by Lane Hart
"Just as soon as that table leaves," I say, nodding to the elderly couple in the mostly empty restaurant.
"Want me to stay until you head out?"
"Nah. It might be awhile. Go see if you can track down Mandy, and keep me updated. I'll be heading over to Linc's as soon as I go home and take a quick shower."
"Will do. Love you, sis," he says with a quick hug. I try really hard to ignore the aroma of weed that’s lingering in the fabric of his hoodie.
"Love you, too," I tell him. When I pull away, I glance up and see two big guys coming toward my section. At first I’m annoyed since it means I’ll be here even later, then I realize who they are.
“Linc? Senn? What are you two doing here?” I ask, glancing around to make sure my boss isn’t witnessing me socializing while on the clock.
“Hey baby,” Linc says, leaning down and placing a quick kiss on my cheek. “Sorry, but your car couldn’t be saved.”
“What?” I ask, my shoulders slumping knowing my savings is about to get emptied.
“Yeah, the guy said it was gonna be like two grand for a new engine and install, and the car in good condition is only worth about five hundred.”
“Shit,” I grumble.
“It’s okay, sis,” Mason says, rubbing a hand over my shoulder. “You can borrow mine and Mandy’s until we can find you a new one.”
“Well um, I’ve got an extra one if you want to borrow it,” Linc says, offering me a set of keys with a shiny new fob that locks, unlocks and has an alarm on it. My old Accord had push button locks.
“You sure?” I ask him. I don’t remember seeing any other car around his house, except for his sister’s.
“Yeah,” he says, taking my hand and dropping the keys in it.
“Okay, thanks,” I say.
“So, where were you two today?” Mason asks Linc and Senn. “The guys were all looking for you.”
The men exchange a look, and I suddenly have a bad feeling.
“Well, um, I’m not sure if this is the place to talk about all that…” Linc starts.
“What’s going on?” I ask when my pulse speeds up. “Did something happen with James after I left?”
“James?” Mason asks.
Linc suddenly is very interested in the tops of his black Vans. “I, um, got arrested.”
“You got arrested!?!” I exclaim. “Why?”
“You didn’t!” Mason yells, getting in between me and Linc.
“Mason, stay out of this,” I tell him, grabbing his upper arm to try and keep him from getting in Linc’s face.
“What did you do?” he asks Linc.
“I beat the shit out of him after -”
That’s all Linc gets out of his mouth before Mason easily breaks my grip and shoves Linc backwards into an empty table, so hard Linc knocks the centerpiece to the floor before he catches himself. Oh no.
Senn jumps in and puts a hand on Linc’s chest to stop him when he starts to lunge at my brother.
“You guys stop!” I yell. “This is not the place-”
“Claire, who are these men? Do you know them?” I cringe when I hear my boss, Gary, come up behind me. Turning my back on the brawlers, I try and paste a smile on my face to act like everything’s fine.
“They were just leaving,” I assure him.
“Good,” he says, crossing his arms over his stocky chest.
“Linc, Mason, get the heck out of here!” I say to them in a whisper, nudging my brother’s stiff back. I know he’s wound tight, raring to fight, but I hope he keeps it contained. He grumbles something but walks out the door with Senn.
“Claire-”
“Don’t Linc. Just go,” I say to him. Looking down at the keys in my hand, I know what he did and I try and pretend he didn’t do something so…incredibly sweet. I don’t deserve this type of extravagant treatment from him after we’ve only been dating a week. In a way it feels like he’s trying to buy me off for stupidly getting into a fight and getting arrested. There’s no telling what implications the charges will have on his career, but it can’t be good. And this, this is not the type of relationship I want. Tossing the keys to him I turn around and walk away, going to cry in the privacy of the women’s bathroom.
When I clean up my face and finally come out, I have to wait another thirty minutes for my old couple to call it a night. After I clean up their table, I close my station and finally clock out, getting another frown from Gary. What a long freaking day!
I roll my head trying to loosen up the tension in my neck and shoulders as I walk to my car. In the parking lot it takes me a while to dig Mandy’s car keys out of the bottom of my messy purse with only the light of a single lamppost. I wrap my fingers around the jingling keys at the same time a strong arm bands around my waist making me yelp.
“Hey, baby,” Linc says into my hair. My knees almost give out on me in relief, right before the anger.
“You scared the shit out of me,” I tell Linc, spinning around in his arms. That’s when I see his lime green truck across the lot. Parked next to it, Senn stands with his back against a beautiful new pearl colored Accord. “What are you doing here? I thought you went home.”
“I wanted to see you when you got off. You’re still comin’ over tonight, right?” he asks with pleading blue eyes. “I’m sorry, about everything. Just tell me what I need to do to make it up to you and I will, okay?” The front of his short blond hair is disheveled, standing up in a million different directions like he’s been running his fingers through it. He’s so…boyish looking and adorable, that I can’t resist reaching up to smooth it back down. How can I stay mad at him? It’s impossible. One look at him and I forget what we were arguing about.
I wrap my arms around his waist and lay my head on his chest, right over his beating heart to inhale his pine and vanilla Christmas scent. “Let me go shower and grab a change of clothes, then I’ll head over,” I say against his green hoodie. His tense body relaxes underneath my cheek and he wraps me up in a hug.
“Thank you,” he says with a kiss to my head. “You sure you won’t drive the new car?”
I shake my head.
“Fine. I’ll keep it at the house in case you change your mind.”
“Okay,” I agree, hesitantly stepping out of his embrace. “I’ll see you in a few.”
I climb in Mandy’s Nissan and start the engine that thankfully turns over. Her car is in a little better shape than mine. Seatbelt snapped, I pull out of the restaurant and head down the side road to our apartment. As soon as I turn off the main road blue lights and a siren come on behind me.
“Shit,” I grumble, wondering if Mandy forgot to get her car inspected or has a brake light or something out. I know I wasn’t speeding.
Seeing an empty church parking lot on the right, I pull over and put the car in park to start digging in my purse for my license. Even though I’m expecting it, I still jump at the knock on my window.
“Ma’am, you need to step out of the car,” the officer says through the glass. What the heck? My skin prickles, thinking something’s not right. I start to reach for my phone to call Mace or Linc when the officer says, “Keep your hands where I can see them and step out of the car, now.”
Unhooking my seatbelt with trembling hands, I finally manage to get it off and open the car door. I don’t have a chance to even step out when the man jerks me up by my arm. He pushes me face first against the side of the car, and the next thing I know my wrists are being handcuffed. “What are you doing?” I yell.
“Keep your mouth shut or we’ll have to do this the hard way,” the officer says.
“You don’t want to go the hard way,” another officer I hadn’t seen warns me before his hands start to frisk me in a very inappropriate way. My mind frantically tries to weigh my options here. I don’t think I have many. There’s no way I can outrun them. The only thing I know to do is scream and hope a neighbor hears.
“Stop that!” I yell. “Someone call 911!”
That’
s all I get out before a sweaty palm clamps down tightly over my mouth and nose, muffling my sounds until I can’t breathe anymore.
…
Linc
Even though it’s late when I finally get home, Senn and I still take a walk down to the pier hoverin’ over the lake. I stretch out on it, lookin’ up at the stars from flat on my back while I wait for Claire and he sits silently next to me. This place is my haven. A place to relax and get away from the day's stress. It's where I go whenever I need to clear my head. Now, it's impossible not to think about Claire down here. The way she felt ridin’ me, completely naked in the moonlight. The other night was incredible. Every second I'm with her is incredible.
As soon as my mom posted my bond, I had Claire’s car towed into town to try and get it fixed. Just as I expected, it was gonna cost more than it was worth to repair, so I went and bought her a brand new Accord. I knew she would protest my gift, but the deal is done, her name is on the title, so I'll just have to find a way to convince her to accept it.
Now I have to sit around and wait until she drives over here in her sister's borrowed car. Damn I can't fuckin’ wait.
From the moment I saw Claire on stage that night at The Playhouse, I knew I was a goner. She was more than just sexy and beautiful. The woman radiated goodness and innocence in contrast to the porn star image. I should've realized then that she wasn’t Eve. All I knew was that I needed to be near her, at any cost. And then when she walked into that room...I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
“So what’s the IFC said about the charges?” Senn asks, interruptin’ my Zen-like moment.
“Nothing yet,” I tell him. “But I’ve already talked to a criminal attorney, and he thinks he can easily get the charge against me dismissed. Until then, it’s safe to assume I won’t be gettin’ any fights.”
“Yeah,” he agrees with a chuckle. “Might lose a few sponsors too.”
“Fuck them,” I say, unconcerned. “My career might be over anyway dependin’ on my arm.”
“You’re not gonna try and get your title back now that Jude’s bumping up to middleweight?”
I shrug and then remember he probably can’t see it in the darkness. “I don’t know. Maybe.” There’s no way I would have considered not fightin’ again a few weeks ago; but since I’ve met Claire, it just doesn’t seem as important. I don’t have anything left to prove after bein’ the best for four years. There’s also a project she’s got me thinkin’ about spendin’ some time on.
“What time is it?” I ask when I realize I left my phone in the truck.
The light from Senn’s phone illuminates his face when he pulls it out and looks down at it.
“Almost midnight."
Fuck. Claire should’ve been here by now. It’s been almost an hour since we left the restaurant. I jump up to go check my phone.
"Where you going?" Senn asks when he gets up to follow.
“To check my phone. Don’t you think she’s had plenty of time to shower and get here?” I ask him.
“Depends on how long it takes her to get ready.”
Reachin’ in my truck, I grab my phone off the charger and only have missed calls from unknown numbers. I listen to all five voicemails, but they’re just media lookin’ for interviews. How the fuck did they get my cell number? Ignorin’ them all, I pull up Claire’s contact and hit send.
It rings for what seems like forever before her voicemail comes on. I leave a short one just askin’ if she's on her way and to call when she can.
"Already pussy whipped?" Senn snickers.
"No, I'm just worried about her. They live in a shitty part of town and her sister is all messed up with Vito-"
"What?" he asks when I freeze mid-sentence.
"The guy I roughed up this mornin’, James, he’s one of Vito’s men. You don't think-" My blood runs cold just thinkin’ about him hurtin’ her because of this mornin’. He wouldn’t, would he? Not unless he wants to die. “I should’ve followed her to her apartment.” Fuck. Now I don’t know if I need to head to her place or if I’m overreacting. At least Mace lives nearby. "You’ve been hangin’ out with Mace. Do you have his phone number?" I ask Senn.
"Ah, no," he says as he opens the door on my refrigerator and digs around. “I doubt he would want to talk to ya anyway.”
"Fuck!" I exclaim. “I need to see if he can go by Claire’s.”
"Won't his number be on his Havoc paperwork?" Senn asks as he pops open a can of beer.
"Yes! That's a great idea," I tell him before I call Jude's cell while I start to pace, too wound up to sit still. Jude's always at the gym; it's just a matter of whether or not he's still there this late workin’ out or near his phone.
"Zelda, what's up?" Jude thankfully answers.
"Please tell me you're at Havoc."
"Yeah, I'm at Havoc. Getting ready to lock up and leave. Why?" he asks.
"Good! Will you go look in Mason Reed's file and give me any phone numbers he listed and any emergency contacts."
"Sure. Hold on.” I hear static on the phone and papers shufflin’ while I grab a pen and notepad from the kitchen drawer. “By the way, I fought with the kid in the cage today. He’s a tough sonofabitch and just might kick some serious ass one day."
“Yeah,” I agree, growin’ more impatient. “You find any numbers?”
"Okay. There's a cell phone and then he listed his closest relative as his sister, Claire Reed." Jude reads the numbers and I jot them down, even though Claire's is the same one I already have for her.
"Thanks, Jude."
"Everything okay?" he asks.
"I hope so. I'll talk to you later," I say to end the call. I'm in a hurry to call Mace even if he is pissed at me.
"Hello?" he answers right away.
"Mace, it's Linc.”
“What do you want?” he snarls.
“Claire’s not answerin’ her phone,” I tell him, and he stays silent on the other line for so long I start to think we got disconnect or he hung up on me.
“"Well, fuck,” Mace finally responds. “Mandy’s not, either. I've been trying to find her all damn day, and now Claire."
"Where are you? Can you go to Claire's apartment and see if she's still there? She was supposed to go home, shower and head here."
"Yeah, I'm already out so I'll swing by. You better call me back if you hear from her," he says, sounding worried.
"I will," I assure him before endin’ the call.
Fifteen minutes later, after I've paced indentions into the wood of the livin’ room floor, Mace calls back. "Neither Mandy or Claire are at the apartment. I went to the restaurant to see if she went back there, but it’s closed. I don't know where the fuck they are, but I’m getting a bad feeling after the shit you pulled today."
Goddamn it! I barely refrain from crushin’ the fuckin’ phone in my fist. The only reason I don't is in case Claire finally calls.
"Look, I'll text you my address. Put it in your phone's map and head this way," I tell Mace. "See if you come across her car broke down, or...fuck I don't know, God forbid, in a wreck. I'll go head out my way and see if she's on my side of town." The tight, panicky feelin’ in my chest keeps clawin’ its way up a little farther each passin’ second we don't hear from her. It's almost impossible for me to take a breath.
"Okay," Mace agrees. "But Claire would've called me or you if her car broke down or if she got into an accident."
"I know." Unless she was too injured to use the phone. The thought makes me sick to my stomach.
An agonizin’ hour later, Mace is standin’ in my livin’ room with me and Senn, none of us knowin’ what the fuck to do now. There was no sign of Claire or Mandy's car from Durham to Cary, on any of the highways. Where the fuck is she?
"This isn't like Claire," Mace says as he chews on his thumbnail. "Mandy, yeah, but not Claire. She's the responsible one. She's the one who bitches if Mandy and I go more than a day without checking in."
"Have you got any of her friend
s' phone numbers?" I ask.
"Called them all. Her best friend Kylie hasn't heard from her all day." The phone in Mace's hand suddenly starts ringin’, and I pray it’s Claire. "Unknown," he looks down and tells us, then quickly answers, "Hello?" He covers his ear with his free hand to hear better, even though the whole house is silent. My heart's not even beatin’ as I listen to find out who it is. "Say that again. Claire? Claire Reed? You-you're sure? H-how?" He sits down abruptly on the sofa behind him.
Hearin’ him say her name, I go stand in front of him to try and hear what the fuck they're sayin’ on the other side of the phone. Seein’ the tough as fuck fighter's eyes water and his face goes slack jumpstarts my heart until its racin’ out of my chest.
It's bad. I need to know how bad. The phone in his hand lowers from his ear as he just stares blankly at me.
"What's goin’ on?" I ask him, but get no response from him. I reach and take the phone from him and he doesn't put up any resistance.
"Can you say that again?" I ask the unknown person on the line and start pacin’ again.
"I'm sorry, but that's all we know at this time," a woman's flustered voice says. "She's being continuously monitored in ICU, but her condition is still critical and we’re unable to keep her stable. The doctors are doing all they can, but...the quicker you can get here the better...in case we're unable to revive her the next time."
Unable to revive her. The next time.
The words echo around inside my head over and over and still I can't make sense of them. They've had to revive her already and her condition is critical? As in life-threatening?
I reach for the livin’ room wall when my legs no longer seem to be able to hold my weight. Everything seems to be movin’ in slow motion. It's hard to hear over the roarin’ in my ears, but I need more information.
"Where?" I ask.
"Durham Regional."
"We're on our way," I say even though my feet seem to be buried in cement.
"Where are we going? I'll drive," Senn says.
"Hospital. Regional," I mutter.
"Hospital?" he repeats.
Mace finally moves, shakin’ his head. "No. Claire wouldn't."
"Wouldn't what? What the fuck happened? Did she have a wreck?" I ask him.