by Evelyn Glass
“Your motorcycle is the only wheels you have?”
“Yep.”
“What do you do if it rains?”
“What do you think? I get wet.”
“Oh, a tough guy. I get it,” she said with a grin.
He smiled. “If you want to look at it that way.”
“How do you get groceries home? Stuff like that?”
“I haul what I need on the bike. I don’t cook, so not much need to lug groceries. If I need to haul something that won’t fit on the hog, I can use the yard truck.”
She nodded in understanding. “Cheaper than a car, I guess, if you can make it work.”
They sat, taking up the table and talking, for almost another hour until the influx of customers had slowed to a trickle. Finally, Dix scooped up the check, holding up a finger in playful warning as she opened her mouth. “I’ve got this.”
She smiled and nodded. “Thank you again.”
They strode out, Dix sliding on his shades as she pulled hers out of her purse and did the same. “I see we have the same taste in eyewear,” he said as they arrived at his bike. What he didn’t say was the aviator style glasses looked a hell of a lot better on her than they did on him.
“So I see.” She turned away and began to put on her helmet lest her see her color rise. This was the first time she’d seen him with sunglasses on and he was fine! The pirate on the back of his jacket with the dagger in his mouth seemed to fit him perfectly.
They spent the next two hours hitting motels in the area, but she saw nothing or no one who looked familiar. They were on their way to the next stop when it began to rain. It started out as a few drops, but in moments it was coming down in buckets. She huddled in close to him, but there was no avoiding the cold rain and she was soaked through in seconds. She refused to complain, but with the wind created by the bike at speed and the wet clothes, she was shivering almost instantly.
He could feel her shuddering at his back but there was nothing he could do at the moment. He was fine, used to being wet and cold, plus his jacket helped shed some of the water, but she had no such protection, or as much meat on her bones. Another mile on, they pulled into the motel and creeped around the parking lot.
“No,” she said, her voice quivering hard as they slowly cruised past a group of Harleys.
Gritting his teeth in annoyance, he pulled back onto the 101 and headed back the way they came. As he reached the edge of town he peeled off the main road and then moments later, turned into a WalMart.
“Go inside. I’ll be there in a moment,” he said as he pulled to a stop in front of the entrance. He watched as she scurried inside, visibly shaking.
She was standing just inside the door, still shaking when he entered, squeegeeing water from his hair as he entered. “Come on, let’s get you dried off before you freeze to death,” he said as he took her arm and led her inside. He led her directly to the women’s section and parked her in front of a shelving unit of jeans. “Pick out what you need.”
“I-I-I can’t” she stammered.
“Why?”
“Be-Because I don’t have the money.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just pick out some clothes. I’m going to go get a towel and I’ll be right back.”
“Dix, I can’t let—”
“Would you rather freeze?”
“I-I’ll be okay.”
“Bullshit,” he muttered softly. “Just pick out some clothes,” he ordered then stepped away without a backwards glance. Three minutes later he was back with a white towel.
“You going to wear wet underwear?” She grimaced and added a package of underwear and socks to the pile. “Wait here,” he said as he walked away.
It took him a little longer to check out, but he returned with the clothes. “I just bought these,” he said to clerk manning the changing rooms, handing her the receipt. “She’s going to put them on and wear them out.”
“Thank goodness,” the clerk said unlocking a room for her. “I was freezing just looking at her.”
“I’ll pay you back,” she whispered as she took the clothes from Dix.
“We’ll worry about that later. Go change.”
She stepped into the room and stripped out of her wet clothes. The moment she dried off, she felt warmer, sighing in relief as she slipped into the new underwear, pants and shirt. Her bra and shoes were still wet, but she was much warmer than before.
The moment she stepped out, her wet clothes in the bag, he draped his jacket around her. It swallowed her, but it was warm with his body heat and felt wonderful. Another shudder passed over her as the dry clothes leeched the chill from her body. He took the bag and she pulled the jacket around her, breathing deep, unable to remember the last time anything felt so good.
“Come on, let’s get some hot food into you,” he said, leading her to the front of the store.
It was still pouring outside, so they had a gourmet meal of McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with cheese and fries in the small restaurant tucked inside the store. By the time she was nibbling on the last of her fries, she felt almost normal.
“I don’t know how you stand it,” she said as she returned his jacket to him. “I was so cold my fingers wouldn’t work and I almost couldn’t get my shirt off.”
“I’m sorry. We should have come in your car.”
“It’s okay now, but if you weren’t freezing your ass off, you’re a lot tougher than I am.”
“I was a little chilled,” he admitted.
She giggled. “A little chilled?”
“A little. But you were freezing. I could feel you shaking.” He gave her a sideways shrug and a small smile. As she sat there, she could feel a warmth spreading through her. Where Leo wouldn’t have given a second thought to her being cold, Dix had taken care of her, getting her out of the rain as soon as reasonably possible and buying her dry clothes. She could feel tears forming in gratitude and she looked away from him, blinking to get control of herself.
“Are you okay?” he asked as her eyes filled with tears.
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
“What?”
“Why are you being so nice to me? Buying me dry clothes, paying for my meals.”
“I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t I? I was afraid you were going to die of hypothermia.”
“That’s what I mean! Why do you care?”
He couldn’t understand what she was driving at. Had her husband been so uncaring to let her suffer? “Because, Daisy, I didn’t want to watch you shiver while you froze, not when I’m the one who caused it.”
“I have to go to the restroom,” she said, rising quickly and walking to the back of the store before he saw her cry.
***
CHAPTER EIGHT
After several minutes Daisy hadn’t returned, so he rose and went to the women’s bathroom. He waited long enough that anyone in there should be finished before he pushed the door open. “Daisy?”
“Go away!” she snapped when she saw him.
Her eyes were red and puffy, and she’d obviously been crying. “What’s wrong?” he asked as he stepped into the room.
“Nothing! Everything! I don’t know!”
He didn’t know what to do, so he took her into his arms and held her. “We’ll get Riley back. It’s almost stopped raining and we can start looking again.”
Her arms went around him. He felt so warm and his hug so gentle; she began to cry again. “It’s not that. Well it is. It’s everything. I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know why you’re being so nice and helping me. Nobody has ever helped me before, not without wanting something in return.” She sniffed, laughed wetly, then sniffed again. “I’m one messed up chick, huh?”
He stood her up and looked at the scratches on her head and the nasty bruise and scrapes on her arm. “No. I think you’ve just forgotten what it’s like to not have to do everything yourself. Not everyone wants something from you.”
She looked up and met his eyes.
“That’s what I don’t get,” she said softly. “You don’t even know me and yet you took a day off from work to help me, a perfect stranger. Why?”
He shrugged. “Because you needed help. Because you helped us. Do I need another reason?”
“No,” she said softly.
The bathroom door opened, a mother stepping in with a young girl before stopping and looking at him in surprise, turning to the door to make sure she was in the right bathroom.
“We should go. Pardon us,” Daisy said as she stepped past the woman, wiping at her eyes.
“Are you okay now?” he asked, pulling her to a stop in the back of the restaurant while they still had a little privacy.
“Yeah, I think so. I’ll send you money for the clothes as soon as I can, I promise.”
“Okay,” he said, not wanting to set her off again. That seemed to satisfy her and she gave him a ghost of a smile.
“Sorry for the scene.”
“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” They returned to their table, picked up the bag of wet clothes, and stepped outside. Typical of Oregon weather, the rain was gone and the sun was breaking through the clouds. When they reached his bike, he opened one of the bags and she dropped the clothes in before they started out again.
***
Dixon was ready to call it a day. They had visited every motel and bar in town and come up with nothing. It was possible they had just missed Leo, if he was actually in town, but they couldn’t spend days riding around aimlessly on the off chance they might bump into him.
He was willing to try one more time tomorrow, starting on the north end of town and working south, but if they came up empty again, they were going to have to wait until the Firechrome made their move. If they were going to make their move.
He felt bad for Daisy. She had started out the day bubbly and full of enthusiasm, but as it wore on, he could see the life draining of her. Maybe Leo and the Firechrome and, by extension, Riley, were never in Douglas in the first place. Bad for her but good for the Cutthroats. But if the Chromes weren’t in town, who took the shot at Kevin?
He shook his head. It didn’t make sense. It was almost three and his bike was running on fumes, again. He pulled into a gas station and switched the bike off, sitting on the machine a moment after Daisy stepped off before dismounting.
“We have been at this for almost seven hours. I think it’s time to throw in the towel. Maybe we can hit a few of the restaurants bikers like to frequent around dinner time, but other than that, I don’t know what else we can do,” he said as he swiped his card and began filling the Harley.
“I understand,” she said softly.
“We can try again tomorrow.”
“Okay, thank you. But what if we don’t find anything tomorrow?”
“Then I think you may need to consider your information was wrong.” He saw her lips go thin. “I know that’s tough to hear. But if Riley isn’t here, you’re wasting your time.”
“I know, but I don’t know where else to look.”
He shook his head in understanding as the pump clicked off. “Maybe we’ll get lucky tomorrow.”
“Maybe,” she said just as Dixon’s phone began to ring.
“Dix,” he said as he pulled the phone out of his jacket.
“Dix, where are you?” Cale asked “Is Daisy still with you?”
He pressed the button to put the phone on speaker. “She’s right here. Why?”
“I just got a call from Randy Wells. He said some bikers came in and were asking a few too many questions.”
“Were they Firechrome?”
“He doesn’t know. They weren’t wearing their colors if they were.”
“What kind of questions?”
“The kind he didn’t want to answer. He’s pretty nervous. Can you take Daisy over there and let her look at the security video and see if she recognizes anybody?”
“We’re on the wrong side of town, but we’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll call and let him know you’re on your way.”
Dix hung up the phone and glanced at Daisy. “This may be our big break.”
She swallowed hard, trying not to get her hopes up. “Maybe.”
He returned the nozzle to the pump, capped the tank, and mounted up, thumbing the bike to life as she sat down behind him. The moment she was settled he pulled out of the station, and as soon as he squared up, he gave the Harley a kick in the ass, the big bike surging away.
***
“Dix,” the man said as he stepped into the gleaming showroom full of glittering chrome, aluminum and carbon fiber. He was perhaps fifty, going soft and gray, and walked with a noticeable limp. He extended his hand and Dix shook it warmly. “Who’s this?”
“Randy Wells, Daisy Watson. She’s here to look at the tape with me.”
Randy looked at her a moment longer, then nodded. “This way.”
He led them into the back, past the waiting room with large windows overlooking the mechanic bays and an office full of men and women in cubicles talking quietly on headsets before entering a cavernous building with people pushing carts. She was surprised at the size of the operation.
“What’s going on here?” she asked Dix quietly as they followed Randy.
“Randy runs one of the biggest aftermarket suppliers on the west coast. If you want something for your Japanese sport bike, Randy has it. He ships all over the country, maybe the world, out of this building, and if you can get here, he can even install it for you.”
Randy turned into another small office area full of busy people, then into another room with a rack of computers. “Parshanth, can you call up the security feed from about an hour ago?”
“Yes, of course,” Parshanth said, rising from his desk and walking into the server room. “We’ll do it in here so it will be easy to see.” He spoke perfect English, but still had the slight sing-songy cadence and dark hair and eyes from his native India. He sat down in front of a large monitor and type furiously for a few seconds before a picture of the waiting area appeared on the monitor. “What room?”
“The show room, from about an hour ago,” Randy said.
The image changed to the showroom, then blurred as people began to walk backwards at ten times normal speed then began moving normally again. Randy watched a moment then shook his head. “Back a little more.” It took several minutes before Parshanth and Randy found the spot they were looking for. “That’s it! Back it up to where they come in.” The four men quickly walked backwards out the door, then walked back in at normal speed.
“May I sit down?” Daisy asked, leaning in for a better look.
Parshanth rose without a word and she took his place. As she watched, the men walked up to the counter, then wandered around the room a moment looking at the parts on display. “That’s Leo,” she said, touching the screen. “That looks like, yes, that’s Henry Gauge, but he goes by Cage. This guy here goes by Blade. I don’t know his real name. I don’t know this other guy.”
“You know these guys?” Randy asked, his tone cool.
“Leo is my ex-husband. Cage and Blade run with him,” she said as Randy looked over her shoulder. She continued to watch as Randy appeared on the screen and shook hands with Leo.
“What’d they want?” Dix asked.
“Thank you, Parshanth. Will you excuse us a moment please?” Randy asked.
“Certainly. You can just leave that playing when you’re done.”
Randy waited until Parshanth closed his door before he began to speak. “They started out asking questions about the Cutthroats. I pretended I didn’t know what they were talking about. Then they started making threats, how the Cutthroats were on the way out and a new player was coming in to take over…does she know?” he asked with a glance at Daisy.
“No, but go ahead.”
Randy nodded. “Take over the races. I pretended like I didn’t know what he was talking about, of course, but he knew. Anyway, that Leo guy said there were goi
ng to be some changes and he was giving me a chance to get in on the ground floor. He mentioned how he didn’t want what happened to Kevin to happen to me.” His eyes went hard. “That’s when I ordered his ass out. They left, but as they were leaving he asked me if my insurance was paid up.”
She watched as Dix’s jaw muscles worked. “Anything else?” he rumbled.
Randy shook his head. “No, not really. Cale said you had a tip the Firechrome may be looking to move into the area. Is that them?”