by Leela Ash
“So,” she said, “How can I help you?”
“I’d love a drink,” Charlene grinned. “Whiskey.”
“Seriously?” Lacey asked putting the glass down. “This is a bit far for you to come for just a drink, isn’t it?”
Charlene smiled and shrugged. “Is it?”
“Well, yeah, I’d say so.” Lacey looked at her suspiciously. “I mean you hardly ever come in here.”
“Just catching up with my friend is all,” Charlene said, pinching Lacey playfully on the arm and smiling.
“Okay,” Lacey said, “What’s going on?”
“Get me that drink, will ya?” Charlene scratched the back of her neck. “I feel a bit jittery.”
Sighing, Lacey poured her the whiskey and slid it across to her.
“That’ll be three ninety-five,” Lacey said as she held out her hand.
Charlene’s mouth dropped open slightly before she smiled and said, “Oh, just put it on my tab.”
She swigged the whiskey down and then slammed the glass down on the counter before saying, “And I’ll take another.”
“Charlene, you don’t have a tab… You know we don’t do that here,” Lacey said sternly.
“Oh come on,” she pleaded, “Help a sister out.”
Lacey bit her tongue and scrunched up her fists. She and Charlene had never been close friends and it always seemed like she only came to Lacey when she wanted something. Lacey was tired and pissed off and that was all Charlene’s fault… and now she had the audacity to walk into her place of work and ask for free drinks and favors. She dreaded to think what was coming next.
“So what’s going on, Charlene? What do I owe the pleasure?”
Charlene nudged the glass towards her again and smiled with wide eyes. Lacey shook her head, and Charlene crossed her arms defensively over her chest and pouted.
“I’m in trouble,” she said reluctantly, “I need your help.”
“Why am I not surprised?” Lacey said.
She turned back to the bar and opened the refrigerator before pulling herself out a beer.
“Looks like I’m going to need a drink too, huh?” Lacey said as she took a swig. “Go on then, what’s happened now?”
Charlene shifted on the spot and ran her hands through her hair.
“I owe someone money,” she said quietly, “And they won’t wait for it.”
“Sounds like they were prepared to wait last night,” Lacey said angrily.
“No,” Charlene shook her head. “That wasn’t them… Last night it was my old boyfriend. He came around causing trouble and we had a fight but then we, well… We made up…” she smiled shyly.
“Yeah, I heard,” Lacey took another swig of her beer.
“I am really sorry about that,” Charlene said genuinely as she reached across the bar and grasped Lacey’s hand. “I need your help, Lacey… Please?”
Lacey looked at her and knew there was no way she could turn her down. Even though she was angry and broke… she knew when someone was really in need.
“Okay, how much?” Lacey sighed.
Charlene bit her bottom lip and covered her eyes before exhaling deeply and peeking out from underneath her hands.
“Four thousand dollars,” she whispered.
Lacey almost dropped her beer.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lacey said as she sat back down on the stool and took hold of the beer. “Jesus, I’m going to need something much stronger than this.”
4.
She and Charlene went out front and Charlene lit a cigarette. Lacey hadn’t smoked since she was at high school, but she took it from her and had a drag. She coughed and waved the smoke away.
“Who do you owe?” Lacey asked angrily.
“I know I’m an idiot…” Charlene said, “Things just got really out of hand and now this new guy has come into town and taken over all the old debts and he isn’t letting people off anymore… Says he wants everything paid up or he’s going to fucking kill people, Lacey.”
“So this debt has been building up for a while?”
“Yes, years,” Charlene took a drag on her cigarette.
“So what about all the other money I’ve given you?”
“It paid some of it off,” she said, “But it never fully cleared it.”
Lacey rubbed her eyes and sat down on the curb.
“I don’t have that kind of money Charlene,” she shook her head, “I just don’t…”
“Oh, God, please, you’ve got to help me,” she started to cry. “I know I’ve been stupid, but this is what I need to turn my life around. I haven’t got any family Lacey. You’re the only person I can turn to.”
Lacey’s head felt like it was going to explode. She didn’t have a solution this time.
“Who is it? Who do you owe?” she asked again.
“The bikers,” Charlene said as she looked nervously around. “Satan’s Riders.”
“And what did you say about someone new?” Lacey looked up at the sun and closed her eyes. The warmth on her skin was the only thing keeping her calm.
“The old boss has gone,” Charlene began, “And now this new guy has come in to take over and he’s really dangerous. He’s scary… He’s been imposing all these new rules and trying to turn the town around. He doesn’t want any debts or any authority involvement. He’s cutting all ties with the cops and he’s trying to go as legit as they possibly can in their line of work. No tabs, no borrowing anything. Payment up front and if you owe anything, then he’s coming after you to get it back.”
Lacey swallowed hard and looked up at Charlene. She was shaking and tears were streaming down her face.
“I only have a thousand,” she said finally. “There’s nothing else.”
Charlene sat down next to her and put her head in her hands.
“I can’t take it to him,” Charlene said. “If I go in there, they’ll kill me…”
“And what will happen to me if I go!?” Lacey shouted angrily. “This isn’t even my goddam mess!”
“Please!” Charlene begged holding onto Lacey’s arm. “Please just take him the thousand and beg him… It’s not your debt and he’ll know that… please help me.”
Lacey rubbed her temples and just wanted the ground to open and swallow her up. Her good nature was her Achilles heel. This was the last thing she needed, and she wanted to shoot herself for being such an easy target and a sucker for feeling so bad for Charlene.
But instead, she said, “Okay, I’ll take the money.”
Charlene threw her arms around Lacey’s neck and hugged her tightly.
“Thank you so much, Lace,” she sobbed, “You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Lacey couldn’t bring herself to speak. The last of her money was about to be swallowed up by Charlene’s debt… and she was going to have to go into a bike gang’s clubhouse to settle the score.
After she had finished work at the bar that evening, she stood outside and drank the rest of the vodka she had taken out of her tips. She was so nervous, she had been drinking all afternoon, and when her boss, Ray, had come in, she pretended that she had been accepting drinks from the customers to get them to spend more money. On her lunch break she decided to go home and collect the cash. She wanted to get the whole thing over as soon as possible and leaving it even one day could potentially make her lose her nerve.
She swayed on the spot and reached into her bag and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that Charlene had scrawled the address on. It was across town and she would have to walk. Even though it was dark and late at night, the air was still dense with heat and she wiped her brow with the back of her hand.
“I’m not walking,” she said aloud before she reaching for her cell phone and dialing the number of a cab company.
***
The cab driver pulled up outside the club house and turned to look at her slouching down in the back seat. She paid him and opened the door before stepping out and slamming it behind her. The r
eality of the situation soon sobered her up when she saw the lines of motorcycles outside and big burly men covered in tattoos who sat astride them. She suddenly wanted to turn and run. She reached down to her purse and checked that the envelope of cash was still there and squeezed it in her palm.
“Come on, Lacey,” she whispered to herself. “You can do this.”
She began to walk towards the main door and tried not to shake or react to the catcalls that followed her. She could feel the men’s eyes all over her huge breasts and curvy waist. She pushed the door open to the clubhouse and stepped inside. It could have been any other bar, except there were no women in there and all of the men were huge, dressed head to toe in leather and looked mean. They looked as bad as they come, and as Lacey stood there in the doorway with no clue what to do next, she realized that her hands were indeed shaking.
“Can we help you, sweetheart?” One of the men got to his feet and took a step towards her.
Lacey instinctively took a step back and clutched onto her purse for dear life.
“I’m here to see whoever is in charge,” she said, trying to sound confident and then cleared her throat. “The new boss.”
She knew she must have sounded like a fool, but she couldn’t think of what else to say.
The man was chewing gum and he spat it out onto the floor and held out his hand.
“Who’s asking?” he eyed her angrily.
“My name is Lacey… I’m here for a friend, Charlene… I have some of the money she owes you.”
His eyebrows raised and his face softened.
“Well, all right then,” he said as if he was mocking her, “You better come this way, Ma’am.”
Lacey moved forward, but didn’t take hold of his arm. She tried not to look around and lock eyes with anyone. Her heart was racing so fast she was sure that they could all hear it and they began to comment on her appearance as she passed. She felt like she was on show and completely vulnerable. She was desperate to get out of that room.
The man led her into a corridor and walked with her down to the end. He stopped outside of a tall iron door and knocked on it lightly. A flap slid open to reveal a pair of eyes looking down on them.
“She’s here to settle Charlene’s debts,” the man with her said.
The eyes narrowed before the flap closed and she heard the turning of keys and the sounds of chains being undone. The man with her turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the bar area.
“Good luck,” he laughed over his shoulder. “Matt will love you.”
Lacey turned to look at him as he walked away and wondered what he meant. She breathed in and out deeply. This was it.
The door creaked back and a tall, muscular guard stood in front of her. He looked mean and dangerous and he was wearing sunglasses even though it was so dark in there Lacey could barely see in front of her. He didn’t say a word but moved to the side to let her in. She stepped forward nervously and looked up to see another man sitting at a desk in front of her. He eyed her from across the room with wide, interested eyes. The guard left the room and locked them in from the outside. Lacey started shaking. She looked back to the man at the desk and tried to think of the speech she had prepared, but her mind was blank. His cold, dark eyes were fixed on her as she took another step forward to fill the silence.
“How can I help you?” he said slowly. His voice was deep and gruff and he rubbed his big hand across his stubbly chin. He looked dangerous, more so that the guard, but he was also incredibly attractive. Lacey tried to focus on that to take her nerves away, but it ended up making her worse. The last thing she had expected was to be standing there in front of someone as good looking as he was. Her heart was pounding and she noticed something in him light up, too.
“I’m Lacey,” she finally managed to speak. “I’m here for Charlene.”
He laughed and sat back in his chair and kicked his big heavy boots up onto the desk before reaching for his cigarettes and lighting one up. He had long dirty blonde hair that fell softly around his eyes, and Lacey was surprised at how young he was compared to the other men at the clubhouse.
“Lay-cee,” he over-pronounced both syllables. “Well, I’m Matt,” he flashed her a menacing smile, “I’m in charge here.”
“I know,” she stammered.
“Why did Charlene send you?” he asked angrily.
“Charlene doesn’t have any money,” Lacey said nervously. “I’m here to pay you what I can to help her. She doesn’t want any trouble, and she will get your money back.”
“How do you know?” he exhaled two plumes of smoke from his nostrils.
“Because she promised me,” Lacey said naively.
He laughed again and ran a hand through his hair. He turned back to her and stared at her so intensely, it almost felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. Lacey fought the urge to cover her chest, as if she stood there naked in front of him, trying to save her modesty.
“I haven’t been running things here for long, but one thing I know for sure is that girls like Charlene, they never make good on promises,” he smiled at her, baring his teeth. One of them had a gold cap.
“I just want to help her,” Lacey said quietly. “I don’t like seeing a friend in trouble.”
He clicked his tongue and took another drag on his cigarette.
“How much you got?” he asked.
“I have a thousand dollars for you,” she said stepping forward and reaching into her purse for the envelope. “Here.”
He took it from her and looked inside before he flicked through the notes and nodded.
“Well, that looks about right,” he said.
“So, will you leave off Charlene for a while? She will get you the rest. She just needs some more time.”
He leaned forward so his eyes were level with hers before he blew another two plumes of smoke out of his nostrils. He was so frightening, but at the same time there was something about him that was pulling her in. She didn’t know if she was imagining it, but it felt as if they had an instant connection. His eyes were big and deep and she was getting lost in them. She pinched her arm to snap herself out of the trance.
“I’m not taking your money, sweetheart,” he said sternly. “That bitch can pay for herself.”
Lacey took a step back, shocked and completely uncertain about what to do next.
“But, please,” she stammered. “Please take it.”
He handed the envelope back to her and walked around the front of the desk. He motioned for her to sit down and sat on the edge of the desk in front of her. Lacey nervously sat down, her hands shaking as she clutched onto the envelope.
“She owes me money for drugs,” he said. “Why would you pay for her to never learn her lesson?”
Lacey felt as if she had been slapped. She sat up straight and looked at him. She had never thought of it that way before.
“I just thought I was helping her,” she said.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said warmly, his eyes crinkling around the corners as he smiled, “I’m not going to take that money… But there is something you can do to help your friend…”
“Anything,” Lacey said. “I just don’t want her getting hurt.”
He took another drag on the cigarette and put his hand on her knee.
“You can come back here tomorrow. Maybe we’ll have a drink… Maybe we’ll get to know each other a little better.” He was looking down at Lacey’s chest and she knew what he was thinking.
“I… but…” she tried to hold the envelope out again, but he just pushed it back to her.
“I’ll be here at noon,” he said, “If you don’t show, Charlene’s in trouble.”
He got to his feet and walked towards the iron door before he knocked on it hard and she could hear it opening from the other side. It creaked open and the guard stood there with his arms folded.
“But…” Lacey began.
“That’s all I’ve got,” he shrugged. “Take it or leave it.”<
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The guard laughed and Lacey stared at Matt. He was teasing her, she was sure, but at the same time, she didn’t want to anger him by asking.
“Noon,” he repeated before he waved her off with his hand. “Oh, and not a word to anyone.”
Lacey left the office and began walking back down the corridor. Her heart was racing and she didn’t know where to turn. Charlene had a lot to answer for. Now it was she who was in big trouble.
5.
Lacey tossed and turned all night, terrified of what the next day may hold. She knew she didn’t have to go and she could tell Charlene that he was bribing her and making her feel uncomfortable. But now that Lacey had put herself in his presence, he knew what she looked like and who she was. It wouldn’t take much for him to find her in a small town like Clay Springs.
She stared up at the ceiling and wiped a tear away. What was going to happen to her if she went back? What could he realistically want from her? She tried to recall the features of his face in her mind’s eye, but they were all blurred and distant… it reminded her of when she had a crush on someone when she was younger and she couldn’t remember what they looked like.
She knew he was handsome, and she knew she had been attracted to him on first sight… But she was also afraid. He was dangerous, an outlaw who was threatening people to settle debts. Charlene had said he could be capable of killing people if they didn’t do as he asked. Lacey bit her lip and sat up. She knew she had no way out of the situation. Matt had asked to see her, and she was going to have to go…
***
As soon as noon had passed, she left her apartment and made her way back to the Satan’s Riders clubhouse. She decided to walk and as the sun beat down on her hard from above, she found herself wondering if it would be the last time she saw daylight.
You’re going to get yourself killed, she thought. Turn back and run.
She shook the thought off, knowing there was no way back from this. She had been foolish by putting herself in the situation, and now she was going to have to deal with it. She still had her money. As soon as the day was over she was going to make a run for it. Disappear out of town and never see bad influences like Charlene ever again.