by A. L Long
“Sorry to get you up so early, but there is a girl at the shop saying that she knows you and needs your help. She wouldn’t tell me why. She said she would only talk to you.”
“Who is she?” I asked, wondering what girl would need to talk to me.
“She said her name was Charlie.”
When her name rolled off of Peter’s tongue, I could have sworn that my cock began to twitch. There was always something about hearing her name that made it react that way. Hanging up with Peter, I hurried to the shower. I forgot about my coffee; it was more important to get to Charlie. She was all the dose of energy I needed to get me going.
Twenty minutes later I was out of the shower and on my way to the shop. All I could think about on my drive there was why Charlie would be waiting for me and only allow me to hear what she had to say? Maybe she wanted to rekindle what we had lost so many years ago. By the way she talked to me at the hospital, that idea was only wishful thinking. It had to be something else. She was so pissed off when we talked. Damn, I should have contacted her when I got back.
Spending another twenty minutes aimlessly searching for my car keys was time I didn’t have to spare. I was about to go crazy when it occurred to me that they were still hanging from the lock on the door. I was pretty fortunate that I lived in a well secured building. I of all people knew how dangerous it was to leave an open door, pretty much inviting a thief to come in.
Jetting to my car, I would be breaking every traffic law in order to get to the shop before Charlie left. I had already wasted enough time and it would be a miracle if she was still there. The only thing that was going to save me some time was taking the shortcut to the shop instead of taking the chance I would get caught in traffic. Taking a left out of the parking garage, I drove out of the city, using all of the back roads to the shop I could think of.
My mind was going as fast as I drove as I parked my Charger next to a silver Lexus, which I was pretty sure belonged to Charlie. Turning off the engine, I hurried inside the shop to find out why she was here in the first place. When I opened the door, there was no one in sight, telling me she must be with Peter in his office. It did, after all, seem like the only logical place for her to be. In the back of my mind, I kept wondering what brought her here.
As I looked through the glass window next to the wooden door, I could see that Charlie was with Peter. Peter being the head of Jagged Edge and one of my closest friends, I knew she was in good hands. Knocking lightly on the door, I turned the knob and pushed it open. Their eyes were focused on me, hers as blue as a cloudless sky and Peter’s green with wonder. I could tell that Peter was relieved to see me, but Charlie was a mystery. I couldn’t tell if she was relieved or if the tiny lines blanketed across her forehead were signs of concern.
Before I could say anything, Peter rose from his chair and said, “I’ll leave you two to talk,” as he headed to the office door, closing it behind him as he left.
Taking a seat in the chair next to Charlie, I angled my body to face her and asked sympathetically, “So you needed to talk to me. What is it, Charlie? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is a mess, Ryan. I need your help,” she said with a string of worry in her voice.
“Tell me what I can do.” There was no way I was going to let her down again. If there was a chance I could make it up to her, I would do anything to make things right.
“My brother is in trouble,” she began, twisting her fingers together that were settled on her bare legs. “He saw someone get killed and now bad people are after him.”
“Are you talking about Nick?” I asked sharply, still annoyed at his behavior the other day.
“Yeah. He’s the only brother I have and I would really like to keep him for a while.”
“After talking with him the other day, I don’t think he would even take my help if I offered. He was pretty pissed.”
“Wait… you talked to Nick? When?” she inquired with confusion.
“The other day at a bar. You should go sometime, they have great burgers.”
“Oh my God… you were there?” Charlie’s face contorted into an angry expression. She was about to explode as her words were barely below shouting.
“Apparently, so were you. I knew I shouldn’t have believed him when I asked. He said you were still in West Virginia.”
“I’m going to choke him. Those guys won’t have to worry about killing him, because I’m going to,” Charlie hissed.
“Don’t stress, Charlie. You’re here because of your brother. What other information do you have for me?”
As Charlie and I sat and talked about how much trouble her brother was actually in, I couldn’t help but look at her sexy tan legs. They were just as I remembered. I would never forget how they felt as she wrapped them around my waist the first time we made love. It wasn’t the most romantic place to take her virginity, but considering we both still under the direction of our parents it was kind of our only option. We even went so far as to lie to our parents about where we really were. It took weeks of planning, but it was a night I would never forget, no matter how scuzzy that hotel room was.
Hanging on every word she said, it came like a hurricane that I was still attracted to her after all this time, and the erection that was taking residence in my jeans was proof. Without even thinking, I leaned over and placed my lips on hers. At first, I thought she was going to slap my face for being so zealous, by the way she resisted, but then she gave in without a fight.
With her lips so close to mine, she whispered softly, “Ryan.”
“I know, baby, I know,” I replied, consuming every beautiful inch of her mouth.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Charlie
Ryan really seemed to understand me. When his lips met mine, it was like we were back in East Bank, West Virginia, where we grew up. I would never forget the first time he kissed me. It was in the parking lot standing next to his beat-up Camaro. Even though I thought his car was amazing, he kept telling me that it needed a lot of work. It was that day he asked me to be his girl. I thought I had just died and gone to heaven. There were so many girls who were much prettier than me. I thought for sure he would have dated Crystal Potts, who was the head cheerleader. All the football players dated a cheerleader. It was an ongoing tradition to do so. But not Ryan, he wanted to date me. When he handed me his class ring, I just about died, and then when he kissed me, every nerve in my body came unhinged. I swore I would never wash my lips again.
I wasn’t sure how long we had our lips locked together, but as much as I wanted it to continue, I knew it needed to end. Pulling away, I gazed at him with hooded eyes and said gratefully, “Thank you for helping me.”
Standing to my feet, I began making my way to the door when Ryan stopped me. “Have you told Nick about wanting my help?” Ryan’s expression of tenderness was replaced with a serious look.
“No, but I won’t give him the chance to refuse.”
Ryan followed me out of Peter’s office to the front room. When we approached the room, I had never in my life been surrounded my so many hot guys. As I was taking in the hotness occupying the space, Ryan got their attention. “Hey, guys, I want you to meet Charlotte Winters.”
As I waved my hand, because apparently my voice wasn’t working, one of the guys came up to me holding out his hand. “Hi, Charlotte. My name is Ash Jacobs.”
One by one they began introducing themselves. I already knew Peter Hewitt, but it was nice meeting the other guys that worked with Ryan. Aside from Ash Jacobs, I was introduced to Vince Coppoletti, who went by Cop; Jayce Talbott, who also had the nickname of Hawk; Sly Capelli; Lou Gainer; and finally Mike Chavez. With them standing there it reminded me of an all-male review.
“Okay, okay, guys,” Ryan remarked, seeing that I was becoming a little overwhelmed by the attention.
After the explosive introduction, Ryan was kind enough to escort me to my car, or rather Nick’s car. I thought for sure he was going to kiss me again as I rolled
down the window to thank him once again. Instead he leaned in and asked softly, “Let me see your phone, baby,” God, I loved it when he called me that.
Pulling my phone from my bag, I handed it over to him and asked, “What do you need my phone for, Ryan?”
Swiping the screen and getting into my contacts, he confessed, “Entering my number so you can call me directly,” as he began entering his information.
“How will you be able to get in touch with me?” I asked boldly.
“Already on it.” he said, pulling his phone from his back pocket. “You know, you really should think about putting a security code on your phone.”
He was right. I wasn’t sure why I had never done it before.
****
When I got back to Nick’s, he was occupying the couch with his legs extended out in front of him while he watched some sort of football game on his television. It appeared that he was in a pretty good mood. Circling the couch, I figured that this was the best time to tell him what I had done, only the beer that was sitting on the coffee table grabbed my attention. “Nick, are you crazy? You can’t drink with the pain medication you’re taking.
“One beer isn’t going to hurt,” he slurred.
“Nick, you have had way more than one beer,” I scolded as I took the one he was holding from his hand.
“Come on, sis. Don’t be like that,” he pleaded.
Rolling my eyes, I took the can to the kitchen and dumped the remaining beer down the sink. How stupid could he be? I was certain that the cut on his side went to his head and affected some of his brain cells. As I turned to look back at where he was seated, I was greeted with a pissed-off stare. It reminded me of when he was younger and didn’t get his way. Smiling back at him, I walked over to the couch and took a seat next to him, lifting his legs and placing them across my lap. I contemplated on whether or not to hold back what I needed to tell him about Ryan. I wasn’t sure that he would even remember if I did.
Taking a chance that he would, I looked down at his crooked toes and revealed what I had done. “I asked Ryan to help find the guys who were chasing you.” When there was no comment from him, I looked over only to find that he had literally passed out. Thinking twice about waking him up, I slid out from under him and grabbed the blanket that was draped along the back side of the couch. Maybe it was a sign that I needed to wait to tell him.
****
“Holy motherfucker!” I heard Nichols yell in the living room. Jumping from my bed, I hurried to the living room to see what had him in an uproar. Still half asleep, I stood at the end of the couch where he was sitting with his hand pressed to his side.
“Nichols, are you okay?” I asked, yawning my words as I tried to wake up.
“Yeah. I just got up too fast. Have you seen my pain pills?” he asked with a clenched jaw, which told me that he was in pain.
Looking around, I spotted them on the kitchen counter. Heading that way, I took a couple from the bottle, along with a bottle of water I found in the fridge. Just as I handed him the water and pills, there was a knock at the door. Knowing that Nichols had what he needed, I hurried to the front door to see who could be here. Standing on my tiptoes, I looked through the tiny peephole, not believing who was standing on the other side. Taking a deep breath, I pondered on whether or not to open the door, but I knew Ryan wouldn’t go away until I did. Opening the door, my breath hitched again as he came into view. Just like back then, his very presence made me weak between the knees.
“Ryan, what are you doing here?” I stammered, taken under his spell.
“I thought I would give you moral support after telling Nick that Jagged Edge would be protecting him until they found out who was after him,” he said.
My heart fell to my gut as I took hold of his arm. “Shh…” I whispered as I pulled him away from the door before closing it behind me as I explained what I hadn’t done yet. “He doesn’t actually know yet. I tried to tell him yesterday, but he passed out.”
“Do you want me to tell him?” he smiled.
I would have loved for him to do that, but I knew it was something that I had to do myself. Taking his hand, I led him inside the house. The minute Nick saw Ryan the cuss words began to fly. “What the fuck, Charlie?”
“Let me explain, Nick,” I backpedaled. “When you were in the hospital I ran into Ryan. He told me that he worked for Jagged Edge Security. I thought that just maybe he would be able to help find the guys that murdered that man and also protect you at the same time. You can’t keep hiding from them. What kind of life would that be for you?”
“I can to take care of myself, Charlie. You had no right deciding what I needed.”
“Just like I had no right knowing that you ran into Ryan at the bar?” He started it and I wasn’t going to hold back. He needed to know that I knew about him keeping that from me.
After about thirty minutes of arguing, Nichols finally caved in. Leaving him and Ryan alone to sort things out, I decided it was the best way for them to also hash out their differences. I wasn’t sure why there was so much friction between the two of them, but from what I could gather it had to do with them being in school together. Deciding that I needed a shower, I headed to my room to do just that.
After my wonderful shower and feeling more like myself, I went back to the living room to see what the guys came up with. When I looked around, the only person in the room was Nick. Looking to my brother, who was back on the couch, I asked, “Where did Ryan go? Did you say something to upset him?”
“I didn’t say shit to him. He got a call and just left,” Nick explained.
Wondering if maybe the call had something to do with Nick’s predicament, I went back to my room to give Ryan a call. Taking my cell from the night stand, I dialed Ryan’s number that he so kindly entered into my phone and waited for him to answer. The minute I heard his voice, I knew something was terribly wrong. When I asked him where he was, he hesitated for a moment before he told me that he was at the hospital. Curious as to why he was there, I asked him what he was doing there. His only words were, “He’s gone.”
In a trembling voice, I asked, “Who’s gone?”
“My brother, Josh. He’s gone.”
Tears began to fill my eyes as I heard my phone go dead. Grabbing my bag, barely able to think, I swiped the keys to Nick’s Lexus from the counter and headed out of the house. I couldn’t imagine what Ryan was going through. To lose someone so close to him, I knew he would be hurting. If for no other reason than that, I needed to be with him to offer my support. I knew I had to do at least that.
CHAPTER NINE
Ryan
I hadn’t made it inside the hospital when Charlie called me. I really didn’t have any information on Josh other than he was gone. The minute I heard the nurse’s voice, the worst possible thought entered my mind. He could no longer fight and his body was finally at peace. It was only after I got to the nurses’ station and requested to see Josh one last time that she told me I couldn’t because he was no longer in the hospital. When she had said that, I thought they had taken him somewhere else. Little did I know that she was trying to tell me that he just left. He must have walked right out of his room unnoticed.
When I hung up with Charlie, I knew she was thinking the worst about my brother. I must have sounded like an emotional wreck. Trying to call her back to explain what I had just found out, I found myself listening to her voice mail. If I knew Charlie and the kind heart she had, she would be on her way to the hospital to be with me. There was nothing I could do but continue trying to get in contact with her or wait until she showed up.
As I waited for Charlie to show up, I tried to think of where Josh would go. I was pretty sure if he went to the apartment, he was already long gone and so was the money. And just like Charlie, he didn’t answer his phone either, nor did he answer the land line.
At a total loss, I still had one more call I could make. “Peter, sorry to bother you, bro, but Josh up and left the hospital. Not s
ure where he might have gone, but we need to find him. He is sicker than hell.”
“What do you mean he’s sicker than hell? Last I knew he got beat up pretty bad,” Peter replied.
“They found out that he has some rare shit liver disease. He’s dying, bro, and now he’s MIA. I’ve got to find him,” I paused a moment before I asked, “I need you to do something for me. Can you check my apartment and see if by chance he might be there?” I must have sounded like a lunatic.
“You got it,” Peter said before ending our call. I never had to worry about the guys having my back. We all did. One pact we made was to always be there for each other, and the way we did that was by leaving a set of keys to not only our homes, but our vehicles as well. They hung on a hook in Peter’s office in case of an emergency, and for me this was the mother lode of emergencies.
****
While I was pacing the floor by the entrance door like a high schooler waiting for his date, Charlie finally walked through the automatic doors. Before I could explain that my brother wasn’t really gone in the sense that she might have thought, her arms were around me pulling be close to her small frame. Unwilling to let her go because it felt so good to have her body so close to mine, I knew it was time to explain.
Holding her at arm’s length, I looked into her hopeless eyes, which were red and swollen from crying. I hoped that I could soothe her pain. Feeling remorse for not being able to explain, I pulled her close and said, “Charlie, everything is okay. I was mistaken. Josh is alive, but gone from the hospital. I only just found out myself.”
“So, he isn’t dead?” she questioned, blowing out a breath of air that she was probably holding in from the minute she walked through the door.