by A. J. Downey
“Every man’s got his secrets,” Dragon agreed. “We just never figured yours was this big.”
“Go big or go home, right?”
He chuckled and nodded, “What’re you gonna need out here?” he asked.
I sighed, “Hot water would be a good start.”
Trigger grinned, “Ain’t pretty but we got you covered.”
“I appreciate it, more than you guys can know…” I bowed my head and pressed fingers into the base of my skull in a shitty bid to relieve a tension headache that was brewing.
“What’re brothers for?” Dragon asked.
The silence stretched between the three of us for a long moment, a silence that was finally broken by Trig when he said: “You know it’s not going to be easy, right?”
“What part of any of this has been easy up to this point?” I asked, knowing, likely, where he was headed.
“True enough, she was gone, but now she’s here but everything is different… She’s going to be different.”
I nodded, “You don’t have to be gentle about it, man. I know.”
“I don’t know that you quite get what he’s driving at,” Ghost said uneasily, and I nodded.
“I do, I may have been born at night but I wasn’t born last night… she’s high-strung, been looking over her shoulder for seventeen years. It will probably take seventeen more and she still might not come back from habits that deeply ingrained. You don’t have to tiptoe around the subject, brothers… I know PTSD when I see it.”
Trigger, Ghost, and even Dragon looked relieved and I sighed. “And before you even ask, no, I don’t know how I am going to handle it except a step at a time. Mali is stronger than you think, though, so it’ll be tough and take some doing but I have to believe that ultimately she’s gonna be fine.”
“First things first, gotta know what’s doggin’ her steps and put a stop to it before she can put any kind of healin’ on her.”
“True, that… some sleep and I’ll work on that but we only just got here and I know I’m tired and I’m used to rides like that. She isn’t.”
“Rest up tonight, find out what you can about who’s after her ass and why, and we’ll get on it.”
“I know the ‘why’: she killed somebody to save her dad. The problem is the who… No idea on that front, but he must have been some kind of important to someone somewhere in the underground.”
“Well, we’ll figure it out in the mornin’,” Dragon said and bowed his head, scraping a boot against the cement in front of him; I nodded.
“Thanks for that, P.”
“Hell, you’ve helped us bury enough bodies, I figure turnabout is fair play.” I nodded again and we all let out closely timed big sighs.
“Should probably go save her from Reaver,” Ghost said with a grin and I smiled.
“Screw Mali once, shame on you. Fuck her twice and you’ll be the saddest motherfucker on the block. She doesn’t like to lose.”
“Good thing I took her shiny cap gun away,” Dragon muttered.
I shook my head, “When it comes to Amalia Rose, that doesn't mean a thing.”
I told them about our escape from Indigo City and it was met with a mixture of dubious and impressed expressions.
“Well, she ain’t getting this back until we get her some range time,” Trigger said, going over and taking the revolver from Dragon.
“She’s not going to like that,” I said flatly and Dragon huffed a laugh.
“No, I don’t suppose she is,” he said and I could tell, he didn’t give a fuck. I smiled, stuck in the middle was a place I was used to being when it came to Mali. Seems times hadn’t changed all that much after all.
9
Amalia…
I sat up on one of the rusting car hulks and kept my mind and body ready for either of these two assclowns to pull something, but they didn’t. They just stood chatting amicably a few feet away. I was tired, I was irritated, and I really didn’t like Kyle’s new friends. A short time after they’d shut me out, President Junior came outside.
“Yo, Dray, what’s the verdict?” the one named Rev called out. He was short and stocky with arms like a slab of beef and fists that looked like they had crashed more than a few motherfucker’s parties.
“Fucked if I know! I’m going home. They’ll sort it out eventually,” Dray said and sat astride his bike. He pulled on a helmet and stared across the short expanse of dirt and gravel lot in my direction. I raised an eyebrow and met his smoldering gaze, giving no quarter. He smirked and shook his head and I scowled.
“Something funny?” I demanded.
“I’ll see you boys, later,” he called, not even looking in my direction anymore, ignoring me, and I hated that. It harkened back to how life was for me growing up around this shit town until I met Kyle.
“You got a chip on your shoulder something fierce, ain’t you, baby?” Reaver asked and I turned my tempestuous gaze on him.
“The fuck did you call me?” I demanded, putting on a braver front than I actually felt. He’d taken my father’s gun from me like it’d been easy. He grinned at me, eyes gone feral and cold. I swallowed hard, which only made his grin grow into something almost rictus. He looked crazy, and you didn’t fuck with crazy.
“Reaver, knock it off!” Rev said, scowling and Reaver shook like a dog coming out of a bath.
“I can’t help it,” he whined, “It’s been a while, and Doll isn’t scared of me anymore, not like she used to be.”
Rev shook his head and looked at his dusty, red Chuck Taylor high tops. He glanced up at Reaver and said, “Sounds to me like you need to up your game then, buddy.”
Reaver stuck out his bottom lip in a pout and sighed. I blinked and looked from one to the other.
“Did this seriously just turn into relationship counseling for the resident psychopath?” I demanded.
Reaver frowned at me, “I’m not a complete psycho, I mean, not anymore. I just have some sociopathic tendencies.” He almost sounded defensive, which given the actual words coming out of his mouth was utterly fucking ridiculous.
I rolled my eyes and leaned back, scoffing, “What are they even talking about?” I demanded of no one in particular. Seriously, I just wanted to get out of this stupid-assed episode of Dr. Phil.
“That ain’t for us to know,” Rev said, but not rudely. He twisted back and forth, raising first one knee then the other in the opposite direction that he twisted his upper body, in an effort to pop his lower back. I took the time to study what I could see of his ink as he twisted into the light from the building’s exterior but it was no good. Just quick glimpses, flashes with no detail. He had on a sleeveless tee, so his arms were bared, so I still tried to decipher what was there, but it was hard to tell in the dark what he had going on. The only thing I could tell was that one arm was fiery and the other was in cool gray scale. I didn’t ask for a closer look. I wasn’t that bored, but I was getting pretty anxious.
I was worried what they were doing to Kyle, who had obviously piqued their ire over me, and my old friend guilt settled over my shoulders like a scratchy stole. I couldn’t tell you how many times Kyle’d been busted for one of my dumb ideas. How many restrictions, how many times he’d taken the heat for me with his parents just to spare me the beating from my dad when we were growing up. Seventeen years apart and that apparently hadn’t changed either.
I was frustrated, growing agitated by the minute, the heel of my Doc tapping out an irritated staccato on the cracked black vinyl bumper that I rested my feet on. The nervous energy mounting until I thrust my legs up beneath me and leaped lightly down from the car. Reaver jerked slightly, going on guard, and I shook my head. I knew when I was outmatched and between Reaver’s speed and Rev’s obvious strength… well, I had no interest in becoming hamburger tonight.
I paced with nervous energy. I couldn’t hold still even if I wanted to. I felt caged and I hated that feeling, but at the same time, I’d probably hate being dead more, now that Kyle was back in
the picture. Another wave of guilt crashed over me, raising gooseflesh along my skin and bile in the back of my throat. I was turning into a nervous wreck but, other than the angry stalking back and forth over the dirt and gravel drive, I wasn’t about to show any other signs of agitation or weakness.
It seemed like an iron age dragged on before the door opened, interrupting the eerie blue light from the fluorescent fixture above it with a swath of golden electric from inside. The big man, Trigger, stood in the doorway and called out, “Hey Reave, Rev, come on in here. Dragon wants to talk to her alone.”
“Okay, Queenie; up against the car. I gotta frisk you,” Rev said and he didn’t exactly look happy about it, to which I could attribute him a few brownie points.
“Why?” I demanded, suspicious.
“Because ain’t no way we’re letting our revered leader out here with you alone until we know you aren’t packing more than your daddy’s pistol,” Reaver said and gave me a grin. He tilted his head just so, and I didn’t know what disturbed me more: The maniacal look he was giving me or the fact that he knew just how the light would fall to give it its full effect. Dude had being scary down to a science. He said, “If you don’t want Rev to do it, I could,” and I grinned back.
“Fuck you,” I said and his smile softened, a little boy dimple appearing on one side of his mouth, the side lit by the shop light on the outside of the building.
“I didn’t think so,” he said, and Rev stepped up and pointed at the ground twirling his thick finger in a bid for me to turn around and assume the position.
I did as I was told and sniffed like I was bored saying, “You get handsy and we’ll put my speed against your brawn. I’ll emasculate you.”
“My wife likes my dick right where it is, Queenie and I like my ol’ lady right where she is, which is in my life. You ain’t got nothin’ to worry about.”
It was food for thought. I just didn’t know how to digest what he was saying just yet. The vibe was still a cautionary one, but these guys had backed way off. We were almost circling in this battle of wits and it was interesting. My sixth sense about people, developed over seventeen years of living a life on the run, was telling me I could be a little more optimistic about the situation but I wasn’t about to run with that. I always remained cautious far longer than was warranted. It was a good thing, too; it had saved my ass more than a couple of times.
Rev kicked my feet apart gently and I leaned my hands against the front end of one of the old cars. He whisked his hands over me quickly and efficiently, earning a few extra brownie points when he apologized about getting near sensitive areas but didn’t skimp on the search. He took my pocket knife, and that left me feeling fairly dejected. I was completely out of weapons at that point except for my wits and whatever around here was handy.
“’K, you can get up,” he said and I turned a harsh eye in his direction.
“I’m going to want that back,” I said and I caught Reaver grinning nearby like I’d done something to get after his own heart.
“You’ll get it back, Queenie. Don’t you worry,” Rev said and he jerked his head at Reave. They trudged across the lot, gravel and dirt scraping and crunching under their shoes. They slipped into the building around the big man and the door closed. A second later it opened back up spilling the man of the hour out into the dark with me. Although, between his coloring, and how he moved, it was like he was a piece of the dark coming home. I didn’t know if that was some kind of an omen or not.
I stood, hands loose at my sides, and waited on him to come to me. I wasn’t about to defer to him. I mean, he may be their leader, and Kyle may choose to follow him, but I had sworn no fealty and didn’t have the same compunctions. I didn’t follow anybody, leastways not blindly, and in my world respect wasn’t something that was always freely given… it had to be earned.
He stopped a healthy distance away from me and brought his cupped hands up, lighting the end of his cigarette. He took a decent drag off of it and held it, smoke curling from his nose, well, like a dragon, as his dark eyes raked me from head to toe. He kept one hand raised, cigarette between his index and middle finger while the other mirrored mine, kept loose and at the ready at his side.
A slight breeze ruffled past us, dragging a loose lock of my hair from my braid across my cheek, but I didn’t move to brush it away. I waited to see what he would say or do.
He’d exhaled a few heartbeats back, and rather than speak, he cocked his head and took another thoughtful drag off his cancer stick. He let that breath out much quicker and said on the trailing end of it, “Y’know, we’re a pretty peaceful lot nowadays. Doin’ our best to leave that other world bullshit in our rearview mirrors. A lot of these guys have wives and children, and up to a couple a nights ago, we didn’t even know you existed.”
“You’re pissed,” I said with a shrug and he echoed the movement, shrugging back.
“Not especially, just curious.”
“Ask whatever you wanna ask. Not like I can stop you.” He huffed a laugh and shook his head, but his coal dark eyes never left mine.
“Got a chip on your shoulder, ain’t you, sweetheart?”
“Maybe.”
He nodded slowly, “Fair enough, we ain’t especially welcome you with open arms – part of that bein’ because we don’t know you, or what kind of trouble you’re bringin’.”
I shrugged and felt bad. I honestly did. I didn’t want there to be any collateral damage as much as these guys didn’t want to be collateral damage. I kept to myself for a reason, that primarily, being it.
“Look, I don’t want to cause any trouble. Never dreamt in a million years I would ever even see Kyle again…”
He pointed at me with his two fingers, the coal of his cigarette glowing an angry red, but his voice wasn’t unkind, just genuine when he said, “Now that I believe.”
He dropped his thumb over his two fingers and I felt my chest seize up with anxiety until I realized that it wasn’t some kind of threat, but rather an unconscious motion by him that he’d finally confirmed something he’d suspected since meeting me.
“So now what?” I asked, swallowing hard.
He sighed, “Well, now you tell me what you want to have happen.” I opened my mouth and closed it, brow crushing down into a confused frown. “Humor me,” he said, adding, “And for once you can be honest. Don’t be tellin’ me what you think I wanna hear. I know bullshit when I smell it.”
“Huh,” I relented eventually, leaning my ass back against the hulk of the old beater that Rev had frisked me against. “Guess we have something in common after all.” I sucked in a harsh breath and let it out just as quickly. I needed to make a decision and the Queen of Swords haunted me, Reaver’s words echoing… Make good choices… This, trusting someone other than Kyle, was a blind corner for me. Hell, trusting Kyle after such a long separation was a blind corner but I have to confess, all the same, old feelings were there and strong as the day I’d left. The vibe I got off of Kyle was a good one and he trusted these people… I swallowed hard and prayed this was the right choice.
“I want to know who’s following me and I want them to stop following me. I didn’t do anything wrong,” I said and Dragon searched my face, nodding slowly.
“I understand why Data – sorry… Kyle kept you from his brothers. It’d been a long time before he got himself hooked up with the club.” His gaze roved over me again and he changed tack. “Lemme ask you something.”
I raised an eyebrow when he didn’t immediately come out with it and I realized he was waiting for me to give him permission, a big departure from our reception so I nodded and said, “Go ahead.”
“What do you think would lead a man to follow some girl who dropped off his radar without so much as a goodbye seventeen years ago?”
I shrugged and shook my head, an uneasy feeling creeping over me. It was a legit question, but I didn’t know where he was going with it. He nodded, apparently satisfied with what he was seeing out of me and c
huckled darkly. He didn’t provide an answer, instead, he said to me, “Well, when you have an answer to that question you go on and promise to let me know what it is.”
I nodded mutely, caught off guard by the strange request. He took another drag off his cigarette, his dark eyebrows rising into his hairline. He jerked his head in the direction of the building and I felt a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding creep out of my lungs. He turned for the corrugated steel structure but didn’t lead, instead, he waited for me to fall into step beside him and I felt a quiver of anxiety that was my usual paranoia but it quickly fizzled out.
I still hoped like hell I was making the right choice, my fingers damn near itched to hold my cards and ask for insight into the mysterious figure that Dragon cut.
10
Data…
Dragon opened the door and came in, Mali behind him, her dark eyes curious, her expression as guarded as I’d ever seen it. I could see the wheels and gears turning and clicking along behind her eyes and had to hand it to D. Whatever he’d said was making her think, but also, she was a little more relaxed, less stand-offish. She moved like a cat, gliding rather than walking with that feline grace and I had to smile.
I’d carried a torch for her since about forever and it looked like neither time nor distance had changed that much. I let my gaze wander over her, checking her out, making sure she was okay, even as she did the same to me. Questions floated up behind her eyes and I gave her a slight chin lift. I’d answer what I could, but there were some things that were strictly club business and I’d already set my brothers on edge with this. I wasn’t about to betray them, or her, but asking for trust from either side at this point was probably going to be asking a lot.
“All right, decision made… Data, you find out what’s what and if’n you can’t, well, then, time for plan B as much as we don’t like it.”
“I like plan B, can we just skip to plan B?” Reaver asked, and he was bouncing on the balls of his feet again.