by Lauren Wood
I hadn’t thought it through. The guy was a lot bigger than me and I could tell that I wouldn’t be able to take him by myself. I wasn’t into that kind of work. I was a stock broker and instead of going to blows with him, I was much more comfortable giving someone like him money to take care of it for me.
The man didn’t stay on the bike long. I saw him go into a familiar bar and as I parked on the other side of the street, I thought about what I should do. Everything in me told me to go in and say something. But that thought was quickly stopped. I didn’t know who was in there, who he was and I knew that a guy like me starting something there without my friends was a suicide mission. I had to go in though. I had to see who it was that had just left my girlfriend’s house.
Getting my nerve up, I walked in and instantly felt out of place. I wasn’t a runt by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t as rough looking as anyone in there. My button up and khakis made it even more obvious that I didn’t belong and I didn’t make eye contact with anyone as I made my way to the bar. I wished that Leo was there. I had only come here with him and I was not above dropping a name if things got hairy for me.
I ordered a drink and sipped it while I watched the man laughing with a red haired guy. That guy I knew as Marcus and I had to get closer. I wanted to know who the man was with him. All I had to do was overhear a name so when I went to Leo, I would be sure that I knew who I was talking about. I wanted to make sure that when I had him taken care of, it was the man that had kissed Carol behind my back.
“David, I didn’t think I was going to see you back this soon. I take it your lady friend wasn’t very happy to see you.”
The man scowled and I smiled. At least she had only given him a kiss. I could forgive her for it, but David was another question altogether.
***
“So who was it that I heard when we were on the phone the other night?”
“What do you mean?”
She was acting like she didn’t know what I was talking about, her fingers twirling the hair from the front of her face.
“When I called and you said you had a friend there that you met at a wedding. Who was it?”
“Oh, him. It was just a guy that I met at Cameron’s wedding. I don’t know what he was doing there, but he didn’t stay long.”
“What did he want?”
She shrugged and looked out the window. I had swerved into the other lane focusing on her profile in the car and I had to jerk a little harder than I would have liked to getting back in my lane.
“Why are you so worried about it? You have nothing to be concerned about. He came over and I had him leave a few minutes later. That is it.”
“But what happened while he was there? Why won’t you tell me what he wanted?”
“Because it doesn’t matter what he wanted, he didn’t get it. I don’t want to argue about this.”
“I just asked a question. I didn’t think that this was arguing.”
It felt like arguing, but I didn’t like the idea that she thought she could end the conversation so quickly. We were together, in all ways now and she was going to have to do a better job of explaining herself. I wanted the truth and I knew at the moment she was not giving it to me. It was not an option for her to refuse to answer me. I wasn’t going to allow it to happen. I couldn’t.
“I know, but it is the way you are asking about it.”
“Well when there is some random dude in my girlfriend’s house, I need to know what is going on. It is not something that I am just going to forget about.”
“It was nothing. I told you that already Steve. You are the one that is making it into something that it is not.”
She wouldn’t tell me what he wanted, but it didn’t take too much to really guess. The kiss and the way he had looked at her was all of the information that I had needed to know. He wanted her, like I wanted her and I couldn’t get why she wouldn’t tell me that. Was it because she felt the same way about him?
“What was he there for Carol?”
I put my foot down on the pedal harder. I wanted to go faster, to get the frustration out of me and I didn’t realize that I was going so fast until Carol said something. It wasn’t her words, but the quaver of fear in her tone that snapped me out of it. I wished for the umpteenth time that I hadn’t went further with her. If I hadn’t, I could have just moved aside, but she was mine now. My territory and it brought out the worst in me.
“He wanted to go out I guess. I don’t know. Who knows what men really want? They say one thing and mean something completely different. I don’t know why you are getting all worked up over this. I have never seen you like this before and I don’t think that I like it one bit.”
I knew that I didn’t. I didn’t like feeling so uneasy when she was made to make me feel secure. How was I supposed to feel secure in our relationship when she was lying to my face? It was impossible.
“I just want to know the truth and I don’t think that I am getting it Carol.”
I could see her looking at me through my peripheral vision and though I couldn’t see the details of her face, it wasn’t hard to guess her mood. “Just pull over and let me out. If you want to drive like a maniac and think what it is you want to think, just let me out. I don’t need to get in a wreck because you are insecure. I told you he was there and why he was there. He wanted me, but I didn’t want him.”
“So nothing happened?”
If she would have just agreed, I would have felt better. But she didn’t. There was a pause. Not a long one, but enough of one that I noticed. The truth was that she had kissed him and I wanted her to admit it to me. I wanted her to tell me that he kissed her and she didn’t want him to.
“No, nothing happened.”
“He didn’t try to kiss you or anything?”
That got me another look and I met her gaze this time as I sat at a light. She was no longer trying to get out, but I still went a little faster when the light turned green. I didn’t want her to get any ideas.
“No, he didn’t. I mean, he tried, but I made sure that it didn’t happen. I told you that nothing happened. Why do I get the feeling that you don’t believe me?”
Because I didn’t. “I want to understand, that’s all. When something happens with my girlfriend, I think I have a right to know.”
“Nothing happened though.”
I shook my head. “Uh huh.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
I wanted to tell her that I had seen her. I had seen his hands on her as he pulled her to him and I had watched the way she melted into him for a few seconds before pushing him away. That was not to mention what had happened in her house. I knew how Carol could be if she wanted something and I just had to know if she wanted David.
“I just can’t see how anyone that wanted you would come over and not try anything. You are beautiful and it would be hard for anyone to not try something.”
“You didn’t, for months.”
“I am different. I wanted our first time to be special and I was willing to wait for that. There is nothing wrong with being a little patient.”
Carol looked like she would not agree with that sentiment. I didn’t like the change between us and in a way I wished that I didn’t know what I knew. I had to take care of it and that was going to be a problem. The main thing to me was that Carol didn’t find out. I didn’t want her to think that I was a violent kind of guy, I was just territorial. She was mine and I would have to make sure that she knew it, as well as the man that was called David.
Chapter 8
David
I went back to Joel’s place that he was letting me stay in. It was one of the unrented apartments in his uncle’s building. It wasn’t much, but it gave me a place to calm down a little bit before I decided what I was going to do next. It was also next door to Carol, even if she wasn’t ready for me yet.
The offer that Lucas had given me was still on my mind, but the taste that was left on my fingers was the thi
ng that I was having trouble ignoring. Why was I so wrapped up in that woman and why did she turn me away? I could tell as soon as she was in my arms again that nothing had changed. Now I wasn’t so sure and I didn’t like feeling this way. I wanted to know what was going on with her. Women were complicated creatures and she was no different.
It didn’t take long for me to feel like the small one bedroom was actually a prison and I had to get out for a drink. Joel was already asleep with his lady and I knew it was going to be impossible to get him up and around. A lot had changed with him and marriage was slowing on him. He was never too quick before, but now he was going at a snail’s pace.
I don’t know what I was feeling, but I wanted to bury it in the bottom of a glass or I was never going to go to bed. When I got there, I counted several women that would have been down for what I wanted, but I didn’t want them. I wanted Carol and the small taste that she had given me earlier wasn’t enough. I needed to be inside of her again.
After a few drinks, I couldn’t help but give her a call. I wanted to talk about it and I didn’t trust myself to go to her house. I wasn’t in the right state of mind. I just wanted to hear her voice that was all.
Like before, when I called it just rang. Now I was sure that it was because she didn’t want to talk to me. Carol had come all over my hand and then remembered her boyfriend. The idea made me angry and I wanted to know who it was that she was dating. I wanted a name. It wasn’t like I was going to know who it was, but I still wanted a name.
I called several more times before I gave up and walked back to the apartments. I wasn’t thinking clearly and I knew that if I didn’t get to bed, I was going to do something stupid. It was Joel’s voice that I heard as I was coming in.
“Are you just getting in?”
I shook my head that I was. “Already in bed?”
Joel smiled and shook his head. He looked too damn happy and I was disgusted with him. Couldn’t he see that love was like a plague and soon it would all be over?
“Well see you in the morning.”
“Did you talk to Lucas?”
How did he know about that? Word must travel fast here.
“For a little while.”
“And?”
“I told him I would think about it.”
“You should. He is a good guy. I miss Carlos and the old gang, but I have found a new home here. If you are looking for a change, this is the place to be.”
I could have said many things to him, but I bit my tongue. I didn’t know if I wanted a change. I liked my life the way it was, but something was missing. It didn’t take much for me to guess what it was.
“Well I am going to go up to bed. I don’t know what I am going to tell Lucas, but I did tell him that I was going to give him an answer in a day or two.”
“He really likes you. Him and Carlos have talked and I of course gave him a good reference for you.”
I just kind of nodded my head. I was tired and the last thing I wanted to talk about was Lucas and a life change that I wasn’t sure if I was ready to make or not. I just needed sleep and everything would be clearer in the morning.
When I got upstairs, I called Carol again. I wanted to talk to her, but she didn’t answer. Instead of cutting off the ringing though, it just rang over and over again until it went to voice mail. Not trusting myself to leave one, I hung up exasperated. Tomorrow it would be better or at least I would have a better plan of how I was going to fix it. Right now I had nothing.
***
After getting a call from Carlos around noon, I had a little work to do. He wanted me to pick something up for him. I knew that he knew about me talking to Lucas, but I still wasn’t sure if I was going to stay south for a while. So until then, I figured I might as well do some leg work and make some money. It was always good to have easy money.
Getting back from the run, I was just about to the house when Marcus sent me a text that he needed help with something. It was ambiguous, but I figured that what we were going to do was going to be pretty illegal, so there was no sense leaving it in a text that is saved. I didn’t think nothing of it and when I text back that I needed a location, he sent me an address. It took me a minute to look it up and then I was on my way, anything to keep my mind occupied from the fact that Carol still wasn’t answering her phone. It was like she had left it home before she went to work because it kept ringing and ringing.
Thinking about Carol, I wasn’t really paying attention to anything around me. I would have seen that the neighborhood was not one that I was used to. I had only been there a few days, but there was a clear boundary line and I was no longer in the Devil’s Playground territory anymore. I didn’t know enough about the area to know who was there. I was just there for Marcus and when I arrived at my destination, it was clear that something was not right.
The address was to an old building and it looked run down. It was the type of place you would meet someone for a crime, if you were twelve. It didn’t seem right and I pulled my phone out to call Marcus. Where the hell was he?
Turning my back to the building, I propped myself up on the bike and dialed his number.
“Marcus.”
“Hey man, what’s up?”
“I am over here where you sent me and I am trying to figure out where you are.”
“Where I sent you? What are you talking about David? I just woke up.”
His voice was sleepy sounding and there was no denying what he said. He wasn’t that good of an actor and there was no reason why he would lie about it. If he hadn’t sent me the text, then who did?
“I got a text from your phone that said you wanted to meet. I am here now and I don’t see anyone.”
“You need to get out of there right now David. You are being set up. That is the only thing that makes sense because I didn’t text you anything.”
I kind of grinned and took another look around me. It was my luck that I was in a city for less than a week and I was already making enemies. It never took me long to do that. It was one of my talents, but this time I didn’t know who it was or why. That was what bothered me the most. I should at least know why I was getting set up and in what way.
“Alright, I was just calling to see if you were coming. I am guessing that you are not, so I will see what this is about.”
“You should get out of there David, I am serious.”
I shook my head no even though I knew he couldn’t see me. There was no way that I was backing down. I didn’t care what it was.
Hanging up with Marcus, I lit a cigarette and looked around again. If I was being setup, there were taking their sweet time about it. My mind went through the people that I had been in contact with. Lucas came to mind, but that was quickly pushed to the side. He wouldn’t do something so underhanded. If he had a problem with me, I would know it was him because he would make sure that I did. This was someone that was shifty and another man came to the forefront of my mind. I didn’t know him either, but there was a feeling that I had gotten when I had seen Leo in the bar.
Getting tired of waiting around, I wanted to see what was going on. I wasn’t the type to wait around for too long. I was better with action. I flicked the cigarette that I had smoked down halfway and walked towards the abandoned building. I didn’t have anything but my knife with me and it was another moment that I wished I was better prepared.
The feeling that something was wrong made my body tense up. There was a fleeting thought that I was being an idiot for just walking in that place like I was, but I was going to keep on walking regardless. I wanted to face it head on. I wasn’t going to be afraid and cower in fear. One way or another, whatever this was, would end today and I would be able to go on about my business. Or not, it was always a chance in the lifestyle that I lived.
“Hello?”
It was corny, something that everyone said in a horror film before they were jumped. I didn’t know why I was thinking something else would happen. As soon as I opened the door and said somethi
ng, I was hit from behind. The place had been dark and even though I fought the first guy that had made the first hit, he was not alone.
There was no clue as to who they were and why they were attacking me. I didn’t give anyone a chance to give me answers and I wasn’t given much of a chance to ask any. It happened so fast. I was just overwhelmed and blackness came long before any answers did. I couldn’t help thinking, what was it even about?
The last thing to go was my hearing and I heard a few muffled words from above. I couldn’t see their faces, just a dim sound that I had to strain to hear.
“Do you think that is enough?”
“Look at him? Steve didn’t say to kill him.”
“Don’t say his name.”
“That guy isn’t even in with it. He is out cold.”
“Don’t say his name. You are going to fuck everything up. I want my money.”
Chapter 9
Carol
“What is going on Steve?”
I woke up from what felt like a dream. I remembered arguing with Steve and him leaving. What I didn’t understand was why I was with him now and why nothing looked familiar. My brain felt foggy and it was hard to think. Had I been drinking last night?
“You don’t remember?”
I shook my head that I didn’t. I was still laying down, trying to figure out where I was. The pounding in my head stopped me from sitting up. I had tried that once and the groan that I had let out was what had brought Steve to me in the first place.
“No, I don’t. I remember that we went for dinner and then for a ride. Then you came over to the house for a bit and then you left.” I didn’t want to mention that it was because he was acting crazy and jealous for no reason. The man had fixated on David for some reason and I had tried to keep it from him so he wouldn’t start something. Now I wasn’t sure what had happened. The only thing I knew was that my mouth was dry and I needed something to drink.
“Is there anything to drink?”
He looked surprised, like it was a strange request that he hadn’t thought of. “Yes I will get you something to drink. I didn’t think about you being thirsty. Just give me a moment.”