up,” Scope told him.
The other man nodded. “Good. She needs help, but she’s too ornery to let anyone do much for her. Believe me. We’ve tried.”
“She’s stubborn, all right,” Gunner agreed. “But you don’t have to worry about her any longer. We’re going to be taking care of her from now on.”
Joe and Brian exchanged looks but didn’t say anything. Joe just nodded and started talking about the jobs they had on the racks and who was assigned what.
Scope figured they’d passed a sort of preliminary test of some type. Only time would tell if they made the list, whatever it was. He had a feeling that Gunner’s declaration concerning Darla had given them a slight boost, but he had no idea how long it would last. He’d gotten an itch at the back of his neck about the time Gunner had told them she was under their protection. Normally that meant they were in someone’s sights, but they weren’t targeting anyone, and no one should have been targeting them.
“There’s that look you get,” Gunner said in a low voice. “The one that says there’s trouble somewhere. Any idea where it’s coming from?”
“No. Not a damn clue. Maybe it’s just a false alarm. We’re not fighting anymore,” he said.
“The hell we’re not. Keeping Darla and Tommy safe and happy is going to be a war like none we’ve ever fought before. Mark my words, Scope. There’s something out there if you’re getting that itchy feeling.”
Chapter Nine
“Are you sure, Taylor?” Darla asked.
Wednesday afternoon at Rizzoli’s had been slower than normal so Darla was going to leave early. She couldn’t say she was broken up over it. Yes, the money would have been better, but she could use a good rest before the rest of the week and weekend hit her. She would be working nights at the store through Saturday night and wasn’t looking forward to it one bit.
“Yeah. I’m sure. I saw them when they came in with Tag. He took them to the office so they must be applying for membership to the club. I felt like you needed to know. If you’re not interested in trying the lifestyle at all, you need to make sure you keep them at arm’s length,” she told her. “I don’t want you to get hurt, and if they are really into it and are truly Doms, then there is no changing them, hon.”
“I–I don’t know what to think. It’s not like I’ve never heard about it or anything. Half the town is into it in some form or fashion. I just never thought anyone I dated would be.” Darla’s head spun at the information. How did she feel about it?
If she were honest with herself, she’d admit to having been curious about it for the last five years. She’d read her first erotic BDSM romance back then and had been interested in learning more ever since.
“Well, if you have any questions or just want to talk, you can always talk to me. Call me, Darla. I’m your friend, too. You know my relationship with Max and Sawyer. I didn’t know the first thing about it when I met them. They were wonderful and patient with me. If you’re interested and trust them, let them show you some of it and then make a decision. The big thing is that you have to trust them or it won’t work out.”
“Thanks, Taylor. I appreciate it. I may be calling you. About all I know on it is what I’ve read in some of the books we both like to read,” she admitted, knowing that by the heat in her cheeks she was blushing.
“Not everything in the books is true, hon, but the basics are. Just remember that communication and trust are the two most important parts of BDSM. Really, it’s the core parts of any type of relationship you want to thrive. Call me if you want to talk,” Taylor reminded her.
Darla hurried to the back to clock out and hang up her apron. Then she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. She’d parked just down the street that morning, despite there being parking places in back for them. Now she was glad she had. It meant a straight shot home. She could pick up Tommy on the way there. He was staying with Betty Shields, who also worked at Rizzoli’s.
“Hey, Darla. You’re off early. Is everything okay?” Betty asked when she opened the door a few minutes later.
“Nothing is wrong. We were slow, so Taylor let me leave early. How are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m fine. Tommy helped me water the flowers. That boy is a gem, Darla.”
“Thanks, Betty. You don’t know how much I appreciate you watching him when you can.”
“Mom? Is something wrong?” Tommy ran toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“Nothing’s wrong, hon. I just got off early. Ready to head home?” she asked.
“Did you want me to finish helping you with the dishes?” Tommy asked Mrs. Shields.
“That’s okay, Tommy. You go on with your mom. I’m sure she’ll have plenty for you to do to help her around the house. I’ll see you later,” Betty said, and waved at them before closing the door.
“It’s really nice of you to help her w
hile you’re there. Tommy, I’m really proud of you,” she told him as they buckled up.
“Time goes by faster if you’re busy. Besides, I forgot to pack a new book and didn’t have anything to read.”
Darla chuckled. “I get it. Time for a trip to the library, huh?”
Her son’s wide grin was all the urging she needed. As much as she would have liked to laze around some, encouraging her son to read was more important. They ran by the house to pick up their library books, then spent the next two hours roaming the stacks for something new to read.
When she unlocked the door to the house late that afternoon, the phone was ringing. She dumped her books on the couch and hurried to catch it before it quit.
“Hello?”
“Darla. It’s Scope. Did I catch you at a bad time?” he asked.
“No. Actually Tommy and I just got back from the library. I got off early and we both needed something new to read,” she said, wishing she’d kept the last part to herself. He didn’t need to know where she’d spent the last few hours.
“I just wanted to thank you for the information on the job the other night. We are now productive citizens of Perkins City,” Scope said with a laugh. “We owe you a nice dinner the first night we’re both off.”
“Oh, you don’t owe me anything. I’m glad it worked out. Sounds like you’re going to be working nonstop for a while. Good money, but hard on the resting time.”
“We’re used to working seven days a week anyway. Days off in the service were rare. You always had to be on your guard.” Scope was silent for a second and Darla didn’t know what to say to that. “Look, the other reason I called is that I’m off Sunday and was hoping I could take Tommy to the park to throw the ball some. Would that be okay with you?”
“He’d love that, but I have to work Sunday. I won’t get off until six that evening,” she told him.
“If you’re okay with me having him for the afternoon, that’s fine with me. We can toss around the ball for a while then watch a movie or two until you get home.”
