by D. D. Prince
I made an ugly sobbing sound.
“Met you,” he whispered into my ear. “Saw you with him and saw what I wanted. The way you are. The way you treated him, took care of him. Thought it’d never be mine from you. I’d have to try to find someone like you. I thought you had what you wanted in him. I had no fuckin’ clue he was breaking you.”
I burrowed in deep.
“So, you ‘n me both have baggage.”
“Enough to fill an airplane hangar,” I whispered, my voice cracking.
His arms went tighter around me.
“Nothing comes between us. We hit a rough patch, we figure it out. Even if it means talkin’ in the dark to make it easier to say words we don’t wanna say. Even if it makes me sick remembering. Even if it makes you stutter your words. You don’t try to run away from me, especially not when we’re under threat and I won’t be able to breathe not knowing if you’re safe. I would not be able to breathe, Pippa. Honest to God.”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry your mom is such a witch, Spencer.”
He squeezed. “She was shitty to all four of us but think I’d win in a competition with my siblings. They wouldn’t even contest it.”
“I hate her for it. And I love your name. Don’t think it’s attached to anything bad. It’s a great name and you’re a great person.”
He kissed my forehead. “I haven’t even told you everything she’s done to us over the years. Fuckin’ made my father commit murder, killed VP of the Jackals because of her lies. Lied about so much shit. Made my father think Jojo wasn’t his. And that VP asshole was bad to the bone, but he got killed for the wrong reason. She doesn’t give a shit who she hurts. She’s an alcoholic and a junkie who is only out for herself.”
“Want me to break her nose?”
He laughed. His whole body shook with laughter.
“’Cuz I will,” I said, pushing away that murder stuff. I didn’t want to ask questions, did not want to know. I thought highly of Spencer’s father. I didn’t want to think otherwise and was not about to judge something I knew nothing about. I didn’t want details.
He kissed me softly and his body kept shaking with laughter.
“I love you,” I said, rubbing his cheek.
He took a big breath and let it out very slowly. His body relaxed, as if he’d exhaled a bunch of bad juju.
“I love you, too, Sunshine. Love you so fuckin’ much. I don’t give up on you. You don’t give up on me. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep. We’re gonna take up meditation and regular yoga together. Get you to exhale all the bitterness away and get me to exhale all the regrets away.”
“Not a bad idea, especially if we integrate fucking into the yoga.”
I laughed.
“Gonna go get Chakotay. Go outside and have a smoke.”
“Okay. I’m gonna go brush my teeth and pass out.”
He got up and flicked the lamp on and looked at me. “I’ll come back, tuck you in, then go out there and have a drink with the boys.”
“Okay.” I gave him a small smile.
He stroked my cheek with his fingertips. “Okay? Even if there are bunnies out there?”
I shrugged. “I trust you.”
His eyes were burning into me. “Tell me you love me again?” He jerked up his chin.
“I love you.”
He looked deeper into my eyes. Impossibly deep. And then he moved in and leaned over, kissing me on my lips softly.
“Love you, Sunshine.”
***
The next day was crazy-busy at the salon. We were closed Saturday for the charity car wash, so we were booked solid the next two days.
Brittany, our co-op student was manning the reception desk for us and I had a full roster, plus Jenna, Lulu, and Deb all had customers in chairs. Brit called into my room. “Someone’s asking for you,” she said. “Won’t say her name or if she has an appointment.”
I had just finished piercing a baby’s ears and was about to tackle an eyebrow and upper lip wax when I saw a familiar bad dye job.
I came face to face with Alison, the biker bunny whose nose I’d broken. She didn’t have a nose bandage or anything. She was standing beside an older biker lady with bleach blonde hair and huge knockers with racoon-level eye smudges and not from smoky eye, either, unless she did the smoky eye three days earlier and hadn’t washed her face.
Jenna was on her way to reception at that point.
“Shelly? What are you doing here?” Jenna asked.
Shelly? As in Spencer’s mother?
“How you know my name?” the woman glared at Jenna.
Wow. She was wasted.
“Are you joking?” Jenna asked. “You know where you are, don’t you?”
“Yeah. This the little skank tryin’ to steal Spency off you?” Shelly glared at me and elbowed Alison.
“That’s her,” Alison said. “Bitch fractured my nose.”
Shelly had a glassed over look in her eyes. She had the same eyes as Jojo and Rider. She looked absolutely screwed up. She was thin and dirty-looking and looked like she hadn’t slept in days.
So did Alison, though she did not look nearly as rough.
Junkies.
Jenna had said that the Valentines had sort of written her off, that Deke had sold the house, evicting her. Their divorce had been final for over a year, but he’d been letting her stay while Jojo had been in school. When Jojo decided to leave for New York, Deke sold the house. I knew that Shelly worked at a bar that was the main Sioux Falls hangout for the Wyld Jackals there and Jenna had said a while back that Rider told her Shelly was sleeping with Mantis.
“You the little bitch tryin’ to steal my boy from Ali here?” Shelly glared at me and took a step forward and pulled her fist back. She was hauling off to punch me!
Jenna jumped in and blocked me. “Go. You need to leave right now. Spencer’s not with Ali. He’s with Pippa.”
“Dunno who you are but fugoff.” Shelly’s fist hit Jenna’s cheek clumsily. As she connected, Jenna shoved and Shelly went flying into the waiting area, knocking over the table of magazines, coloring books, and the basket of crayons.
Alison tried to grab for me with her nails. I grabbed her by the hair and brought my knee up and nailed her right in the face with my knee.
Where were our bodyguards?
Brady was suddenly coming in, a cupcake with pink swirled frosting in his hand and Scooter was coming out of the bathroom.
Timing. They’d come in during the brief moment we weren’t guarded. Wow.
Brady moved faster, came in and got between me and Alison, passing Jenna his cupcake.
“Aw, fuck sakes,” Shelly grumbled from the floor. “You’re that little high ‘n mighty rich bitch Ride’s fuckin’, aren’t you? I remember you. What’re you doin’ here?”
Scott blocked Alison, who was trying to get around him to get to me, blood gushing from her nose.
“You fucking bitch!” Alison screeched at me through fingers over her nose, fingers that had blood oozing between them. “I’ll kill you. You’re dead.”
Scott’s hand landed on her chest as he talked into his phone and she was punching at the air as he held her back.
Brady grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and walked her to the waiting area and sat her down. He then hauled Shelly off the floor and sat her down on the leather sofa beside Alison.
“Now listen,” Brady pointed at them. “Jenna back in here!” Brady’s attention was diverted. Jenna had headed out the door to try to call back in the customers that’d been frightened off.
Jenna came back in just as the sound of brakes screeching pierced the air right outside. Brady glanced that way and bit off, “Fuck. Scoot!”
A bunch of bangs sounded from outside. Gunfire?
The front window of the shop shattered.
Brady threw me and Jenna to the floor and pinned us both with his body.
I heard screaming
. I looked up from under Brady’s shoulder and saw Shelly covered in broken glass and blood, screaming her head off. She shoved Alison, who fell to the floor in front of her.
It was commotion all around us. Shelly wouldn’t stop screaming. Alison was bleeding from not just her nose, but also from her back. Profusely.
The whole front window of the salon was shattered.
Shelly had blood on her face and hands that she was frantically wiping. She stood and glass fell from her body onto the floor. She didn’t look cut.
“Brittany!” I yelled. “Lulu!”
“I’m okay,” Brit poked her head out from behind the reception desk. She’d been huddled back there with a client, whose name I couldn’t recall.
Lulu peeked out from the utility room. “Me, Deb, Savannah, and Mrs. Lyons are in here!”
Everyone accounted for and okay? Except Alison, who was bleeding, on the floor, looking at the ceiling with a weird look on her face.
Jenna was on her phone. I could hear her talking to emergency responders. Brady helped me to my feet.
My God. I’d just finished piercing ears on a three-month-old baby. They had just left. That baby could’ve been shot at!
Nausea swept through me.
“Girls, into the coffee room or Pippa’s waxing and manicure room. One or the other. We don’t know this is over. Scoot and me’ll be out here with Shelly and Alison.”
“They aimed, Brady,” Scott said low. “They aimed for Shelly and then Alison. That wasn’t a spray of gunfire. They missed Shelly, Hit the plant, then the wall.” He gestured. “And then hit Alison and then the other wall. I saw who it was. He’s their Bronto, their sharpshooter. That guy Nico.”
“Shh, say that only in church. Don’t say that to the cops,” Brady muttered. “Nico’s with Fork.”
Holy shit.
“Go, babe,” Brady said to me, gesturing toward my room.
Everyone moved in between the two rooms.
“What the fuck? They were supposed to let us get outta here first,” I heard Shelly mumble at Alison, rubbing her bloody hands on her clothes. “We were supposed to tell ‘em who was in here.”
What?
Alison was lying on the floor, face contorted, looking very pale. Her eyelids fluttered.
“In one of those rooms, Pippa. Go,” Brady urged.
On my way, I heard sirens.
***
We were at the clubhouse, ushered in by Brady and Scott after having been interviewed by the cops, which happened after Shelly had been arrested, Alison taken to the hospital by ambulance.
I’d asked why Shelly was arrested and Scott told me Shelly had tried to grab the cop’s gun. She was that out of it.
As soon as we were brought into the clubhouse, we were greeted by Ella and Deanna who were already upstairs, with Deanna’s little boys.
“Get your hug from your man and then TV room please, girls. Club meeting happenin’ right now,” Deke said, coming in, Spencer and Rider behind him.
Jenna ran to Rider and he held her tight, looking filled with rage and also relief as he hugged her.
My eyes met Spencer’s and I froze.
“Come here,” he ordered, his voice gruff.
I went to him. He grabbed my face with both hands and looked deep into my eyes and the wrath I read in his? I could barely breathe. He was barely hanging on to his temper. Barely.
I put my hands to his chest and my lips to his. “I’m okay.”
He crushed me against his body. His was shaking.
“I’m okay,” I repeated.
“Salon is shut the fuck down until further notice,” Rider bit off. I looked at him, head still against Spencer’s chest. Jenna pulled back and looked at him.
“But…”
“No,” he cut her off. “I wanted to shut the fuckin’ thing down yesterday. Yesterday. Shoulda fuckin’ let me, Jenna.”
Jenna buried her face in his chest, shoulders shaking. Jenna was crying. Jenna rarely cried.
“Wh---” I started to ask a question.
“No,” Rider looked to me. “Ali wanted to rip your head off. Jackals shot at the place. Ali got shot in the back. Fucking no. If it was anyone but who they picked to do the shooting, we would have lost some or all of you.”
I swallowed.
Deke spoke up.
“We’ll set you girls up in the Roadhouse during the day if you want. There’s that big space in that back room near the stairwell upstairs. Haul your equipment over, whatever is a must and you can keep workin’ here till it’s safe to go back to your shop. Customers’ll understand. Place is boarded right now with that front window bein’ shot out. It’ll be on the news.”
Jenna and I looked at one another.
“Prospect can run a shuttle with the bus back and forth for people who need it. We’ll make do. Any arguments boys?” Deke looked to Spencer and then Rider.
“Nope,” Spencer replied.
Rider shook his head.
“We have insurance,” Rider said. “You’re covered, too, Pip. Your average income will be covered. But if you girls want to run it from here, fine. But you can also just lay low.”
“Right-o. We’ll get our meeting taken care of and then Pippy and Pinkie can talk about it. If they decide yes, they’ll tell us what needs to be brought over. Whole family’s on lockdown here until this shit is sorted, so girls, tomorrow you lay low here. This might even be sorted over the next few days. If so, your new window gets put in next week and you’re back in business. We got shit to do. Then Saturday we’re keepin’ our charity car wash goin’. There’ll be news cameras so no one’ll fuck around. That said, vigilance.”
I nodded.
“Okay,” Jenna whispered.
“You girls do, you can work out the logistics for that and get prospects to do any of your runnin’ around. Cancel your day tomorrow and then re-open your shop Monday or Tuesday here temporarily. We’re flyin’ Joelle here tonight. Betty’s off tomorrow to hang with you. Don’t want Joelle unguarded with all this shit. Her job in New York ends. She can help you girls. Keep your clients in coffee and chit chat and help us this weekend with the event.”
Jojo was not going to be happy. But, she’d be safe and sound at least.
Betty, Pippy, and Pinkie. Deke had nicknames for all three of us. Betty for Ella because she loved Betty Boop. I didn’t know why he called Jenna Pinkie, and meant to ask her about that.
“This ends soon, girls. Don’t fret,” Deke added.
Spencer kissed my forehead and said, “C’mon.”
He walked me through the kitchen. The others followed. The kitchen area was already filled with Dominion Brotherhood vests worn by angry-looking bikers. Several of them I didn’t know so I assumed they were from out-of-town. We walked through to the TV room where me, Jenna, Ella, Deanna, Deanna’s boys and Deke’s girlfriend Laura sat. Scott was on his way back to the kitchen so I guess he went to greet Deanna. She looked freaked right out.
***
We put on a Disney movie to entertain Timothy and Kaden, Deanna’s boys, but none of the women were into it. We were all likely in our heads, worrying.
Jenna and Ella were in one corner, whispering. Deanna was trying to keep her boys occupied while trying to hear that conversation. I was staring off into space.
“You alright?” Laura touched my arm.
I nodded. “I’m gonna go lay down, I think.” I got to my feet and headed toward Spencer’s room. Chakotay greeted me in the hallway. I patted his head and heard voices as I got to Spencer’s door. I turned the knob. Locked. Shit.
I saw Bronto’s arm from the corner of my eye. He was leaned against the wall beside Edge. The kitchen was full of bikers spilling out to the hall. I spotted Axel from Sioux Falls as well as George, Spencer’s godfather.
I waved. “Can you get Spencer’s key?” I asked Edge, who’d made eye contact with me.
“Spency,” Edge cut in and jerked his thumb toward me.”
Spencer was quickly in the
hall, moving to me.
“I just wanna go lie down. The door’s locked.”
He reached into his pocket and grabbed the key and came to me and opened the door.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Just wanted to…” I shrugged. “Be alone.”
“We’re nearly done. I’ll be back in a few. Want Chakotay to stay?”
I gave him a nod.
He kissed me. “Be back soon.”
He still looked furious.
I curled up in the bed with the dog and stroked his fur while I tried to calm my mind.
***
I fell asleep for a bit and woke up with a headache. Spencer was sitting on the bed beside me, stroking my hair.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” I greeted.
“Food out there. Ordered in a bunch of pizzas.”
“Okay.” I sat up. “Any news on anything?”
“Brice called and said Alison’s in surgery. Bullet lodged right in her spine.”
My eyes widened.
“Shelly was uninjured but so fuckin’ out of it on drugs, they’re keepin’ her in the hospital until she comes down before they send her to jail. She had a lot of narcotics on her. She’s goin’ to jail for a while.”
I winced.
“Best place for her. She gets out, we’ll pull strings to get her busted so she goes right back in. Fuckin’ cunt.”
I winced harder.
“She told Brice she was helpin’ the Jackals get revenge. Told him she’d knock you out and warn you off me so Alison had a clear path to me. Alison and her are buddies that apparently now hang out at the same crack house. Ali was bitchin’ about me and you so they cooked up a scheme to get you out of the way. Said she’d knock you out and then the Jackals would be shootin’ the place up so you’d either be scared off or dead. Shelly wanted revenge, too. Helpin’ the Jackals with anything to do with stickin’ it to us is her getting even since we cut her off. We laid it all out in an ultimatum a few months ago and she made her choice. Even still, she wanted revenge.”
I put my arms around him and hugged him close.
“Tracy said, back on Good Friday, that Alison said she had some ace in her pocket to win you away from me. That ace was your mother.”