by H. R. Owen
A few of the mothers stalk over to me, all with awkward, fake smiles on their faces.
“Oh my God! Was that Callen Parker in the car with you when you showed up?” one of the women asks.
“Ummm… yes,” I reply hesitantly.
“How the hell did that happen? Callen barely steps out in this town. Not since his friend died,” another mother adds.
Wow! I knew they were nosy bitches.
I wonder what the story is with his friend dying.
Another one chimes in, “That man is bad news, Dahlia. I’ve heard a lot of stories about what he does.”
It really annoys me that these women think they have a right to interfere in my love life.
“Look, ladies, as much as I would love to stay and talk about my sex life, your daughters are waiting for me, so just run along and gossip between yourselves,” I tell them in a quiet, confident tone. “Oh, and by the way, it’s fucking fantastic,” I whisper, making sure none of the girls can hear.
All of their mouths drop, and they go silent watching me walk away. The chatter between them gradually starts back up, and I know they’re judging me, but I don’t care. I love teaching these girls, and I don’t want to lose them, but women like these just get on my nerves. They have been a pain in my ass since their girls started here two years ago, and I’ve finally had enough.
As the day drags on, I feel more excited by the minute. I can’t wait to see Harmony. She was the one who told me about this place. She called it her haven. We met each other quite a few years ago now and have had a connection ever since. When I first moved here two years ago, she asked her landlord to rent me an apartment in her building, the one I’m still living in. Harmony got involved with a man a few weeks after and had fallen in love with him fast and hard. Unfortunately, he had to leave town, and her heart was broken, so much so she packed up and left town, leaving me all alone. I understood, though. She knows all about me and my past, and she’s never thought any less of me.
Finally, my last class of the day is finished, and I need to go home and set up a room for Harmony. I wonder what she’ll think when I tell her all that’s happened over the last few days—being shot, kidnapped, and finally falling for a man.
After I lock up, I head down to the dock where Callen literally saved my life and sit on the edge with my feet dangling over the side, just like I did that night. A few days ago, I could have died here, and now my entire world has changed. I’m in my first adult relationship and already about to move in with a man. I’ve had my first real encounter with sex, repeatedly, and I finally feel like I can leave the past behind me. The guy who had tried to shoot me didn’t look familiar, so maybe he had the wrong person, but somehow, I don’t think it was an accident that night. Who knows? I should ask Callen what happened to the man’s body, and then maybe I could get a closer look and try to figure out what the hell is going on.
The walk home felt longer than usual, but as I reach my apartment, I look down at my cell realizing this was the fastest I’ve ever walked the distance. John is sitting out front as he usually is, so I give him a small wave and smile. The cold breeze is blowing my hair around, and it makes me realize just how cold he must get out here with only a small, thin blanket.
“Hey, John, how are you? The nights are getting a bit cold, aren’t they? Can I bring you out another blanket?” I question him.
“Yes, ma’am, I would really like that,” he answers in a polite southern manner.
“Okay, I’ll run up and get you one. Don’t want you getting sick now, do we?” I say with a smile and head up to my apartment.
Inside, I find a spare blanket in my small linen closet which is literally just an old, closed off laundry chute, and stroll to the kitchen to grab John some food. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him eat, so I figure he must be starving. Placing the blanket on the small dining table in the corner, I open the fridge and notice it's empty apart from a few bottles of water and some stale take out. I pull out a bottle of water and check the cupboard for some semblance of food. Pop-Tarts, not exactly healthy but it will at least they will fill his stomach. After heating up the Pop-Tarts and placing them on a paper plate, I grab the blanket and head downstairs.
“Here you go, John, I brought you some water and Pop-Tarts. I don’t have much food in the house at the moment, but I figure it’s better than nothing. Right?” I ask as I pass the plate of food and the bottle of water to him.
“Thank you, ma’am, I really appreciate it,” he says as he accepts the food.
“Anytime, John. Please take care of yourself. Here’s another blanket. Keep yourself wrapped up.”
After arriving back upstairs, I realize I need to buy some food for Harmony. I grab my bag and keys off the table and head off out the door. Harmony’s always so hungry, and if there’s nothing to eat, she’ll be a nightmare to be around. There’s only one corner store within walking distance that sells wine, so I decide that one’s my best option.
The small corner store doesn’t have much of a selection to choose from, so I just pick out some bread, cheese, ice-cream, and a bottle of cheap wine and make my way to the counter.
“Hey, Ricky, how are you?” I ask the tall man at the counter.
“Really good, thanks, Dahlia,” he replies.
Ricky started working at the store right after I moved here, and he serves in here every day. We’ve never had much of a conversation, but he seems nice, not like the rest of the men over this side of town.
“Got a big night planned?” Ricky asks.
“Not really. Harmony’s back in town for a few nights, so I need to stock up on the essentials. Girl’s got an appetite and doesn’t mind a drink either. You remember her, don’t you?” Ricky will remember her, he used to check her out all the time.
“Yeah, I remember. Pretty little blonde dating that tattooed thug. Whatever happened to that guy anyway?” He screws his face up in disgust.
I reply with a knowing smirk. “He left town a while back, not too sure why, though. He left poor Harmony heartbroken. Anyway, I better get home before it becomes too dark, lots of strange people out in this side of town. I’ll see soon, Ricky.”
Ricky and I say our goodbyes, and I stroll back to my apartment humming to the music in my mind along the way. Humming’s always calmed me, but I haven’t found myself doing it a lot lately. Maybe it’s because I’ve finally found a bit of peace in my life here.
The apartment door is open when I arrive, but I’m sure I locked it before I left. Or maybe I didn’t. Slowly, I edge inside looking around the dark room, to make sure that someone isn’t hiding in here waiting to attack me.
Smash.
Boom.
Crack.
“What the fuck,” I yell into the dark house.
“I told you, you should lock your fucking door, Dahlia,” Callen’s deep drawl fills the air.
“What are you doing here, Callen? You scared the shit out of me.”
His body comes into view as I turn on the light switch next to the door and notice my lamp and a glass shattered on the floor.
“Ahhh… you broke my lamp. That thing cost… well, nothing, but still,” I yell out.
“Sorry, darlin’, I had to see you,” he says as he stalks toward me. His large arms wrap around me, and I forgive him straight away. Callen turns around, looking over the room with an exasperated expression on his face. “Dahlia? Where’s your friend? Wasn’t she going to walk home with you from the studio today?”
“Umm… well, there was a delay at the airport. She’ll be here in a few hours,” I reply.
“Then why didn’t you call me to pick you up? I told you I don’t want you walking around by yourself.” Callen’s voice is angry, and his face has turned hard.
Callen’s cell rings and our conversation ends as he pulls his cell out from his back pocket and looks at the screen. There’s something in his eyes which resembles excitement, so I’m guessing it must be a client.
“I have to g
o, Darlin’, please lock your fucking door,” he snaps.
And then after a quick peck on the lips, he’s gone before I can even say goodbye.
In the moment he saw who was calling him, I could see the darkness taking hold of him. I could feel it.
callen
Hunter’s name pops up my screen, and I need to take the call. I say goodbye to Dahlia with a quick peck and practically run out of her apartment. My phone stops ringing before I reach the bottom of the staircase, so I decide to call Hunter back as soon as I’m outside. I’m really hoping the call is about Garrotte. Hunter answers his phone on the first ring, and he assures me he has new information on Garrotte. He wants to meet me at the clubhouse—says it’s worth the drive.
My car is parked out on the curb in front of the apartment building, and I notice a tall figure standing against it.
“John? Is that you? If you’ve even put the smallest scratch on my car, I will have to fucking kill you,” I tell him in a harsh tone. This guy gets under my skin. I don’t know what it is about him, but everything inside me screams that I have met this homeless guy somewhere in my travels.
“Sorry… just admiring,” he apologizes in a cocky tone.
“Okay, you’ve admired. Now get the fuck away from my car,” I spit while unlocking the door. I hop in, rev the engine and put my foot down, blowing up a few loose stones as I take off. I don’t bother to look back, but I hope one of those stones flick up and land right in John’s eye.
Once I reach the clubhouse, the same prospect who was here the other day opens the gate and waves me in, closing it behind me. Hunter’s standing out the front of the garage wearing his cut and tucking his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans.
I pull the car up next to him. Removing one hand from his pocket, he opens the door, sliding into the front seat beside me. His other hand comes out of his pocket, and a folded piece of paper comes out with it. Hunter passes me the folded paper in a sly matter and tells me to wait until later to read it.
“Don’t fucking tell anyone I spoke to you about this. If anyone asks, we were discussing a new tattoo. My old man told me not to get involved, but Bates was my friend, too. I want to see the asshole who killed him burn to the fucking ground…” he pauses then continues, “I asked around a little and ended up getting the address of where your guy’s been hiding out,” Hunter informs me.
“Are you sure this is definitely the guy?” I ask him.
“One hundred percent. I better get back inside, let me know how you go,” Hunter demands.
He jumps out of the car and slams the door behind him, nodding to me as he reaches the garage. I give him a curt nod back and head off out the gate and down the highway.
When I finally reach my house, I sit in the car out front for a few minutes and then decide to read what’s written on the folded paper. It’s an address.
22 Stillrise Avenue. Not sure which apartment number.
That’s the address of Dahlia’s apartment. “Fucking John,” I yell, pulling the car back out of the driveway. I’m seething the whole drive to Dahlia’s apartment. That homeless fucker is Garrotte. I knew he seemed off with his shiny shoes and clean-shaven face. He’s been watching us both. Dahlia’s definitely not safe there, I fucking told her that. She seems to trust John too, which is even worse. She would probably let him inside without question. I wonder if he knows that Dahlia and I are together. Maybe he’s watching her to find a way to get to me? He’ll try to hurt her, but I’ll kill him before he can get anywhere near her. I knew there was something off about that asshole. I sensed it the first time I saw him sitting there covered in a blanket, hiding who he really is.
Pulling up to Dahlia’s apartment with a screech from the Impala’s tires, the first thing I notice is that John, or whatever the fuck his name is, is missing from the front of the building.
“Fuck,” I yell, jumping out of the car and slamming the door behind me. If he’s inside with Dahlia, I will bleed him out for a week before I kill him. Running up the stairs two at a time, I hear laughter coming from Dahlia’s apartment.
“Thank God,” I breathe out, remembering about Harmony being here.
An attractive little thing with red hair opens the door after I knock a few times. I hate fucking knocking, but I don’t want to scare Dahlia’s friend. She’s still laughing as the door flings open, but her face goes white as soon as she turns to me.
“Ummm… hi…. I’m Callen. I’m here to see Dahlia,” I tell her to break the tension.
“Dahlia,” she yells. “There’s a really tall, tattooed man here to see you. You better be quick, he’s quite the looker.”
“Let him in, Harmony. I’ll be out in a minute, Callen,” Dahlia yells.
“Do you want to come in?” Harmony asks dryly, opening the door wider.
When Dahlia walks out, her face is glowing, and she smiles awkwardly.
“I didn’t think you’d be back tonight,” she says.
“I wasn’t supposed to be, but you need to pack your bags. You both do,” I demand looking over at Harmony.
“No, Callen, I told you I wasn’t moving in until Harmony leaves,” Dahlia yells at me.
“It’s not safe here. I’ve been informed that there’s a man at this apartment building who’s very dangerous. Now, hurry up. I need to get you girls home. Get you both to a safe place. I have a job to do tonight,” I tell them both.
Both of them fight me for a few minutes. Finally giving in, they manage to pack their bags and follow me to my car. John’s back outside, sitting in his usual spot, but now has an extra blanket wrapped around him. I give him a dirty glare as I open the passenger side door for Dahlia to get in and do the same with the back door for Harmony. Both women are quiet when I slide in and start the car. Pulling away from the curb, I put my foot down and speed away from the man I’ll be back to torture soon.
“Callen?” Dahlia asks. “What’s going on? Who’s the danger in my building? Are they after me? What else do you know?”
“It’s nothing to worry about, darlin’, you’ll be safe at home. No one is after you,” I reassure her.
“Okay,” she says skeptically.
When we arrive home, I walk Dahlia and Harmony inside, kiss my woman goodbye and lock the doors behind me. The car’s still running, waiting for a quick getaway. I have to get going quickly to make sure John’s still at the apartment when I get back. I have a lot of questions for him. I don’t care if it takes days to get the truth out of him, one way or another, he will spill everything he knows.
The apartment building is still lit up when I return. I look all around the building and come up empty.
No John.
Fuck!
I shouldn’t have glared at him the way I did. The man killed my best friend, he’s hanging around my woman’s apartment, and it makes me fucking angry. I usually don’t feel any of these emotions, but since Dahlia came crashing into my life, all of sudden I’m becoming weak. I guess the anger could come in handy, though. Now that I know who Garrotte is, it will be easier to track him, and I will. But first I’m going home to spend the night inside Dahlia.
Driving home, I find myself thinking about Bates, and what got him killed. There must have been something I was missing. It definitely wouldn’t be the drugs because he only sold to people he knew really well or little old ladies with cancer. Most of his shit was sold to Hunter, who distributed it from the MC. It wasn’t because of who I am because they know I would come after them. Garrotte will just have to tell me all about it before I cut his tongue out.
When I arrive home, Dahlia and Harmony are sitting in the living room drinking wine and laughing.
“Hey, ladies,” I drawl as I walk inside and sit beside Dahlia.
“Hey, yourself,” she says, placing a soft kiss on my cheek.
No woman has ever kissed me on the cheek, so the feeling shocks me a little and makes me jump back.
“Callen? Why did you just pull away from me? Is everything okay?” sh
e asks me.
“Sure, darlin’. It’s just that no one has ever kissed me on the cheek before, and it felt a little strange.”
Both women break out into a fit of laughter, of course, at my expense.
“You will pay for laughing at me, sweetheart,” I growl at Dahlia.
Dahlia smiles an innocent smile and teases me. “Oh, I sure do hope so, Callen Parker.”
dahlia
I’m sitting in Callen’s living room drinking wine with Harmony and watching how awkward Callen looks. I have a feeling he doesn’t do well in social environments. All he’s done since he arrived, is sit in the corner and drink his scotch, all the while staring at me. He hasn’t said a word to Harmony or me, but I can tell something’s on his mind.
“Callen? You haven’t said anything since you’ve sat down. Are you going to tell me why you took Harm and me out of the apartment?” I question.
“I told you, darlin’, there’s a very dangerous man in that building,” he drawls.
“I need more than that. Who is this guy? And how did you find out he’s dangerous? Is he after you? Or is he after me for some reason?” I question.
“Don’t worry about any of that, Dahlia, as long as you’re here, you’ll both be safe. I won’t let anything happen to either of you. I have everything under control,” he assures. Callen leaves the room with heavy feet as Harmony moves over to sit closer to me.
“Oh my God, Dahlia. He doesn’t know, does he?” she asks in a judgmental tone.
“No, he doesn’t. I was going to tell him, but I don’t think I’m ready to hand everything over just yet. My past isn’t really something I want to think about, and I especially don’t want to burden Callen with it. Everything’s moving so quickly with us, and I don’t want him to take on too much and scare him away. I really like him, Harm.”
“Well, Dahlia, I think that man would take on the world for you. And I don’t think there’s too much that would scare him either,” she states.