“You said you talked to all these people.”
“They talked to me. Great stories. But at the end of the weekend, they left. I never saw most of them again, and that’s the way they wanted it. Easy to talk to a stranger. No need to duck your head at the bar the next Friday night.”
Loreena felt a pang of guilt. In a way, that’s what she was doing, involving him in her story. He was right; he was good at getting people to open up. She tried to picture him sitting alone on his horse, staring into the sunset. With no hat.
“So?” he pressed. “You can’t get out of it that easily. You’re far away from anything or anyone you know, you’ve just finished a wonderful meal, and this very handsome guy is sitting next to you nice and peaceful, all friendly like. What would you tell him?”
“Friendly, huh?” She cocked an ear toward him. I’d tell him I’ve seen Heaven, and it’s not what people think.
“Very friendly. So?”
Shrugging, she turned away. “Hard to tell, when you’re not really there.”
“Let’s pretend. We’re at the campsite, you and I. The horses are munching on the grass nearby, it’s a warm night, and you just polished off a fresh trout. You like trout, don’t you?”
She nodded.
“We’re sitting with our backs against an old tree stump, soft dirt underneath us, and I turn to you and say, ‘Loreena, why did you stay? At the church, I mean? Why didn’t you go out and start a life of your own as soon as you graduated high school?’”
“I loved it,” she said. The words fell out of her mouth. “The smell of the sanctuary, the space of the tall ceilings, the feel of the sun through the windows.” A stab of longing pierced her chest. “It’s home. It was home after my mom died. I’ve never known anything else.” She opened her hands. “I felt safe there, and I had nowhere else to go.”
The truck fell silent, save the wind whistling through the gaps in the side windows. Dominic let off the gas and the engine dropped in pitch. “Looks like 75 goes this way?” He turned right, the momentum pulling her toward him. She took hold of the armrest until they straightened again.
“One hundred and fifty miles.”
Loreena settled back into the seat, eyelids heavy.
“Are you tired?”
As if in answer, she yawned, covering her mouth. “I guess I didn’t sleep the best last night.” She didn’t want to sleep now, but there was something about being in the truck, with Dominic’s calming presence, that made her body feel heavy.
“Go ahead. Get some rest.”
“You’ll be all right?”
“I’m used to driving. This old girl here is my home.”
Loreena closed her eyes. “Do you have a name for her?”
“Josie.”
“Why Josie?”
“She was the horse I used to ride on the ranch. Stout Appaloosa, buckskin, white blanket with spots on her rump. The prettiest one on the place, I thought, though the other dudes would have argued with me. But they couldn’t keep up with her on the rocks. Her feet were coal black and hard as diamonds. Where the other horses would pick their way carefully up the hill, she’d just charge straight up, you know? Couldn’t feel a thing.”
“Bet that came in handy when the rabbits showed up.”
Dominic chuckled, and then laughed out loud. Loreena laughed with him, warmth flooding her body.
“Yes, yes. Because of Josie, I never had to worry about losing my nose.”
Loreena smiled again, and then turned sideways in the seat. Gradually, the cab fell quiet, the gentle hum of the wheels on the pavement steady in her ears, the occasional squeak in the springs like a shy percussionist’s solo. It was different, riding with Dominic. Something about the cloth cushion and his rugged scent and the old clicks and clanks calmed her nerves. She moved in and out of sleep, but every time she came back to consciousness the truck was still rolling along smoothly, Dominic’s presence warm and reassuring next to her, and she began to wish the distance to Kelley was much longer than one hundred and fifty miles.
Loreena woke to the sound of Crystal’s bike roaring by.
“I guess she wants us to follow her now,” Dominic said.
“We’re there already?”
“You were out like a light.”
“Sorry.” She sat up.
“No need to apologize. Looked like you needed it.”
Pulling her fingers through her hair, she tried to get rid of the tangles and make herself presentable. “I don’t usually sleep like that, in the car. You’re a good driver.”
“Yeah, well, it was a little difficult with you snoring over there.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “I did?”
He laughed.
Shaking her head, she turned toward the window to hide her smile.
Crystal led them up Main Street and further north, Dominic narrating the journey. He grumbled at having to push the truck faster than he wanted to, the motorcycle weaving back and forth through the traffic more easily than he could. At one point he got stuck at a stoplight and Loreena was afraid they would lose the trail, but Dominic found Crystal waiting for them a block up the road.
“We’re passing the main part of town now,” he said as they took up their position behind the bike.
“It’s not very big, right? Five thousand people or something?”
“Looks like it hasn’t changed in the last hundred years or so, actually.”
“I think it was a mining town.”
Dominic rubbed his hand back and forth on the wheel. “Most of the buildings look old, but we’re passing newer stuff now—a café, grocery store, shopping center…”
Loreena tried to slow the rapid beating of her heart, her thoughts returning to Saul. Would they find him? Would he still be alive? The idea that he could be hurt made her sweat so she tried to think of something different, like how angry she would be when they found him at the bar casually drinking a beer.
“Turning left.” Dominic was slipping easily into the role Saul had always played, filling her in on what he was seeing around him. “Heading out of town now, leaving the businesses behind. Hmm. Wonder where she’s taking us.”
“Crystal hangs out in the not-so-good places. I’m sure Frank is in one of them.”
He didn’t say anything more. Loreena fidgeted, pulling the button on her jacket out and in, out and in. They drove on, following the buzz of the motorcycle, one mile, two.
“Ah, guess we’re almost there.” Slowing the truck, he turned right. “Oh. This doesn’t look good. Have to be about a hundred Harleys parked here.”
Loreena clenched her fists. It sounded worse than Chelsie’s Bar.
“Long brown building. Neon beer signs in the windows.”
He drove around for a while, following Crystal, and eventually parked, the truck shifting back and forth as it settled. Crystal pulled up next to them, killed the engine, and then knocked on Loreena’s window.
“I think this is where Frank is.” She exhaled cigarette smoke into the cab.
“Why here?” Dominic asked.
“He runs the place.”
“What place?” Loreena asked.
“Hunter’s Hideaway,” Crystal said. “A bar.”
More motorcycle engines started up on their left, one after another adding to the roar until it sounded like a military base buzzing with jet planes. After another moment, they all blasted out of the parking lot, leaving the air heavy with dust.
“Frank owns this bar?” Loreena asked.
“He runs the club here,” Crystal said.
“Club?” Dominic said.
“The Grizzly Riders. Motorcycle club.”
“Oh.” Loreena and Dominic said it at the same time.
“You coming or what?”
“She’s not going in there,” Dominic said.
“She has to!”
“Can’t you just go in and ask?”
“I’m fuckin’ nobody. She’s his sister.”
“This Frank isn
’t going to know that.”
Crystal blew another breath of smoke. “Look, I didn’t bring you guys all the way up here to sit in the car. I’m not going in there by myself.”
“Fine.” Dominic opened his door. “I’ll go in with you.”
Crystal waited until he closed the door behind him and then leaned close to Loreena’s ear. “Look, you have to go. If we blow this one chance, we may never find him.”
“Ready?” Dominic called from in front of the truck.
Crystal tapped the door. “If he’s here, they took him. Get it? He didn’t come up here of his own free will. Not without his bike.”
Dominic came up behind her. “If we’re going to find him, we have to look around. We can do that on our own.”
“She knows him,” Crystal said. “Besides, don’t blind people have some sort of ESP about these things?”
Loreena opened the door, clutching her purse tightly to her body.
Dominic pushed it shut again. “You’re staying here.”
“But she’s right,” Loreena said. “I may be able to…sense something.”
He poked his head inside. “I didn’t bring you all the way up here to get you hurt.”
She pulled her gloves tight and touched his arm. “This was my idea. You were kind enough to give me a ride. You don’t need to do any more. If one of us is to stay in the truck, it should be you.”
Dominic sighed. “I don’t like this.”
“It’s a biker bar,” Crystal said. “Of course you’re not going to like it. It’s not your vibe. But it is mine. I know what I’m doing.” She blew more smoke, and then dropped her cigarette and squashed it with the toe of her boot, crunching the gravel. “Can we go now? They’ve already had him for who knows how long. I guess I’m the only one who’s worried.”
Worried! Loreena felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. Dominic stayed by the door, his weight keeping it closed as she pushed against him. “I have to go in.”
He leaned closer, whispering, “I can’t protect you against men like these. There are too many.”
Loreena listened to the music coming from the building. It was the loud kind, the kind Saul had blasted through the speakers in his Mustang that night. If she had any sort of ESP where Saul was concerned, she wasn’t sensing him here, but how else was she to find out what might have happened to him? She’d killed someone to save him. She couldn’t chicken out now. “It will be all right.” And I can protect myself, she wanted to say.
He sighed and then stepped back, allowing her out. Once the truck door was shut, he took her hand and placed it on his arm. “Lead the way,” he said to Crystal.
Loreena’s shoes wobbled on the gravel. She held tight to Dominic and took unsteady steps forward until she regained her balance. Four wooden stairs led onto a porch-like landing, the wood thumping with a hollow echo as they crossed it. One more step and Loreena could feel cigarette smoke enveloping her body like a film.
Dominic stopped. “Bikers,” he whispered to her. “Lots of them.”
She could almost see them, so heavy were their impressions, so angry their energy. Boots scuffed the wooden floor, beer glasses clanking together, deep voices grunting like a pen full of rodeo bulls.
“Hey, Blondie,” one of them called. “Got what you’re looking for right here, babe!”
“Think so?” Crystal shouted over the din of the crowd. “You don’t know what I’m looking for, babe.”
Loreena moved closer to Dominic.
“Why don’t you tell me?” The chair scraped the floor as the man stood up.
“Frank. Any of you boys seen him?”
The room fell quiet. The laughing died down. Loreena waited, holding her breath.
“I have something for him,” Crystal said. “Something valuable.”
“Looks valuable enough from here,” the man said. The others joined him in laughter.
“Thanks much,” Crystal said, “but it’s only for Frank. Is he here or not?”
“I’m talking about the pretty little thing behind you!” the same man said.
Dominic pulled Loreena’s arm closer to his ribs. The crowd shuffled. Some of the men shouted out in agreement.
“You boys want to be responsible for Frank missing out on a deal?” Crystal asked.
The voices died down. “Over here.”
They all turned.
“Who the hell are you?” Crystal asked.
No answer, but then Crystal started walking.
“Stay close,” Dominic whispered. “Lots of tables.”
Loreena’s hip brushed one man’s shoulder as they passed, and he reached out and slapped her on the behind. Dominic bristled, but Loreena held him fast.
“Keep going,” she whispered, clutching her purse tightly.
The sounds resumed behind them as they walked past the bar and through a side doorway. The air cleared, but it was colder, as if the walls lacked proper insulation.
“Are you Frank?” Crystal asked.
“Who are you?” The man had a low, clear voice, a baritone, yet the breaths between were audible. Loreena imagined him with a big belly pressing on his lungs.
“Doesn’t matter,” Crystal said. “I have something for him. But I’m talking only to him.”
“Who are they?”
“Friends. Are you going to get Frank, or should I take my goods elsewhere?”
The man grunted and walked away, footsteps heavy until he passed through another door on the left. After he’d gone, Crystal turned around and sighed. “He should be coming now.”
“What’s this item of value you keep talking about?” Dominic asked.
“I told you. You can’t come here empty-handed.”
“Right. So what is it, exactly?”
“Something to get us answers, okay?”
“When are we going to ask about Saul?” Loreena said.
“We have to talk to Frank.”
“And then?” Dominic said.
“Then what?”
“That’s what I’m asking. It’s not like he’s just going to tell us where he is.”
“Look, I know how these guys operate, all right?”
Footsteps approached—many footsteps. Dominic placed his hand over Loreena’s. The door opened. Four men came in, boots scuffing the floor until three stood in a line behind one. The one in the front smelled like dry cleaning and musk cologne.
“You Frank?” Crystal said.
Loreena had to give her credit; the girl was brave.
“Who are you?”
This man sounded normal. No gravel in his voice. No huffing or macho posing. More like a businessman, a loan officer, someone in a suit.
“Crystal. I’m here about Saul.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do. But before we get to that, I have something for you, in exchange for information.”
“I’m waiting.”
“Your men may want to cover the exits.”
“You planning on going somewhere?”
“No, but they might.”
Loreena took a step back. Dominic tensed, his bicep bulging under her hand.
“He’s nothing,” Crystal said. “She’s the valuable one. She’s the one you want.”
“What are you talking about?” Loreena demanded. Dominic pushed her behind him and started backing up.
“We don’t do prostitution here,” Frank said.
“I’m not talking that kind of value. Can we go somewhere?”
“I’m a busy man.”
“I’m not here to waste your time. You’ll want to hear this.”
Frank sighed. “Five minutes.”
The two of them exited the room, leaving Loreena and Dominic alone with the other three men. It was a trap. The girl had set them up. The side door closed. Dominic moved her back toward the door to the bar.
“That’s far enough,” one of the men said. His voice sounded like it was damaged, a grating scrape along th
e eardrum.
“We have no further business here,” Dominic said. Another step. “Crystal’s taking care of it.”
“I said that’s far enough.” The same man stepped forward. The other two closed in from the sides.
“Look, you heard Frank,” Dominic said. “He doesn’t know us. We just came to bring Crystal here, and we don’t want to take up any more of his time, so—”
He turned and bolted for the door, Loreena’s gloved hand firmly in his grip. They had almost made it through when Loreena felt her hair grasped from behind, her head jerked back. She lost her balance, her purse falling off her shoulder.
“Dominic!”
He answered with a grunt, and then his shoes squeaked on the floor as two of the men dragged him back into the room. The one with the raspy voice, a big, meaty man, pushed Loreena down. “Stay a while.”
Dust covered her clothes, grit on her tongue. The other men dropped Dominic next to her.
“You can’t keep us here!” Dominic shouted.
They didn’t answer, but spread out again, their boots scraping the floor. Dominic helped Loreena stand. She brushed off her clothes, heart slamming her chest. She wanted to retrieve her purse but dared not move. The men were quiet again, standing guard as if they did this every day, trapped people in the back room of a bar. She fingered the tips of her gloves. There were three of them, too many hands to grip. She’s the valuable one. Crystal’s words rang in her ears. She frowned, trying to imagine what Frank would want with her.
Then she remembered what Crystal had seen in the parking lot. A burning heat swept over her skin.
“We shouldn’t have come,” she whispered.
“Shhh,” Dominic said.
Surely Frank wouldn’t fall for it. Who would believe a story about a girl who could kill with a touch? Swallowing, she tried to stay calm, but her mind was racing, fear churning in her stomach. The girl had fooled her completely. An exchange for Saul, she’d said, but Loreena began to doubt this was about Saul at all.
“Please.” She forced the word past her throat. “My brother, Saul. Do any of you know him?”
Her words went unanswered.
Beyond the closed door, back in the bar, the other bikers laughed, rock music thumping the walls with a pounding rhythm. One window opened to the parking lot, where more bike engines growled in idle, dust flowing in like smoke. Loreena clung to Dominic, one hand wrapped up in his jacket pocket. She should have never come. She should have gone back to the church.
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