by KJ Dahlen
“What the fuck?” The man swore. He grabbed the knife at his side and threatened Kirill with it. “Get the fuck away from me.”
Kirill was not one to banter with a punk. At six foot four and three hundred pounds of pure muscle, not too many men dared to cross him but this douche had and that just pissed him off. He motioned for him to bring it on by curling his finger and sneering, “Come to me, you little bastard.”
The other man began twirling his blade and then he licked his lips like he enjoyed this. “I’m going to enjoy sticking you like a pig, old man.”
“V tvoikh mechtakh, chelovechek,” Kirill growled.
The guy paused and looked confused. “What?”
“In your dreams, little man,” Kirill repeated in English as he came toward him. “In your dreams.”
“Well, fuck. What are you anyway?”
“I’m the man that’s gonna kick your ass.” Kirill smirked.
Rushing forward, the coward tried to jab at him but Kirill was too fast. He side stepped the attack easily and on his way past the other man, Kirill hit him hard.
The man ended up face down in the muck and mud and when he got up, he roared with his rage. The knife was still in his hands and he turned quickly to face Kirill again. He stepped up and jabbed out with his weapon. Again, he missed but then he jabbed on his way with a down swing and the blade tore Kirill’s skin open on his arm.
Kirill didn’t even cry out as the blood ran down his arm, instead his eyes narrowed. “Oh, you like to cheat, huh? That is no surprise, only cowards and thieves need to cheat and you are both.”
The other man’s nose flared open and he lunged again.
Kirill snapped his hand down on the other man’s wrist.
He dropped the blade and howled in pain drawing the attention of the girl and others along the bank.
“You bastard!” he shouted. “You broke my fucking wrist.”
“You’re lucky it wasn’t your fool neck.” Kirill growled as he watched him.
The punk stood there with water dripping off his clothes, his lower half was covered in mud, and he was holding his arm close to his chest.
Then two things happened at the same time.
Kirill felt his head explode and he heard a gunshot. One made him sink into the water with a groan and the other shattered the length of wood that just connected with his head.
Chapter Two
Another man had joined the first who was holding his mud covered arm. They both now looked over and saw they were on the wrong end of a shotgun.
The young woman holding the gun looked furious. “Get the hell out of here! You got no business being here.” She tightened her grip on the shotgun and told them, “I don’t know what you came here for, but you’re out of luck today. Now get the fuck out of here before I pull this trigger.”
At her feet, sat a huge black dog or maybe a wolf, they couldn’t tell but they weren’t going to find out either.
Both men began making their way up to the top of the bank.
Moments later, everyone there heard the truck starting up and peeling out of the parking lot.
Boo dropped her weapon and glanced back at the other two fishermen standing with her. Then she looked down at the dog by her side. She reached out to scratch behind his ears and stood there a moment.
One of the other men walked up and said, “What the hell is going on here, Boo?”
She turned and saw Henry and Fred behind her. They were two of the other fishermen that lived there as well. “I got no clue Henry,” Boo told him as she moved her troubled gaze over to where the man was laying. “I’ve never seen any of them before.”
The bank of Lake St. Catherine was its own little community and they were a family of sorts in that they all looked out for one another. Nothing bad ever happened here—well it hadn’t until four months ago. That was the second time her world went to hell.
She passed her weapon back to Fred and walked toward the large man who’d fought that asshole. That little bastard with the knife had got him once on the arm but it had been the two by four the second bastard had that she was more worried about. He took a heavy blow to the head and had dropped like a stone.
She could see the blood on his arm. But the blood covering his head and shoulders concerned her more. Looking back, she called out, “I’m gonna need some help here boys. Ain’t no way I’ll get this big lummox to his feet on my own.”
Henry chuckled as both he and Fred came up behind her. Fred set her gun off to one side and they all waded into the water to get the downed man.
“Where you want to take him?” Fred asked.
Boo shrugged and said, “My boat I suppose. I need to tend his arm a bit and check out his head. That blow would have scrambled his brains and I can’t leave him out in the cold tonight.”
Fred looked over at Henry with concern on his face. “Boo, honey, you don’t even know this bozo. Is that wise?”
“Look Fred, I get what you’re saying I really do.” She looked around the lake. “But you know, as we all do that something is coming and it’s not going to be good. Whatever is coming started four months ago when someone murdered Grandpa Joe. Why? And we don’t know. But I’m not going to leave the man out in the cold tonight. He stopped whatever that asshole had in mind. He probably saved my life today and like Joe always said, you treat people like you want them to treat you.” Then she moved into place. “So come on, let’s get him onto the boat.”
It took all three of them to get him on to her boat and into her bedroom. When they dropped him down on the bed, he groaned but still didn’t wake up.
Boo stood up again and stared down at him for a moment. She shook her head and went back out to collect her things. She gathered her weapon, her lines, and her dog. She waved to Fred and Henry who were now on the dock.
They did not look happy.
Well, what could she do about that? Nothing. But she could help this man who’d tried to help her.
When she was on board again, she loosened her lines and steered the boat off the bank. Boo steered the boat out on the lake and sank her anchor down when she got to the middle. No one would get to them here. She shut down the engine and went to check on her guest.
When she got to her bedroom, she noted that he hadn’t moved much in the time he’d been on board.
First thing she did, was take off his wet boots and jeans. She did it without ogling his huge body which was sure hard to do. When she pulled his jeans off, she did notice his thighs were bigger than her waist, hell he was just big all over. She did note his black skintight boxers and the rather impressive package it covered. If he were this big while being soft what the hell would he look like hard? She had to wonder.
Shaking her head at her thoughts, she grabbed a washcloth and began washing the mud off his body. She finished his lower half and unbuttoned his shirt. When she opened his shirt, she had to pause and gasp at the ink on his broad chest.
The ink and the scars. Both were impressive.
She struggled to get his shirt off and then she took care of the wound on his arm. The cut itself wasn’t very deep and she wished she had the stuff to stitch the wound together again, but she didn’t. She turned him over and began examining his head where the two by four slammed into him.
Bathing the blood away took some time but when she was finished the wound itself didn’t look so bad. Of course, she didn’t know what damage had been done inside his head or to his skull but this was as much as she could do for him just now. She wrapped the open wound and prayed he would wake up again.
When she rolled him back over onto his back, he groaned and lifted his hand to his head.
Groaning in pain, Krill swore, “Chto, chert voz'mi!” Then he slowly opened his eyes. But even the dim light available in the room, hurt his eyes and then pain jolted through his head.
He immediately closed his eyes and tried to turn his head away from the light. Then he felt small fingers on his face as she turned his face back to
hers.
“Are you okay?” she asked his lowly.
“Da, I think so.” He cracked his eyes open a bit. “What the hell happened to me? Why does my head hurt so bad?”
Boo scoffed. “That fuckin’ coward had a friend that snuck up behind you with a two by four in his hands.”
“Da, I remember now.” Kirill growled. “Do not swear, it’s not ladylike.”
Boo snorted. “What makes you think I’m a lady?”
“Net, you are an angel. You are my angel,” he spoke with conviction.
Boo leaned over him. “Ok, whatever you say, but I’m no one’s angel,” she whispered. “Rest now, I’ll make some soup.” She shrugged as she sat back down on the edge of the bed. “I don’t have much but I’ll share what I do have.”
“What is your name?” Kirill asked as he reached out for her hand before she left.
“They call me Boo.”
Kirill frowned. “Why do they call you that?”
She shrugged then asked, “What do they call you?”
Kirill felt his mind go blank. He frowned as he thought for a moment then he looked at her with a blank expression. “I can’t think, why can’t I remember what my name is?”
Boo studied him for a moment then patted his wide chest. “Don’t worry about it, you took quite a blow. You should remember everything soon enough. Shit happens.”
Kirill growled, “Do not swear.”
Boo chuckled. “I’m no lady mister, I’m just me. I grew up on this boat with a man I called Grandpa Joe. He was a man who liked to swear. He was also my hero so I learned how to be just like him. I cuss, swear, and can drink like a fish. I am a grown ass woman, so you don’t get to tell me what to do.” She got to her feet and walked out of the room. “I’ll bring you some aspirin to help with the headache,” she called back to him.
He laid back and had to smile. She might be small but she could hold her own. He might not know his own name or where he was but the gentle sway told him he could be on a boat. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
The next thing he knew, his nose was scenting something hot and spicy. It smelled like chicken. He opened his eyes and spotted the huge bowl in front of him. He raised his gaze and found Boo standing there.
He pushed himself to a seating position and she handed him the thick soup. Looking down at the bowl, he could see chunks of chicken and vegetables in a thick savory sauce. “It smells good.”
She rolled her eyes and warned him, “It’s hot, so be careful.” Sitting down on the bed next to him, she grabbed her bowl and placed a plate of biscuits between them.
Neither of them said a word as they began to eat.
Kirill moaned as the savory stew burst into flavor inside his mouth. The chunks of the chicken and vegetables filled him up. The biscuits were tender and the taste of the warm bread fit right in. The meal filled him and when she took his empty bowl, he leaned against the wall and simply watched her.
Intrigued by this small but mouthy woman, all he could do was wonder about who she was and why she was on a boat in the middle of... He couldn’t remember where he had been before the pain had exploded in his head. He wanted to ask her so many questions but being able to really look at her and take her in, made him lose all sensible thought.
Silent, Boo gathered their bowls and silverware then took them out of the room.
The late afternoon sun was dropping lower in the sky when the biker stopped on the bank where the woman had just left on a boat. She didn’t see him but the reason he stopped... was because he’d seen her.
The biker just stared at her for a moment, then dug out his phone. He snapped a couple of pictures of her on the deck all the while frowning as he did. He’d never seen her before he was sure of that but he couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He gazed at her hair, it was almost silver blonde but it had highlights of auburn and gold. He wondered if her eyes were the same teal as Pride’s were as well. He zoomed his lens in and saw her up close and personal.
Then she turned her head and seemed to stare right at his camera.
He gasped and snapped some pictures. Yep, she even had his boss’s eyes. Damn, this was gonna flip the old man out.
He put his phone back into his vest and started his engine. Tearing off, he was on his way back to the clubhouse at Jackson Landing.
Chapter Three
After Boo left, a huge black dog came into the room. He stopped beside the bed and stared at Kirill a moment.
Kirill didn’t make a move and just stared back at the animal. Then very slowly, he raised his hand and held it out to the dog. His movements were slow and he stared at the dog the whole time. He didn’t try to touch the animal, he simply held his hand out.
Finally, the dog leaned closer and sniffed his hand, then licked his fingers.
Slowly, he reached out and began scratching behind the dog’s ears.
The canine put his huge paws on the bed, leaned over Kirill, and sniffed his chest and shoulders.
Boo came back to the door and watched a moment before she nodded. “My Monster approves of you, so you must be a good man,” she stated quietly.
“Your Monster?” He looked up at her.
Boo nodded. “I found him about five years ago. He had been abandoned on a small sandbar on the far side of the lake. He was chained to a tree and couldn’t get free. By the time I found him, he was half starved and you could see where someone had beaten him. Grandpa Joe told me to forget him as he wouldn’t live but maybe a few days, he’d been hurt that bad. He even offered to put the animal down as it was more humane than letting him starve to death.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t do that, so I nursed him back to health. I fed him by hand for weeks and slowly, he came around. Joe called him a monster as he kept growing so that was what I called him, my Monster.” She came over and sat down on the bed again.
The dog came over to sit in front of her and she reached out to pet him. “Over time, he came to protect me and the people who come here respect his size, so they leave me alone.”
Kirill nodded. “I can see that.”
She looked up at him. “It was his warning that alerted me to your plight. I never saw or heard those men until you were fighting the man with the knife. I’m sorry, usually I’m a little more alert than that.”
“See that is the odd thing. I remember this, and not my name. I’d been watching him about a half hour before he moved in on you. He was just watching you but there something off about the way he was moving in on you. It looked aggressive, like an attack.” He shrugged. “I didn’t think his intentions were very good.”
“No, they weren’t. Not carrying a knife like that and then his buddy with the 2 by 4. Thank you for trying to stop him, whatever he was doing.” She shuddered.
“Where are we exactly?” Kirill asked.
“I moved us to the middle of the lake.”
“Why?” Kirill stared at her face.
“We...the ones, who live here full time, have been having some problems with some of the locals. Well, they aren’t even really locals, they belong to a street gang from nearby. They call themselves the Shadows of Hell but they are all just punks running their dope around Lake Pontchartrain. They want to be able to declare this area their own and they aren’t afraid to hurt people to do it.”
“What do they want here?” Kirill frowned.
“As close as we can figure, they want direct access from Pontchartrain to the Gulf. They want to expand their routes but that means we have to move and there are some of us that have no other place to go. Grandpa Joe, Henry, Fred, and others like them live here on the lake all year around and have done so for a very long time. We aren’t going anywhere.”
“Where is this man you call Grandpa Joe?” he asked. “I have not met him yet.”
Boo glared at him briefly then tears welled in her eyes. “And you never will now,” she whispered. “Those bastards killed him about four months ago. They came around one day when I was getting
supplies, and they asked him to leave. Joe told them to go to hell. They beat an old man to death instead. As there were no witnesses, all the cops could do was tell us to be careful or leave the area.”
Kirill digested her words and felt the spark of rage begin to burn in his belly. He couldn’t remember his life before now but his gut told him that he’d known men like this most of his life and they thought just the threat of pain would get them what they wanted. He couldn’t stop them as a child but he was full grown and he could handle them now.
“I’m going to go to bed now,” Boo told him. “You should get some rest as well.” She motioned toward an area off to the left of the doorway. “The bathroom is through there if you need to use it. You’ll be safe out here tonight. They can’t get on the boat without Monster hearing them. I’ll have my gun next to me and if you need protection, there’s another rifle up there.” She pointed to a cabinet that went the whole length of the room.
Kirill looked over at it.
She got up and looked back at him. “Try to get some sleep. Maybe your memory will be back by then.” She motioned at the small table next to the bed.
He looked over to see a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of water.
“You should probably take some of those before you sleep. Goodnight.” She left the room.
Monster got up and walked out behind her.
Kirill missed her the moment she left. But he decided that he did need the bathroom before he could sleep, so he pushed off the sheets and sat up. His head pounded and he paused long enough for the pain to settle down before he tried to stand.
He looked down and saw that he was almost naked and he grinned. He hoped she like taking off his clothes and he hoped someday, to be able to return the favor.
He held onto the wall and moved slowly out of the room. He found the bathroom and went inside. The room was very small but he managed to get the job done. On his way back to the bedroom, he looked around the boat a bit.