by Wilder, L.
“I wish my parents felt like that. Even once. It would’ve made all the difference in the world.” I could feel myself becoming emotional, and I didn’t want that to happen. Not tonight. Not after sharing my first time with him. Hoping for an escape, I sat up in the bed and eased the covers back. “I think I’m going to take a quick shower. I’ll be right back.”
Before he had a chance to protest, I got up and went into the bathroom. I turned on the water, and before giving it a chance to warm up, I stepped inside and let the cold water cascade down my back. I tried to push away those hurtful memories that were trying to force themselves back into my mind. I might not have been successful if Rafe hadn’t stepped into the shower behind me. He slipped his arms around my waist and eased me close as he whispered, “You okay?”
“Better now.” I leaned my head back resting it on his shoulder. “In case you didn’t notice, I have a hard time talking about my family.”
“I definitely noticed.” He kissed me softly on the temple. “But I’m glad you opened up about them. Means a lot to me.”
“I understand. I should’ve told you sooner.” I turned around to face him as I said, “I’ve just worked really hard to put all that behind me.”
“So, you don’t talk to your folks at all?”
“I reach out to them every now and then just to see how they are or whatever, but they rarely return the favor.” Trying once again not to become emotional, I cleared my throat and smiled. “But none of that really matters anymore. My life is here now, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been.”
“I’m really glad to hear that.” He lowered his mouth to my shoulder and started trailing kisses along the curve of my neck. “I kinda feel like we should’ve had this conversation earlier. Maybe then, you would’ve felt like you could open up to me about other things...like earlier tonight.”
“Maybe so.” I smiled as I told him, “But tonight was perfect. I wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
Once we’d both finished in the shower, we dried off, and Rafe led me back into the bedroom. As I curled up under the covers next to him, Rafe looked down at me and whispered, “You’re amazing, Marlowe Davenport. Don’t you ever forget that.”
And then he gave me a kiss that set my entire soul on fire. I’d never known someone who could make me feel so completely vulnerable and strong at the same time, but that was Rafe. He was everything I never knew I needed. It was like God had finally taken mercy on my heartbroken soul and given me someone who could actually see me—the real me. Without even trying, he’d made me see that I didn’t have to hold on to the binds that tied me to my past. I could simply let go of it all, and that’s exactly what I intended to do.
Unfortunately, I’d soon discover my past wasn’t ready to let go of me.
Chapter 11
Rafe
“Out of all the places you could go, what made you choose Nashville?”
Marlowe took a sip of her coffee, still looking half asleep as she answered, “I’d been researching different cities online when I started getting touring emails about Nashville and all the different places to visit here. I kind of figured it was a sign and went for it.”
“And you came here without knowing a soul?”
“Not a soul, but that was kind of the point.” She leaned back and stretched. “I wanted a completely new start.”
“You’re a brave one, Marlowe Davenport. I’ll give you that.”
I couldn’t help but wonder if the reason she’d up and left had anything to do with what Menace had discovered during her background check. I kept expecting Marlowe to bring it up as a possible explanation why things were so difficult for her back at home, but that never happened. Instead, she shut down, and the conversation ended before it really began. It was clear she still wasn’t ready to fully open up to me when she shrugged with a snicker and said, “Either brave or completely crazy. I’m still trying to figure that one out.”
“I vote for brave.” I walked over and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ve gotta get going, but I’ll see you later at the club.”
“Okay, sounds good.”
As I walked out the door, I couldn’t help but think how damn beautiful Marlowe looked sitting there with that sleepy look in her eyes. I was tempted to go back in and carry her fine ass back to bed, spend the entire day with her tangled in my arms, but unfortunately, that couldn’t happen. I’d gotten a call from Country a few minutes earlier, and he needed me to meet up with him over at the clubhouse. Apparently, he’d gotten with Widow and Shotgun, and together, they’d all decided Widow’s plan of moving Gladys in over at Ada’s was a good one. Even Viper agreed, but I hadn’t heard what Gladys or Ada had to say about it. I wouldn’t find that out until we went to grab the first load of boxes from Gladys’s place. She was standing in the middle of the room with a scowl on her face as she told Country, “I haven’t lived with anyone since your grandfather died.”
“I know. It’ll do you good to have some company.”
“But I don’t really know Ada.”
“You’ve been around her enough to know you like her. You said so yourself,” Country argued.
“I did and I do like her. Ada’s perfectly fine, but I’m old and set in my ways. Not sure I’m up for changing now.”
“Nobody’s asking you to change, Gran.” Country walked over to her and softened his tone as he said, “I don’t like the idea of you living alone or in some fucking old-folks’ home. This might not be the perfect answer, but it’s pretty damn close.”
“And you’re sure Ada is good with all this?”
“Absolutely. She’s looking forward to it,” he tried to reassure her. “And remember. You’re gonna have the whole back of the house to yourself. You won’t even have to lay eyes on her unless you want to.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll give it a try, but if things go south, I’m moving.”
“Deal.”
Once we were certain Gladys was okay with the moving destination, we started carrying all the different boxes and furniture down to the trailer. Thankfully, Gladys had decided to sell most of the furniture with the building, so we only had to wrestle with two recliners, a bed, and a dresser. I was helping Widow with one of the recliners when Lynch came up behind us and taunted, “You girls need a hand?”
“’Bout time your sorry ass showed up,” Widow complained. “Need a fucking alarm clock bolted to your damn head.”
“Didn’t realize we were on the fucking clock.” Lynch turned to Country as he shouted, “Yo, Country! Why didn’t you tell me we were on the fucking clock?”
“’Cause we ain’t on the clock,” Country answered as he made his way over to us. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Ah, Rafe and Widow are all butt hurt ’cause I’m just now getting here.”
Widow let out a loud, aggravated sigh before snarling, “We’ve been here for over a fucking hour, dickhead.”
“An hour? What the fuck is taking you slow pokes so damn long?”
“You blind? Can’t you see all this shit we gotta get down to the trailer?”
Lynch looked over to Country with a smirk, and I knew he was about to say something to piss me off. “I don’t know about you, but I think these two are getting fucking old. Hell, poor guys can’t even get a damn chair down the stairs.”
Before giving Country a chance to respond, he leaned over and grabbed the arms of the recliner, easily lifting it over his head. Widow and I didn’t say a word. Instead, we just watched as the asshole carried the chair out of the living room and into the hallway. I was still standing there, annoyed as hell, when Widow grumbled, “Cocky motherfucker.”
“Don’t you know it.”
“Hey, Ma and Pa...We could use some help with the boxes in the kitchen.”
“I’ll show you Ma and fucking Pa.”
The second I started charging towards him, Country threw up his hands in surrender. “Hold up, man. I was just fucking with ya!”
“Yeah, that’s what
I fucking thought.” I looked over to Widow as I complained, “I’m over this shit already, brother.”
“You and me both.”
Doing our best to suck it up, Widow and I went into the kitchen and started grabbing boxes. After several trips back and forth, we finally managed to get everything loaded up in the trailer. Widow, Lynch, and I followed Country as he drove the truck and trailer over to Ada’s. Her house was nestled in the back corner of the club’s storage lot. Considering the location, it was a really nice place. Viper had made sure of that. There were three large bedrooms, a full living room and spacious kitchen, and there were two full-sized bathrooms, which would come in handy with both Ada and Gladys living there. As soon as we were parked, Ada came scurrying outside in her denim overalls and long-sleeved thermal. She was never one to spend a lot of time fixing up, but she always made you feel welcome.
“Hey there, boys. It’s so good to see ya.” She squinted her eyes as she looked out and asked, “Where’s Gladys?”
“Right here.” Gladys stepped out of Country’s truck and started walking over to the porch. “How’s it going, roomie?”
“Right as rain, darlin’.” She held onto the railings as she made her way down the steps. “Can I give ya a hand with your stuff?”
“We got it,” Country answered. “Just need to know where you want us to put it all.”
“Shotgun came by earlier and we done cleared out that back room.” She motioned her hand over to one of the storage units as she said, “And that there locker is empty and ready for anythings you might wants to puts in there.”
Country turned to Gladys and said, “Before we start unloading, why don’t you go check out the room and see what you want in there.”
“I guess that would be a good idea.”
Gladys looked less than enthused as she made her way up the steps and followed Ada into the house. I was beginning to have my doubts about this whole thing with Ada and Gladys. When Country turned to me with a grimace, I realized I wasn’t the only one who was concerned. But that didn’t stop us from unloading all of her boxes from the trailer. Once Gladys told us what she wanted to put in storage and what she wanted in the house, she and Ada went into the kitchen and made themselves scarce while we got to work. As soon as we had all of her things in her room, Ada motioned her hand towards the door. “Now, you boys go on and do your thing whiles we get Gladys here settled in.”
“You sure you don’t need us to stick around?” Country asked, sounding unsure of the situation.
“Now, I wouldn’t have told ya to get gone if we was gonna need ya.” Ada gave him a warm smile as she gave him a pat on the arm. “We’s gonna be just fine. Now, gets on up out here and do what you boys needs to do. Like I told ya.”
“I tell you what, we’ve got some things to check on in the units, so we’ll be around for a bit if you need us,” Country explained. “That sound all right, Gran?”
“Sounds just fine to me.”
“Good deal. Just let us know if you need anything.”
With that, Country and I followed the others to the club’s storage unit. I’d been there the day before with Shotgun, but Viper wanted us to do a second check and get an exact number on the amount of ammo we had in stock. When we made it up to the storage locker, Widow stepped inside and entered the code into the lock pad. Seconds later, the floor started to slide open. Several years back, we’d converted the unit into a secret vault with a hidden floor release that would make it impossible to be discovered by an outsider. We used the vault to store our weapons and coke, along with anything else we needed to keep on the down low. Once the secret floor had moved clear, we all made our way down the stairs.
As soon as we were inside, Widow looked over to Hawk and asked, “You think Menace is really gonna be able to find this Scar guy?”
“I don’t know, brother.” Hawk walked over to one of the shelves and started pulling out the boxes of ammo. “Every time he thinks he’s gettin’ close, he hits some wall and is completely derailed.”
“What do you mean by ‘hits some wall’?”
“All I know is those emails are encoded, and once he breaks through one line of code, another two seem to pop up in their place.” Hawk glanced over his shoulder, and I could see the concern in his eyes. “Makes me think they’re fucking with us.”
“You think they know we’re looking for them?”
“These guys are smart.” Hawk stopped fucking with the ammo and turned to face us all. “They gotta be wondering where their guy Schommer is. He’s been out of their reach for days now, and it wouldn’t take much to put two and two together. But I could be wrong. Maybe they’re just really fucking good at covering their tracks.”
“So, we could be fucked and not even know it,” Country grumbled.
“Not fucked yet.” Hawk motioned his hand behind him at all our weapons and artillery. “Just gotta make sure we’re ready for whatever comes our way.”
I’d like to say his response set us all at ease, but it didn’t. Every one of us knew what could happen if this shit turned out bad. We’d worked too fucking hard to get where we were, and none of us were prepared to give it up. Not now. Not ever. I looked Hawk dead in the eye and meant it wholeheartedly when I said, “We will be ready.”
“Damn straight we will. Just wait and see. These motherfuckers will rue the day they even thought about stepping foot in Nashville.” Country lifted his foot as he boasted, “I’ll kick ’em right in dat ass!”
“Yeah, that should have them running scared,” I mocked. “Then again, you and that ugly-ass noggin of yours do have a way of making folks run in the other fucking direction.”
Country slid his hand down his beard with a smug look. “You know damn well I’m so fine I’ve gotta beat them off with a stick.”
“Beat off who?” I chuckled. “All those chicks you pick up at the laundromat or their sticky-fingered kids?”
“Sounding awful jealous over there, brother.”
“Yeah, real fucking jealous.”
“All right, you two. Enough of your lovers’ quarrel bullshit,” Hawk interrupted. “We need to get this done.”
Knowing he was right, we all started giving him a hand. It wasn’t long before we had an official ammo count and were good to go. Once we were outside, Hawk secured the vault, and we headed to Country’s truck. Before leaving, he and I decided to go check in on Ada and Gladys. I’m not sure what I expected to find when we walked into that house, but it certainly wasn’t Ada and Gladys sitting at the kitchen table laughing and carrying on like they were the best of friends. Hell, Gladys looked like she was about to bust from laughing so hard. Her cheeks were rosy red and tears were settled in the corner of her eyes as she giggled, “You should’ve seen him. His entire front was covered in mud. Looked like someone had dumped a bucket of hot fudge over his head. And the hollering? Girl, you should’ve heard it. You would’ve thought someone had set him on fire!”
“I would pay good money to have seen that!” Ada hooted.
“Hold up.” Country stepped further into the room. “You two carrying on about me?”
“I was just telling her ... about that time out ... at your folks’ place,” Gladys gasped like she was trying hard to catch her breath. “When the dog knocked you ... into that puddle. You remember?”
“Yeah, I remember just fine. Don’t see why you gotta tell Ada about that,” Country pouted. “It was like a hundred years ago.”
“Feels like yesterday to me, and if I wanna tell a story, I’ll tell it. Don’t need your permission,” Gladys scolded.
Hoping to smooth things out a bit, Ada smiled as she admitted, “I’ve told a few of my own.”
“That you did.” Gladys smiled. “I look forward to hearing more.”
“That’s good ’cause I’s has more to tell, lots more.” Ada turned her attention back to us. “You boys needs somethin’?”
“No, ma’am. Just wanted to let you know we were heading out,” I answered.
<
br /> “All right, then. You boys stays out of trouble, ya hear?” Ada warned.
“We’ll do our best.”
Country followed me outside and over to my bike. As I slipped on my helmet, a relieved smile crossed his face. “They actually look like they’re gettin’ along in there.”
“Yeah, they sure do.” I slapped him on the bicep. “She’s gonna be all right, brother. You’ll see.”
He nodded, then got in his truck with the others. It was getting late, so Widow and I decided to head on over to Stilettos. We’d be early for our shifts, but I needed to go through the previous night’s receipts for Menace. Since the receipts were going to take some time, I figured I’d check in with Marlowe first. When I walked up to the bar, she was on her cell phone, only she wasn’t actually talking. Instead, she was just standing there with the phone to her ear and a wide-eyed expression on her face. It was clear she was disturbed by the call, but I had no idea why. I leaned over the counter as I whispered, “Everything okay?”
She blinked, but no answer. I reached out and placed my hand on her arm as I pushed, “Hey, what’s going on?”
“My sister Kate just called.” She was still holding the phone to her ear like she was in shock. “She’s here...in Nashville, and she’s coming to see me.”
Chapter 12
Marlowe
“Your place is just...adorable, Marlie,” Kate announced as she sauntered into my living room with her flashy new boyfriend at her side. “It looks just like you.”
It was clear from her lackluster tone she wasn’t impressed by my apartment, but I wasn’t surprised. If there weren’t diamond-cut chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and expensive furnishings positioned in every corner, then she would snub her nose at the place—just as she’d done mine. All of my furniture and rugs were secondhand, the paint was peeling off the walls, and the pictures were there when I signed the lease. Needless to say, it wasn’t the greatest place in town, but it was mine and I was proud of it. “It’ll do in a pinch.”
