BENT AT THE ALTAR

by Claire St. Rose

  She shook her head. “I can’t go to jail.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry, you won’t. I could do the same thing at Starbucks, but I don’t like working in a public place like that unless I have to, for obvious reasons.”

  She nodded. “I’ll get you my key. Can I trust you if I give you yours back?”

  He grinned. “That’s a big step.”

  She sniffed out a brief laugh and gave him a sideway smile. “You’re not moving back in. This is just until you get your place setup, or the clubhouse, or whatever you’re going to do.”

  “Thank you. You can trust me. I won’t come by unless you invite, or I ask first, okay?”

  “Okay. Come on, I’ll get you the key.” He followed her into the breakroom where she pulled her purse from a locker and worked a key off the ring. “I’ll get you the extra one when I get home,” she said as she handed it to him. “Will you be there when I get home?”

  “I can be, if you want.”

  She giggled. “You’d better, or bring my back my key, otherwise I won’t be able to get in.”

  He smiled and nodded. “I’ll be there.” He looked around. The breakroom was empty so he gave her a quick kiss. “Thank you.”

  “I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Count on it.”

  ***

  “April! Gabriel Prince, King Recovery.”

  “Hey, Gabriel! How you been? I haven’t heard from you in a while. How’s business?”

  “Pretty good. I need a favor.”

  “A favor, huh?” April confirmed.

  “That’s right.” He smiled. He’d never met April in person, but they had, over the course of the last couple of years, worked out a system of code words that sounded perfectly innocent, but they both knew what they meant. If he asked for a favor April knew she could expect a $250 gift certificate from Amazon to arrive in her personal email later that day...if she wasn’t too scrupulous about verifying he had a subpoena.

  “I’ll be happy to take of that, Mr. Prince. What’s the number?”

  Royal read her Tony’s cell phone number.

  “Dates?”

  “Say from Monday of this week until now, then I’d like to have the same information sent to me again on Monday.”

  “Okay, give me a moment while I access the information,” she said. He heard her typing away on the keyboard, doing whatever it was she did to call up the location information on Tony’s cell phone. “I have the information. Email?”

  “That would be great. Thank you so much for your help.”

  “My pleasure, Mr. Prince. Good luck in apprehending your suspect,” she said, all business.

  “Thank you, April,” he said, clicking the button on the Amazon website to send her the gift certificate.

  He’d just closed the window on the Amazon website when his computer and phone chimed, announcing the arrival of an email. He opened the email and scrolled down the list of towers, when Tony’s phone accessed the tower, along with the tower’s location information. The information was arrayed in rows and columns that made it easy for him to import into Excel so he could slice and dice the information.

  Fifteen minutes later he had a pretty good idea of where Tony was staying. His phone was pinging one particular tower far more often than any other, and there was a cluster of motels nearby. He called Eric and Sheila, his two contacts with the credit card companies, trying to narrow it down a little more, but there was no activity on Tony’s card since he left Greenfield, so he wasn’t completely stupid.

  “I’ve got him,” Royal said into his phone when Doc answered. “He’s still in Greensboro, but he probably won’t stay for long there since we made him.”

  “Hammer told me what happened. Bad luck.”

  “Yeah. We’re going to turn and burn in a couple of hours before he can get out of town. We’ll get him this time.”

  “Make it happen, Royal.”

  ***

  Gabriel opened the door when he heard the rap, giving Stella a kiss as she pushed the door shut. “Your key,” he said, after pulling back from the kiss while he fishing it out of his pocket.

  “Keep that one. I’ll get the other one.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She smiled and touched his face. “For now. Will you be here when I get home from the diner?”

  “No. I’m leaving when you do, but I made dinner for you.”

  “Really?” she asked, her surprise clear in her tone.

  “Don’t get too excited,” he grinned. “It’s a frozen lasagna I found in your freezer. I can’t cook, but I can follow directions on a package. That’s my version of making dinner.”

  “Hey, I’m not complaining,” she said as she followed him into the kitchen. The table was set and the frozen dinner was sitting on top of the stove, ready to serve.

  “I took it out of the oven about five minutes ago. I wasn’t sure when you’d be home.”

  She grinned then give him a quick kiss. “Thank you. Katrina is going to be disappointed she missed lasagna.”

  He sat the dish in center of the table and scooped a portion onto their plates. “About that,” he said slowly, looking at his plate as he pushed the pasta around with his fork. “What do you think of the idea of me keeping her some? Once she gets used to me, of course. That would give Connie a break, as well.”

  “That’s a big responsibility. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

  He grinned as he glanced up at her then returned his eyes to his plate. “Sure? No. But I want to try. She’s my daughter, too. I need to step up and be a dad. I want to be her dad.”

  She watched him over her fork as she chewed. “Let me think about, okay? There’s a lot for you to learn before you’re ready to fly solo.”

  He chuckled. “I have no doubt, but I can learn. You know how I feel about you. I’m hoping we can be a family, someday.”

  She nodded. “I know. I won’t try to keep her from you, but that’s a long way from being a family. We said we were going to take it slow.”

  He nodded. “I’m not saying that I move in tomorrow. I’d like her, when we’re ready, to stay home with me sometimes. If you teach me to cook, I could even have dinner, a real dinner, waiting when you got home.”

  She watched him a moment. “Why is it I have the feeling you don’t know what you’re saying? That, or your feeding me a line. Cooking for me? You never offered to do that before. Why the sudden change?”

  “Katrina.”

  “Katrina? What does she have to do with anything? You’re ready to give up your club and settle down because of Katrina? Is that what you’re telling me?”

  “I’m not saying that at all. Why do I have to give up the club? Every member of the Greenfield chapter, except me and Goon, have old ladies. That means they’re either married or in a committed relationship. It doesn’t have to be one or the other, Stella. Think of the club as my job, but when I’m not chasing down some asshole who skipped bail, I don’t see any reason why I can’t help you with Katrina.”

  She nodded slowly. “I guess.”

  “What’s the problem?” he asked gently.

  “No problem.”

  “There is a problem, I can hear it in your voice. If we can’t talk about stuff like this, we’re doomed from the start and I might as well give your key back right now and we’ll just remain friends.”

  “It’s moving too fast! Now you’re talking about being a family? On top of that, unless you’re willing to live two lives, I don’t know how I feel about Katrina being around a bunch of motorcyclists.”

  Gabriel swallowed his annoyance. “You don’t know the brothers. We take care of each other and our families. It would be like she had ten fathers watching out for her. When I was gone, they would take care of you and her. If you needed anything, anything at all, they would be there for you. I trust them with my life.” He took her hand. “I’m not saying I want this to start tomorrow, but I want this. I think Katrina deserves it. I want to be part of her l
ife, and that makes me part of your life. I’m sure once we get the clubhouse opened there will be a big party. Why don’t you come with me and let me introduce you around? You’ll see we’re not like the motorcycle gangs you see in the movies. We’re normal people, just like you.”

  “Any kids?”

  “Doc has a son, but he’s away in college. Hammer would have little girl, but…”

  “But what?”

  “She had anencephaly and they aborted the pregnancy.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The baby would have been born with no brain.”

  “Oh my God!”

  “Yeah. It was devastating for him and Kathy. That was about a year ago. They’re still not completely over it and they’re afraid to try again. The club really rallied around them. When they were at their lowest, right after they found out, we helped them out as much as we could. The old ladies made sure they had food and the brothers took care of the yard work and stuff like that.”

  She nodded. She was thankful Katrina was born healthy and there were no scares during her pregnancy, but if there had been, she could understand how valuable a support network like that could be.

  “We can talk about it more later,” she said as she pushed back from the table. “Right now I have to get ready for work.”

  He rose and picked up the plates. “Go. I’ll rinse these and put them in the washer.”

  He was waiting for her when she stepped out of the bedroom dressed in a t-shirt and shorts. “Only two more days,” he said as he gave her a kiss.

  “Thank God! I’m so looking forward to not working two jobs anymore.”

  “Me too. Do you want your key back?”

  She reached into her purse and produced her keyring, a key identical to the one she’d given him already on the ring. “Just be patient with me. I’m trying.”

  He gave her another quick kiss. “I know. I’m just telling you what I want. I’m not trying to pressure you.”

  “You can’t be here tonight?”

  “I wish I could, but I have to go back to Greensboro. Want me to call you later so you can sleep?”

  She smiled then sighed dramatically. “No. It’s good but not a good as the real thing. Just come back as soon as you can.”

  “Count on it,” he said. They exchanged another quick kiss then stepped out of the apartment together.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE He debated taking his Harley back to Greensboro. He’d spent too much time in a cage already, not to mention the Suburban was burned, but Tony would be suspicious of anyone on a bike, too, so he decided to take the Chevy because it gave him some options the bike didn’t.

  Hammer, Goon and Blade rode as escorts for the lumbering SUV as they pounded north for Greensboro. As they motored, Royal’s mind wandered. He thought about the conversation he’d just had with Stella. Was he pressing too hard? He didn’t think so. He thought he’d made it clear at the beginning that while he wanted to keep Katrina he understood it would take time to win the trust of his daughter and her mother.

  What bothered him more was her idea he would have to choose between the Kings and having her and Katrina as a family. He hoped she didn’t force him to make that choice because he wasn’t sure what he’d do. He wouldn’t leave Katrina behind, but could he choose Stella over the Kings? He pushed that thought aside. He would deal with that if he had to, but he was sure if Stella gave the Kings half a chance she would realize they were no different than she was. Once she was accepted they would become her extended family and they would be there to help her when he was out of town. Having that safety net for Stella and Katrina was big and would be one less thing he had to worry about when he wasn’t around.

  They rolled into Greensboro about midnight and spread out, hitting the motels in the area looking for Tony’s truck. It should be easy to spot considering it had run down a small tree only twelve hours earlier, but they found nothing.

  “Nothing?” Royal asked Hammer, the last to report in.

  “Nothing.”

  “Shit. Maybe he’s already run, but his phone was hitting the tower at six this afternoon, and he still has to move the safe. I was sure he was going to spend the night. Okay, meet me at the Shell on Elm-Eugene. We’ll figure out next move from there.” While he waited on Hammer, he called Goon and Blade, giving them the same instructions.

  Goon was the first to arrive, quickly followed by Blade and then Hammer. “Now what?” Blade asked as they took the opportunity to fill their bikes.

  “I don’t know,” Royal admitted. “I believe he’s still here, somewhere. That safe is like a stone around his neck. I can’t see him abandoning it, but it’s not the easiest thing to move either. It’s not like he can just throw it into the pickup and go.”

  “So where is he?” Goon asked.

  “Unless he left the safe, he’s here, but he’s hidden his truck because he knew we’d come looking for him.” Royal rubbed his face. He was exhausted. Three days with little sleep was taking its toll. “Let’s pack it in for the night and hit it again in the morning. It’ll be a long shot, but if we tour all the storage places in the area, we might get lucky. Working by himself, it’s going to take him time to load the safe.”

  ***

  Royal and his men started early the next morning, but after taking another tour of the motels, and all the nearby storage facilities, they turned up nothing.

  “I’m calling it,” Royal said into his phone. “We’re just spinning our wheels here. Monday I’ll get another location report on his phone and we’ll try again. Let’s meet at the Lowes where we missed him.” He then called Blade and Hammer and gave them the same news. Until they had a lead, there was no point in burning what little money the club had. Goon was the last to arrive by a good margin.

  “Where you been?” Blade asked.

  “I thought I saw him. Right truck, right bent front end, but North Carolina plates and wrong driver.”

  “We can’t catch a break,” Hammer said.

  “We’ll get him. You guys know the drill. It’s all about digging until we get a hit.”

  “Can’t you call that cell phone lady and get another update?” Hammer asked.

  “I could, but I don’t want to go to the well too often. If she gets caught she’ll be fired at best, and go to jail at worst, and I don’t want to lose that resource. I’ll get another report Monday. That will give him time to settle someplace new if he’s going to.”

  Hammer nodded. Royal knew his shit, and he always got his man, eventually, but it was damned frustrating to have been so close, close enough they actually had their hands on him, only to lose him. “Okay. I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job.”

  Royal grinned. “Don’t worry about it. You know I want to hear any ideas you guys have. Sometimes they’re just crazy enough to work.”

  ***

  “Hey, babe. We’re on our way back to Greenfield. We couldn’t locate Tony so we’re going to take a break over the weekend and see where he lands Monday. I’d like to see you and Katrina tomorrow if I could. Love you. Bye.”

  Royal canceled the call and smiled. The “love you” had popped out without thought and he wondered how Stella would react to hearing it. He mentally shrugged and returned his attention to the road.

  He was exiting the interstate in Greenfield when his phone rang, the name on the display making him smile. “Hey.”

  “I’d like that. Are you back yet?”

  “I’m in Greenfield, but not home yet. Want me to have dinner waiting when you get off?”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I want to. You still like Chinese?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll have it waiting when you get home, and no heavy topics this time, I promise. Are you excited this is your last night at the diner?”

  He could hear the smile in her voice. “You have no idea.”

  “I think I can guess.”

  “No, I bet you can’t, but that’s fine. My break is almost
over so I have to go.”

  “I’ll see you about eight. You still like Kung Pao Chicken and Chow Mein?”

  “Yes. I’m impressed you remember.”

  He grinned, surprised he remembered it himself and shrugged, even though she couldn’t see him. “Don’t be late.”

  ***

  Gabriel was emptying two takeout boxes onto plates, dividing their contents between the dishes, when he heard the door open. “Perfect timing,” he said as he sat the food on the table.