by Jessie Cooke
“I know, son. You do what you have to do and nobody in this family will fault you for it.”
Levi couldn’t stay in the room while they stitched up his mother’s hand. He sat in the lobby of the ER and waited. While he did, he let what his mother told him in the car on the way over run through his mind. She said his father had a meeting with Cheney the morning of her birthday party. He’d been working up to it for a long time, ever since he’d had his heart attack the year before. Cheney was putting more and more pressure on him to retire, but he was worried about leaving Levi alone, at Cheney’s mercy. Mac was afraid that Cheney would take his angst toward him out on his son. He’d already started giving Levi the shit jobs, and Mac thought that sending Levi after Spider that night had been a set-up. Cheney didn’t believe Levi would kill Spider; he thought it would be the other way around. At least, that was what Levi’s old man believed, according to his mother.
When Mac met with Cheney, he told him he was leaving the club. Cheney didn’t give him a hard time about that, she said, but what he was pissed about was that Mac wanted to take Levi with him. Levi didn’t believe it was a coincidence that his dad’s brakes gave out the very night after he’d talked to Cheney—and somehow, he was going to prove it.
He slipped the paperwork from the accident out of his pocket and looked at the name of the man in the car that had hit his dad and Krissy again. His name was Matthew Bledsoe and he had died at the scene as well…but there was a next of kin listed, a daughter named Hannah Carter. There was an address for her too. She lived in Clarksville. As soon as Levi took his mother home and made sure she was okay, he headed to Clarksville to meet Hannah Carter.
Levi drove his bike up in front of a small, neat-looking house on a residential street in the small city of Clarksville. The Defenders did a lot of business in Clarksville, so Levi was very familiar with the city and found the address easily. Now that he was in front of the house, he wasn’t sure that going there without calling first was his best idea ever, especially when he saw the man that stepped out of the front door. He was a fairly large man, not tall, but muscular. He had a full black beard and mustache, and a large scar along the right side of his bald head. None of that was what stood out to Levi, however. It was the leather kutte he was wearing that most interested the young man. He was wearing an Invaders patch. Where his name went were the initials “G.M.”
The big man watched Levi suspiciously as he stepped off his bike and slid off his skullcap. The man’s posture wasn’t threatening, but he definitely looked on guard as Levi walked up to the house.
“Help you?” he asked, in a deep, gravelly voice.
“I was looking for Hannah Carter.”
The man eyeballed Levi’s kutte for several seconds before saying, “What do you want with Hannah?”
“I’d rather discuss that with her.”
“You can discuss it with me first and we’ll go from there.”
“Who are you to her?” Levi asked.
“Name’s Jim,” he said. “And whether or not my relationship to Hannah is any of your business has not been established.”
Levi sighed. “I’m not here to cause any trouble for her or anyone else. My father and my girlfriend were killed in the accident that her father was in a little over a month ago and…”
“She ain’t got nothing to say about that.”
“I’m just trying to understand…”
“I don’t care what you’re trying to understand. Hannah is going through a hard time right now and I’m not going to have some little boy dressed up in a biker costume come in here and make things worse.”
Levi chuckled. He’d been called a lot of things in his life, but “little boy in a biker costume” took the cake. “Look, I understand, I really do. I’m grieving the loss of my father and my girlfriend. My mother is grieving too…”
“Then go home and take care of your own family and I’ll take care of mine.” Levi started to open his mouth again and the guy said, “I’m done asking nicely.”
“Can I leave my number?”
“Not with me.”
Levi chuckled again. “Okay then, you have a nice day.”
“I will, soon as you’re gone.”
The man watched him as he got on his bike and rolled it back down the driveway. He was still watching him as Levi started the Harley and drove away. Instead of heading toward Memphis, he turned onto the on-ramp for the highway that would take him into Nashville. He wasn’t looking to get into a gunfight with a pissed-off Invader, but maybe there was one who wouldn’t be pissed off and who might just be willing to help him.
24
Levi was disappointed once he got all the way to Nashville only to discover that his friend Zack was out on a run and not expected back until the next day. When he left the Invaders clubhouse, he debated whether to go report in to Cheney, or take the rest of the day off since Cheney didn’t know he was back yet. It was an easy decision, but almost an hour later as he drove into Memphis, he found himself dreading the idea of going home to the apartment that only served to remind him that Krissy was gone and never coming back. He started heading in the direction of the Bent Wrench, a bar that he and his brothers in the club often hung out in. Before he got there, however, he passed the street where the diner Zoe worked was on and found himself being almost unable to resist turning left. He’d promised her that he’d leave the pendant and as much as he hated to part with it, there was a part of him that knew he’d never be able to completely heal and move on as long as he carried it around in his pocket.
He parked his bike out front and walked inside, expecting it to be too late in the afternoon for Zoe to still be on shift. He was surprised when she was the first person he saw. She was behind the counter, facing the little window that looked into the kitchen and reading off an order. He stopped for a second and studied her while she wasn’t looking. He was trying to understand why he was so oddly attracted to her. She was almost as opposite from Krissy in looks as she could get. Where Krissy had been blonde and curvy with pale skin and a spattering of freckles across her tiny nose, Zoe was taller, willow thin, with dark hair and an olive complexion. Krissy had beautiful green eyes that Levi never tired of looking at. Zoe had dark eyes that were surrounded by lashes so long and thick that he could see them from where he was standing, at least six feet away. The two women were polar opposites and this connection he felt to the one he barely knew was confusing, and he told himself, ridiculous.
“You can take any seat, hon,” a woman with puffy blonde hair told him as she walked by with two plates full of French fries.
He smiled at her. “Thanks. I just needed to see Zoe for a second.” At the sound of her name, Zoe turned in Levi’s direction. He watched as the look of surprise on her face turned to something that looked like a cross between nervous and terrified. She wiped her hands on her apron and walked over to the end of the counter. Almost appearing to use it as a barrier she said:
“Hi…um, can I get you a cup of coffee…or something?”
He smiled. “Nah, too late in the evening for coffee. I was thinking more along the lines of a beer.”
“Oh, sorry. We don’t sell alcohol here.”
“I know. I was headed over to the Bent Wrench. I thought I’d stop by and drop off your pendant on my way.” He took it out of his pocket and ran his fingers across it one last time before holding it out in her direction. She looked almost as reluctant to take it out of his hand as he was to give it away. Finally, using two fingers like she was afraid to touch him, she picked it up off of his palm. Just the brush of her fingertips almost caused him to shudder.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Thank you, for…for being there.” She gave him a nod and they stared at each other, awkwardly for a few seconds before one of the guys at the counter said:
“Hey, Zoe, can I get some more coffee?”
Like she was being pulled out of a trance, Zoe gave a slight shake of her head and said, “Sure, Cliff,
be right there.” She looked back at Levi and said, “Thanks again, take care.”
“You too.” He watched her go back over to where the coffee pots were and realized he didn’t want to leave. He thought about Krissy then and suddenly felt guilty for whatever it was he was feeling for Zoe. He might have to move on someday…but it was too soon. He turned toward the door at last and headed for his bike. As he was slipping onto the bike, a man with long red hair caught his eye. He was on his way into the diner and although Levi was sure he didn’t know him, there was something familiar about him. He’d seen him somewhere, recently. Unsure why the man stirred so much curiosity in him, he watched through the big window as the guy strolled up to the counter and Zoe turned around toward him. Levi was a ways away, but even from where he sat, he could see the uncomfortable, and maybe even scared, look that she had on her face. He was back off his bike and headed toward the door of the diner before he even realized what he was doing. He stopped before he got there and took off his vest. If there was trouble, he didn’t want to be that easily recognizable. He stuffed it in his saddlebags and went back over to the door.
When he pushed it open he heard the red-haired man say, “Okay, but if you’re not out there in five, I’ll be back. You don’t want me knocking on Granddaddy’s door, do you?” Zoe was talking in a whisper. Levi slipped back out the door before she saw him and walked a little ways down the sidewalk. The red-haired man stepped out the door and turned left, headed around to the side of the building. Levi looked back inside. Zoe was gone from behind the counter and he didn’t see her anywhere else inside. On impulse once more, he headed in the direction the man had gone. He didn’t see him on the side of the building anywhere. It was a parking lot and there were very few cars in it. An alleyway ran along behind the diner so Levi headed in that direction. When he reached the end of the building he heard Zoe’s voice:
“It’s all I have right now, Patrick.”
“It’s not enough. You’re going to have to talk to old Granddaddy. Bat those long eyelashes at him or something.”
“I can’t ask him for money…”
“Then I will. I’ll bet he’d rather pay me than have me tell people all the things his sweet little granddaughter did when she needed a fix.”
The son of a bitch was blackmailing her. Levi’s blood began to boil. He forced himself to stay put for a minute longer as Zoe say, in a defeated tone:
“He’s been there before, nothing would surprise him anymore.”
The man chuckled and said, “That’s right, he raised two junkie whores…” That was the point where Levi lost his cool. He flew around the side of the building and had his hand around the man’s throat and his back pressed into the brick wall before the other guy saw it coming. Zoe let out a loud gasp and while the man choked for breath she said:
“Levi, it’s okay. Let him go, please.”
The fact that she wanted Levi to let the guy go pissed him off even more. He pressed his weight in on the gasping man and said, “Let him go so he can keep calling you names and threatening you? You like being abused?”
She sucked in a breath and he saw her face fill with anger as she said, “Screw you! You don’t know anything about me or what’s going on here. You’re both going to get me fired if you don’t stop! Damn it, Levi! You’re killing him!” Levi looked at the man’s face; it was bright red and his lips were starting to turn blue. He let go of him and stepped back as the man crumpled to the ground, coughing and hacking up phlegm. “Thank you,” Zoe whispered.
Levi turned on her. “Thank you? You’re thanking me for letting him go, not for helping you, though, right?”
“I don’t need help.”
“Really? It sounded like you needed plenty of it to me. He called you a junkie whore.”
“I heard him,” she said, softly.
“Zoe…”
“Levi!” she screamed almost simultaneously as her body slammed into his. Levi was a lot bigger than her, but he wasn’t expecting it and it knocked him off balance. He grabbed for Zoe and they both hit the ground as the explosion of the gunshot rang in his ears. It seemed like things were happening in slow motion at that point. Levi moved Zoe off of him and pulled his own gun out of his waistband. The red-headed man was already sprinting down the alley and people were coming out of the back door of the restaurant. Levi put his gun back in his waistband and then looked at Zoe. She was still face down on the pavement and blood was pooling underneath her. The waitress Levi had seen inside screamed and dropped down next to her. Levi moved toward them and was suddenly wrestled to the ground by a large Hispanic man in a black apron. It took Levi a second to overcome the shock of it, but then he was quickly able to get the upper hand. When another guy grabbed him from behind Levi said:
“Fuck! I didn’t shoot her. The son of a bitch who did is getting away while I fuck with you two. Did someone call 911?”
“Yeah,” the big, Hispanic guy in the apron said. “We’ll let them sort this shit out when they get here.”
“He didn’t shoot me.” Zoe’s voice was weak and it sounded like she needed to clear her throat. Levi looked over at her. She was still on the ground but she’d rolled over. The blood was coming from her side, just above her hip. “I was taking my break and…”
“And I was in the parking lot having a smoke,” Levi said. “I heard her scream and heard a guy tell her to give him her wallet. I jumped him but he wrestled me to the ground and shot at me. Zoe got in the way.” She gave him a grateful look and then closed her pretty, dark eyes. “Now get the fuck off of me!” he told the man still at his back. When that guy moved, he let the other one up and, still on his knees, he scooted over to where Zoe was. He picked up her hand and her eyes fluttered open. Levi could hear sirens in the background. She closed her eyes again and because he couldn’t stand the look of pain on her face, he closed his too…that was when things got weird. There was a flash of light in his head and he almost felt the heat of it before he was suddenly in a different place. He was on a dark street, still on his knees. He felt Zoe’s hand in his, but when he looked down he realized that it wasn’t hers he was holding. Krissy was lying on the pavement. Her blonde hair was matted so thickly with blood that it looked black. One side of her face was torn up from the pavement and her eye almost swollen shut. There was blood all around her lips and she was lying on top of her left arm. Her right leg was twisted up at an odd angle and he could see how hard she was working for each breath. What was left of his heart shattered and his chest hurt.
“Krissy?” She smiled at him, and it looked painful.
“I didn’t feel any pain, Levi. It was over as quickly as it happened. Zoe held my hand and helped my soul leave this mangled body, and just like that, I was at peace.” She closed her eyes and suddenly, she was gone. Levi ripped his open and for a few seconds he was disoriented. He was looking at Zoe again. She still had her eyes closed, but the ambulance was backing into the alley. It wasn’t long before he was being pushed out of the way, standing a few feet back, watching what was happening. As they loaded her into the ambulance he started to go for his bike and that was when the police pulled up. Muttering another curse under his breath, he stopped and waited for them. For the next half hour he endured their questions, repeating the story he’d told the restaurant staff several times, and waited until they ran his gun and made sure he had a permit for it. He had plenty of others that he didn’t, so he was breathing a sigh of relief that he was carrying the registered one that day. The staff confirmed for the police that Zoe had corroborated the story Levi told them, though, and finally after giving a rough description of the guy, he was let go.
Levi headed to the hospital, where the EMTs told them they were taking Zoe. He saw the other waitress when he rushed into the Emergency waiting room. “How is she?”
The waitress looked him over and said, “Are you a friend of Zoe’s?”
“Acquaintance,” he said. “Is she okay?” The waitress had seen him talking to her in the di
ner, and he even saw her watching as Zoe had taken the pendant out of his hand. Why the hell everyone wanted to be so fucking difficult was beyond him, but it was pissing him off.
“You dropped her off for work that morning…you’re the one that took her home from the party.”
Levi cocked an eyebrow and said, “Then you must be the ‘friend’ who left her to fend for herself with that drunken pervert.”
The woman made a face and then said, “They haven’t told me anything. They came out and asked for her family’s name. They said they needed consent to treat her.”
“Did you have that information?” The waitress started to say something but suddenly, she was interested in something behind him. He turned and saw an older couple coming through the doors. She was wearing a pair of blue cotton capris and a white long-sleeved button-up shirt. She held a floppy straw hat in her hands, the kind that some people use at the beach or while doing yard work. He was dressed in a crisp, blue button-down shirt and a pair of twill dress pants. His dress shoes were black and polished to a shine he could probably see himself in when he looked down. They both had gray hair, but his was mottled through with black and still full and combed back from his face. Hers was more of a silver color and styled in a short bob around her face. She had a pretty face for an older lady, with dark eyes and long eyelashes, just like Zoe. The woman looked like she’d been crying. The man just looked pissed.
25
Levi watched the older couple walk up to the information desk and while their backs were to him, he did something that he’d never done for anyone before. He had put his vest back on before riding over to the hospital; he slipped it off again now and folded it up over his arm so the patches weren’t showing. He glanced at the waitress and she smirked at him. He turned away from her and looked back toward the couple, who now turned to look at him and the woman next to him.
