by Adair Rymer
This house wasn't safe. I needed to get her out of there immediately. My plan was to put Maya in the car, grab my gun, and head back in. I'd have her drive a few blocks away, if she didn't see me leave the house in ten minutes then she'd find a phone and call the cops. I'd either be gone by then or dead.
We hadn't made it to the door before the my plans went up like kindling.
“Stop.” I didn't recognize the voice, but I knew exactly who it was by the way Maya tensed up like she was flash frozen.
It was her father.
Three armed men rounded the corner, each wore black gloves and nondescript clothing. One of them was dragging a woman who was tied to a chair. It had to be Maya's aunt Gina.
“Lock the door.” Slick told his guy. Small number of guys, no bikes out front or club insignia and gloves to protect their fingerprints. It was clear what they were here to do. This wasn't going to end well for us.
One of Slick's enforcers brushed past us, locked the door then patted us down. “They're clean.”
“Set them up in the kitchen,” Slick said.
There was no greeting of his daughter in any way. He was so detached from her that if I didn't know better, I'd think he'd never seen her before. It was a sad thing to see a father write off his own daughter so completely. He wouldn't think twice about killing Maya when it came down to it.
The shades in the kitchen that adorned the sliding patio door had already been drawn. No one could see inside. Gina and her chair were placed near the counter. She looked frightened, as would anyone, but she mostly just glared at Slick angrily. Given what Maya told me about Gina's outlook on bikers, and specifically about her views on Slick, I could tell that hers was a rage that smoldered for quite a while.
Slick grabbed an apple and a knife then leaned against the counter. He began peeling the apple. “I know about the safety deposit box.”
“If you've hurt Anna!” Maya's voice was shaky but there was an unmistakable edge to her tone. She'd become a person not to take lightly.
“You'll what?” He asked calmly. Maya said nothing but held her gaze defiantly. “When Tex called me, I asked your sister why you were heading west. She wouldn't tell me so I tore her room apart. That's when I found a letter from the bank. What did your mom put in there?”
“I don't know. It might not be anything. Baby photos.”
“But it might be something.” He carved off a chunk of the apple and ate it. It was an intimidation tactic, and a good one. He wanted us to see just how relaxed and in control he was. That he held all the advantages here. “And that's why I want you to go get it.”
“What? The bank is closing and you still want me to get it?”
“When a bank closes unclaimed property goes to the state. I don't want 'might be nothing' to turn into 'pain in my ass'.”
“No.” Maya flatly stated. “I won't do anything for you.”
Slick put down the knife and apple, then ripped off a paper towel from a nearby roll and cleaned his hands and mouth. He looked her over and sighed.
Then he pulled out his gun and shot me in the thigh.
Maya screamed my name. I grunted and fell to the floor. I refused to cry out. To give him that satisfaction. The pain was searing and the bullet didn't pass through, so that meant surgery. Which meant the police would be alerted if I made it out of this alive. I couldn't focus on that now though. I could tell he hadn't nicked an artery because I was able to stem the blood flow. It hurt like hell but I’d been shot before. I could take it.
“Seems you two have grown attached, that's nice. I'll tell you right now though, you shouldn't get involved with bikers. They're bad news,” Slick teased then raised the gun to fire again.
“Stop it!” Maya stepped in front of me.
“You think I'm fooling around?” Slick raised his eyebrows when she wouldn't move away from me and give him a clear shot. He looked past her to his guy and cocked his head to have her dragged kicking and screaming off to the side. It gave Slick the line of sight on me that he wanted. There was nothing in arm's reach for me to grab. I couldn't move faster than he could fire and he was a damn good shot to begin with.
“OK! You win! I'll go!” She broke away from the biker's grip.
“I know,” Slick relaxed his gun and motioned her away with it.
She stubbornly resisted, not wanting to leave me and her aunt and probably fearing that she'd never see us alive again.
“It's alright.” I controlled my breathing and barked the words through the pain. I had to convince her to leave. There was no use in pissing her father off if she was going to be forced out anyways. “Do what he says.”
Maya worriedly exhaled. She was afraid that Slick might shoot me again. I knew better. He was too smart to kill off his hostages until he had what he wanted. After he got that box, though, he was too smart to leave any witnesses alive.
“Go with her.” Slick motioned to one of his guys. “If it looks like she's doing anything aside from getting that box, you call me.”
Slick met her just before the front door was opened, turned Maya to face him, and grabbed her mouth tightly with his hand. He pulled her close to him, so his eyes were all that she saw. “If you so much as cough suspiciously, I'll put your boyfriend down. You hear me?”
Maya slowly nodded, her steely-eyed gaze never leaving him. She wasn't afraid of him anymore, but she was worried about what might happen to me and her aunt.
“Good. Get her outta here.” Slick turned and walked back into the kitchen.
Maya flashed me a concerned look on her way out. I smiled, trying to ease her fears. It was best she focused on getting that box. On the drive here she'd expressed concern that Robbie never told her the pin number that would unlock it. It wasn't something I could help her with but I had faith in her that she'd figure it out.
They began to trash the place. Slick opened the fridge and knocked a bunch stuff onto the floor while the other guy smashed Gina's TV and flipped over her kitchen table. They were going to make this look like a break in, a robbery gone wrong. Gina winced with each loud crash but she breathed forcefully and glared at Slick with utter rage. I noticed that her struggling was loosening her binds. She'd be able to slip her hands free soon.
“Wait,” I silently mouthed the word to her when she eventually glanced back over to me. The men were too spread out, if she got free they would gun her down before she could do anything useful. If we were going to survive this and stop this asshole from hurting Maya, we'd have to work together. Gina nodded back to me. It was hard to know for sure if she was on board, but I hoped she'd figure out what I was up to and follow my lead.
Slick watched us as his guy went into the other rooms to spread out the damage and steal any valuables. The phone in Slick's pocket rang, he answered. “Go ahead.” Slick whistled for his guy in the other room to come back to the kitchen. “Good. Run into any trouble? OK c'mon back.” He hung up.
“Wrex, wrap that shit up, they're on their way—”
“Bruce Merritt,” I interrupted Slick, letting the words linger in the air. I wanted him to know that I knew who he was. I wanted their attention on me. I slumped against the wall and played up my leg wound. I made myself appear weak, suffering the effects of severe blood loss.
He walked over, raised his eyebrows and spread his hands out in an expression that said 'well?'
“I gotta know, man... Did you have your brother, Robbie, killed because you knew you couldn't control him or because he could fuck your wife better than you could?” I watched his face flush with anger. So that's where Maya got that from. Wrex entered the room and looked on, he was shocked that I would dare insult the President of the Blue Angels.
“Do you have any idea who the fuck you're talking to?”
I laughed, ignoring his question. “Robbie told me this story about his brother. How he used to rub peanut butter on his dick. Just so that the dog would lick it off.” I exaggerated the difficulty in getting the words out. My leg was in rough shap
e, but for this to work I had to really sell it.
I had no idea if it was true but I wasn't about to let that get in my way. It was a great story and it seemed to be doing exactly what I'd hoped. Slick fumed. He punched me in the jaw, I let the blow drop me to the floor before I sat back up. I must have struck a nerve.
“It's a much better story knowing that he was talking about you,” I said, offered him a bloody grin. He punched me again, this time harder.
He grabbed my hair and pulled me back up, pushing the barrel of his gun into my forehead. “Robbie is dead because I said so. That's all.”
“All this rough play has got my cock rock hard. Go check, see if she has any peanut butter.” He pushed the gun harder, trying to intimidate me but I knew he wasn't going to kill me. At least not until Maya came back.
I looked past him and saw that Gina had slipped one of her hands free. Neither of them were paying attention to her, but it wasn't time yet. Slick's guy was still too far away. He was hanging back behind Gina, watching his boss beat the shit out of me. I needed him closer. I subtly shook my head, hoping she'd hold off just a little longer. We were only going to get one chance at this.
One of my teeth was loose enough that I was able to dig it out with my tongue and catch it in my teeth. I smiled at Slick, bloody drool oozing from my mouth, and I spit the toothy wad into his eye. Slick growled and jerked away. He stuffed his gun into his belt and scooped the gore from his face.
Then, half blind and fed up, he screamed and began relentlessly kicking me. I doubled over to shield myself as much as possible. My body rocked with each heavy blow from his boots. There was no doubt that he cracked a few of my ribs.
“Hey, pony tail!” I coughed out the words while fighting down the waves of deadening pain that strangled my body. He got a few good kicks in on my head and steel toe boots were no joke. I was on the verge of blacking out but I couldn't let up. “You wanna show peanut butter dick here, how it's done? This is—” I cleared my throat, hocked up phlegm and coagulated blood, took a breath and continued. “This is getting embarrassing.”
“Wrex, get him up,” Slick shouted.
Wrex grabbed my dead weight and struggled me into a kneeling position. My body ached, varying from dull numbing in my limbs to sharp, stabbing in my chest whenever I breathed. I nodded to Gina. I could only hope that she had it in her to do what was necessary when the time came, otherwise we were fucked.
“I wanted Maya to see this but she'll just have to find your body instead.” Slick pulled his gun out of his pants.
“Don't do this, Slick! I'm sorry!” I thrashed and pleaded loudly, making a show out of it. It worked, they didn't notice Gina grabbing Slick's apple carving knife off the counter and cutting her leg bonds.
“Die with some fucking dignity, you worm.” Slick was disgusted at my grovelling. He checked the magazine on his gun to make sure that it was loaded, then clicked it back in and aimed it at my chest. He nodded to Wrex who moved aside. “In the end that's all we really have.”
Any time now Gina. Stab the motherfucker! She was struggling the with the rope. Shit. She wouldn't make it in time and he was just out of my reach, I'd never be able to stop him. It was a good plan. Too bad it didn't work.
My last thought was of Maya.
Chapter 11
Maya
“Looks like you made it in the nick of time,” responded the cheerful, blonde lady when I told her that I was here for my security deposit box. She got up from behind her desk in her open cubicle and shook our hands. She was all bright, practiced smiles. “Just meet me right by that door and I'll show you to your box.”
Slick's biker trailed me like a shadow when I headed over to wait for her. He'd left his gun in the car so as not to draw additional attention, but he made it crystal clear to me that if he had to pull out his phone, people would still die.
“Do you have a box as well, sir?” The cheerful lady asked the Blue Angel.
“Uh, no but I'm her husband so I'll head in with her,” he said gruffly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, only customers with boxes can enter the vault. It's bank policy.” The lady squinted and shrugged in an overly apologetic gesture. Then immediately brightened back up when she asked me for my license. I fished it out of my pocket and handed it to her. “Right this way, please, Mrs. Merritt.”
I followed her through the office door and down the short hallway to the giant, rounded, metal door. It was open, pressed against the adjoining wall and it was massive! It had rings and gears and looked to weigh more than my car. I'd never seen one like this in person. It was something you'd see in a bank heist movie.
The small room beyond it was lined, floor to ceiling, with removable metal drawers. It had a small table in the middle of the room but was otherwise bare. A concrete and iron tomb for riches.
“Don't worry, I won't hover.” The lady giggled. She'd mastered the art of being overly bubbly while falling just shy of being patronizing. “We at SeaCoast Bank value our customer's privacy.”
I looked up at the room's cameras, they were set into the walls and were hardly noticeable but of course, still there. Privacy, right... Not that I cared. In fact, I wanted less privacy. I wanted to explain the situation to her right then but past her, all the way down the hallway, standing in the doorway, the Blue Angel watched me like a hawk. He wouldn't be able to hear what we said, but he'd see the lady's reaction and know that I'd told her something. It was best that I kept the conversation as short as possible with her.
“When you've finished just come right out and see me and we'll box your contents. No rush, we're open for another hour.” She was nice enough, but she also seemed like she was the type of lady who enjoyed the tap of her heels on the tile floor far too much. A showman with a stage.
I slid the box out of the wall, it had a heft to it. Whatever was in there was heavy. I shook it slightly but couldn't get a gauge as to what could be hiding inside. I scolded myself for stalling and placed it on the table. Hendrix and Gina were depending on me to open this damn box. A box that I had no idea what the code was...
I brought the box to a side of the table that was out of sight of the biker in the hallway. I wanted as much privacy from him as I could get. I'd need to concentrate if I had any hope of unlocking that box.
I tried to think like my mother. What could the combination be? What would she use? I tried all the birthdays I could remember. Mine and Anna's first. They didn't work. I knew it would be too obvious. Even Slick, when pressed, could remember our birthdays. It had to be something else... I tried anniversaries and other important dates. The first and last four digits of our SSN numbers, the first four of our zip codes, phone numbers, licenses, everything!
I took a step away, brimming with frustration.
The four digit combination lock stared back at me. It peered into my very soul, taunting me. If I survived long enough to ever sleep again, that brass-colored, number-printed, cylinder of metal would haunt my fucking dreams.
My hand grazed Robbie's pocket watch in my pocket, I forgot I still had it on me. The epiphany fell into my head like a falling brick. That had to be the key!
I tore it out of my pants pocket. It was a miracle that Slick's goon hadn't found it on me when I was frisked. Well, I guess it could be easy enough to miss if you were just looking for a gun or knife.
I opened it, the time was stopped. Had it somehow broke in the shuffle? Then I remembered Hendrix told me that it looked like it had always been stopped. I peeled off the picture of my mom and sister. There had to be a code behind the picture, there had to be! It made so much sense that could already see the handwritten digits in my mind.
When I got the picture off and it wasn't there I nearly shouted. Where the fuck was it! Why the hell would he carry around a broken pocket watch for a picture he could have easily kept in his wallet?
It didn't make any fucking sense!
Dread set in. I wouldn't be able to open it. I'd have to go back empty handed. The anxie
ty of it all was becoming too much to bear. I started to hyperventilate. I thought of Hendrix shot in the head, lying on the floor bleeding out all over my aunt's carpet. All I could hear was the sound of my own heart beating. All of this was my fault, all of it. My hands began trembling. It was all too much.
The knob was broken off of the pocket watch. That one fact stuck out in my mind like a needle, it pierced through the mounting pity and anxiety. Why would Robbie keep it?
I calmed down and forced myself to think. From what Hendrix told me, Robbie was ex-Army and was the type of person who hated being idle. He didn't strike me as the sentimental type. Sure, keep the picture, but the broken watch? He wouldn't have bothered.
I rolled it around in my hands. What was so special about the plain metal watch? If he liked it so much, why wouldn't he have at least fixed it... The time! Of course! The hands of the clock were set at eleven-forty-three. That was the time Anna was born.
Oh my god. Robbie wasn't just Mom's lover...
In a stupor, I tried the number. Click. The spring released and the lock tumbled away. Holy fucking shit. It worked!
I slowly pulled back the lid. It was all in there, everything I hoped for. Records, pictures, descriptions of events. It was a wellspring of evidence. No wonder Slick wanted this so bad. This was damning, not just for him but for his whole chapter, maybe even the whole club! With this, I could take them apart.
Underneath everything, at the bottom of the container was a love letter. It read:
“Amanda,
I hope to God, you've been burning these. Bruce cannot know what we have planned. He's a fucking weasel but the reach of the Blue Angels is some serious shit. I think we got enough dirt on him that we'll be OK. Just make sure you put everything in a safe place and no matter what, you can't tell me where. If things go bad... I don't want them to be able to get that info out of me.
“I saw the girls the other day. Prettiest damn things in the world. They look just like you. I think about Anna all the time. I think about how we brought something that beautiful into the world. I never knew my heart could get so big... or hurt so damn much! Soon, I'll get to see my daughter grow up.