by Leslie Chase
“In that case, we need to stick together,” Hazel agreed, looking over to Lisa. “But I don’t think staying here is a great idea, not if you’re worried about them coming after her. It isn’t as though she’d be hard to track down here, after all. We’ll take a little trip, stay somewhere out of town for a few days, and you can call her when you’re done with this nastiness.”
“Mom! You can’t just pack up and leave town!” Lisa seemed outraged by the very idea.
“Honey, I know you don’t like the idea of running away. I don’t either, but this is just smart. If Marcus was here to protect you, I’d say stay with him. He obviously cares for you, and wants to keep you safe. But sometimes things don’t work out like that - if he’s sticking by your side making sure you don’t get hurt, he can’t go and pull up the root of the problem, can he?”
Lisa shook her head, unhappily.
“There you go then,” Hazel said, reaching out to take her daughter’s hand. “If you force him to choose, he won’t be able to focus on either part of his job - but if we get out of his hair, we’ll be safe for good and you can have all the time with him you need. In the meantime, we get to have a little road-trip; I’ve missed those.”
Lisa sighed, defeated, and Marcus had to suppress a smile. Having just found her again, it wouldn’t be pleasant to be away from Lisa for a few days, but Hazel was right - he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else while she was in danger.
“That’s settled, then,” Hazel said. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning. In the meantime, Marcus, you can stay for dinner, and tell me what you’ve been up to since you left Coldwood. The bits of it that you’re allowed to, anyway!”
“Deal.”
Marcus felt the warmth of her acceptance, and smiled as it filled him. He took Lisa’s free hand, and the three of them smiled happily. It feels like home, Marcus realized.
14
“It’s good to see Marcus back, Lisa,” Hazel said as they tidied up after their meal. Marcus had offered to help, but the ladies shooed him away into the living room. The room was small enough that he’d have been in the way more than he’d have helped, and Lisa wanted a chance to speak with her mom in private, anyway.
She handed another plate down for Hazel to dry and found herself smiling broadly. Despite the danger that had settled on her, she couldn’t help feeling ridiculously happy. “Yeah, it really is,” she told her mom. “I didn’t think he’d come home.”
“Of course he was coming back, honey. He always loved you, you know. There was no chance he’d stay away.”
“But he was gone so long!” Lisa struggled to keep her voice down, not wanting to draw Marcus’ attention.
Hazel shook her head, carefully wiping the plate dry. “He had to find his way home. He’s had a lot to work out, and it sounds like he’s been kept pretty busy. There was never any question of him not coming to find you, though. You saw how he looked at you through dinner.”
Lisa blushed. Marcus’s stare had certainly been intense, and hungry in a way that made her shiver inside. But she wasn’t about to talk about that with her mother.
“He only came back for his job,” she protested. “If that hadn’t happened, who knows how long it would have been before he came looking for me?”
She wasn’t sure why she was arguing; she didn’t want to doubt that he loved her. But the idea that they were fated to be together was hard to accept, no matter how right it felt.
Her mother wasn’t convinced by her protests, though. She grinned her mischievous grin, shaking her head.
“You’ve got to have more faith. He did get a job here, and he’s here when you need him, isn’t he? Fate has a way of making these things work out! Don’t worry about it so much, that’s my advice. Enjoy yourselves, and be together now that you have the chance. If you waste time complaining that he wasn’t here sooner, you’ll just lose more time when you could be happy instead.”
Lisa cracked a smile at that. “You’re right. You’re always right, mom, you’d think I’d have learned that by now. Okay, I promise, no more time lost.”
“Good girl. You two deserve to enjoy yourselves, and I think he’s going to make you a very happy woman. I mean, just look at him! Yum!”
“Mom!” Lisa said, scandalized and laughing.
“What, I can’t look?” Hazel laughed too, wheeling herself away from the sink and the drying rack. “Don’t worry, I won’t steal your gorgeous man. He’s only got eyes for you, anyway.”
“You’re impossible,” Lisa shook her head and dried her hands.
“Tch, if you’d brought any other boys over, I’d have had more chances to tease you,” Hazel replied reasonably. “But no - I’ve had to save it all up, and that’s not my fault.”
Lisa hung her head in her hands and gave an exaggerated groan. “Now I know why you wanted to go away with me for a few days. I’m not going to be able to get away from this, am I?”
“Nope!” Hazel laughed happily. “Now get some rest, you look like you could use it. And so does Marcus. He’s been carrying a heavy weight, and I think you could both do with a good night’s rest.”
Lisa wanted to argue - it was still early, after all. But the day’s events had taken their toll on her, and she found herself yawning.
Maybe an early night is a good idea, she thought, stretching.
“Fine, I guess we should be up early anyway. Or should we leave tonight?”
“That might be a good idea,” Hazel said with a frown. “But I don’t want to rush the two of you, and you’ve only just gotten back together. I don’t want to rob you of a night together.”
Lisa blushed, embarrassed twice over by that.
Spend the night with him in my mom’s house? I don’t think so.
She could remember how much noise they’d made together, and the thought of Hazel overhearing them was mortifying. Besides, she hadn’t told her mother about spending the night with him before, and she didn’t want to get into that with her. It was nice of her to take an interest in Lisa’s love-life, she supposed, but there was no way that Lisa was going to go into details.
“If we’re in danger, we should go sooner rather than later,” she said instead. “Marcus and I will have plenty of time together once it’s over, right?”
“That’s very practical of you,” Hazel said, looking a touch amused. “In that case, though, I’m going to need a little help packing.”
‘A little help’ turned out to mean doing everything, not that it was any fault of Hazel’s. Getting a suitcase packed was much easier for Lisa, and Hazel enjoyed supervising. There were some spare clothes of Lisa’s in the house too, clothes she kept handy for when she would occasionally stay overnight. It wasn’t much, but she supposed it would do for a few days, and if for some reason they needed more, they’d just have to buy it.
Marcus helped them carry the heavy bag to Lisa’s car, lifting it as though it was as light as air. Lisa was glad that she left her car parked at her mother’s place, saving them the short trip back to town - usually it wouldn’t have bothered her, but with night falling, she was starting to be scared again despite Marcus’ presence.
He helped Hazel into the car with a patient gentle strength that Lisa envied, and then turned to Lisa to hug her tight.
“It’ll only be a few days at most,” he told her. “Now that I know what I’m looking for, I’ll be able to sort this out quickly. Then you can come home, and be safe.”
“Safe, and with you,” she replied, holding him tight. “That’s just as important, so you have to take care of yourself while I’m gone, okay? Promise me.”
“I promise,” he said. She could hear the suppressed amusement in his voice, and knew he was humoring her.
“No you don’t, mister,” she said with a half-serious glare. “You’re going to promise me for real, and not take any risks. Or else.”
Marcus laughed, nodding. “Okay, Lisa. I promise I’ll keep myself safe and whole for you.”
“That
’s better,” she said sternly, before smiling back. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, now that you’re back in my life. Isn’t that silly? Just a few days ago I didn’t even know if I’d ever see you again.”
“That’s fate for you,” he said. “Can’t plan for it, can’t anticipate it. I didn’t know you’d still be in town when I came home, but now that we’ve met again, I’m not going to let you go. We belong together.”
He leaned in and kissed her, a firm powerful loving kiss that sent a tingling feeling running through her body. For a moment, there was nothing else in the world apart from the two of them, and they melted into one another. Then, all too quickly, the moment passed and Marcus straightened.
“You better get going,” he said, voice rough. “It’s hard enough to send you away as it is.”
Dizzy from the kiss, Lisa nodded. Going away wasn’t going to be easy, and the sooner she left the better. She slipped into the driver’s seat of the car, next to Hazel who was making a show of not paying attention to the pair of them and their goodbyes.
“You’ll be back with him again soon, Lisa,” her mom promised. “But we’ve got a ways to go before we hit a place to stay, so we’d better get on the road.”
She nodded and started the car. In the mirror, she could see Marcus watching them as she drove off. He stood in the darkening shadows, unmoving as the car pulled away, and she couldn’t help feeling a dreadful doubt settle on her as she watched him.
The last time I felt like this, I was watching him leave, she thought. And I didn’t see him again for nearly a decade. Will this be any different?
15
Watching the car drive off into the gathering darkness left Marcus with a grim determination.
The sooner this is done, the sooner I can be back with her, he thought, baring his teeth in a half-smile, half-snarl.
He did wonder what he was going to do afterward. Lisa really couldn’t leave her mother, not in her condition, so his dreams of sweeping her away to life in the big city had just become a lot more complicated.
Maybe Hazel can come with us? He shook his head at the thought and tried to focus. It’s too soon to be making those plans. I have a job to do, and now I know what I’m looking for.
The Serpents would be either at their compound or at Lou’s Bar, he figured. Time to go and see if anyone would speak up about their initiations. If no one was willing to talk, well, he’d just have to convince them.
Noise and light spilled out of Lou’s Bar and into the parking lot outside. There were plenty of Serpents’ bikes lined up there when Marcus arrived, and he parked his own beside them. The night was young, and they’d be drinking for a while yet, but he wasn’t in the mood to join them. He pulled out his phone and sent a text, and settled in to wait.
It didn’t take long. Danny slipped outside, looking nervously around until he spotted Marcus waiting in the shadows, then he hurried over.
“Hey, man,” he started uncertainly and trailed off. Marcus knew he looked imposing, looming over the smaller man, and his bear growled. He pushed it down, forcing himself to lean back.
“Wanted to thank you for sending me a warning,” he said after a long pause. “I owe you for that, for looking after Lisa.”
The smaller man looked relieved. “Yeah, well, I didn’t want anything to happen to her and it looked like things were about to go bad. I, um, I don’t think that she’ll be safe for a bit, Cal’s real mad about what happened and he’s got a lot of friends.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Marcus rumbled. “But I’ll deal with Cal. That’s not your problem. Your problem is your friends finding out you sent me that message.”
Even in the dimly lit lot, he could see Danny pale. The kid clearly hadn’t been thinking that far ahead. Marcus sighed.
“Look, I’m not going to tell them. You won’t either. But, if you’re going to do this kind of thing, what happens the next time? You won’t always have a number for the girl’s boyfriend, you know. And I don’t think this is going to be the last time the Serpents end up doing something like that.”
Actually, I’m going to make sure it is, he thought to himself. Can’t very well tell Danny that, though.
Danny shook his head and looked upset. “So what do I do? I can’t get out, they won’t let me go.”
“I was serious before, Danny. Join the service, get some experience, learn some things. That’ll leave you a lot better equipped to answer questions like this. Trust me, I know.”
Danny looked uncertain, glancing back at the bar and all his friends. “I don’t know. Would they even let me join up?”
“Can’t stop you, can they?” Marcus said, and handed him a scrap of paper. “Look, you go to the recruiting station at this address, ask for Sergeant Fenton - he’s a pal of mine, and if you tell him I sent you, he’ll take good care of you. But if I were you, I wouldn’t wait.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, go now. Tonight.” Marcus leaned in, relaxing his control on the animal inside him and growling. “Cal’s friends tried to hurt my girl, and they are going to pay for that. I owe you for the warning, so I’m giving you a chance to get clear. You don’t want to be around when this goes down, understand?”
Danny stepped back, half-raising his arms to protect himself. “You’re going to go up against the whole gang? That’s crazy.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.” Marcus grinned, and that was enough to drive Danny back another step. “But get in the middle of it and it’s going to be bad for you, and like I said, I owe you. Take the hint and get out while you can.”
Danny nodded, jerkily, and hurried to his bike. As he roared off into the night, Marcus strode into the bar, knuckles itching for violence.
Big Jack looked up at him from across the bar as he entered. The place was full of Serpents, only a few other townsfolk braving the hostile atmosphere for a drink.
“Marcus! We were wondering where you’d gotten to. Come on over here and have a drink with us,” the big biker shouted. His unpleasant grin stretched wide across his face as he clapped the man next to him on the shoulder. “See, I told you he’d be back soon enough.”
“Had a few things to sort out, that’s all,” Marcus shrugged and slid into a seat opposite the big man. Their eyes met, and held - not many people could meet his stare without flinching, but Jack was one of them. “My girl had a bit of a scare.”
“I heard about that,” Jack replied, and laughed. “Some kind of bear attack, right?”
“Wasn’t the bear that bothered her.”
Jack shrugged, apparently unconcerned with Marcus’ tone. Marcus knew he shouldn’t let the man get to him, but that infuriating grin was pissing him off and he wanted to wipe it off Jack’s face with his fist. Making an effort to keep his tone light, he tried to switch the subject.
“Why were you looking for me anyway?”
“Ah, nothing at all important,” Jack said, waving it off. “Vance asked me to check in on you, see how soon that deal could come through. You said you were going to make a call?”
“That I did. Like I said, three days and you’ll have what you asked for.”
You’ll get what’s coming to you sooner than that, and you won’t like it one bit.
Big Jack laughed again, unpleasantly, eyes focused on the distance. “That’ll be a fun time, then. You’re remembering about Cal’s, ah, treat?”
Even pretending to sell people to this scum was painful to Marcus, but he held back what he really wanted to say. After all, they weren’t going to get another chance to hurt anyone. He’d never liked lying, but in this case it was the best option.
“I made a deal, didn’t I?”
“And so did we! So, time for you to see the merchandise like we promised you,” Big Jack said. “I gotta tell you, man, I’m looking forward to this. We could have a real profitable relationship going here.”
Marcus cursed inwardly, keeping a smile on his face by sheer force of will.
That’s right,
Vance promised me a look at the drugs I’m ‘buying’ tonight. He’d rather have spent the night trying to get some of the Serpents drunk enough to spill their secrets, but that would look pretty suspicious.
“Great,” he said, trying to sound sincere. “So, we headed back to the compound then?”
“Not right away. Don’t want to leave things lying around there, where any busybody might see them, right? Got another place, out in the woods. Drink up and I’ll show you.”
Marcus felt his smile broaden, and tried to keep that under control.
Don’t want to seem too happy about that, he thought. But it could be that Big Jack would be taking him exactly where he wanted to go.
“Alright, let’s go for a ride.”
The dark feeling of the forest grew strong around them as Big Jack led Marcus along the old logging trails, deep into the woods. The shadows looked darker and denser than they should, and the air felt thick and stifling, despite the chill.
Marcus didn’t like it at all, but then, that was a good sign. If they were getting closer to the witching stone Hazel mentioned, that was where he wanted to be. The bear inside him could smell the dark forces being brought forth in the woods.
Big Jack pulled in beside a small wooden building which huddled between the trees. There were another three bikes already parked there, waiting for them, and a dim light shone from inside the cabin.
“After you,” Jack said, an exaggerated sweep of his arm ushering Marcus towards the door. Marcus shot him a glare and stalked past, into the building.
Inside, Vance was waiting with his wares. The place was a mess, looking long-abandoned and filthy, the only clean things were a cloth draped across a table and the plastic-wrapped bricks of white powder laid out on it. Vance stood behind the table, leaning forward on his knuckles, smiling at Marcus as he came in. It wasn’t a welcoming smile.
Marcus paid him no attention. His focus was loose, feeling out the room, noticing the things he wasn’t supposed to see. Situational awareness - another useful skill from the Army. Without looking around he knew that there were another two men in the room, standing against the wall beside the door and in the shadows.