by Zoey Parker
“Max,” Zack mouthed the name as though it left a bad taste in his mouth. “What does this Max do?”
Brittany opened her mouth to respond and then snapped it shut. She wasn’t exactly sure of what Max did.
“He’s a businessman,” she said after a pause.
“Hmm,” Zack seemed unconvinced as he had a swig of beer.
“He makes me very happy,” Brittany hiccupped. “He’s a…a good guy.”
“I’m sure he’s swell,” Zack declared bitterly.
“Why aren’t you happy for me?” Brittany demanded contritely, feeling hurt by her brother’s lack of enthusiasm.
“Brittany,” he sighed as he said her name. “You’ve been in Colridge for what? A month? And you’re already involved with some guy. You don’t want to be rushing into anything. You’re young.”
“So what? You can fuck someone, but I can’t!” Brittany raged, staggering up to her feet.
“He better not be fucking you,” Zack also stood up, firmly gripping her shoulders. “You best be conducting yourself like a lady, Brittany!”
“I am!” she insisted, shrugging him off. “And Max cares about me! He doesn’t just leave me in the morning. He sticks around.”
If shame was a color, she saw it on her brothers face right at that moment.
“He’s not like you,” she added coldly, digging that dagger deeper into her brother’s heart.
“Fine,” Zack dropped back onto the sofa. “I’m a dick and this guy Max is a saint, whatever. You got a picture of him?”
“Hmm? Yeah,” Brittany reached for her cell phone but in her drunken state she struggled to work it.
“Hang on,” she forced herself to focus really hand on scrolling through the menu.
“There’s one here somewhere…”
“Am I going to meet this Max guy?” Zack wondered. He didn’t sound thrilled at the idea.
“Uh huh,” Brittany nodded, still fixated on her phone. She just knew that Zack and Max would hit it off. After all, they both liked motorcycles.
She only had the one picture of Max on her phone. She’d taken it one morning when they were in bed together and the sunlight coming through the window had hit his face in such a way that it made him look perfect, and she felt compelled to capture the moment forever.
“Here,” she handed the phone over to her brother. “That’s Max.”
Chapter Forty-Four
The sky was starting to lighten when Max finally left the bar. He shivered against the brisk morning breeze as he slowly walked back towards the motel, hoping that Aaron, Henry, and their female companions would be in a decent state by the time he returned. He passed by the tattoo parlor where Brittany worked. The metal shutters were down; it was too early for anyone to be at work.
Max felt a pang in his heart over how much he missed her as he walked by. He’d wandered in there when he first arrived in Colridge hoping to get some new ink, and he’d come away with so much more. But it wasn’t like him. Max bunched his hands into fists of frustration and quickened his pace. His time living on the street had taught him to be tough, to learn to live on his own. Brittany made him want to change, made him want to share his life with someone.
As the motel came in to view, Max slowed. He shoved his hands deep in to his pockets and sauntered across the parking lot towards his motel room door. He paused beside it listened. There were no sounds coming from inside. Taking a deep breath, he used his key and let himself in.
It was dark in the room. The drapes were drawn tightly closed, sealing out the growing morning light. In the dim light, Max could make out a few crumpled bodies sprawled out over the first bed. It was a tangle of naked limbs and difficult to discern who was whom. Glancing away Max headed for the bathroom. Thankfully it was empty and he was able to shower off the musty smell of the bar and freshen up.
When he re-entered the bedroom, the bodies on the bed had stirred. Henry was now sitting up and smoking a cigarette. Dark circles had gathered beneath his eyes. Aaron and the two women appeared to still be sleeping.
“Last night was a good night,” Henry grinned as he saw Max. “You missed out on all the fun.”
“So it would seem,” Max glanced towards the bed and raised his eyebrows.
“Haha,” Henry was laughing, his teeth clamped around his half-smoked cigarette. “They were game for anything, those girls, I’ll say that for them.”
“Glad you enjoyed yourselves,” Max leaned awkwardly against a nearby dresser. He wondered if today would be the day he’d actually get a call from his Uncle. There were three members of the Kings now in Colridge, surely it was time for them to start stirring shit up? Otherwise why were they even there? Granted, Max’ original exile to the town had been a form of punishment but Henry and Aaron would have a more legitimate reason to be there. They were some of the hardiest members of the pack. The ones with the most fearful reputations.
During a fight, Henry had once dragged a man by his hair over to the curb. He made him bite down around it, and then he stomped on his head, breaking the man’s jaw and shattering all his teeth. All the while Henry had been laughing like a maniac.
If Max hadn’t been there, he would have thought the story to be a lie. But he’d stood by and watched Henry’s foot come down hard, heard the sickening snap of bone, and witnessed the spray of blood and broken teeth which rained down around Henry’s victim. It had been a sickening scene, yet Max had been unable to look away. He’d always managed to find the beauty in destruction. He wondered if all members of his club felt that way.
“Will today be the day?” Henry asked, leaning back on the bed. “We keep waiting on that call.”
“I hope it’s today,” Max rolled his eyes. “But if it’s not, we just need to keep laying low and occupying ourselves.”
“Don’t worry about me,” Henry’s gaze drifted to the naked buttocks of the nearby blonde. He hungrily roved her curves and chuckled to himself. “I can easily be occupied.”
“Good,” Max hoped the women could entertain his friends long enough to keep them out of trouble. Henry would only be distracted by sex for so long. Then his carnal need would grow, and he’d need something more brutal to satiate himself. That was when he’d go seeking out trouble.
Max reached for a half drunk bottle of whiskey, which had been left on the nightstand and took a swig from it. The liquor burned his throat as it went down, but it succeeded in banishing some of his burgeoning worries.
“Sure you don’t want a ride?” Henry asked as he playfully smacked the woman’s bare cheek. She murmured sleepily but didn’t wake.
“I’m sure,” Max confirmed.
“What happened to you, man? You used to be fun.”
Max could only shrug apologetically. He wasn’t about to tell Henry the truth. That now he had someone he cared about. It would make him seem weak in Henry’s eyes, and once that happened Henry would stop listening to him and start doing his own thing. And that would be extremely dangerous.
“You’re young,” Henry continued, sounding slightly envious of Max’ youth. “You should be fucking everything that moves.”
“I’ve got the clap.” It was the easiest and most convenient lie Max could think of. It was also a way to stop Henry and Aaron trying to lure him into sharing their bedfellows.
“Damn,” Henry gestured for Max to pass over the bottle of whiskey he was holding. “Been there. It’s no fun.”
“Uh huh,” Max passed over the bottle of whiskey. Henry raised it to his lips and tipped it back before drinking heavily as though it were iced tea. When he was done, he wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and gave a satisfied sigh.
“Well, don’t worry, I’ll be having plenty of fun on your behalf,” Henry returned what was left of his cigarette to his mouth and handed the bottle back to Max.
“Uh, what time is it?” the brunette’s eyes fluttered open as she stretched on the bed. When she noticed Max, she offered him a sexy smile, not caring that she was comp
letely naked and fully on display.
“It’s time you sucked my dick,” Henry told her boldly. She sat up and faced him. For a moment she scowled, and Max wondered if she was going to slap him hard across the face. But then her gaze became more seductive and she began to shuffle closer to him on the bed.
“I’m heading out,” Max couldn’t reach the door to the room fast enough. He stepped outside just in time to hear Henry start to groan with appreciation.
Chapter Forty-Five
“This is Max?” Zack stared at the cell phone in his hand, scrutinized the image of the hardened guy with the sun illuminating his face. So many angry thoughts tumbled against Zack like a tidal wave that he thought he might drown beneath.
In the picture, his sister and her boyfriend were in bed. Seemingly naked. Which meant that they were having sex. Zack tried not to lose his shit at the thought of his little sister having sex. He told himself to be reasonable. She was an adult now, she had a life to live. But he couldn’t detach from the little girl he’d consoled when they lost their parents; the little girl who had long braids and freckles on her cheeks.
But it was more than just the loss of her innocence that angered him. The guy in the picture looked familiar. His tattooed arm was on display as it wrapped around Brittany. Zack could see ships and anchors, it looked like a naval-themed sleeve. And Zack had definitely seen that before.
He returned Brittany’s cell phone to her and wiped a hand down his face, wracking his memory. Where had he seen the guy? The memory was foggy as though it occurred a long time ago, or when he was drunk.
“Zack?” Brittany was gazing up at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something, anything. He managed to crack a smile for her.
“He looks like a nice guy.”
“Thanks,” Brittany grinned and then gazed adoringly at the picture on her phone which was now back in her possession. Zack tensed. He didn’t like her looking at the picture like that. She was behaving like a lovesick school girl. But the tattoo was bothering him even more than her behavior.
“You okay to hang here for a while? I just need to pop into town,” he was already reaching for his jacket as he spoke.
“Oh, okay,” he could hear the hurt inflection in his sister’s voice.
“I promise I won’t be long,” he insisted. “And when I get back we can hang out.”
“Can we play Candyland?” Brittany wondered hopefully, referring to the board game they always used to sit and play together on rainy.
“Sure,” Zack smiled warmly at her. “It’s in the cupboard near the hallway.”
“I’ll go find it and get it set up,” Brittany told him sweetly. And just like that she was back to being his cherub faced little sister whom he needed to protect at all costs.
Chapter Forty-Six
Zack’s hand ached from pounding so hard on the flimsy apartment door. Exhaustion was creeping up on him as he glanced uneasily down the corridor. A couple of used syringes were scattered on the threadbare carpet and everywhere stank of piss.
“Fuck’s sake!” the door finally rattled open. From the darkness within the apartment, Jameson peered out, his good eye squinting against the brightness of the light in the corridor. “This better be good,” he warned.
“I’m sorry to come over like this,” Zack apologized. He knew better than to get on Jameson’s bad side, but his question was urgent and couldn’t wait. Nor could he risk it being recorded down on a cell phone in a message.
“I need to ask you something.”
Jameson leaned against the doorframe and folded his arms across his bare chest. “Do you need to come in?” he wondered, thinking Zack was in trouble.
“No, I won’t put you out if you’ve got company.”
“I’ve always got company,” Jameson confirmed flatly.
“Right, of course. Look, I just,” Zack was flailing, almost too tired and panicked to string his words together cohesively.
“Do you remember a guy with a naval tattoo sleeve? Like anchors, ships and shit?”
“Yeah,” Jameson instantly gave a nod. “Pretty handsome guy, young?”
“That’s him.” Zack thought of the guy in the picture, cozying up to his sister and tried not to let his rage erupt out right there and then.
“I know the guy you mean. He runs with the Skeleton Kings.”
Zack felt like he’d been shot in the chest. He pressed one arm against the wall to steady himself.
“He runs with Kings? Are you sure?”
“Positive,” Jameson swiftly confirmed. “That mother fucker once snapped a pool cue over my back. I’d love to rip that fucking sleeve right off him and feed the tattered skin back to him.”
Zack swallowed nervously. He felt light headed with worry. His sister was dating a member of the Skeleton Kings. She was sleeping with the enemy, and that put both him and her in a very dangerous position.
“Why you asking about him?” Jameson narrowed his eyes with suspicion. “Is he the guy who has showed up in Colridge? If so just say the word and I’m your man. I’ll end him in a heartbeat.”
Zack didn’t want to lie to his friend. He also didn’t want to endanger his sister. He thought of her back home carefully laying out the board game for them to innocently play together. All the while he was going behind her back to learn the grim truth about her boyfriend.
“I saw him riding out on the highway,” Zack explained lamely. “I spied the tat and wondered if he ran with a club.”
“You woke me up for that ?” Jameson wrinkled his nose in disgust. “To ask me about some dude you saw riding down the highway?”
“I’m a little fried,” Zack gave an apologetic shrug and hoped he did look tired enough to be believable. Jameson nodded with understanding and his expression softened.
“I hear you. Try not to hit those drugs so hard next time, eh?”
“Yeah, totally.”
“So I’ll see you tonight?” Jameson asked expectantly.
“Yeah, man. I’ll see you tonight. Thanks again.”
Chapter Forty-Seven
Brittany rubbed at her temples, which throbbed. She was exhausted, but she wasn’t about to pass up spending time with Zack. The front door creaked open almost an hour after he’d left.
“Hey,” she called out brightly. “The game is all set up.”
She looked down at all the colorful pieces she’d carefully arranged in preparation for playing together. Although the game had faded with time, it still retained some of its original beauty. Brittany remembered how excited she’d get whenever her parents brought the colorful box out of the cupboard. Her stomach would flip in somersaults. In their house, rainy afternoons were made for playing Candy Land.
“Hey,” Zack dropped down heavily on the sofa and ran his hands through his hair. He was pale and withdrawn. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“Is everything okay?” Brittany hovered protectively close to the board game.
“Yeah,” Zack gave her an unconvincing smile. “Everything is fine.”
“You don’t look like everything is fine,” Brittany pressed, feeling her happiness ebb out of her. She gave the game a disdainful glance. It now looked old and weathered instead of charmingly aged. She’d been foolish to think that a board game would be enough to smooth over whatever was going on between her and her brother. Candy Land wasn’t a magic portal that could transport them back to happier times, times when their parents were still alive.
“I’m fine,” Zack insisted his jaw clenching. “Let’s just play the damn game,” he swept a dismissive hand towards the board.
“No way,” Brittany scrambled to start packing everything away. “I’m not playing with you, not when you’re in this kind of mood. What the hell is wrong with you, Zack?”
Her brother looked like he was biting his tongue.
“You know what, forget it!” Brittany seethed in frustration. Abandoning the game, she stormed off towards the bathroom.
Chapter Forty-Eight
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Zack watched her leave with a passive gaze. He was too tired for confrontation and too agitated to chase after her. He kept thinking about his conversation with Jameson, how it had been all but confirmed that his little sister’s new boyfriend rode with the Skeleton Kings. Slowly, he got up and headed for the fridge, needing a fresh beer to take the edge off. As he pulled open the door the cell phone in his pocket starting buzzing.
With a groan, he kicked the fridge door shut and grabbed his cell. Nancy was calling. He released an even louder groan before answering.
“Hey,” he greeted curtly, his voice hoarse.