Tangled Threats on the Nomad Highway

by MariaLisa deMora

  “Getting shot’ll do that to a man.” Retro shoved Mudd to the side and crouched where he’d been. There was a hole in the left side of his vest, just underneath his arm. Einstein realized his chest was bare, shirt gone, and the exposed skin was stained red. Shaking his head, Retro told him, “Not as bad as it looks, brother. The bullet just caught enough of my side to bounce off a rib. Felt like gettin’ kicked by a fuckin’ mule, though. I could do without that again in my life.”

  “Is she okay?” Penrose’s question came from nearer the doorway.

  “She will be.” Retro’s expression hardened as he looked away from Marian and towards Penrose.

  Einstein returned his attention to Marian, finding her slightly more alert.

  “Did you have any inkling what Zipline was planning?” Retro’s question encompassed everything Einstein wanted to ask the man.

  “No.” Low and urgent, Penrose’s denial sounded heartfelt. “God, no. He showed up yesterday out of the blue. I haven’t seen him since my dad kicked me out of the house years ago. Haven’t even thought about Walter. He was just a kid, but his hate ran just as deep as my old man’s, so I wasn’t about to reach out to him. You can’t think I’d have anything to do with them hurting Marian.”

  “Noah?” Marian squeezed her eyes closed, brow furrowing, and Einstein smoothed the wrinkles away with the pad of his thumb.

  “Shhhh, baby. I got you.” Without looking away from Marian, Einstein asked, “We need to worry about the cops showing up with the alarm going off like it did?”

  “Naw, man. Myron dealt with all that shit.” Gunny laughed. “I was on the phone with him when it was goin’ on. Found out that man can be sayin’ his ‘oh fudruckle’ in a Midwest accent one moment and then carry a conversation in a Southern drawl the next, explaining how he’d had too much wine and opened a window without thinking. Called it ‘dealin’ with the wine thweats’ until the local cops were laughing along. He’s good.”

  “Zipline?” From Mudd’s response earlier, Einstein believed he knew the answer but wanted to be certain.

  “Done for.” Retro’s flat tone went a long way to reassure him. “Mudd made sure of it.”

  Bane stuck his head in the window. “Nothing, man. He’s a fuckin’ ghost.”

  “Jim?” Marian’s eyes had opened again, and she was looking around with more clarity in her gaze. “What’s going on?”

  “The only good thing about ketamine? She might not have any memory of what happened today.” Gunny’s shoulders moved in a shrug that looked as helpless as Einstein felt. “Mixed blessing, as long as it doesn’t leave a fearful gap in her mind.”

  “I’m going to get her out of here before she has a chance to look around, cement things that are better left unseen.” He transferred her to Gunny’s arms, then stood and took her again, legs draped over one arm while his other encircled her back. “I got you, baby. Hold on to me now, okay?”

  “Isaiah—Hoss is here. He’s out front. Go on, I’ll be right behind you. Won’t be ridin’ my bike like this, so I’ll drive us to the homesteads.”

  Einstein acknowledged Retro’s words with a nod, gaze fixed on Marian’s face as she stared up at him. “You with me, Marian?”

  “I…I think so.” She twisted, arching her back as she tried to look around the room. “What’s going on?”

  Hands resting on the sides of the window, Bane offered, “I’ll get a couple of prospects to ride your bikes, brothers.” He disappeared as Marian’s head swung in that direction.

  Einstein needed to get her out of there fast, unless he wanted her to see something she wouldn’t be able to forget. “We’re just going outside. Hang with me, honey.”

  “I…there was a…” Her eyes widened, and she twisted again, fighting his hold. “Where’s Luke? We were… we were at the movies.” He didn’t let go, pinning her against his chest as he made his way through Penrose’s living room to the front door. “This is Noah’s house. Why are we in Noah’s house?”

  “You didn’t feel well.” The voice approached from the side. Einstein glanced that direction as Penrose came towards them. “Luke’s with Myrt and Thad. They’re all home. Einstein’s going to take you home now.” His voice cracked. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Marian.” Penrose’s gaze never left Marian’s face, his eyes brimming with tears. “So, so glad. I’d never want you to be hurt, or be afraid. After how you felt earlier, I think you’ll need a couple of days to get better. Paid. I take care of my friends.”

  Sounding lost, Marian whispered, “Okay.” Penrose had walked with them to the door and held it open for them. Marian’s confused tone remained as she continued, “I’ll call you tomorrow, Noah.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The door clicked behind Einstein as he carried Marian toward a car parked in the middle of the street. The sides of the road were lined with bikes, packed in as if it were a party. Einstein shivered.

  “There’s a lot of people here.” Marian’s observation held less confusion and more certainty. “I didn’t just get sick, did I?” She slumped in his arms, curling closer as she rested her cheek on his chest. “Einstein?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “Is it okay if I don’t want to know?”

  He jostled her, hitching her higher in his arms as he tried to get a look at her face. “What?”

  “If I don’t want to know what happened, is it okay?”

  Einstein sighed. “Luke knows, so does Thad. Part of it at least. I think you should probably know that much, so you aren’t blindsided when we walk in the house.”

  “Okay, that makes sense. If Luke knows, it can’t be that bad.” Her chin tipped up, and their gazes met. “Oh,” she breathed. “It is bad. Oh no.” Einstein stopped next to the car, looking down at her. “Will you tell me?”

  “How much do you remember of today?” He kept his eyes on her as Hoss opened the car door for them and moved away. Einstein settled Marian into the seat, grabbing a folded blanket from next to her, and as she sat back, he spread the soft fabric over her lap.

  “That we have an agreement, you and me. A pretend relationship.” The pain that washed over her face pierced his heart, and he had to look away. “It’s okay, Einstein.”

  He forced his gaze back to her, taking in every fleeting expression.

  “It. Is not. Pretend. Nothing about it was ever pretend for me, not really.” Einstein continued tucking the blanket around her, leaning close. “That was my lie to myself. I don’t have an excuse, other than I think it was to ease into the idea. A protection for myself. I don’t need it now, though. Not after tonight. I don’t want to go slow and easy anymore, Marian.”

  “But your wife?”

  Something pinched his ribs, and he breathed through the pain, not shifting away as it slowly eased. A cool breeze blew across the nape of his neck, and he sucked in a hard breath. He didn’t need to pat the front of his vest to know the toothbrush wasn’t there anymore, lost somewhere in the terror of the preceding hours or in the rush to get to Marian’s side—it didn’t matter. It had served its purpose.

  “She was a beautiful, sweet woman, who died too early, because of me. That’s my truth and what I live with. But before that happened, we had years of happiness. I had so much time with her and never gave her a single reason to doubt my feelings. Tonight—” His throat closed tightly, blocking the words he wanted to say, tears burning the backs of his eyes. Einstein dropped to sit sideways on the seat and wrapped his arms around Marian.

  “What happened tonight?” Her arms circled his back, one sliding up to cover the chilled portion of his neck, warming it with her touch.

  “I nearly lost my chance of time with you, Marian.” He whispered against the side of her head, “Baby, it feels like we’ve been working towards this for years. Tell me you feel the same, put me out of my misery.”

  “He came after me, didn’t he? The man you talked about today.” She laughed, the broken sound muffled against his neck. “That feels like so long a
go, but it was just today, right?” He made an affirmative noise, and she tightened her hold. “He did exactly as you predicted and came after me. You were right about what he was going to do.” She stiffened, words wavering as she asked, “Is Luke okay? I remember coming out of the movie theater with him, and then nothing until…now, basically.”

  “Luke’s shaken up. He’s going to be sticking close to you for a while, I expect, but he’s going to be fine.” He adjusted his hold, pulling her closer. “You’re all right, and that’s what matters. You’re good, and you’re here.”

  “And you might care for me a little?”

  “Me liking you a little? That’s like calling a hurricane a thunderstorm. It’s more than a little, baby. I know you’ll need some time to get used to the idea, but I’m not going anywhere. Already talked to Retro about hanging up my nomad rocker.” Her arms spasmed. With fingers clutching at him, she burrowed closer yet. “I figured out that what I want is you, and where I wanna be is wherever you are.”

  ***

  Marian

  “We’re home.” Einstein jostled her, and Marian lifted her head from his shoulder. She’d dozed in the car, secure in the knowledge Einstein would keep her safe. “And here comes everybody’s favorite protector.”

  She tried to focus on whatever he was talking about, still peering through the car windows when the door beside her was flung open. Thad’s head poked into the car, and he stared at her from only inches away. Lines were etched along his forehead, between his brows, and they didn’t ease off as he studied her face. Then his arms were around her neck, and he sobbed against her shoulder, the harsh noises broken with word fragments that contained a mishmash of sounds, mixed in with her name.

  The angle was awkward, but she got her arms around him and squeezed as hard as she could. “I’m okay. Thaddy. I’m here, and I’m okay. Everything’s going to be all right.”

  “Can you walk, baby?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at Einstein and nodded. The nap on the short drive from town to here had been enough to clear her mind, and she was surprised to find how close to normal she felt now.

  “Okay.” He smiled at her, the expression turning sad as he watched Thad, who still clung to her neck. “I’ll come around to the other side and help you out, make sure you’re steady as we go inside.”

  Without lifting his head, Thad barked out, “I’ll help her.” His arms were a vise around her neck, clenching through the trembling.

  “You can both help me.” Marian gave Thad’s shoulder a little shove. “Let me out of the car, Thaddy. I want to get inside, check on Myrtie.”

  “I’m sorry.” He didn’t release her as he shook, arms tightening around her neck. “I’m sorry. I’m quittin’ soccer and football. Quittin’ all of it.”

  “What? Why? Why would you quit? You love playing.” Her shove this time was stronger, enough to move him back a few inches. The expression on Thad’s face broke her heart. Eyes swollen, he twisted his mouth to the side and shook his head. The tears weren’t a reaction to her arrival, but probably the whole ordeal as her family had suffered here, waiting for word. “Thaddy, why?”

  “If I’d been there, I could have kept you safe. Between me and Lukie, we’d have taken him down.”

  Marian’s stomach lurched at the idea of her brothers put in that kind of danger. “No.”

  “Thad, this asshole wasn’t someone who would have gone down without a fight.” Retro’s words from the front seat made her and Thad look at him. He pushed the door open and stood, wavering slightly before he stepped away and closed it behind him. He reached around the open door and, with one hand to Thad’s shoulder, guided the boy out of the car, giving Einstein a chance to step in and offer Marian his hand. “Son, it took three men to deal with him, and he still got a shot off and hit me. Man like that? He would have killed you and Luke without a single thought. Your sister is here and safe, and this kind of thing—” Retro sighed, the sound filled with pain and grief she didn’t understand. “This is a one in a million. You get me? I understand wanting to keep those we love from getting hurt. Oh man, do I ever get that feeling. This one time, though? If you were there, it would have been the wrong time, wrong place, and your sister who’s standin’ here smilin’ at you would have been cryin’ her eyes out instead. You can’t put that on yourself, brother.”

  Thad’s shoulders went back, and he straightened at Retro’s use of the honorific that meant so much. Thad would know what it meant, Retro calling him that.

  “I love you a little bit, Retro.” Marian didn’t think about her words, and when Einstein’s arm around her shoulders jerked her closer, she looked up. “Not like that, Jim. Retro’s like Gunny.”

  “Lord save us, woman. I am not like that man.” Retro laughed, sweeping his hair away from his face. “But I understand your meaning.” He nodded. “Back atcha. Means this man”—he swooped an arm around Thad’s shoulders—“is now officially my little brother. I’m down with that. In fact, it’s a great idea. Way I see it, a body can’t ever have too much good family.”

  Somehow having beaten them home from the scene, Bane waited on the front porch with Myrt, and as the four of them walked from the car, Marian looked around for Luke. Thad read her mind, saying with a sigh, “Lukie’s sleepin’ finally. He’s been tore up about everything. He didn’t even wake up when Bane came rippin’ in here a few minutes ago. Hard asleep.”

  “No doubt he’s upset. It’s a tough thing to have happen.” Einstein’s tension was unmistakable through his connection to Marian. She looped her arm around his waist as he told Thad, “Good thing he’s got you to help him through it all.”

  Myrt’s tears were flowing fast as Marian slipped into her arms, holding her little sister close. “I’m okay. Promise. Einstein made sure of it.”

  “I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.” Myrt’s trembling grew more pronounced, and Marian squeezed her closer. “I was so scared, Marian.”

  “I’m good. I’m here.” She lifted her head from Myrt’s shoulder to see Bane hovering close. With a questioning expression on his face, he raised both hands and made a gesture towards Myrt. Marian nodded. He immediately moved in, winding them both into his embrace. She rushed to reassure him, even though he’d been at Noah’s house. “Bane, I’m okay.”

  “I know. God’s blessing, I know. Just fuckin’ glad to see you back here, little sister. Real fuckin’ glad.” He stepped back and unthreaded Myrt’s arms from Marian’s neck. “Come on inside. Let’s get you situated, and then I’ll wake up Luke, let him see for himself that you’re gonna be just fine.” Bane’s eyes shifted, his gaze moving to the two men with Marian. “Retro, you’re bleedin’ again. It’ll be a minute before Mudd’s here. You’re gonna have to suffer through my nursin’ skills.”

  “Or lack thereof.” Retro’s laugh followed Marian through the door.

  There was a bustle of activity around her and Einstein for a few minutes, but she felt detached from it all, as if Einstein’s arms were the only things keeping her from floating away.

  “I feel funny,” she whispered to him. They were seated on the couch, Einstein shoved into a corner leaning back, and Marian draped mostly across his lap.

  “Gunny said it could be as much as a full day before the sedative they used was completely out of your system. I’m here, baby. I’ll keep you safe. You feel like you need to sleep it off, then sleep.” A finger looped under her chin, and he raised her face so they stared at each other. “I’m not going anywhere, baby. Not sure I could stand being away from you right now. You feel like taking a little nap, don’t worry about it. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “And this isn’t a dream?”

  Mortified at the words flying out of her mouth, Marian tried to look away, but his grip on her jaw held her in place. That meant that as Einstein’s features changed, she got to witness him going from concerned to happy, then a darker expression but somehow still pleased. A flush climbed her neck and settled in her ch
eeks, blazing hot in an instant.

  “No, baby. You might be my dream, but this, what’s going on between us? Definitely our new reality. You and me, we’re going to ride this out, take it as far as it will go. Decades from now, you’ll tell our grandkids about the day your old man finally pulled his head out of his ass and laugh at the effort it took. We’re going to live out this dream together.”

  She nestled closer, and his hold fell away, arms encircling her tightly.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  She didn’t know how long she slept like that, perched across Einstein’s thighs, but the sun was high in the sky outside the windows when she opened her eyes again. Still upright, Einstein sat with his eyes closed as his head rested against the back of the couch. She marveled at him sleeping with her in his lap. Also asleep, Luke was sprawled across the rest of the available cushions, one arm outstretched so his fingers linked with hers.

  Marian tilted her head, gaze moving across Einstein’s features. He was all man, as he always had been, but with him resting, she got to see that the hardness cast on him by life had fallen away. Marian suddenly realized there were smile lines that curved through his cheeks, tiny crescents around each corner of his mouth. His inked arms had stayed curled around her even though he was unconscious, and she traced a fingertip across the dark images. This was a quiet, intimate moment with him, and she held it close to her heart. Even better than I could have imagined.

  She’d begun falling for him the first morning he’d shown up at the house, working easily alongside her in the kitchen. Joking and talking—even then it had been as if they’d always known each other. The way he interacted with Thad and Luke had always been supportive, and his positive affirmation for the boys had fed into her admiration of the man. Always from a distance, because she might not have known the details of what had happened, but Bane had long ago told her that Einstein was damaged by something.