by M. Merin
The only people she typically won’t discuss are the local cops, the MC, and Riley Maddock. Everyone else is fair game. Riley is the heir of the richest family in the area; there’ve been years of speculation over ‘what is wrong with her’. Her parents’ keep her stashed away at their ranch house outside of town while they rub elbows with the Governor and other movers and shakers in Boise and DC.
“Did you hear the news, Flint?” Marge starts up, though she doesn’t wait before continuing. “The Maddocks were trying to get the cemetery relocated!”
Gunner and I both look up startled; that’s a new low, even for them.
“They had investors come to town looking for sites for a spa of some sort! Of course, it is so pretty where the graveyard is located, but it’s sacred ground! I have family buried there, going back a hundred and twenty years.” Marge continues. “Well, Old Mrs. Riley was having none of that – how that sweet old soul raised a daughter like how Mrs. Maddock turned out, I’ll never understand. Anyway, she had her driver take her to Boise this past Monday. You’ll never guess what she did?”
“Huh?” Grunts Gunner, knowing that Marge doesn’t need much prodding.
“Well, Mrs. Riley, she just strolled right into the Governor’s office, didn’t she? Goodness knows what she said, but when her granddaughter was in here yesterday, young Miss Maddock assured me that the cemetery was safe and staying put!” Marge smiles to herself.
“Riley Maddock comes in here?” I ask, always wondered what she’d be like. Her Grandfather and I had some business dealings together, and we were well matched at poker also. I’ve never laid eyes on the girl myself.
“She’s an early riser, gets here a couple mornings a week just as we open. You know she’s not even eighteen and been studying over at the University nearly two years now? Just the sweetest, kindest, little thing. Don’t you listen to anything else about her; a bunch of ignorant gossips in this town.” Marge stomps off, seemingly angry on the mysterious Riley’s behalf. We never got to place our order.
Lifting his coffee to his mouth, Gunner grunts out another “Huh.”
Looking down I see he’d completely shredded his napkin while Marge was talking. “Son, maybe you should get a nicotine patch or something. That just looks crazy.” I say, pointing to the pile of white paper in front of him.
“Nah. I’m doing fine without it.” He shrugs.
“How’s your business doing?” I ask, trying to put off the topic I know he’s working towards.
Gunner’s not naturally a talker, but I can be assured this is one topic he can carry. I’m impressed with his numbers and how far he’s come figuring out online sales in addition to local jobs. Still, am pleased when Marge returns with platters of food.
“Gotcha what you usually get. Be back with more coffee. Want anything else?” She says as she sets everything down.
We both nod our thanks and she walks away. Gunner starts to doctor up his pancakes and starts in with, “Vice talked to me about that night at Rusty’s…” Our heads unconsciously turn when the door opens, and his voice cuts off as Bree walks in with Sheriff Michaels. She has deep circles under her eyes and doesn’t notice us as she sinks warily into a booth.
“What the fuck is she doing with him?” I ask a question that Gunner has no chance of knowing the answer to. Michaels has been in office the last five years and, like his predecessor, has stayed out of our hair. He’s single and the sudden thought of that asshole in her bed, infuriates me. The knowledge that Michaels’ has generally done his fucking outside of his voting pool is the only thing stopping me from strangling him.
“Boss, calm down.” Gunner warns, then cocks his head and grins at me. “Guess that means you’re still gonna try for her?”
I sit there fuming, watching their interaction in the reflection of the mirrored wall behind Gunner.
“What’s a matter with your breakfast, Flint?” Margie calls as she approaches us with more coffee.
Sheriff Michaels’ eyes glance up to meet my glare in the mirror and I see Bree’s shoulders tense up as she also turns to look at me.
“Want to head out?” Gunner offers, reaching for his wallet.
“Finish your goddamn breakfast!” I snap at him. “No reason for me to leave here.”
“Just a little bit harder to talk about her if she’s right there, is all.” Gunner replies.
“Don’t remember asking your opinion on the matter.” I turn my glare to him.
“Just seems like you two are a little off track. Thought you might like to talk.” He shrugs at me.
I continue to watch her exchange from the mirror. Just as Marge is bringing their food out, the Sheriff’s radio crackles and he ends up getting his food boxed while Bree stays in the booth eating and listening to Marge.
Once the Big Guy finishes, we toss some bills on the table. Heading out, Gunner turns back suddenly and grabs Bree’s shoulder as he leans down to whisper in her ear. She clasps his hand and nods her head.
I refuse to ask what that was about as we get on our bikes, moments later we’re pulling out of the lot heading in different directions.
Bree
In a classic case of ‘needing a vacation after a vacation’, my first weeks back starts badly and quickly head into the shitter.
In addition to the fallout from Flint, I seem to have acquired a stalker. Though Sheriff Michaels assures me it has to be high school students messing around, I can’t shake the feeling of being watched. I’ve gotten so paranoid that I refuse to let Ragnar be tied up outside alone anymore.
The odd noises and excess of dead animals around the property are mainly happening during off hours so I’ve been able to keep Rusty from finding out. I have no doubt he would immediately involve the MC.
The night after my breakfast with the Sheriff is the most blatant incident. One after another, rocks are thrown through the front windows of my apartment. The pitcher seems have gone three for three.
So at four AM, I’m making coffee and entertaining a few members of the Rowansville Police force.
“Ms. Lynch, I understand your concerns but at this time there’s still nothing that doesn’t point too high school kids being punks.” The Officer on Duty states. “We have and will continue to keep an eye on this place but we cannot afford to keep someone outside all night.”
“Because God forbid, you solve this crime!” I snap back causing the room to descend into silence. “Where is the Sheriff anyway?”
“Well, it’s his night off and he’s away from town just now,” They share a smirk amongst themselves. “Do you have somewhere else to stay? Some place less isolated?” He adds.
“I haven’t done anything wrong, now I have to pay for new windows and your best solution is for me to move out of my home?” I’m trying really hard not to screech back at him. He apparently doesn’t understand how patient I am trying to be, since he just mutely stares back at me.
Letting out a breath, I ask about who might be able to fix the damage. Naturally, the only reply is: Vice.
Once they bag up the rocks and help me use cardboard boxes to temporarily board up my windows, they head out. Leaving me alone with a very upset dog.
Unable to fall back asleep, I start a ticket with the Insurance Company to get the windows replaced. That done, I catch up on my neglected DVR recordings until I can get Ragnar over to Rusty’s house before going to the Home Surplus store to see if they have someone who can install windows. I’m not going to go running to anyone in the MC.
All in all, I get most of my errands done by early afternoon. Knowing that Ragnar is safely tucked away, I decide on some quality ‘me’ time. Marge immediately calls out to me when I enter the nail salon in town and she spends the next hour filling me in on years’ worth of town gossip. Finishing up around the same time, I decide to pay for her pedicure. She’s always been great to me at the diner; plus, here’s hoping she’ll tap down on any gossip she hears about me.
Arriving back home, I immediately get a sin
king feeling in my stomach.
Besides Rusty’s truck, Gunner, Vice, and Flint’s bikes are all in the parking lot. We don’t open for another hour so this can’t be good.
Walking into the bar, my dog runs across the room to greet me. The men have frozen in place and all have various degrees of furious expressions on their faces.
“Hey! Town Hall Meeting tonight?” I quip, trying to lighten the mood.
“There was a package outside for you, Bree.” Rusty starts off. “I wouldn’t have opened it except it leaked all over me when I picked it up.” He steps forward and I can see blood stains all over his shirt.
“Oh no.” I whimper, sliding down to hold Ragnar closer.
“What happened to your windows, Bree?” Flint starts in next.
“Rocks.” I state simply.
“Anything else you want to tell us about?” Flint demands glaring at me.
“Don’t you take that tone with me! Don’t you dare!” I stand up, Ragnar moves in front of me as if to protect me but he’s friendly with everyone in the room, so he just looks confused.
“Bree, other businesses connected to our MC have been targeted lately,” Gunner steps forward, holding his hands out as if to calm us all. “Let me take Ragnar to the clubhouse, or maybe to Jas’ house?” He quickly thinks better of his first plan. “Just until we know he’ll be safe. OK, Pretty Lady?”
“What was in the box, Rusty?” I ask, unable to keep a tear from leaking down my cheek.
“Don’t you worry about that, Vice already buried it. It’s just the note; they threaten Ragnar, by name, in the note, Bree.” Rusty answers.
“Ok, Gunner, please take him somewhere safe. Please?” I whimper. ” I can’t lose him, too.”
Gunner crosses to me, gripping my shoulder with his large hand. “I’ve got his food and bed ready to go; can I take your truck? I’ll be back with it in a little while. Emma is Jasper’s wife, I’ll give her your number to check in with you about him; alright?”
I quickly hand over my keys and kneel to pet and kiss my puppy. As Gunner takes his leash, Flint calls out to him. “Drive around a while, make sure you aren’t followed.” Gunner squeezes my shoulder again before heading out.
Chapter 15
Bree
Standing, I walk behind the bar and pour myself a drink. “It started the day after I got back. Notes slid under the door, or on my windshield. An airhorn going off an hour or so after I’d go to bed. Dead animals outside the fence line where I secure Ragnar.”
I stop to pour more amber fluid into my glass. “The police just kept saying it was teenagers. The Sheriff met with me the morning after a dead rabbit was hung to the fence. He promised more patrols past here, but then the rocks were hurled through my windows last night and yes, most things that have happened seem so juvenile but I just think, feel, that this is more than a couple teenagers.”
“Why didn’t you say anything, Bree?” Rusty quietly asks.
“Because, you’d tell them.” I shrug.
“Get out.” Flint growls. The three of us look around startled. “You two, get the fuck out of here now.” He clarifies, indicating Rusty and Vice.
Nodding his head, Rusty signals to Vice and they head back to the stairs that lead up to my place. After we hear the door close; Flint storms around the bar to me.
Without a moment to prepare, his lips crash down on mine. As passionate as our kisses have always been, that isn’t the first emotion that sweeps through me this time.
This time his kiss makes me feel safe. Desperate for this lifeline, I hungrily return it; threading my arms around his neck to keep him close.
The shooting happened so quickly that I never felt unsafe, as odd as it sounds. But this stalking has kept me on edge every moment of the last couple weeks. I thought I could handle it but his kiss is more than just his feelings for me, it’s an unspoken guarantee of safety. A guarantee offered and accepted.
He pulls back just as suddenly as he started.
“This between us? It isn’t just fucking, Bree.” Flint’s voice is still filled with rage over finding out what I’ve been living with. “Look at me. Tell me you understand that.” He grips the back of my neck to ensure I maintain eye contact with him.
“I wanted to talk when I got back and settled, but then you said those things!” I whisper a lame defense, knowing it hardly matters now.
“I screwed up, Doll; I was pissed and I screwed up. But you understand now, don’t you?” He has shifted his hands to cup my face. “Please?”
“I love you, too, Flint.” My words bring his lips back down to mine. He lifts me so I’m sitting on top of the cooler with him in between my legs.
I reach for his belt, but he quickly stops me. “We’ll finish this later.” He whispers his promise in my ear. “Come on now, the bar will be open soon and there’s a trap to set, Doll.” He winks down at me.
Flint
Holding tight to Bree’s hand, I tug her upstairs to her apartment. Vice and Rusty look surprised at our arrival. I haven’t had my woman in a month, no way I’m settling for a quickie.
“Vice, I need you to grab the probies and some of the more experienced guys. See who’s around the clubhouse. Gonna need guards on the perimeter until we catch this asshole. Now, tell me which businesses have been having problems and what Jasper’s been doing.” I grab a beer from the fridge, knowing having anything stronger wouldn’t be smart right now.
Vice quickly rattles off the places that have been hit lately, more vandalism than anything else; but the events have been escalating as they continue. Most start off as minor annoyances that managers shrugged off, the only difference being that most of the locations were more centrally located in town. Where the deputies could easily increase their presence.
The other thing Vice and Jasper didn’t put together, because I don’t fucking report to them; is that I own a share of each business that has been vandalized. Including, of course, Rusty’s.
“Fuck.” I growl. “Give me a minute.” I scroll through my phone, finding my lawyer’s number.
“Jessop here.” He answers quickly. “Flint! Hey, I missed seeing you on the rid…”
“Yeah, not now.” I cut him off. “Those investments I made earlier this year. I need you to get on the phone and see if there have been any issues down there.”
“Issues? I haven’t heard anything from the management company…” He starts.
“No, looking for small time shit. Like a broken window here or there, stolen hangers from the cleaners; annoying crap – not high crimes.” I let him know what to look for and am met with dead silence.
“You still with me?” I ask after a moment. “You hear anything?”
“I did. My office, I mean. Maybe just over a month ago? There was a broken window but it didn’t seem like anything was missing or disturbed.” He informs me. “I had the Sheriff send his team through. They didn’t find anything. Then my assistant was going to audit the files but she had a vacation on the books, she’s just back now.”
“Check my file and call me back,” I reply, staring straight at Bree; trying to calm myself. Jessup handled every investment I ever made, here and down in Utah.
I hear Gunner lumbering up the steps as I’m hanging up with the lawyer. Bree crosses to open the door; not bothering to identify the person on the stairs, as Gunner’s the only one who could make that much noise.
“Emma’s gonna call you tonight, Pretty Lady. Ragnar was on his best behavior, didn’t take him a moment to go belly up before he went to curl up on the floor next to the crib thingy where the babies were sleeping.” Gunner gives Bree a quick squeeze before looking to Vice and me.
“I better head down and get ready to open,” Rusty interjects before Gunner can say anything else. Best he stay out of this business from here on out, anyway.
“Lawyer’s office was hit,” I start as Rusty closes the door. “Nothing obvious, but everything that’s been hit? I have a piece of.”
Vice
whistles.
“Why? And why now?” Gunner asks.
“Doesn’t make sense, I’ve been low key for a while now.” I pause. “Except, there were a lot of legit businesses that needed some cash after we took out the Spiders…”
“The Spiders? What’s that?” Bree cuts in. Vice looks like he forgot she was in the room.
“It was an MC. A few hours South of here.” Gunner answers her.
“Was.” Bree doesn’t ask. She’s a bit too streetwise for that.
“That crease along Jasper’s skull?” I start. “That was them. Emma was right next to him and it could’ve been her. I cut whores out a long time ago, I had two girls before my boy came along; not that that matters, that kinda shit didn’t sit right with me.
“They weren’t only running them, but when they really decided to target us? They sent their whores who had VDs our way, to infect us.”
Bree’s face has gone starched white as she registers my words; her eyes quickly flicking between Gunner and me.
“And after the Spiders became a “was”? Did you…” She looks to me.
“A large donation was given to the clinic in our town and theirs; to help treat women. What they did disgusted us all and we all pitched in.” Gunner speaks up and Vice’s head is nodding along.
She reaches out to grasp his shoulder. “Thank you. Your grandmother would be…” Bree’s eyes flip over to Vice, uncertain of what to say in front of him so she just finishes her sentence with a shrug. He squeezes her arm in understanding.
And I can’t wait another moment, so I cross the room and hold her to me again. While my life was spent outside the law, hers was always within its nice, safe boundaries. She crossed those without any reservation when the love of her life was taken. But I believe, that even before that, Bree had a pretty good understanding that real life is gray, not black or white.
That sometimes, doing the right thing can make you the bad guy. Or woman, in her case.
And Goddamn, I may not be the love of her life, but I know she’s the love of my life. I swear to myself I’ll not envy the love she still carries for her husband, that I’ll help her treasure her memories; because he was smart enough to see her for the amazing creature she is, and he loved her stubborn, sarcastic ass, just like I do.