by Lauren Wood
I knocked a couple of times and looked through the living room window. It looked much like it had the last time that I was there. I didn’t see anyone move and since I was so late, I didn’t have time to keep trying. I had to make sure that I caught the bus or I might as well not even go into work because I wasn’t going to have a job there anymore anyways.
The bus was running late and I was almost thirty minutes late when I arrived at the law firm. I got a couple of looks and I could tell that I was starting off on the wrong foot. It was going to take some time to get myself past this. I was going to have to be on time, every day for a long time. Maybe it was a mistake to have sold my car. Jimmy had taken all of the money out of our accounts so I didn’t have a choice, but I was really kicking myself at the moment.
“Angela, so glad to see that you could join us.”
I looked up to see the man whose name was on the side of the building. “Sorry Sir. The bus was running late…”
He stopped me with a raised hand and I waited to hear what he was going to say. My heart pounded in my chest and I was nervous about it. This man had my fate in his hands and I could honestly say that the feeling sucked. I didn’t like a man that I didn’t really even know being the one that decided if I was going to stay with his company or not.
“Things happen, I get it. Just make sure that you are leaving early enough to make sure that those things don’t affect the time that you get here. I need you here on time. I have a deposition across town and we are going to be late now because you weren’t on time. You can see how this can have a domino effect and then the whole day is shot, don’t you?”
The older man was not talking loud, but there was a condescending tone in his voice that I could have done without. Apparently he took punctuality very seriously and I was going to do just as he suggested and leave early from now on. The pay was good and even though I only got as far as paralegal, he was willing to give me a shot. I could easily get the last few credits that I needed and take the test. I just had to stay put long enough to do it.
“Yes Sir. I can assure you that it won’t happen again.”
He was staring down at my tits as I talked and I could have used that to my advantage. I didn’t have to though. It seemed that the boss was ready to forgive me and I was going to ignore the reason why. It had been a while since I had worked so closely with someone like him, but it wasn’t near the first time that I had met someone just like him. There seemed to be a lot of people like Mr. Bordeaux in the world.
***
My first day was confusing and a little more than I was ready for. I had tried my best to keep it friendly and professional with Mark, but it was almost impossible. The deposition turned out to be an all-day event and it seemed that my boss wasn’t alone in his fascination with my chest. By the end of the day I was reconsidering wearing the white satin blouse that I had on. It puckered in the wrong place and seemed to be too much of a distraction. Tomorrow I was tempted to wear a turtle neck and see if I would fare any better.
When I got home, the lights were still off over at Marcus’. I wanted to talk to him and even though our last meeting had been a little strange, I didn’t want to have this tension with him. I didn’t think it was just me that was feeling this way and I wanted it to go away. I had a year lease at this place and the last thing that I wanted was to dread coming home. I was just going to have to swallow my pride and move on from the past. But Marcus had to come home first so that I could.
I looked out the window several times throughout dinner and even once before I went to bed. Marcus had always been a night owl, but even by morning there was no sign that he had been home. His bike wasn’t out and neither was the car that stayed parked in front of the garage door. The garage was too full of tools and half-done projects to get anything else in there.
After another day of this, I started to think that it was Marcus that had bailed this time. He had to come back to his home eventually, but for the time being, he was still not showing his face. The third day of this I was starting to worry and I thought about going down to the biker bar a few miles away and seeing if I could get any information. I knew the kind of place that Marcus hung out at. His older brother had been going there for years and it only made sense that Marcus would be seen around there too.
Leaving the house right before the sun started to go down, I walked the few blocks to the bus station. I passed a blacked out SUV that I hadn’t seen before. Looking towards the driver’s window, I could see a figure sitting in the seat, but nothing else beyond that. I got a shiver that ran through me as I passed them and I walked a little faster because of it.
When I got on the bus, my heart started to slow down. I don’t know what had gotten into me, but something in my gut had gone a little crazy. New Orleans wasn’t the city that I remembered or I wasn’t the same girl as before. I wasn’t really sure which one it was.
***
“Hey I am looking for someone. Do you think you can help me?”
The bartender was short and a little round. I had to get rather close to him, leaning over the bar to get him to hear me the music was so loud. “Who are you looking for sweetie? I would be more than happy to help you with whatever it is that you need.”
His eyes and emphasis didn’t leave much to the imagination of what that offer all entailed. He wasn’t my type, none of the men in there really were. Not when I had my heart set on seeing Marcus. It hadn’t taken but a quick sweep of the place to see that he wasn’t there. His bright red hair always stuck out in any crowd, even a rough one like this.
“I am looking for Marcus.”
“The one with the Devils?”
I didn’t know who the Devils were, but I mentioned his red hair and the man knew who I was talking about. Apparently he was with them and no one had seen him around for a couple of days.
“Well if you hear anything, would you mind giving me a call? Maybe you could ask around?”
He told me that he would do one better. “Everyone shut up!!”
The bartender moved back as he started to yell and I was thankful for that because he was rather loud. I didn’t like the attention that it put on me though. It felt like everyone in the room was staring our way. Everyone had indeed shut up, but that just meant they were looking in our direction now.
“This fine little lady is looking for Marcus. Does anyone in here know where he is? He is going to kick himself if she walks out of here. Hell I know that I would.”
His words and suggestive smile made me blush. I wanted to melt into the bar stool that I was sitting on, but no such luck. I was still there and when everyone started to get back to their business and the room got loud again my hopes of finding Marcus were gone. The sad thing was that I didn’t even know what it was that I was going to say to him when I found him. I wasn’t sure what it was that made me want to see him so badly, but I did.
“You’re looking for Marcus?”
The guy was huge and I had to crane my neck up to look at him. “Um yeah. We are old friends and I haven’t seen him in a while. Just wondering if he was out of town or something.”
“We are looking for him too. Who are you?”
The man had a strange accent to his voice. It was southern for sure, the man was southern, but it wasn’t from Louisiana. He wasn’t from here and I don’t know what it was, but the man looking down at me was starting to make me nervous. That was a hard thing to feel surrounded by a bunch of rough looking men like the bar was full of, but I couldn’t help it.
“Like I said before, I am a friend. We go way back.”
“How do you know he is gone?”
I shrugged and said that I had gone by his house a few times. “I am looking for Marcus too. Why don’t we go look for him together? I have a few ideas of where he can be.”
The very first answer that came to my head was no. I didn’t want to be in the same building as him and I certainly wasn’t looking forward to the idea of leaving public with him. Here he couldn’
t really do much. I didn’t think that anyone would just let him haul me out of here. So I declined as nicely as I could and thanked him for the offer.
“Thanks, but I am going to go home. I was just trying to find him. It isn’t that big of a deal. We are just old friends.”
He shook his head and smiled at me. It was the kind that didn’t quite reach his eyes. The man left not long after I turned him down. The walk to the bus stop was one of the longest of my life and when I got back to my part of the city, the SUV was back or still there. I wasn’t sure which one. Why did I get the feeling that Marcus was in trouble?
Chapter 6
Lucas
The man had lost a lot of blood. I helped get Marcus out of the back of David’s car and there was just so much blood. I didn’t think he was going to make it. I didn’t think that even the Doc could save him.
“Angelo, get the Doc down here now.”
He was on his way. That is what they had been telling me for ten minutes, but he wasn’t moving fast enough. I swear if he was getting head or something like that, I was going to find out about it and there was going to be hell to pay. Marcus had been with me for a long time. His older brother was one of the best men that worked for me and Marcus was close behind. I couldn’t let anything happen to him. Dante would lose it and I couldn’t lose both of them in the same day.
“Marcus, you got to stay with us.”
The redheaded man was in and out of consciousness. David told me that he hadn’t said much. Just that someone was waiting for him and shooting at him when he tried to open the gate. Santiago wasn’t answering my calls and I had to wonder if he was involved. There were a million ways that this could have all went down and I was going to figure it out as soon as I found out that Marcus was going to be okay. He had only been shot once, it had been worse before, but there was just so much blood. How could anyone lose that much and survive?
“Maybe we should take him to the hospital Lucas?” David was looking at Doc like there was no way that the old Russian was going to be able to help. Not really. But I had been with Doc for a long time and I knew that the man was better than anyone at Tulane.
“Doc will take care of him. He took care of him last time. Where do you think he got those three shots in the chest fixed from? Doc stitched him up after he pulled the bullets out and Marcus was just fine. If Doc can’t save him, no one can.”
I believe those words, but I knew that if Marcus didn’t make it I would blame myself and the decision that I made to keep him out of the hospital. I knew how Marcus was and the last thing that he wanted to wake up to was cops asking a bunch of questions. But would he wake up?
Everyone was moving around me. I was left standing there as David and Theo took Marcus into the house. I looked around to make sure that the neighbors weren’t out. I didn’t have many, but there was one couple that was a bit too nosy for my taste. I could just imagine what they would think if they could really see what was going on in my driveway.
Looking down at my hands covered in blood, I knew what this meant. I didn’t know who had thrown the first stone, but someone was in this for war. The battle lines had been drawn and I wasn’t going to sleep until I found out who it was that dared to fuck with us. There was going to be retribution.
When David and Theo came back out, I told them that I would stay and help the Doc. I needed them on the streets so that I would know who did this. Whoever dared to shoot at one of my guys was going to have to answer to me. It was just that simple. “Found out who the hell did this to him David. We are going to make sure that whoever it is doesn’t have another chance. I want them eliminated.”
I went into the house and though everything had been a flurry before, the Doc was setting up with a steady hand. I had never seen the man rush in his life and I questioned if he even could. Everything with him was so deliberate and even now I was thankful for it. He was the type of guy that you wanted in a crisis.
“What do you need me to do Boris?”
“You are going to have to hold him down. We need to dig in and get the bullet out.”
I shook my head. This wasn’t my first go round, but the paleness of his face was alarming. “He looks bad.”
“Getting shot is never good.”
I watched him plunk the utensils he was going to use in the glass of scotch that he had poured for himself. He never was completely sober and I had to wonder if that was what helped him stay so calm. He never seen frazzled and I think it had a lot to do with all of the alcohol that was running through his veins.
“Help me with these pants. I need more room.”
I went to the bed and rolled Marcus over a bit so that we could pull off his clothes. Damn there was just so much blood.
***
“I think we have done all that we can do Lucas. You need to go to your bed.”
I must have dozed off while the Doc was sewing Marcus up. It was late and the day had been a lot to handle. I didn’t have anything to do, so the slow Russian music that Boris had played to settle his nerves had put me to sleep.
“How is he doing?”
“Good. He may need some blood later, but his pulse is strong and he will make some more. I think that he will be fine. This one is strong. I have worked on him before, no?”
“Yes, a couple of times. Last time was three in the chest last year. Do you remember that?”
Boris moved the torn shirt up so that he could see the scars like it was going to jog his memory. I wondered how many bullets he had pulled out of men like me and Marcus. He had the pleasure of pulling a couple out of me on two different occasions.
“Ah yes. I do. He did very well. This man will do fine. Keep it clean and covered. He is lucky that it didn’t do any real damage. This man must have nine lives.”
“I don’t know about that, but he is one tough son of a bitch.”
Boris nodded and told me that he was going to need to be. “It will take time. I will go now if there is nothing else.”
I wanted him to stay and help with the recovery, but that wasn’t Boris’ way. He would come and check on him, but the man was in and out as quickly as he could be. He never asked questions and left as quickly as he came. I had always liked that about him. Now that I knew Marcus was going to be okay, I could worry about other things and start the task of figuring out who the hell had done this.
“No there is nothing else Boris. Will you come back tomorrow?”
“Of course. He is my patient. Tomorrow.”
I watched him leave and hoped that Marcus had enough in him to make it through the night. Fever was always expected and even now I went to the medicine cabinet to find some antibiotics. Boris had always said before it was better to start them as soon as possible. It didn’t feel like it was going to be such a simple thing, but I knew better. This wasn’t my first go round. When my men got hurt, I wanted to make sure that they were okay. Marcus was like family, they all were and when one of my own was hurt, it affected everything. Justice had to be found to move on. That was our way and the justice that we all sought was not something that could be found in a courtroom. We had to make our own.
Calling the men that I had sent out for information, it wasn’t long before there was a whisper of what was going on. It was the same old same old. Territory was threatened and they planned to take out the enforcers. How they knew so much information about us was a mystery, one that I had to uncover the answers to.
I didn’t want to leave Marcus his first night. It was always the worst and I wanted to be there if Boris needed to be called back in. The Doc was on call all of the time for men like us. I could only do so much where I currently was and the restrictions put on me, but everyone came to me. By the end of the night we had figured out which Arc Angels were involved. A little liquor loosened even the tightest tongues and a bragging man brought me all of the information that I needed. I knew exactly who it was that needed to pay for this and pay they shall.
Chapter 7
Marcus
>
I was back at home after staying at Lucas’ for a week. I had insisted that I come home and now that I was coherent enough to really argue my case, I was back where I wanted to be. It was still a mess because of Melissa, but that was better than being somewhere strange. Lucas took good care of me and he took care of those that had shot at me and plotted against the Devils, but it was good to be home. I just needed to relax.
It hadn’t even been an hour that I was back when I heard the doorbell ring. Melissa was the only one that I knew that actually used it and my body tensed up with the thought of having to deal with her. I was just going to ignore it and once again I wished that the garage was empty enough that I could have slid my bike in there when I got back. Now she most likely knew that I was home and after a couple of more knocks, I had a feeling that she wasn’t going to give up.
“Marcus, I know you are in there. Open up. Is everything okay?”
It was not the high-pitched screechy voice of Melissa, but the low rasp that I associated with Angela. I loved her voice and though I would never admit it to a soul, I still had a recording from when we were together. It was a long time to have it, but it helped me to never forget the way she sounded, if that was even possible.
“Angela?”
“Yeah, open up. I have been coming over here for a week Marcus. We need to talk and I am getting the feeling that you are trying to avoid me.”
I chuckled for a minute, but it hurt too much. Getting up was still a task and since I was trying to clear my mind more, I was taking less for pain and feeling more than I wanted to. It was easy to just dull the pain, but I needed to figure out a way to get through it with my mind still intact. I wasn’t at a hundred percent, but more than I had been in a while.
“Come in. The door should be unlocked.”
I never locked it when I was here except at night. Most of the people I knew just came in when they wanted to.
There was a few seconds of hesitation before I heard the door open slightly. I looked down at myself and realized that I looked a wreck. I felt like crap and the pair of shorts I was wearing was torn in several places. I had just thrown something on because it was comfortable. It was not the way that I wanted Angela to see me.