They poured out of the bar and headed for their bikes. Gator and Choo-Choo acted like they had been brothers for years instead of only a few months and Tommy thought of them as equals in most things. That had seemed to fall into place when Preach started sending out new prospects to switch out ever so often. Right now they had a lanky fucker with a mess of white-blonde hair. That hair had earned him the name lambhead and Tommy was pretty sure he hated the moniker as much as he hated standing in the cold guarding their rides, but he was new and he had to take the shit they gave him. He was better than the last little shit. Oscar needed to learn a few things before he could be trusted out on the road. Preach was sorting through the hang arounds and if they passed muster and made prospect then they were sent out to Tommy and Jack within a few months to see if they had what it really took. Lambhead was showing the most potential so far and he had a wicked sense of humor that helped make the hours on the road a little more tolerable. Tommy didn’t know much about him and didn’t care to learn yet. All he knew was the kid liked pussy and he liked to ride and that was enough for Tommy.
The rules were pretty simple as far as prospects went. They hung around doing shit work for a while unless someone had brought them in, like Gator. If they had a sponsor then they could sign up as a prospect pretty quick. Choo-Choo had been put through hell. He may have never been patched if Ink hadn’t seen some of his drawings and pulled him in to help at the tattoo parlor. Turned out the man was pretty sharp with numbers too. Pick had given him shit and Choo-Choo had gotten tangled in his schemes unknowingly, but he’d come out on top and Tommy figured this gig was part of his punishment for not talking that shit through with someone before it got out of hand. Women loved the fucker too. Almost to the point that it made him uncomfortable. They loved his miss-matched eyes and the fact that he was built like a mountain, but he was fairly quiet for a biker and that set him apart as much as his looks. Tommy figured Choo-Choo had gotten the tattoos over his neck and head to make him look tough, but he Tommy wasn’t sure on that.
Gator was a crazy man. His tattoos were all voodoo shit and the beads he wore around his neck creeped everybody the fuck out. He had a thick Cajun accent that made him hard to understand when he was pissed off or had too many beers. He was average in build and his black hair and eyes made him look like an evil son of a bitch. He was like a ghost, which Tommy had heard Spec complain about more than once, but Fox spoke highly of his family and Fox was as solid as they came. Gator was accepted and would patch in when his year was up, which it soon would be.
They hit the road and Tommy tried to put the damned redheaded bitch out of his head, but instead it filled with thoughts of Willa. Thoughts that fueled his rage and his lust until his vision tinged red and his pants grew tight. He would wait, but soon he would get his hands on the woman that haunted him and he would remove her from his life for good. Then he would be free of the look in her eyes so long ago, the look that haunted his dreams.
Two
Mina was excited. She was going to drive up to visit Candy and Ink this weekend. Candy had promised nothing wild was going on so there wouldn’t be any pressure for them to go out and paint the town. Mina was grateful for that. The last time they had gone out to have a big time Candy’s crazy ex had tried to kidnap them and probably kill them. Luckily the Defenders had been true to their name and had rescued the woman. Mina had escaped with only a few scrapes while Candy had been taken to the hospital for a gunshot wound to the side. The other person taken to the hospital that night swam into her mind like a specter. Tommy had rescued her. She had thought to never see him again, but he had charged an armed gunman to save her and been rewarded with a gaping wound to the chest. He’d survived, but it had been touch and go for a while. Mina had stayed with him until he’d opened his eyes and ordered her to leave. It was then that she realized his hatred had survived the years of separation. It not only survived, but she had seen in his eyes that his hatred had grown, matured, and hardened and she feared him. For the first time since she had met him as a small child, she feared him.
She tossed the last t-shirt into her duffel bag and pulled it over her shoulder. She looked around her tiny bed room to make sure she had packed everything she would need for the weekend. She planned to drive up right after work and hoped to be there before dark.
She checked her windows and made sure nothing was left on. She ran her hand over her light blue and yellow comforter to smooth out the wrinkles and headed toward the kitchen. She grabbed her coffee and a protein bar and headed out the door.
Mr. McGuire was just opening his door when she walked his way.
“Good morning young lady. Will you agree to marry me this morning and run away to the islands?”
“Not today Mr. McGuire, I’ve got weekend plans.” Mina winked as she passed him.
“Not with a man I hope, I get jealous.” He teased.
“There is no man for me, but you.”
“Good answer. I’ll keep an eye on the place. Be careful!” He called as she made her way to the elevator.
Mina waved her thanks as she turned after stepping into the tiny elevator. She hated this thing. It smelled of peaches for some reason and it always made Mina’s stomach churn. She hadn’t been able to eat a peach in years because of this damned box that she had to ride in every day and she had loved peaches.
She climbed into her little blue car and headed to work. She had made arrangements to leave an hour early so she wouldn’t be driving after dark. Her boss, Dr. Bower was a stickler for safety and had insisted on her early departure.
Mina smiled as she drove the five miles to the dentist office where she worked. She had lucked up in getting the job and it had been a complete fluke. The trade school had gotten her the interview, but she’d had to do the rest on her own. Dr. Bower was an older man who would retire before too long and for some reason Mina had reminded him of his daughter. The interview had been as comfortable as sitting down with a favorite uncle and that is what Dr. Bower stepped in to become in Mina’s life. Over the years she had confided in him about many things and he looked after her. He had even invited her to his family dinners for holidays when the celebrations were held at his home. Mina admitted that those were some of her favorite memories of adulthood.
She laughed out loud when she pulled into the parking lot to find the doctor standing out front with his arms loaded with Halloween decorations.
“What are you doing?” She called as she locked her car door and made her way to where he stood struggling with his keys.
“Thank goodness. Open this door. My arms are about to fall off.”
Mina laughed and opened the door.
“I am getting into the spirit. My granddaughter called last night to tell me that her dentist out in Bakersfield is having a big Halloween shindig for the kids.” Dr. Bower pushed his wire rimmed glasses up his nose after setting the bags on the counter. “Said the Dr. Sharp is buying back the candy from the kids for a dollar a pound. Sounded like a good way to get kids in here and check the place out and show how hip we are too.”
Mina smothered a grin. “You are the hippest dentist around here, that’s for sure.”
He narrowed his eyes at her miserable attempt at hiding her sarcasm. “Well, I plan to hand out coupons too smarty. Those who bring it in will get a free something or other. Not sure yet, but it will be good.”
“It really is a good idea.”
“We will need to stay a little late that night, but Halloween is on a Saturday this year so it should be alright. I think town will do their trick or treating around six so we should be out of here by eight.”
“Wait, are you planning to open the office on Saturday?”
He looked like he hadn’t thought of that. “No. Not everyone is open on Saturday so we will just do our thing Friday night. Several of the businesses around town are doing the same thing. It’s going to be a weekend sort of thing. Our buybacks will happen mostly the next week anyway.”
“Soun
ds great to me. Missy will probably be able to stay too on Friday. Nancy has the kids though and Tim will want to party himself.”
He waved her comment away. “We won’t need but a couple of us. Nothing mandatory and I can do it myself if I need to, but we will all dress up that day and make it fun.”
Mina nodded. Dr. Bower always tried to make everything fun. They always dressed up for holidays, nothing drastic, but festive.
“It sounds better than what I had planned. Count me in.” Mina dug into the bag of goodies and couldn’t help but grin at the doctor’s selections. This would keep them busy during down time for the next couple of days.
“When do you want this stuff up?” She raised her voice to ask so he could hear her as he walked to the back of the office.
“Oh over the next week or so. We will just get to it as we can.” He answered from his office as he readied himself for the day.
Fridays were usually very busy and she doubted anyone would have a chance to decorate until Monday, which was the slowest day, but she stored the bags under the desk so they wouldn’t be forgotten.
Tim walked in and grinned. He was wearing a bright orange shirt with green eyes on the chest. His black hair stood up all over his head and Mina would bet he’d spent half an hour making it look so messy.
“Sup Mina?”
“Dr. Bower wants us to decorate the office. He has some big plans for the Friday before, but I’m sure he will talk to everyone about them later.”
“Cool. I have to be somewhere that night around ten, but nothing ‘till. We could kill a haunted house. Everybody is scared of the dentist.”
“Not exactly, but he may go for it. Suggest it.”
“That would so rock.”
Tim started rummaging through the bags of decorations making comments about one thing or another as he came across them.
Tim was in trade school and helped out several times a week to get the experience. He wanted to be a dental assistant and Mina worked with him as much as she could to help him see what would be expected of him when he was on his own. He only had about a year left and he was eager and showed promise. He enjoyed the children and had a way of setting them at ease that was a valuable gift. He also assisted Nancy, the hygienist with anything she needed during the day.
Nancy and Missy came through the door together. Nancy had her blonde hair pulled back in her usual ponytail and Missy’s dark hair was wild as usual around her face. They both jumped when Tim stood up wearing a fake spider web over his hair and a pair of glow in the dark vampire teeth.
“I so got you both! Oh I love Halloween!” Tim crowed as he crammed everything back into the bags.
The women laughed and hung their coats up.
“You are nothing but trouble Tim!” Nancy said as she playfully smacked his arm.
“You love it.” He winked and Mina watched a blush creep over Nancy’s cheeks. She had watched the two grow closer over the last few weeks and wondered if there was more to the flirting than just fun. It was none of her business, but she would love to see her friends happy. Nancy had been through a nasty divorce a couple of years back and she hadn’t dated since. Tim was young, but he really was a good guy and maybe love really didn’t see age.
Missy rounded out the group as the calm secretary, even if her hair gave her a crazy cat lady sort of look. She ran the office with efficiency even if it was too much for her to do alone and she was pulling her hair out in need of someone to step in and help her. Tim sometimes did that too, but he hated the paper work. Dr. Bower was setting up interviews for a part timer and Missy was almost delirious with gratitude.
“Has he found anyone to help out with things?” She asked Mina as they looked over appointments.
“I think he has a couple of interviews set up for next week.”
“Thank heavens. This is starting to drive me a little crazy.” She said with an exasperated smile. “It’s my own fault. I thought I could handle it and told Dr. Bower that he didn’t need to replace Janet when she left last year, but I swear I didn’t realize how much work she did. I’m so embarrassed.”
Mina hugged her friend. “You keep us afloat and we are busier than we were a year ago. You couldn’t anticipate that.”
“Thank you Mina.” Missy said with a grateful grin. “That does make me feel a little better.” She took a deep breath. “Today is a killer. Take a deep breath people, ‘cause you may not get another one until we close.”
Mina stepped out of the office and looked around. The sun was sinking below the trees and casting the world into that dusky time between day and night. Mina had never cared for this time of day. It seemed creepier than pitch black night for some reason. A hand touched her shoulder and she let out a scream that would have made her famous if she had been the star of a horror movie. When she saw Tim she felt like an idiot.
“Sorry. Too many slasher flicks lately I guess.”
“That was an epic scream Mina.”
“Yeah, yeah. Why exactly did you scare the shit out of me anyway?”
Tim grinned and handed her an envelope. “Some kid brought this in a while ago, just has your name on it. I didn’t open it, but it feels like pictures.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Might be something juicy.”
Mina laughed. “I doubt that.”
“You aren’t going to show me are you?’
“Nope. It would be something that the cops would ask you about later.” Mina winked as she crammed the envelope into her pocket and Tim’s mouth fell open.
“Be serious Tim! My life is nowhere near that exciting.”
“Yeah, but it would be cool wouldn’t it?”
Mina looked around the parking lot as if she expected someone to be watching her.
“I’m not so sure. Hey will you walk me to my car? I’m still creeped out a little.”
“Yeah you seem jumpy.” A look of concern crossed his face. “You sure everything’s alright?”
Mina smiled. “Yes. Everything is just fine.”
“You know you could really tell me if it wasn’t. I would want to know. Just friends, but yeah, I do care.”
“That’s really sweet Tim, but I’m really ok.”
He nodded and waited until she was safely inside her car before he went back to the office to help close up.
Mina sighed as she sank into her car. Fridays were always crazy, but this one had been worse than usual. They always stayed open later so those who worked regular jobs could get into the office, but today there had been a man who worked construction and he had brought his muddy boots in with him. He was really nice and apologized all over himself, but the mud still had to be cleaned up. The toilet in the men’s room had stopped up around three and those were only two examples of the little disasters that had seemed to pile up. Mina hadn’t been able to leave early, mostly because she would have felt so guilty in doing so. Now it was almost seven and she was tempted to call Candy and cancel her trip. Something niggled at the back of her mind and she usually listened when she got that little feeling, but she told herself she was just tired and would feel better when she saw her friend. She still reached up and scratched the back of her neck. She felt like someone was watching her and had all day. It made no sense of course, who would stalk her, but it still made her edgy.
Mina dialed Candy’s number and explained that she would be a little later than planned.
“That’s fine. Just come on. I miss you.”
“On my way. I’m just going to grab a burger and then I’ll hit the road.”
“Alrighty. I think I’ll go jump Spec since we have time to kill.”
Mina heard the giggle in Candy’s voice and figured she meant to do exactly what she said. Mina couldn’t blame her. Spec was scary handsome, if you liked a guy who had a little bit of a nerdy vibe going with all those muscles. From the sounds she had heard Candy make on a couple of visits, the man knew what he was doing between the sheets too and that just wasn’t fair. Some girls had all the luck. In Mina’s experience
the ones who had the looks didn’t have the moves.
Mina felt a little bubble of jealousy rise in her chest. She wanted a man like that. She wanted to feel loved and cherished. Spec seemed all bad assed and tough, but the way he looked at Candy made Mina’s heart shutter.
“Ohhhh you are so picturing us doing the nasty. Mina, you bad girl.”
“I am not! Well, maybe a little.”
Candy’s laughter wrapped around Mina like a hug and she couldn’t wait to see her friend.
“Get your ass up here, but be safe and honk the horn before you come in.”
“Yeah yeah, if the house is rockin’, don’t come knockin’.”
“Damn I hope he just rocks my world.” Candy said in a dreamy voice.
“Sexpot.” Mina heard Spec’s deep voice over the phone and wanted to groan at the sensuality that floated on his one word and the promise.
“Ok, bye Mina. I’ve suddenly got something very interesting to take care of.”
Mina hung up the phone and rolled her eyes. Maybe they would get it all done and she would be able to get some sleep. Candy tended to be a screamer and it was not something she was able to hide well. She always blushed and apologized the next morning, but she just couldn’t keep quiet. Mina envied her that too. No man had ever made her that loud.
Tommy’s face swam into her mind and she shoved it away. No, that man was not what Mina needed. He was too raw and had too much rage. Mina needed someone to love her and cherish her, didn’t she? Isn’t that what she wanted?
Tommy Rich: Defendes MC Series Book 7 (Defenders MC Series) Page 2
