Out of Darkness

by Laramie Briscoe

  Holding her wrists back, he laughed at her attempts to overpower him. “Watch your knee,” he laughed, when she continued to struggle against him.

  It was futile. He was almost a foot taller than her and outweighed her by over a hundred pounds. Breathing heavily, she gave up the fight. “One day, Tyler Blackfoot, you are going to regret that remark,” her voice held great promise.

  “I’m shakin’, baby. Can’t wait to see what you do.”

  Liam sat on the back porch of his home also enjoying the rain, along with a cup of coffee. He did some of his best thinking on this porch – in that, he and Denise were very similar. He had woken early this morning and taken the kids to school, not wanting them to stand out in the rain waiting on the bus. When he had gotten back to the house, Denise was still asleep. Since he hadn’t been put on the schedule for Walker’s Wheels, he had this whole day to himself.

  He was moody today, still pissed over the information that Tyler had given him about his father. It was no secret that the father/son relationship between the two of them was tenuous at best. The person who had really been mother and father to him had been his sister, Roni. He had never really cared what the biological parents ever thought, only what Roni thought. He couldn’t deny that this hurt though. It was like William was two different people. A Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. He preached loyalty to the club, but he violated it when he went after a woman that would be an old lady someday. It made him wonder what he really would have done to Denise if he hadn’t stepped in when he did where she was concerned.

  “Goddamn it,” he swore, running his hands over his head and letting it hang.

  “What’s the matter?”

  That soft voice got him every time. In a world that bordered on insane, she grounded him like no other person could. Without saying anything, he reached out for her and sat her on his lap. More than anyone besides Tyler, he trusted her.

  “Tyler told me that he thinks Dad ordered the rape on Meredith.”

  Tears sprang to Denise’s eyes, and he cursed again.

  “I didn’t tell you this to upset you, honey.”

  “I’m pregnant,” she sniffed. “I’m emotional.”

  “I’m sorry that I don’t know how to deal with these hormones,” he apologized.

  “It’s okay, tell me everything.”

  He related the story to her and watched as her face went from one of complete devastation to one of complete anger.

  “How could he do that and look at her every day?” she whispered, running her hand along his shoulders.

  “I don’t know. He’s a different kind of man than I thought he was. That’s for sure. It makes me sick that I’m his family. It makes me sick to think of what he could have easily done to you.”

  “Don’t drive yourself crazy. We can’t worry about the past and we can’t change it, but we’ve got to make the future better. We’re about to have three kids in this family and the members are starting to settle down. If this club is going to be successful, we need to make changes.”

  He knew that she was being honest, but he wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it. “I know, we need to make some plans.”

  Maybe it was time for him to plan his ascension to the top.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “You think Rooster will help us?” Tyler asked as he and Liam sat outside the Sheriff’s office downtown.

  “I think it’s worth a shot,” Liam answered.

  They were taking a huge chance, sitting just off of the historical downtown area of the square, their bikes parked at an angle on the street. Every officer that came out wearing the brown of the Sheriff’s department gave their bikes and their cuts a once over. Liam was pretty sure that everyone knew who they were. The two of them sat in silence, watching each officer that came out of the building. When they noticed the red head of the man they wanted to see, Liam whistled and motioned for him to come on over.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he asked as he walked over. The loose-hipped way he walked belied the turmoil he felt inside.

  Liam took off his sunglasses and leveled his old friend with a stare. “We need some assistance for old times’ sake.”

  Rooster didn’t like the sound of that, in fact it caused sweat to break out on his brow. “Is this gonna be illegal?”

  “Not all of it, and I think you might remember how much you owe me.”

  This intrigued Tyler, he had never heard much of the story involving the old friends. He filed that away to ask about later.

  Rooster’s face got red enough to match his hair. “What do you need?”

  This is where Tyler took over. “I need a dump on William’s phone. I set up a passcode on it, but it’s not working the way I want it to. I want numbers, texts, GPS locations. It’s an iPhone, I know it can be done, but you need a subpoena for what I need.”

  Rooster widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “You mean to tell me your hacker can’t get you what you need?”

  “Not all of it. There’s some kind of security glitch on it, and honestly, I’m trying to keep this quiet.”

  “What exactly are you lookin’ for here?”

  It was on the tip of Tyler’s tongue to lie, but he felt that maybe in this moment with this person who looked to be willing to help them – the truth would set him free. “I’m positive he ordered a rape on someone I care deeply about. I want his balls in a noose for it, but I can’t make a play without the correct information.”

  “Now I can’t condone you killing somebody.”

  “Never said I’d kill him. I will tell you this though, whatever you wanna do to him is fine with me when I get done with him. I have a feeling William Walker has many more secrets that none of us know about.”

  Liam picked up the conversation. “I’m givin’ you a little professional courtesy here. When his ass gets taken down, I’m takin’ over Heaven Hill.”

  Rooster did his best to digest all the information that had been given to him. When push came to shove, he really did owe Liam. “Y’all are gonna have to give me a little bit of time. I think I can work it, but I’ll have to get a judge to sign off on it. I have to have some sort of investigation going on.”

  “Don’t insult my intelligence,” Tyler laughed. “There’s always an investigation going on with us.”

  Rooster noticed his supervisor coming out of the building and put on his sunglasses. “That’s my boss. I gotta go, but I’ll be in touch. I’ll do what I can,” he said before walking off and getting into his cruiser.

  “We just need to keep going, business as usual,” Liam advised Tyler who nodded before they started their bikes and rode off.

  The next morning, Tyler woke up at 4:30, groaning at the alarm. Meredith groaned as well.

  “Why the hell is that thing going off so early?” she grumbled, putting her pillow over her head.

  “I promised Drew we’d start working out together the other day and then flaked on him. We’re starting this morning. You want to come?” he asked as he left the warmth of bed and stepped into a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie.

  She thought about it for a few moments.

  “Last chance, I’m outta here, we’re meeting outside to do a warm-up run.”

  Running was something she hadn’t been doing nearly as much of and she missed it. “Oh alright, let me grab my stuff.”

  Ten minutes later the three of them stood outside in the darkness of the morning. She shivered and stomped her feet, trying to stay warm. Their breath could be seen coming out in big white puffs.

  “Let’s go,” Tyler said, bringing his hood up over his head, instructing them to do the same. “Retain what body heat you can, you want to sweat to warm those muscles up. If I go too fast for either of you, let me know. I got long legs, and I’m aware that makes it a bit easier for me to run.”

  “If you guys take off without me, it’s fine,” Meredith said. “If you get out of my line of vision, I’ll yell.”

  They nodded and took o
ff, following Tyler along the property. Thirty minutes later, she and Drew were both huffing, having fallen a bit behind. Up ahead, they saw they were almost back to their starting point and Tyler was waiting on them.

  “Keep it up,” he clapped, encouraging them to finish strong.

  “C’mon, Mer,” Drew said, kicking it up a notch.

  She couldn’t let these two men outdo her. From somewhere deep inside, she pulled on a reserve that she didn’t know she still had, and the two of them finished neck and neck. They both bent over at the waist, sucking in gasps of air.

  “Walk around with your hands on your head,” Tyler instructed. “It’s cold, that may help you get some more oxygen in.”

  The two of them did, laughing at each other. The looks on their faces were identical.

  “You,” she panted, looking in Tyler’s direction, “are in much better shape than I thought.”

  He grinned as he leaned down to brush a kiss along her wet forehead. “Gotta be to keep up with you, woman.” Glancing over at Drew, he winked. “See, get in as good of shape as me and you can get a woman as hot as that.”

  Embarrassment covered Drew’s cheeks in bright splotches. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he stuttered.

  “Let’s move inside to your garage. Liam moved all my weights up there.”

  Drew took off ahead of them, and Meredith leaned over to pinch Tyler’s arm. “Don’t embarrass him like that.”

  “Baby, he was checking you out! You are hot, and I’m sure you’re going to fuel all his teenage masturbatory fantasies. He’s a boy.”

  She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Oh my God, I’ll never be able to look at him again.”

  “It’s natural. I promise. Razzing him will make him work harder because now he’ll want to impress you. He’s gotta get some weight on him or he’s gonna get hurt out on that football field.”

  She sniffed at his know-it-all tone. “I guess if you say so then it must be true.”

  “Now you’re learnin’,” he put his arm around her as they made their way into the garage and began the second part of the workout.

  Later on that afternoon Meredith made her way stiffly back to the Walker household. Denise had invited her to lunch, and she had jumped on the offer. Especially since Liam and Tyler had been called out for a protection run.

  “Hey,” Denise greeted as she made her way into the house.

  “Hey,” she winced, walking through the living room and into the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?” Denise laughed as she stiffly sat down at the kitchen table.

  “Tyler is a slave driver. If your son is walking around like he’s not sore this afternoon, I might kill him,” she grinned.

  Denise whistled. “Tyler didn’t get that to-die-for body by just being blessed like Liam was.”

  “Oh. My. God. Are you checking out my boyfriend?” she accused, pointing a finger at her friend.

  “Did you finally put a label on it?”

  Meredith stopped and thought about it for a moment. “I guess I did. We’ve never called each other boyfriend or girlfriend, but I know I feel more for him than friends with benefits. I know we’re both committed. That’s what that means right?”

  “That is what that means. I’m glad you’re comfortable enough to put a label on it. You’ve really come a long way, Meredith. I’m proud of you.”

  Uncharacteristic emotion clogged up Meredith’s throat. “Thanks, I think I’m proud of me too. Now I’m hungry. What are you feeding me?”

  Effectively moving the conversation in a different direction, the two of them spent the afternoon just enjoying each other’s company. If nothing else came of this horrible time in her life, Meredith knew that she appreciated the friendships she’d gained and the relationships she’d cultivated.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  “I’ve got the information you need.”

  Liam had suspected it would take a lot longer than a few days for Rooster to obtain what they wanted, but he had really come through. “Where do you want to do the drop?” he asked through the cell.

  “Our old hang out.” With that, he ended the call.

  Liam hung up and motioned for Tyler. The two of them were on repo duty with the wrecker, and it would be the perfect excuse for them to leave. “Rooster just called. He’s got our information. In a few minutes, act like you got a text with a tip on a car. We need to head out towards Richardsville.”

  Tyler nodded and a few minutes later did exactly what Liam had asked of him.

  “We’re headin’ out,” Tyler called out to William, who waved before they left with the wrecker.

  As they rode out to the old Garvin bridge, Tyler pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth.

  “You nervous?” Liam asked.

  “It sounds weird, but yeah, I am. I’m nervous that I’m right, and I’m nervous that I’m wrong. How crazy is that?”

  “Not crazy at all, I feel the same way,” Liam admitted. “We’re not gonna know until we get the information and really look at it.”

  “I need you to make a promise to me,” Tyler said as they turned onto Garvin Lane and headed for the bridge.

  “What’s that?”

  “If we find out that he really did do this, don’t let me kill him. I can with my bare hands, I know this about myself. Just make sure you save me from me.”

  “I promise, but I can’t promise I won’t kill him.”

  The two of them pulled up near the bridge and came to a stop when they saw the Sheriff’s car and Rooster leaning against the hood. He waved at them as they parked on the seldom traveled road.

  “Thanks for this,” Tyler told him as they walked to meet him.

  “There’s useful information in there for me too, don’t make me better than what I really am. I do hope this helps you get some closure to it,” he said handing them a large manila envelope. “I was even able to get pictures, and I don’t think you’re gonna like what you see, but you asked for it.”

  Tyler’s gut churned. He wasn’t sure which one of them Rooster was really talking to, but either way, he had a feeling this wasn’t good. In minutes, the transaction was complete, and the two men sat in the wrecker with the information that could either clear or convict their President.

  “What do you want to do with this?” Tyler asked, the manila envelope feeling very heavy in his hands.

  “We keep it between us, and tonight Denise and I will go over to your house for dinner. I know that’s not your normal MO and you want to keep that place private, but we need to do this somewhere that’s out of the way.”

  Tyler nodded. “You’re right. I’ll call Meredith, and I’ll have her make a big deal out of it. Have her take my truck and act like it’s a huge deal. Actually, I won’t tell her what we have until after we eat. You do the same with Denise. I’ll have Meredith take her over there.”

  The two of them agreed and set their plan into motion. Liam called Roni and asked her to get the kids for the night. He had a feeling this was going to be long and more emotional than any of them had counted on. He needed to keep them safe and out of the way.

  Meredith had a feeling that something was up. Without a doubt she had been completely surprised when Tyler called her and told her to go all out for dinner. In his truck he instructed her to open his glove box, and in it had been a debit card with her name on it. He had told her to buy a dinner and anything she needed to cook it with. And also whatever she needed to make the kitchen feel homey.

  She had never had a home before, always lived in an apartment, so this was exciting. She and Denise had gone all over town. The mall, the little shops downtown looking for fresh flowers and silverware along with dishes and table cloths. She had picked out new curtains and a few knick knacks that made a house a home. After going to the grocery, the two of them drug everything inside, and Denise went to work setting up the stuff they bought while Meredith went to work on the food.

  “This house is super cute,” Denise beamed. “I never would have
thought of this for Tyler, at all. He really is surprising. I’m beginning to wonder what else I don’t know about him.”

  “He does have a lot of facets to his personality,” Meredith agreed. “It scares me sometimes, but I know with him usually what you see is what you get. I do wonder what the hell is going on tonight. He was so adamant about this being for him. Liam’s apparently only been here once or twice, and now he’s asking me to host both of y’all for dinner.”

  “That is a bit odd,” Denise nodded, putting the fresh flowers in a vase they had purchased.

  Hours later, the food was finishing up as Tyler and Liam pulled into the driveway. They walked in together, both sniffing the air at the same time.

  “Something smells fucking fantastic in here,” Liam praised as they took off their shoes and jackets.

  “Hopefully you’ll like it,” Meredith grinned, walking over to give Tyler a hug.

  His stomach growled loudly. “I’m pretty sure I’ll eat it and love it if my stomach is any indication.”

  “You’re cold,” she accused, as he wrapped her in his arms.

  “It’s a little over a week to Thanksgiving. I should be cold,” he laughed, walking into the kitchen to wash his hands.

  Liam followed suit before grasping Denise up in a hug. “This place looks great, really, you’ve done a lot of work in here Tyler.”

  “Thanks, it’s been a slow go, but it looks really nice tonight. The two of y’all did an amazing job with the stuff you bought.”

  Meredith felt a rush of pride and was happy to know that he liked what she had picked out. “I’m glad you like it. We’ve been smelling this food all afternoon, let’s eat.”

  As she said that the timer went off, and she moved over to the oven and pulled out a cast iron skillet. “Is that homemade cornbread?” Liam asked, his eyes wide.

  “Sure is.”

  “I love you in a purely platonic way, but just know that I love you,” he grinned, already walking towards where she had sat it on the stove.