Just as I put my hands on the front door he comes back. I let him in and study his leg, but I can’t find exactly what kind of injury is causing the limp. There’s a tear in one of his pants’ legs, but the condition of the limb itself isn’t visible.
“Sit down,” I say, grabbing my chair and wheeling it up to him.
“Naw. Not here.” His words come out tight and strained like he’s in pain. “My office.”
“I’ll get you some ice.”
He limps down the hall for his office and I go into the staff kitchen. My hands shake as I open up the freezer and crack some cubes into a dish towel. Thankfully, no one else is in the kitchen. It would be hard for me to act normal right now.
Brad reclines in his chair, the window blinds behind him drawn closed.
“Here.” I step around his desk and hand him the towel full of ice.
“Thanks.” He presses the ice to his eye and winces. “I got into a fight out on the highway. Road rage got the best of me. Don’t know what I was thinking.”
I purse my lips. “Is that the truth?”
“Huh?”
“Did you really get into a fight, or did Bennie’s men get to you?”
The one eye I can see goes wide. I take a seat across from Brad. I need to be at the front to let people in and answer the phone, but I’ll hear any ringing or knocking from Brad’s office.
“You know,” he slowly says, like he’s figuring it all out just by making one simple statement.
“Will told me. And please don’t get mad at him. I made him spill because of Bennie’s men. They saw me with Will yesterday. He dropped me off at the auto shop, I went out to get your car, and Bennie’s guys pulled up and tried to kidnap me. I think they were planning on holding me hostage until you paid up.”
Brad sags against his seat. His hand holding the ice drops into his lap. “Shit, Katelynn. I didn’t know.”
“Bennie Whispers didn’t tell you he would kidnap your employees?” My words shake and my hands join them. I’m furious and scared.
“I owe some money. Bennie told me he’d… he’d collect in whatever way he needed to.”
“God.” I want to curl up into a ball, but I resist the urge. “Those men came to my house looking for me. They know where I live. Do you even understand that? You’re lucky my dad hasn’t called the cops about this. I need the real story, Brad. The whole thing.”
“Sounds like you know most of it. Will and I owe someone money and they don’t like how long it’s taking us to pay them back.” His eyebrows pinch together. “Did they hurt you?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t plan to.”
Brad frowns. “There’s something else I need to tell you. Bennie’s men found me this morning. They busted your car’s windshield. I’m real sorry. I’ll pay to have it replaced.”
I don’t care about a car right now. Even my very first car, which I saved up for two years to buy. I also doubt Brad has any money to spare on replacing windshields.
“It can still be driven,” he says. “I’d offer to drive it to a shop for you, but if those assholes see it they’ll come hot on my heels again.”
And what about me? I wonder. Does Brad have any idea just how much damage he’s already done to my life? For how long will I have to look behind my shoulder with every step and worry about my family nonstop?
“I can get it towed to a shop,” he says. “Or maybe the auto shop we just used can come get it.”
“Sure,” I agree. “I’ll call them up.” I start to go, but something else occurs to me. “Why’d you come in and ask for your keys?”
“I needed to hide my car. If they come and see it, they’ll wreck it and leave it busted up like they did to yours. I put it in the back garage. Let me call a cab to pick me up early. Sometime around lunch. Take my messages, but don’t tell anyone I’m not here. Got it?”
“Yes.” I don’t like the taste of the word on my tongue. I feel like I’ve become more than a receptionist at an aircraft assembly plant. Somehow, I’ve become an accomplice in some shady dealings.
Because of my formerly straight-laced turned crooked boss!
If the police do get wind of what’s going on, how will it look for me?
I push myself up from the chair. “Are you going to pay them back?”
He sullenly looks at me. “I have to. I just need to figure out a way to get the money together.”
It’s exactly what Will said, and Brad’s words give me even less comfort.
I nod dumbly and turn and go. I don’t want to know all the ways Brad might ‘get the money together’. I’m already feeling sick from hearing about what he and Will have been up to. The details don’t matter all that much. If they’re not willing to go to the police it means they’ve knowingly gotten themselves involved in something illegal.
Nausea hits me as I walk back to my desk. I always knew Will had some weird parts to him, but I never imagined he and Brad would choose to get involved with organized crime.
It just goes to show you never really know about people.
It’s a realization I hate.
23
Hunter
Jake sits on the edge of his seat as we drive into Katelynn’s work. I get it. I might have been the one that told him we need to back off some, but I’m worried about Katelynn too. She’s been on my mind all day long. Finishing up at the shop and coming to pick her up has me feeling the best that I have all day.
Jake parks in the first clear spot and we go up to the building’s front door. Katelynn sits behind a counter on the other side of the desk. She sees us standing outside and smiles. A buzzer sounds and Jake rips the door open.
Katelynn stands and meets us at the end of the counter.
“This is your desk, huh?” Jake asks, leaning over and peeking at her computer.
“Yeah, but there’s nothing too exciting here. Sorry. Mostly I answer the phone and play Candy Crush.”
“Dang,” he grins.
“I could show you the break room.”
“Now you’re talking. I love those.” He grins at her. She smiles back for a second but then frowns and nibbles at her bottom lip. Her lighthearted mood is out the window just like that.
“What is it?” I ask.
She exhales like she’s just had the most exhausting day of her life. “A lot. It’s a lot. Let me tell you while we walk to my car.”
She picks up her purse and goes with us out the door.
Jake wraps his arm around Katelynn’s shoulder and pulls her against him while we walk. She wraps her own arm around his waist and drops her head against his chest.
“It turns out Will and my boss, Brad, owe some money from gambling. They’re supposed to give it to this man called a… a bookie, I think.”
Bookie. It’s a word I don’t need to hear. Jake tenses and looks at me.
“Damn,” I say.
“You know what that is?” Katelynn asks.
“We know enough about that, uh, field. I’m guessing your co-workers are knee-deep in shit with this bookie.”
“Mm-hmm,” she frowns. “Will said the rumor is Brad owes about fifty thousand dollars.”
“Fuck,” Jake spits. “You’re serious?”
“I wish I wasn’t.”
“What the hell were they gambling on?”
“Will just said sports. He wouldn’t go into the specifics.”
“Sports means a lot of things,” I point out. “It could be dog fighting for all you know.”
Katelynn looks sad at that news.
“Or not,” I say, just to cheer her up. “It could be any legal sport. What else did you find out?”
“Those guys caught up with Brad and they did… well, they did that to my car.”
She stops walking. Jake and I stop next to her. We’re halfway down the side parking lot. Katelynn’s car waits for us, the windshield blown to pieces. Nothing remains but jagged pieces of glass sticking from the edges.
“Holy shit.” I wal
k around the sides of the car and inspect each part. There doesn’t seem to be any damage other than what’s been done to the windshield. “I hope that asshole is gonna pay for this.”
I expect her to defend her boss, but she chews on her lip and looks uncertain. “Yeah, he said he would pay for it.”
“Whatever he gives you won’t be enough,” Jake says. “He owes you a lot more than the cost of a windshield for pulling you into this shitshow.”
Katelynn sighs and hangs her head. “I know, but what am I supposed to do? He already owes someone else all this money.”
“It’s not your problem that these douchebags got themselves in this shit.” I’m sure I look fierce as I say it.
Jake squeezes her shoulder. “I’ll drive your car back to the shop and we’ll order you a new windshield. You go on with Hunter and meet me there.”
She looks back up, a smile playing on her lips. “Sounds good. Thank you.”
Jake tosses me his keys. I fetch his truck and pull it around to the side parking lot. Katelynn jumps in and gives Jake a wave. I wait until he backs her car out to follow behind.
“Have you talked to your folks about any of this?” I question.
“No.” She twists her hands in her lap and looks down at them. “My dad texted me asking about the men that came by but I wrote him back and said I didn’t know who they were. I’m hoping all of this will blow over without them finding out what’s going on.”
The truck bumps onto the road. I hit the gas and catch up with Jake. “You’re worried about them getting angry with you?”
“No,” she slowly says. “My dad is probably freaking out. He’s protective, and he gets mad if something upsets or worries him. It’s more like I don’t want them to be disappointed in me, you know?”
“Not really.”
Her gaze burns into me. I send her a glance but keep my face flat.
“You don’t get along with your parents?” she asks.
“My dad died when I was a kid and my mom’s a crazy alcoholic. You don’t want to see that woman on a bender, trust me. To answer your question, I guess, no, I don’t get along with them. I haven’t seen my old lady in years.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“Did you grow up around here?”
The question takes me by surprise. I thought we were done talking about my life. “I did,” I answer, voice measured and cautious.
“Is that how you met Jake?”
“How do you know we didn’t just meet at the shop?”
Katelynn gives me a look I don’t understand, but damn, it’s hot. “Oh, come on. You’ve had the shop open, what? A few weeks. Y’all didn’t just meet. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen two people as close as you.”
I know she’s not just talking about the sharing a woman part.
“It’s true,” I admit. “Jake’s my best friend. We go way back.”
“He’s your family, then? In a way, I mean.”
I suck on my teeth and search for the right answer. I don’t want to give Katelynn too much access to my life. Sooner or later, she’ll probably learn about my troubled past, but now’s not the time.
“Yep. He’s my family. What about you? You get along with your siblings?”
She takes the bait and the subject switches. The entire way to the shop I listen to Katelynn tell me stories about her little brother and sister. She lights up as she talks about them. It’s almost like the crazy shit with her boss and her car never happened. It’s clear she loves her family. I can see why Jake’s becoming protective of her.
And why I am, too.
The sky burns orange as we pull into the shop. It’s closed down for the day, but Jake opens up the office and phones in an order for a new windshield. I open up the garage and drive Katelynn’s car into it then close up shop one last time. We don’t need the bookie’s guys coming by and seeing Katelynn’s car here. They might read into the situation and suspect exactly what’s going on.
Next thing we know and Katelynn and her boss won’t be the only ones being chased.
I come out of the garage and find Katelynn leaning against Jake’s truck and looking at the sky. The office door closes behind us, and Jake saunters over.
“The windshield will be here tomorrow,” he says. “We can put it on right away.”
Katelynn’s shoulders sag in relief. “That’s amazing. Thanks.”
His eyes get all soft as he looks at her. “You don’t have to thank us.”
“But I want to.”
“How about this? You just come spend the evening with us. We’ll open up some beers. I think we could all use that.”
“Hell yeah,” I agree.
Katelynn smiles wide. “Great.”
Jake hooks his thumbs in his belt loops and gazes straight at her. “But tomorrow you should look for a new job.”
She twists a piece of hair that’s come loose from her bun. “I know.”
“And stay away from Will and Brad. They got you into this mess but they’re not going to be able to get you out of it.”
Katelynn’s forehead folds in worry. “What am I going to do then?”
I step closer to her. “What Jake said. Stay as far away from this situation as you can. Likely things will smooth out eventually. Those other assholes know where you live but they’re not going to risk getting arrested for breaking into your house or anything.”
The lines on her face smooth out. “Okay.”
I jerk my head at the truck. “Let’s get out of here. I’m starving.”
24
Katelynn
Climbing into Jake’s truck, I already feel better. These two have a way of doing that to me. Just as things start feeling like they’re going south again, Hunter and Jake show up and make everything right.
I decide to cook them supper to show my appreciation and have them stop at a grocery store on the way home. I haven’t met Jake’s older brother yet, but I know he’s home at night. I’ve heard him banging around the times I’ve been over at the apartment. I ask Jake to invite him too, and pop in the grocery store to pick up my ingredients.
I dial my house number, pressing the phone to my ear while I fill my cart with the stuff to make green bean casserole and baked chicken.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Mom. I’m having supper with some friends tonight.”
“All right, hon. We haven’t seen you much lately. Are you coming home tonight? Did you get Dad’s text?”
“Uh, yeah. I did. I don’t know who those men were.”
My stomach tightens from the lie. I hate not telling my mother the truth, but it’s too complicated for me to do that. I’m praying to God that things will happen just as Hunter said. If I stay away from the situation maybe everything will blow over and my parents will never have to know what’s been going on.
There’s a reason I called my mother and not my father. If my dad heard me say something as vague as ‘having dinner with some friends’ he might order me to get my ass home.
“Your father is worried,” she slowly says.
I grab some beer and make my way to the front of the story. “You know Dad. He’s too cautious about everything. Like, all the time.”
“Hmm,” she muses like there’s something she’s not buying. “Well, just be safe, Katelynn. Have your friends walk you to your car tonight.”
“Okay, Mom. Bye.”
I check out and join Hunter and Jake back in the truck. Dusk presses in around us as we ride back to their place. I realize I’m already getting comfortable going to their home. It feels like I’ve spent more than a couple visits there.
I open the guys some of the beer I picked up for them, roll my sleeves up, and get to work. The specifics of cooking suck me in. I don’t think about anything other than what needs to be chopped, what needs to be mixed, and what oven temperature is right for each dish.
With the chicken coming out of the oven, I send Jake to go get his brother and his girlfriend
, who’s come over to visit.
Butterflies actually form in my stomach as I wait for them to come back. I walk around the table and adjust the silverware to make sure each piece is perfectly spaced.
“It looks great,” Hunter assures me.
His ability to see my nervousness makes me blush. “I want it to be really nice,” I admit.
“And it is. Don’t you worry.”
Jake comes back with John and his girlfriend, named Annette. His older brother looks enough like him that I’m speechless for a second. All I can do is shake hands.
“Can I help you with anything?” Annette asks. She’s pretty, with an oval face and raven-black hair. She seems like someone I could easily be friends with.
“Oh, no,” I tell her. “I have it all under control I love cooking. Just have a seat and let me get you a drink.”
The small apartment fills up with talk and laughter. I serve everyone and the four of them start complimenting me all at once.
“It’s just chicken,” I protest, my cheeks growing hot.
Jake squeezes my knee under the table. “But not everyone could make it this good.”
“True,” I admit with a grin. “But I learned from the best. My grams knew how to cook. She passed her cookbook with all her original recipes on to my mom, and I’m always referring to it.”
“That’s sweet,” Annette coos.
John relishes a bite of the stuffing. “Jake told me the boys took care of your car, Katelynn.”
“That’s right. They did a great job. My interior’s never been better.”
From next to John, Hunter sends me a wink. The saucy look on his face tells me it’s meant to be dirty. I realize how ‘my interior’ can be taken to have a double meaning. My core warms up. I look away from Hunter to avoid letting the need in my core get too out of hand.
Annette lightly rests her hand on my wrist. “I love your bracelet. Where did you get it?”
“Aw, thanks.” The delicate charm bracelet is one of my favorites. “Downtown at this small jewelry shop called Alston Studios. My sister and I have matching ones.”
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