I gave him another look, and he held up his hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure you feel great doing what you’re doing, and you might help out a kid who’s on the fence. But you’re not going to solve the drug and gang problem on your own. You aren’t Michelle Pfeiffer, and this isn’t Dangerous Minds.”
My heart skipped a beat as fury pumped through my veins. Part of me wondered if he was just trying to piss me off, another part of me wondered if he was right. But I wasn’t going to let him sway me. I knew what I was doing was worth it no matter how much he wanted to discourage me.
“You know what?” I said suddenly. “I’ve changed my mind.”
He looked at me with raised eyebrows. “I’m going to change into something more presentable, and I’ll go sit at your mechanic shop with you, but I don’t need or want any more of your unsolicited opinions,” I said.
“Fair enough,” he walked back to the door. “I’ll be out here. Be ready in fifteen.”
“It’ll be ten,” I said. He didn’t answer as he stepped out, and I wanted to burst out laughing. These self-proclaimed tough guys thought they had all the answers in life, but they didn’t know what they were talking about. If Trip or Cutter or anyone else could see the work that I put into those kids, and the good that came of it, they would realize that I did change lives.
I was going to continue working as much as I could from here in Ridgecrest, but it was only going to be temporary. I would be going home soon, if I had anything to say about it. And when I did, I would throw myself even further into my work and prove to all of them that I could make a change.
And they could all eat crow.
“Thank you, and you have a good day,” Trip handed a customer a receipt and the young woman headed out the door. I was seated at one of the waiting tables in the corner, staring at the screen of my computer. I wasn’t going to even acknowledge any of the men who were coming through the shop.
I didn’t care what they thought about me, and I didn’t care to meet any of the customers, either. As far as I was concerned, I had been torn from where I was needed most, and I was going to only focus on that.
“She sure works hard, maybe you should ask her if she wants to work here,” a blonde guy with blue eyes walked up to the counter. I knew he was talking about me, but he was talking to Trip. Also covered in tattoos, I couldn’t help but notice he was also good looking.
Damn, do they put that as a requirement to get into these things? Stop it. Don’t let them fool you with their muscular arms and tattoos. Stay strong and get the hell out as soon as you can.
“Good luck with that. It was hard enough for me to get her to come here and just work on her own shit. I couldn’t imagine if I asked her to work for me,” Trip replied.
“You know I’m right here,” I said, looking up from the laptop. “I can hear everything you’re saying.”
“She speaks!” the blonde said. Trip laughed.
“Couldn’t get her to shut up yesterday.”
“Look, I don’t know what game the two of you are playing, but if you’re going to talk about me, then you might as well include me in the conversation, or take it where I can’t hear you,” I said.
“Are we hurting your feelings?” Trip asked. He turned to his friend. “She’s making it her mission in life to make sure no one else joins a gang or MC.”
“Really?” the blonde looked back at me. “How’s that going?”
“I’ve never had a kid turn on me yet,” I lied. I knew some that I’d talked to had gone on to live the life I’d tried to keep them from, but I wasn’t going to admit that to either of these men. They could fuck off for all I cared.
“That’s impressive,” the blonde said.
“Yeah, Gunner, she eats sunshine and shits rainbows, didn’t you know?” Trip cut in before I had the chance to respond.
“Fuck off!” I snapped. “You know nothing about my kids or the work that I’ve done. So why don’t you shut the hell up and go on about your own business.”
Both men exchanged a glance, and I could see them hiding smirks. I wanted to throw my laptop at them, but Trip spoke. He was once again talking to the man he’d just called Gunner. “Told you she was feisty.”
He laughed, and before I could say anything else, they disappeared back inside the shop. I shook my head, my cheeks burning. I wasn’t sure if I was blushing, or they were flushed with anger, but I was pissed. I continued to work on the form in front of me, though with less vigor.
I tried my hardest to get more work done but after a half hour staring at the same damn form, I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. I felt so stupid for letting them get to me. I was smarter than that.
What the fuck did I care about what some assholes named Trip and Gunner thought about me or my work? What the fuck kind of names were Trip and Gunner anyway? Asshole’s names, that’s what kind.
I huffed a breath and closed my computer. If I was going to survive this whole ordeal, I was going to have to have a lot thicker skin than I had right now.
11
Trip
“Okay, we aren’t going to Barstow, and you don’t want to be here, so where do you want to go?” I asked.
It was Friday once again. Meg had been up in Ridgecrest for a week, and she was being a little easier to get along with than she had been when she first arrived. A little.
She had been coming to the shop with me daily, working on her laptop while we worked in the back. I didn’t care she was up there, and by the end of the week, she was less abrasive with the guys. Most of them anyway. There were still a couple she didn’t get along with. But hell, I had a hard time getting on with Brutus every so often myself.
“You don’t need to take me out at all. I’m fine eating what I got at the store,” she said.
“I want to take you out. You’ve been doing nothing but sit in that hotel room, at the park beside the hotel, or at the shop all week. Don’t you have cabin fever by now?” I asked.
She hesitated. I had a feeling she did, and that she didn’t want to admit it. However, I wasn’t going to let her go out on her own, not with the agreement I had with Cutter. Though I didn’t like the man and thought quite little of him, a pact was a pact, and that’s what we had.
“It’s not a date,” she said.
“I didn’t say it was,” I replied. “You are the one who keeps bringing up the date word.”
She blushed, and I wanted to smirk. It was clear she was attracted to me. I caught her stealing glances all week. Though, I had to admit, I was doing the same thing. She was a hot little number, and I couldn’t get past how sassy she was. I loved that about her.
I’d never before met a woman who could keep up with my attitude. And she was right there with me. Hell, there were even times when she was the one with the bigger ego than I had. If that was even possible.
“Fine. I want to get as close to Barstow as you’ll allow,” she said. She gave me a defiant look, challenging me to argue. I sighed. It was something I could work with. I’d take her a couple of towns south of Ridgecrest, but we weren’t going to go very close to Barstow.
That was where a lot of the fighting was centered – there and further south, closer to the border. I wasn’t going to let her go that direction. But hell, there were a few places we could go in between.
“About halfway is all I’m going to say,” I said. “I’ll take you there.”
“Great,” she tossed her hair over her shoulder. We were sitting in the parking lot at the shop, both in my truck. I’d been taking her to work on my bike, but since I knew I wanted to take her out after, I’d opted for the truck that morning. She had asked several times why we were in it during the ride to work, but I was good at evading questions.
“Great,” I said. “Pick a place and we’ll go. Do you need to get anything from your room first?”
“No,” she shook her head. “This is as nice as I’m going to look when I’m with you.”
“You look great,” I replied w
ithout hesitation. The words just rolled off my tongue naturally. Of course, I meant them, and I didn’t think anything of it, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her jaw drop. She clearly didn’t think I was willing to give her any compliments, and she didn’t know what to say.
She recovered quickly, however, and motioned to the street. “Just drive. By the time we get on the freeway I’ll know where I want to go.”
“Great,” I said. I put the car on the road, and we drove in silence. It was strange for her to be so quiet. She was usually either talking about how much work she was missing back in Barstow or asking too many questions about the shop. I was careful with the information I gave her about my club. Even though I was insanely attracted to her, she was still Cutter’s sister.
And I wasn’t sure how much she’d take back to him because of her angst toward me.
“What about that O’Malley’s?” she asked. “Have you ever been there?”
“That’s fine with me,” I said. I’d heard of the place. It was a burger joint with seventies style themes running throughout. Not something I’d choose to do on my own, but if she wanted to go, then I wasn’t going to argue.
Hell, I was surprised she was even going out with me at all. I was on the verge of caving and telling her to forget it when she finally gave in, so I was going to take as much as I could get out of this. The conversation on the way was less strained than it had been for most of the week, and I had to wonder if it had something to do with the compliment I’d given. I didn’t want to think too highly of myself in that regard. Hell, this woman was different than any other I’d met.
But she was certainly a lot more amiable than she had been and I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
We pulled into the parking lot and I quickly scoped the place out. I wasn’t too thrilled with the atmosphere. It didn’t have anything to do with the diner itself, but it was a rundown side of town, and there didn’t appear to be very good lighting near the alley.
I parked as close to the diner as we could, but it was a busy Friday night, so we were forced to be on the other side. We walked into the diner next to each other, and for some reason, I had the urge to grab her hand. I tucked mine in my pockets instead and didn’t say a word. I wasn’t sure if I was the only one feeling the tension between us, but when she walked through the door as I opened it for her, her hand reached out slightly to brush against mine. It was no accident, I could see that. But she quickly brushed it off. “Don’t think because you open the door for me, I think you’re any more of a gentleman.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I said. But there was a slight smile playing at my lips as we walked in.
We had to wait nearly half an hour before we got a seat, but since we’d driven as far as we had for the diner, there wasn’t much of a choice. At last, we were seated with our menus in front of us.
“I’m getting a burger,” Megan announced.
“Looks like that’s the main option,” I replied.
“There’s salads too, and other sandwiches,” she pointed out. I shook my head.
“I think a burger is the best bet,” I remarked. “This is a burger joint, so why not get one?”
“A lot of people come here and don’t get burgers,” she said.
“A lot of people are idiots,” I replied.
She gave me another look, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of eye contact. We ordered and I was surprised at the fast service. And the food. The place was a lot better than I’d expected, and by the time we were ready to go, I was glad we’d come.
Hell, even the conversation had been decent. We both seemed to intentionally avoid the issues we had been arguing about all week, and instead focused on what we were doing in the moment. I could even swear she flirted with me a time or two, though I was careful in my responses. She was confusing, that was for sure. She would make it clear she was staunchly against even the idea of a date despite the fact I’d never asked her to one, then she’d flirt.
I took everything she did in stride though as I still didn’t quite trust her motives. Though I was pretty sure she was into me, I didn’t want to get caught with my pants down, so to speak, if she was just buttering me up for information or to try and make a break for it. “You know I make my own money,” she said when we were outside. “I can pay for my own food.”
“No one said that you couldn’t,” I remarked.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she said.
“Would it kill you to let someone do something for you every now and then?” I asked. I was quickly getting the impression the conversation was going to turn into an argument on our way back home as she shot me another look.
“Would it kill you to let a girl do her own thing?”
“Shh!” I held up my hand. Her jaw fell open, and I knew she was about to start talking again when I spotted three men approaching up from the corner of my eye.
“Fuck you!” one of the men shouted. “You double crossing, traitorous asshole!”
The lighting made it difficult to see my patch, so I was sure they were mistaken as to who they thought I was. Either that or they knew Cutter’s sister and they were pissed to see us together. Either way, we were outnumbered and in trouble.
I yanked my gun out from behind my back.
“Trip!” Megan cried. She was interrupted with the sound of gunfire, and I immediately yanked her down to the ground between vehicles, and people inside the diner were starting to notice there was something going on outside.
The men were coming from the dark of the alley and I couldn’t see their exact location. But they were clearly intending to kill.
“Trip! What do we do?” Meg cried on the ground beside me.
“We’re getting to my truck” I hissed. “Come on.”
“I can’t move,” she said.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, concerned.
She shook her head. “I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. I can’t move.”
“You have to. If you stay here, they’re going to kill you,” I replied. “Come on!”
She slowly started following me. We could hear the three guys shouting to each other, but we stayed low, out of sight between the cars. It was only when we had to run from one lane to the next that we’d be exposed.
“There they are boys!” I heard the shout as we made the sprint.
Gunfire rang out and the bullets whizzed off the pavement. Megan screamed. “Why isn’t anyone calling the cops?”
I yanked her down next to me. “They probably are, but it takes time for them to get here!”
She crumpled to the ground, and I looked around the edge of the Beetle we were huddled against. “Okay, there’s my truck. We’re going to stay low, and you’re going to get in first, crawling in through the driver’s side so you don’t have to go around the front. Then I’m going to be right behind you. Keep your head down the entire time, okay?”
I started off, rounding the corner. I could hear the sound of the men moving in the alley, but it was still hard to pinpoint where they were exactly. I turned to say something else to Meg, but she wasn’t there.
“Megan!” I whispered.
She screamed. Looking over my shoulder, I saw one of the men had run into the open and was now standing at the end of the Beetle. He had his gun poised but I was a moment faster. Raising mine, I fired. He let out a cry and dropped his weapon, and Megan took the chance to run.
We bolted for the truck, moving as the bullets continued to fly around us. There was no point in trying to sneak in now. She jumped in one side and I leapt in the other, then sped off.
I left black marks on the pavement as I skidded onto the street, passing cops with their sirens blaring on our way by. I wasn’t going to wait for questioning, I’d let them figure it out.
I had an idea who it was we’d just encountered, and though I was still running on adrenaline, I was also shaking with rage. They could have killed Megan, and part of me wondered if that’s who they wer
e after.
She was sitting in the passenger seat, white as a ghost and shaking her head. She said nothing, and neither did I. There wasn’t anything to say. I’d told her it wasn’t safe, and she could now see for herself how serious this situation was.
There wasn’t a need for words.
The night proved what I said was true.
12
Megan
I rode in silence, mostly due to the shock I was experiencing. My brother had been living this life since I was a little girl, but this was the first time in my life I’d ever been in a situation that intense. I’d known men who did things like that, but he’d always kept those things away from me.
I’d seen the aftermath, like when he had shown up at my house with his shirt all bloodied a couple weeks before, but I’d never been in a spot that the danger was aimed directly at me.
If it hadn’t been for Trip acting as fast as he did, I would have been killed. I didn’t know if he intended to kill the man or not, but he hit him right in the arm, causing him to drop the weapon and giving me enough time to get out of there.
But it wasn’t even the fact that I’d almost died that had me so bothered. It was the fact that I knew that boy who had held a gun on me.
His name was Jesse Reynolds, and he’d been in my class the year before. He was a slow learner and hadn’t officially dropped out of school until he was nineteen. I tried to get him to see that he could achieve if he worked hard, but he gave up all too soon, and now look where he was.
He’d not only thrown away all his potential and went into the life that I tried so desperately to steer him out of, but he had tried to kill me. There was no denying it. I saw the look on his face as he took aim, as though he was doing something great.
And perhaps in the world he now lived in, it was something great.
Trip was kind enough to not badger me on the way back to Ridgecrest. He had likely been through this kind of thing a lot in his life. But he seemed to realize that I was in shock, and he was giving me space. Hell, he was probably secretly gloating, knowing that he hadn’t wanted to go down that far south.
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 51