by Sharp, Tracy
“You’ve changed your behavior but you’re still the same inside. I can tell.”
I shrugged. “I’m a lot smarter than I was before.” I took a long pull off my beer. “I’m sure you’re still the same.”
It was his turn to shrug. “I dunno. I’m tired of the same old thing. I’m getting too old to be Tom-catting around all the time.” He turned his face and looked at me kind of sideways. “Thinking I need to find someone special.”
The little lines around his eyes and mouth made him sexier than he’d been all those years ago. My breath quickened a little, but I deliberately slowed it, inhaling long and deep, then exhaling in a sigh. “Well, I’m sure you’ve got quite a harem to choose from.”
I’d been stupid for Sean when I was a kid. I was tough but he was always my weakness. He was the one thing that could cause me to make stupid mistakes because of emotion. I didn’t like myself when I was with him. He brought out jealousy and anger as well as passion. I’d decided that it had just been a crush. Now I wondered. How long could a crush actually last? I was reacting the same as I had back then for Sean. This time was different. I had my wits about me and I wasn’t about to let him cloud my judgment again.
“I don’t want just anyone. Leah, you and me, we were really good together. Don’t you remember? All those nights in the fields at the edge of town. That time in the rain.” He snickered. “Man, it was pouring—”
“Yeah. I remember. I remember me being an idiot and believing everything you said to me, then catching you with a new girl every week.”
“I was young and stupid.”
“Oh yeah? Tell me you don’t have a different woman at least every week now.” I stared him in the eye.
He opened his mouth, to lie no doubt, then closed it. He lifted his palms in defeat. “Okay, I can’t deny it or justify it. I’m serious when I say I’m looking to slow down.” He reached up to touch my cheek.
I wanted to lean in and rest my face in his cupped hand, but instead, I leaned back.
Buddy growled and took a step toward Sean.
“I wouldn’t touch me if I were you.”
“No,” he replied. “I guess I’d better not. I’ll tell you something, Leah. You’re snarling at me more than that dog is.”
“I know you better than he does.”
“Okay. I get the point.” He finished his beer. “You can’t blame a guy for trying. And if you remember, I can be pretty persistent.” He stood up and looked down at me, grinning. “And pretty persuasive.” He winked and walked down the four stairs to my porch and out of the yard, aware of me staring at his rear the entire way.
I stared until he’d disappeared into the woods. Then I shook my head to sober myself up and went in to work off some sexual tension. As I lifted weights, memories of a rain-soaked field and the taste of Sean’s hot mouth played in my mind.
* * *
Later that night, Jesse and I sat on the couch watching tech shows. I wondered if it was wise for us to be watching shows about computers and the Internet, considering his situation. He was really trying to make good, staying away from computers and the net. I have a computer in my bedroom but never offered him the use of it and so far he hadn’t asked. I’d contemplated locking my bedroom door but didn’t want to treat him as if I didn’t trust him. If I did that, it might push him right back into his addiction.
“So how are you liking the bike shop?” I asked him as I reached into the bowl of buttered popcorn. I don’t usually eat buttered popcorn. Jesse likes it and I couldn’t resist since the smell was rising up to my nostrils and driving me crazy.
“It’s great. I’m learning all kinds of stuff. And Jack said that pretty soon I can build a bike on my own.” His face was bright with excitement.
“That’s awesome, Jess.”
“And I met a girl.”
“Oh?”
He nodded proudly. “She came in today asking questions about the possibility of having a bike built.”
“Oooh. A toughy, huh?”
He shrugged. “I dunno. She seems tough but … soft, too. I mean, inside. Her body is way buff.”
I couldn’t help smiling. Seeing him this excited really did my heart good. He seemed happy for the first time in years. I could see hope in his face.
“Did you ask her out?”
“Not yet. She’s supposed to come by again tomorrow. She has some design ideas she wanted to sketch out. We’re gonna look at the design and see what we can do from there.” He drank some of his coke. “Building a bike isn’t something you do lightly, you know. And you have to have the right match between bike and personality. Jack says that sometimes there are people we just can’t help because their ideas don’t mesh with ours.”
I liked that he was using words like “we” and “ours” when referring to the shop. It showed he really felt like he belonged and that he was planning on staying there for a while.
“That rocks, Jess.” I smiled. “You’re doing really good. You know?”
He smiled back. “Yeah, sis. I think I am.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Meanwhile, I hadn’t heard from Woodard but I knew he was keeping me in his thoughts. I was trying to figure out how to get those Asian women out of his clutches safely. Although it seemed highly improbable, it wasn’t impossible. There had to be a way.
Cal and I had watched the house long enough to know the basic layout. I remembered that there were doors leading to the cellar on the outside of the house on the left side. If we could get past the pit bulls, we could break into the house through the cellar doors. We’d have our weapons ready, and if it came down to it, I was pretty certain I could shoot my way through the house until I found those women.
Still, the bills had to get paid somehow, so Cal and I headed out to another repo job. I’m a driver and hate being a passenger in any vehicle. You have no control when you’re a passenger.
I began our conversation with the question I always asked him. “So who’s the target?”
“This one should be fun.” He gave me a mischievous smile.
“Oh yeah? So quit toying with my emotions. Who is it?”
“Head to Saratoga.”
Saratoga Springs was the hoity-toity place to live in the Capital district. In the summertime, the area was jam-packed full of thousands of tourists who were there for the racetrack. Multi-millionaires spent thousands betting on horses in mere minutes. It was a drop in the bucket for them. Celebrities came from far and wide. It was an expensive place to live. I figured it must be some well-to-do person. He had my attention. I smiled. This would be fun. So I asked him again. “Who is it?”
“State Trooper Daniel Finn.”
I gaped at him as I headed onto the highway. “No way.” Suddenly the job didn’t seem like so much fun anymore.
He nodded, “Oh, yeah. Way.”
“Let me get this straight. We are on our merry way to repossess the vehicle of a State Trooper?”
“Yeah. That’s about the size of it, yes.”
I shook my head. “How does this happen to me?” My mind raced, trying to find an alternative, any way out. “Can’t you just refuse to do this job? Can’t someone else do it?”
“Oh yeah. That’s what I want my company’s reputation to be. Too chicken-shit to do the hard jobs. No I can’t refuse the job. If I do that, then the client goes elsewhere and word gets around that I’m not reliable. So we’re doing the job.”
I’d already been in trouble with the cops. I really didn’t need any more trouble but didn’t want Callahan to think I was chicken either. I wasn’t about to pansy out of the job even though it probably was in my best interest to do so. I sighed. “Fine. We’ll do the job. Don’t expect any police favors after this. What’s the vehicle?”
“1965 Shelby Cobra.”
“Oh my.”
“Yeah, he had it custom made. Just the paint job alone cost a mint. The pearly finish changes color depending on the light.” By the look on Cal’s face he was ab
out to really enjoy this job. “Officer Finn has had a hell of a time paying off his Cobra, thirty-five foot speed boat, the new Dodge Pick-up and the mortgage on his great big house.”
“A State Trooper wouldn’t exactly be rolling in it, so Finn must have himself a little side job.”
“Trooper Finn is awfully familiar with the drug trade. I’m told he even knows Brent Woodard on a first name basis.” Cal looked at me, his eyes steady and penetrating.
And suddenly it dawned on me.
“Holy shit.”
He nodded. “Now you’re getting it.”
“Yup.”
Callahan’s jaw was set, his face stony.
“How did you find out about this?”
“I had Will tail him for a while, like he does with other targets. Check up on him.”
“That’s a little risky. He might be onto us already.”
He shook his head. “No. Will’s a master at tailing people. Besides, Finn’s so arrogant and self-absorbed, I doubt if he’d notice a van full of circus clowns following him.”
“Okay, so what? He’s working right now and we’re going to break into his garage? Wonderful.”
“No, he’s at the track, showing his baby off. And I don’t mean his girlfriend.”
I smiled. “You know? In all the time I’ve lived here, I’ve never been to the track.”
“Me neither, come to think of it.”
“Think we could catch a few races before we steal officer Finn’s pretty car?”
He chuckled and shook his head.
“What?”
“You’re one of a kind, Leah. That’s for sure.”
“Thank God for small favors, huh?”
* * *
I’d expected the place to be packed but hadn’t been prepared for just how busy the track was that day. It was the last day of horse racing season at the Saratoga Race Track and cars were jammed together side by side. Folks from all walks of life made their way to the ticket area. I wondered how we were ever going to find the Rubicon when we made our way back, never mind the Cobra.
I scanned the parking lot for the Cobra. “Where the hell is his car?”
He took his cell phone out of his pocket. “Hang on. Will’s here somewhere.”
“Does he know what’s going on? Or does he think you just really have a hard-on for Finn?”
“He knows.”
After speaking to Will for a moment, Cal closed his phone and returned it to its place in his pocket. “He’s over by the ticket booth. We’ll find the Cobra later. He followed Finn in, so he knows where the Cobra’s parked.”
We made our way through the crowd toward the ticket area. I was amazed at the wide array of people who went to the track. It was a free-for-all of fashion. There were women in gowns, heels and hats and men in suits and ties. There were people in jeans and sneakers, shorts and sandals.
A tall, lanky man in a fedora, polo shirt and black jeans waved, then started toward us. So this was the infamous Will. I’d only had a glimpse of him when Callahan had repo’d my Jeep. He was an interesting looking guy. In his mid-twenties, with auburn waves pushing their way from beneath the fedora and a reddish beard to match. Behind oval glasses, hazel eyes regarded me with a touch of amusement. “I hear you’re a bit of a loose cannon,” he said. “Excellent.”
I smiled. I liked him already. “What can I say? I gotta be me.”
“No other way to be,” he said. “You’ve gotta be a bit tweaked to be good at this job.”
“So where is he?” Cal scanned the crowd.
Will tilted his head in the direction of a beer tent. “He’s by the refreshments. Likes his beer. He doesn’t stray far from it. Not much of a betting man, though. And not much of a gentleman, either. He’s making his date use her own money to bet on the horses.”
“Well, she must have low standards. He’s not much of a nice guy, from the way things are looking,” Cal said.
“I’d say that’s an accurate assessment of his character.” Will nodded. “It’ll be a pleasure stealing his car and ruining his life.”
I liked Will more by the second.
* * *
We watched Finn for about an hour with his girlfriend. She was a showpiece, just like his car. I was betting he didn’t treat her with anywhere near the care he treated his car. She was a pretty woman. Blonde hair sprayed to keep her style in place, make-up applied with a careful hand. She had a nice shape and showed it off with snug jeans and a short top. The top lifted to reveal her belly whenever she threw her arms in the air to cheer her horse on, or when she threw them around Finn’s neck to stand on tippy-toe to kiss him.
Finn was a stocky guy. Not very tall, maybe five-foot-eight. He was all about appearances. He wore a blue silk shirt under a black leather blazer and black jeans which actually had a crease in them. I tried to picture him with an iron in his hand, trying to get that crease just right. There’d be no way he’d let the girlfriend do it. It would never have been good enough. Nothing she’d ever do for him would be. I’d known guys like Finn.
I bet on a couple of horses but I didn’t win. That was okay. It was an adrenalin rush just the same. I could see how people could become addicted to betting on horses. When I asked Will if he was going to place a bet, he said he wasn’t a betting man. He just liked to watch the horses run. I liked his open smile that made you feel comfortable right away.
He was a nice guy without any rough edges. Despite any street wisdom he might’ve picked up repossessing cars, I doubted he could get himself out of a bad situation if it came down to it. He’d be the type to try and reason with someone threatening his life. And most times, that just doesn’t work. I hoped he was smart enough not to get into a bad situation.
It looked like Finn had thrown back one too many beers. He was looking mean. He had that narrow look mean drunks get in their eyes just before they start pushing people around. I was watching him like a hawk when Cal placed his hand on my back and said it was time to go.
“I don’t like the way he’s talking to her. Look at him. He’s got her by the arm and he’s shoving her around.” My blood pressure had risen several points.
He watched Finn for a moment, struggling with some decision. “Leah, now is the time if we want to take the Cobra tonight. We can’t draw attention to ourselves if we want this to go smoothly.”
I knew he was right, but watching Finn I could see that in about five minutes he was going to start yelling at his girlfriend and accusing her of things she’d never dreamed of doing. As I’ve said, I’d known guys like Finn. I knew what was about to happen. I’d compare it to watching a train go off the track. You just knew it was going to crash into something.
“There are lots of other people here,” Cal said. “Someone will say something if he gets out of hand.”
“He’s already out of hand.” I was unable to tear my eyes from Finn and his girlfriend.
“Guys, if we’re gonna do this, we have to do it now,” Will said.
I looked at Will. “Go do it. I’ll keep him distracted.”
“What?” Cal said. “No. He’s not supposed to see us.”
“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Will asked me. But I could see in his eyes he wasn’t that concerned. He knew I could handle myself. He’d heard enough about me.
“I know what I’m doing. Go on. You’re running out of time.”
Cal looked away, his jaw set and a curse on his lips.
Without a word, Will turned and started back toward the parking area. He walked a little hunched over, like many really tall people do. It felt good to know that somebody had a little faith in me.
“Leah, we don’t need this. If he goes off, someone will get security.”
“Oh yeah? When? After he pops her one in the mouth?”
Cal blinked, as if the thought hadn’t occurred to him.
It amazed me that an ex-defense attorney wouldn’t have thought of this outcome. I could see it all over Finn. He was aching to hit his gir
lfriend.
That’s just what he did. Just as I turned back toward them, he smacked his girlfriend across the face, sending her falling backward.
That set me off. I ran toward him. I couldn’t get there fast enough. I yelled at him just as he lunged for her, one fist at the ready.
“Hey limp-dick!” I screamed.
That stopped him, as I’d known it would. Most control freaks who beat on women and children tend to be extremely macho. To suggest that they may not be able to get it up is the ultimate insult. He turned his head to me, his eyes incredulous.
“Yeah, I’m talking to you, girlie-boy!” I yelled, standing over him. “Any man who would beat up on a woman is clearly a sissy-ass limp-dick.”
“Oh, Christ.” Cal was standing next to me now. His shoulders squared. He was getting ready to have to defend me.
“What did you say?” Finn whispered, standing up directly in front of me.
My fight or flight instinct was kicking in, and the flight part of it was screaming blue murder at me, but I stood my ground, facing him without blinking.
Cal stepped up in front of me, fists bunched and ready. At least he knew there was no reasoning with a drunk. He was treating me like a girl. This pissed me off and I pushed him aside.
A crowd was gathering around us pretty quickly, curious bystander’s either enjoying the show or wondering what they could do to prevent this obviously drunk and abusive idiot from killing the crazy, suicidal lady.
“You heard me. Or are you deaf as well as a coward?”
“I’ll kill you, you bitch,” he said, swaying, his fists clenched.
“Yeah, yeah. Christ, don’t guys like you have any other phrases in your repertoire? Cuz I gotta tell ya, man, that one is like, way old. You know?”
He squinted at me, not quite understanding.
I looked at his girlfriend who was holding her face where Finn had hit her. “Come on, I’ll drive you somewhere,” I told her.
She took a step forward like she was about to come with us but then looked at Finn with abject terror in her eyes and shook her head quickly, looking at the ground. I wasn’t surprised. The consequences of leaving an abusive man was often more frightening to an abuse victim than staying and eating his shit each time he felt like feeding it to them.