by Blair Grey
“Okay, okay,” Lina said, smiling over at me. “Thanks for coming shopping with me.”
“Hey, any time,” I said. “Now go try on the next outfit.”
Over the next hour, we came up with a sizeable pile of things that looked great on her. Part of it was just that she was so much more confident now. She was willing to try on things that she might not have before. Things that cinched at her natural waistline or things that showed off a little extra cleavage. And she looked great.
“Hey, so does this mean that we don’t have to keep going to the gym?” I asked as we walked out of the shop carrying an assortment of bags. I was only partially joking.
But Lina snorted. “Nah, we still have plenty of work to do there,” she said, grinning over at me.
I barely managed to suppress my groan. She was my best friend, though, and if she needed me, I would be there for her. I always was.
23
Landon
On Monday, we headed to the Red Eyes clubhouse before the weekly meeting. Braxton had been fuming since Saturday about the fact that we weren’t doing anything. He wanted action, and he wanted it now. I tried to remind him that we didn’t know for sure that it was the Mambas who had pickpocketed me. That they hadn’t gotten anything too important outside of my driver’s license. It wasn’t like I’d been carrying around a wad of cash with me.
To be honest, I was fuming as well, but I knew better than to let that show. That would only ignite Braxton’s fuse. I needed to pretend like none of this mattered. Meanwhile, I was formulating a plan.
Or trying to anyway. We still just didn’t know enough about the Mambas. If we were back home in Las Cruces, I was pretty sure either Braxton or I would have the resources to figure out at least a couple of their members. We had sources of information outside of the club after all. Here in Sarasota, though, we didn’t have any of that sort of pull. And what’s more, none of the local Red Eyes guys seemed to either.
When we got to the clubhouse, Neil was already there, and he cheerfully invited us back to the office, as though we were just there for a social visit. “Can I get the two of you something to drink?” he asked, already doing just that. “Now, what’s going on? What have you found out?”
“We need to know what you know about the Mambas,” I told him. “You have to have sources of information outside of the MC, and someone has to have told you something.”
Neil’s face clouded over. “The Mambas,” he said in disgust. “That’s who’s behind all of this?”
“You know them?” I asked in surprise.
Neil shrugged one shoulder, and I could tell that he didn’t want to have this conversation. Interesting.
“There’s a history there,” he said finally. “They’re a hard MC to find, and they work totally in secret.”
“What sort of history is there?” I asked suspiciously. If there was a history of rivalry between Red Eyes and the Mambas, why hadn’t he suspected that right away? Why hadn’t he told us about this sooner?
Maybe he’d just been hoping that it wasn’t the Mambas and that this was someone else. From the way he said it, we were going to have a difficult time fixing things for Red Eyes if the Mambas were the ones trying to close in on their territory.
But wishful thinking didn’t get you anywhere in this industry. We needed to know the facts.
Neil was shaking his head, though. “How do you even know the Mambas are involved?”
“One of the shopkeepers let it slip,” I said. “At first, he actually thought we were working for the Mambas.”
Neil frowned, his brow furrowing. “That’s strange,” he said. “Unless the Mambas have changed the way they operate, they always do their business in groups of three. Any shopkeeper would have to be silly to think that the two of you were Mambas. Or else there’s something else going on there.”
For the moment, I ignored the fact that he still hadn’t told us what sort of history Red Eyes had with the other MC. “What are you thinking?” I asked slowly.
“I’m thinking that whatever shopkeeper let slip about the Mambas might have been fishing for information from you, rather than the other way around," Neil said slowly. "Did you let any details slide about what you’re doing here or who you’re working with?”
Braxton and I exchanged a glance. I grimaced. “He took all that information back to the Mambas, didn’t he? Just like I thought. That’s how they know who we are.”
“They know who you are?” Neil asked sharply.
“Apparently,” I said. “These three guys bumped into us after lunch on Saturday, and one of them stole my wallet in the process.”
Neil swore. “They must be tracking you. I don’t know what they’re up to, but they must have had a reason for letting you know that they were on to you.”
Braxton scowled. “They can’t possibly think that they’re going to scare us off, do they?” he asked.
Neil shook his head, though. “I doubt it’s that simple,” he said.
I frowned and wondered just how much Neil knew what the Mambas might be up to. He had mentioned that they had some sort of history. Maybe we had been looking for information in all the wrong places. “What kind of history do you have with the Mambas exactly?” I asked slowly.
Neil shook his head, though. “It’s not important,” he said. “I’m sure things are different now.” He paused. “Except that I’m sure they’re still traveling in groups of three.”
“They are,” I confirmed. I was thinking back to the conversation that I had had with Ray, though, and about how reluctant Ray had been to tell me more about the Mambas too. What was it about these guys? Did it have something to do with what that shopkeeper said? They don’t go after you; they go after your loved ones.
But that was absurd. I didn’t know Neil’s story, but I knew Ray’s well enough to know that the Mambas had never bothered his daughter, Belle. And they’d have a hard time trying to now that she was married to Will, one of Red Eyes’ best former enforcers. He wouldn’t put up with any of that.
No, they couldn’t have gone after Ray, because we all would have heard about it if Belle had been attacked. And if they were going after what Ray loved, they would have gone after Belle. She was the center of his world, the thing he cared the most about. There had to be some other reason that neither Ray nor Neil wanted to talk about these guys. But I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what that might be.
“If they’re traveling in threes, I don’t feel right sending the two of you out on your own,” Neil said, shaking his head.
“Yeah, we came to that same conclusion after I was pickpocketed.” I sighed. “That’s actually why we’re here… To ask if you can lend us some help.”
“I’ll send Jason out with you guys,” Neil said immediately. “He’s the one person I can trust. The one person who I’m absolutely sure isn’t a snitch here on the inside.”
“Good,” I said.
Braxton was shaking his head, though. “Come on; we don’t need Jason out there with us,” he said. “You and I have more than enough power to take on a few of these Mamba guys. I’m betting the reason they’re so secretive is that they know they’re no match for us. I mean, hell, they pickpocketed you. They could have chosen to start a fight, but instead, they just nabbed your wallet. Fucking spineless cowards.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Neil said grimly. “The Mambas, from what we know about them, are maddeningly unpredictable. It’s like a dance for them. Like fencing. All feints and parries, but then when you’re least suspecting it, they get the kill point.”
“Not on us,” Braxton said, shaking his head.
I gave him a look to shut him up. “Let’s just take Jason with us,” I said. “If we don’t need his help, then we don’t need his help. But it’s always a good idea to have backup. Besides, I thought we had already agreed on this.”
“Fine,” Braxton said sullenly, folding his arms across his chest.
Neil picked up his phone and called
Jason, asking him to swing by his office. Braxton and Neil chatted aimlessly about Sarasota while we waited. I was still trying to figure out why Neil didn’t want to tell us the whole backstory on his dealings with the Mambas. Did he want us to solve this problem for him or not? Any information that we could get was crucial. Even if it was outdated or no longer accurate. Better that we had some idea of what we were dealing with.
A knock sounded on the door, and then Jason poked his head in. Neil nodded at him. “Good to see you,” he said. “I’m sure you remember Braxton and Landon.” He paused. “As you may have guessed, they’re here to help sort out the issues that we’ve been having lately with the business that we’re losing.”
Jason nodded. “I’d figured as much,” he said. “And I’m guessing that you want me to help them out?”
“Apparently we’re dealing with the Mambas again,” Neil said, putting significant emphasis on the name of the other MC. That led me to believe that Jason knew the history with these other guys. Good. Maybe he could enlighten us.
Sure enough, his hands balled into fists in his lap. But Braxton wasn’t done being his typical self. “I’m sure we don’t need your help,” he said to Jason. “You’re just backup. If it comes to fighting, I’ve got first punch.”
Jason snorted, but he didn’t seem bothered by that. “I just want to get these fuckers. Once and for all,” he said.
“Good,” I said. I didn’t know what he knew about the Mambas, but between his firm tone of voice and the trust that Neil clearly had for him, I was sure that we would have no problems working together as a team.
“So what’s the game plan?” Jason asked.
24
Anne
Mondays were usually busy at the pharmacy, and this one was no exception. Since we were closed over the weekends, Fridays were busy with the people picking up last-minute prescriptions, and Mondays were busy with all the people who hadn’t made it in time before we closed on Friday, plus everyone who had visited their doctors on Saturday or Sunday and been giving prescriptions.
But this Monday felt exceptionally busy. Part of me was sure that it felt worse than it really was because I still couldn’t seem to fully focus on the tasks at hand. My eyes kept straying toward the back room, and my mind kept going back to Friday night. And to the conversation that I’d had with Lina about how I probably needed to just quit seeing Landon.
But at the end of the day when I counted the cash, I saw that we had made more than we normally did too. So maybe it had just been really busy in there.
I shook my head and left the building, turning to lock the door behind me. When I turned back toward the parking lot, I saw Landon sitting there waiting for me. I almost groaned. He looked good, dressed in jeans and a soft-green T-shirt that made his eyes stand out all the more. And I was too tired to deal with this now.
I thought about just walking off, but I knew that he would catch up to me with those long legs of his. And besides, I wasn’t the kind of person to run away from my problems. Maybe this was a good time to have a little chat with him. To tell him that we couldn’t keep seeing each other.
Or maybe, if I was going to get hurt anyway, we should just go somewhere together and have another good night of it. I didn’t think I could feel any worse about this doomed relationship than I already did after all. No point in ruining things between us now, if another week or two wouldn’t make things any worse.
I slowly walked over and joined him on the hood of his car. I could tell that there was something on his mind. “What’s up?” I asked, trying to sound casual, like I hadn’t spent the weekend realizing that I had feelings for him.
Landon shook his head, though. “Don’t worry about it,” he said.
I bit my lower lip. “Are you having second thoughts about this arrangement of ours?” I asked, wondering if he might have guessed what was going through my head.
Landon looked surprised. “No,” he said immediately. “Are you?”
“No,” I lied. “Just wanted to make sure that whatever it is that has you looking so concerned, it’s nothing to do with me.”
Landon sighed and ran a hand back through his hair, making it stick up in short, dark spikes. “There’s just a lot going on in my life right now.”
“Then what are you doing here?” I asked teasingly.
Landon laughed and shrugged expansively. “I guess I just really wanted to see you,” he said. “Is that a problem?”
“No,” I said. It had been a long day, but to be honest, I wanted to see him too. Even though I knew that I shouldn’t. “Here, I have an idea. Let me drive.” I held out my hand for his keys.
Landon gave me an amused look but obediently handed over the keys and got in the passenger’s seat. “Where are we going?” he asked.
“You’ll see,” I said, hoping I remembered how to drive a manual. It had been a while.
Landon laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” he asked. “It’s just as much of a surprise if you’re giving me step-by-step instructions.”
“No, I can do this,” I said, even though internally I was hoping that I wouldn’t do something embarrassing like stall out in the middle of the street. I was pretty sure I could see something in Landon’s eyes, though, like he was impressed by my willingness to try this. And that made me want to succeed.
Not that I felt like I needed to impress him or anything. Oh Lord were my feelings for him all jumbled up.
I managed to drive us to the pier and only stalled out as I was trying to park. Landon laughed and opened his door, looking down at the lines in the parking lot. “I think you’re fine there anyway. You’re a little close on this side, but the lot’s pretty empty.”
I grinned sheepishly at him and handed the keys back. When I came around to his side of the car, though, he pulled me into his arms. “You did a great job with that.”
“Thanks,” I said, blushing at the praise. “It’s been a while since I drove a stick shift.”
We grabbed sandwiches from one of the shops on the corner and then walked out to the end of the pier, sitting there with our feet dangling over the water. I kept thinking about what Lina said, about how I wasn’t being fair to either of us, about how I needed to tell him that I wanted more than just sex.
And didn’t this already feel like more than just sex? I could write off our initial meetings as just showing him around town. I could write off Friday’s date as just dinner between friends. He had told me that he didn’t really know anyone here in Sarasota other than his brother, so it made sense that he would want to make friends wherever he could.
But there was something about this unexpected appearance at my work tonight that felt more date-like than I would have expected. Or maybe I just wanted it to feel that way. After all, it wasn’t like Lina didn’t surprise me at work sometimes.
“Now you’re the one who’s brooding,” Landon said, sounding amused.
I shook my head to clear it and gave him a rueful smile. “I guess so,” I said, close to telling him about my thoughts. But I just shrugged it away.
“So how was the rest of your weekend? Did you do anything fun?”
“Lina and I had a girls’ day yesterday,” I told him. “We got our nails done and did a little shopping. But that’s about it.” I shrugged. “It was just a nice, relaxing weekend. Things have been so busy lately.”
“Yeah, I could definitely use a nice, relaxing weekend,” Landon said, grimacing.
“What are you so busy with?” I asked curiously.
Landon grimaced again. “Just all the details that come along with moving to a new place,” he said, making it clear that he didn’t really want to talk about it. Which was fair enough. He probably wanted to see me so that he could take his mind off all of that.
I should have just taken him straight home and fucked him. But then again, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to sleep with him tonight. I was already in so over my head. And it was nice just to spend time with him, like this. To
be comfortable with him.
Landon bumped his shoulder against mine, grinning at me. “There you go, thinking too much again,” he said. “You want to talk about whatever it is?”
I shook my head, sighing. “Not really,” I admitted, then scowled. “Honestly, I already tried talking to Lina about it, and I’m afraid I just confused her. I need to sort things out in my own head first before I can explain them.”
“Okay,” Landon said easily. He paused. “I’ve never really had anyone other than my brother to talk to. It’s nice to have you.”
I flushed, feeling pleasure bubble up inside of me at that. Maybe we really could be just friends. Friends who talked to each other, friends who didn’t let other complications get in the way. I had to admit; it would be nice to be able to talk to him about some of my day-to-day stuff. Things I didn’t want to talk to Lina about. Having female friends was nice and all, but sometimes I just needed someone else’s perspective. Lina and I sometimes seemed like we were just too similar.
“This spot is really nice,” Landon said. “Do you come here a lot?”
“Not too often anymore, but I used to come down here all the time,” I told him.
“Why’d you stop?”
I frowned. To be honest, I had stopped coming here about the time that things had ended with my ex. There had just been too many memories. I wondered why I felt comfortable coming back here now, but I didn’t want to examine that too closely.
But suddenly, I found myself wanting to admit this to Landon. Or at least part of it. I wasn’t ready to tell him that I had feelings for him yet, but maybe it was time to admit to part of the truth. “I have this ex,” I finally said. “And when I broke up with him, I guess a lot of things changed. I wasn’t the same person anymore.”
There was of course way more to the story than that, but that was all I felt like I could tell him for now. If I said anything more, I was afraid he might start putting the pieces together and realizing just what he meant to me. I wasn’t ready for that.