“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up,” I said as I held my hand out. “What do you mean Cutter fucked up?”
“They aren’t entirely sure what happened, but the word on the street is that it was a drug deal went wrong. Some of the cartel guys were in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might say, on their way to a drop off location. Didn’t know the right neighborhoods to head through – or the ones to stay out of,” Javi looked from me to Axle and back again.
“They got themselves killed, didn’t they?” Axle asked.
“Four dead in the street, one died in the hospital later,” Javi put his hands in his pockets as he relayed the information. “After the news spread, some of the men in charge paid Cutter and some of his brothers a visit in the pub we fought in the other night. Cutter lost two of his men and was injured himself.”
“Fuck,” I said as I shook my head. “He’s not dead?”
“No one knows for sure where he is, but he’s not dead,” Javi confirmed. “He tried to send word to Pedro, the leader of this whole operation, and explain to him what he thought happened to those men, but Pedro laughed in his face. He doesn’t believe a damn word of it and thinks Cutter tried to pull a fast one on him.”
“Shit,” Axle said. “I don’t think I want to know what happens when you piss off a drug lord.”
“A lot of blood is spilled,” Javi said with a small nod. “They’ve been at each other’s throats ever since.”
“I guess that’s a good thing?” Brutus chimed in. “If they spend all their time killing each other, we don’t have to worry about taking care of them or any of their drug shit.”
I nodded. “But that also means I don’t want anyone going down there unless they absolutely have to. There’s no reason to flirt with death.”
I looked at each of the faces that were gathered around me, and they all nodded. Brutus would be closer to the fighting than the rest of them, but I knew he was smart. He wasn’t going to get himself in a situation that got him killed. He wasn’t afraid of danger and being a former SEAL taught him how to handle intense situations, but he still wasn’t stupid.
“Alright gentleman, we’ve got a lot of work to do. Let’s forget about Cutter and let him deal with his own shit. He should have known this was going to come back to bite him in the ass eventually. Right now, there’s cars to be done,” I nodded toward the parking lot, and the guys moved their bikes out of the way.
I couldn’t say that I felt bad for Cutter, but I did wonder what it was like to be in trouble with the cartel. We had spent so much time clearing that kind of activity out of the city, I couldn’t imagine doing anything that would intentionally bring it back in.
But that was Cutter’s problem. If he was stupid enough to get himself killed through this, that had nothing to do with me. I was fine maintaining order in my town further north.
If they left us alone, we’d leave them alone.
That’s all there was to it.
8
Megan
“Okay, Sam, I think you did a wonderful job with that project. Now, for this week, I want you to write down all your ambitions for college, and what you are going to do – what you can practically do – that’s going to land you your goals,” I said as I wrote down the directions on a piece of paper.
“Thank you, Miss Ward. I don’t know what I can do. I feel so stuck right now. I work and come to school, but when I get home, I have to take care of my little brother and sister until my mom gets home from work. By the time we have dinner and everything, there’s not a lot of time left for me to really do anything for my future,” Sam shook his head.
There was a pang in my heart as I tore the paper from the notepad and handed it to him. “I know it’s tough, and there are a lot of challenges that you’re going to have to overcome. But I have faith in you. I know if you work hard and you fight against all the roadblocks life put in your way, you’re going to get there.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said as he took the paper from me.
“I am,” I said with a grin. “We all have our own battles to win, and if we stay strong, we’ll win them, trust me. And I’ll always be here to help you in any way I can.”
He took the paper but didn’t look convinced as he rose from his chair and headed to the door of my office. I smiled when he looked back at me, but it faded as soon as he was gone. He was one of the many students I worried about, but one of the few that I really felt was at risk for giving up.
His mother was doing her best, but he felt lost in the world. His dad wasn’t in the picture, and with two other siblings who needed care he was right, he didn’t have the time to do it all. I believed the desire was there, but he didn’t have an easy way to make it happen.
I tried to tell him that it wasn’t easy for anyone, but I knew he saw through my bullshit. Everyone had to fight to succeed, but he was one who had to fight harder than many of the others. And he knew it.
Just stay focused and do what you came here to do. You can’t save them all, but you can be there to push them in the right direction.
I sighed and looked through the glass in my door. The students were between classes and were milling about the halls. Suddenly, I saw one in particular I really wanted to talk to.
Joshua hadn’t been in to see me for the past couple sessions, and when I talked to a couple of the other teachers, I learned that he had been skipping school. Of all the students who were on my list, he was the number one I worried about. I quickly got up from my seat and headed through the door, eager to catch up with him before he made it to the next class.
He rounded the corner ahead of me, so I picked up the pace. But when I reached the corner myself, I realized he wasn’t heading to another class. He was on his way to the Principal’s office.
Principle Meyers was at lunch. All the students knew that, but perhaps he had to leave the man a note to let him know why he had been absent so many days this week. I continued to follow him. I knew he’d be in a hurry, and I really wanted to talk.
When I stepped into the secretary’s office, I expected to find Joshua had walked right through to the Principal. Instead, he nearly leapt out of his skin when I walked in, dropping a piece of paper on the ground.
Immediately, I was suspicious. I knew enough of that kind of behavior to know he had to be hiding something. I immediately wanted to know what it was.
“Hey Joshua,” I said nonchalantly. The look on his face told me plainly he saw right through my tone.
“Hey, Miss Ward,” he said.
“What’re you doing?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he replied.
“You haven’t been in school,” I pressed. “Is everything alright?”
“Just fine. I wasn’t feeling well earlier this week, and I thought it would be better to stay home so no one else got sick,” he said.
He was trying to play it off, but I could see the twitches in his face. Little indicators that old me he was lying.
“I see,” I said. “What do you have there?”
I pointed down at his feet. The paper was still lying on the floor, and he smiled again.
“Oh, that’s nothing. I was going to put it in an envelope, but Miss Saint wasn’t here. So I thought she wouldn’t mind if I just took one,” he said.
“I’m sure she wouldn’t,” I agreed. “But what is it?”
“Just a note is all,” he tried to brush it off.
“For who?” I asked.
“No one,” he said quickly.
“May I see?”
“You’ll think it’s dumb,” he said. Then, I saw the light in his eye as he got an idea. “It’s for a girl.”
“That’s not dumb, it’s really sweet,” I said with a laugh. I bent over and picked it up. He started to reach for it, but then stopped himself. I skimmed the note.
It’ll be in the back around eight. Four yards East.
“What does that mean?” I asked, the little frown around my mouth letting him know I caught him in the
lie.
“Oh, come on, Miss Ward, you know you don’t want to know the details of what we do,” he said with another smile. He was nervous. His eyes darted around the room, and I knew he was looking for an escape, but I wasn’t giving it to him. I wanted to know more.
“You’re going to meet a girl?” I asked. He quickly nodded.
“And I really don’t want anyone else to know about this,” he said.
“You know you aren’t supposed to be out that late with the trouble we’re having,” I reminded him. The cops had put the entire town on curfew, telling everyone under eighteen to be in their homes by seven. Only those who were actively going to or coming from work could be on the streets, and only those at work could stay there.
Even restaurants were closing down due to the cartel fighting with the Souls.
“I know, but it would be a good time to, you know. No one would find out about it,” he put his hand on the back of his head, roughing up his hair. He was clearly going to stick to his story about meeting up with a girl, though I knew it had to be something drug related.
If he was out that late, he had to be working with the cartel, or some other gang.
“Joshua, you know you can change your mind when you’re making a mistake,” I said. “You don’t have to go through with things like this.”
“I mean, I like girls,” he shrugged.
I gave him a look that told him to drop the act, and his shoulders sagged. “I know what this is really about, and I want you to stop. You are better than this life, and if you get out of there while you still have a chance, this isn’t going to follow you around forever.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said nervously. His facial expression told me otherwise.
“You can insist that all you want, but I know the truth,” I said. “I want you to step out of this, right now.”
The bell rang, and he looked relieved. “I’ve got to get to class. Can I have my note?”
“I think it would be better if I hung onto it,” I said. “Hurry up, you don’t want to be late.”
He gave me a look and I smiled. I knew he wasn’t happy with me, but I wasn’t going to cave in. I was trying my best to save him from a life of crime and violence. At his age, he couldn’t see that now and I knew he didn’t appreciate it.
He was worth far more than he thought, and I wouldn’t give up on him. But, as he walked down the hall away from me, I noticed the look he gave me over his shoulder. There wasn’t any respect. There wasn’t any of the warmth that had been there when he started at the school. There wasn’t anything but anger and hatred.
My stomach fluttered, but I kept smiling. I wasn’t going to show him any of the emotions that were going on inside. He needed to think that I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him and his behavior. I kept an eye on him for the rest of the day, and I had a feeling he was aware.
I had promised myself a long time ago I was going to do whatever it took to take care of these kids, and I meant it. Even if it made them hate me in the process.
I sighed as I headed home. it had been a long day. I kept an eye out for Joshua, but he didn’t show up to school again. I hadn’t seen him since he walked out the doors the day before, and I worried he wasn’t going to be back at all this time.
He could have been out late despite the warning I gave him not to be, and he could have gotten himself hurt or arrested. I didn’t want to think about that and refused to let my mind go there. But the possibility was present, and I couldn’t shake it easily.
At the same time, he could have been avoiding me. He was clearly pissed off at me for taking the note, though it was meaningless to me. I didn’t know what it meant, who it was for, or where it was going. Hell, I could have handed it to anyone I knew, and they wouldn’t know what it meant, either.
But it clearly meant something to him, and he wasn’t happy to part with it. I had no regrets, however. I would have felt worse if I had let him go through with putting it in the envelope and taking it with him after school.
Sure, he might have written another one, but then, if it was meant to be left for a student, he might not have been able to get it to the right place in time. There were so many possibilities, my mind was spinning.
All the worries went out the window, however, when I pulled up in front of my house and saw Cutter’s bike in the driveway. He was the last person I wanted to see right now, and I had a feeling he was going to be in his usual bad mood. After the way the week had gone, it was likely worse than usual.
But he was waiting on the porch, and there was no avoiding him now.
“Cutter!” I said, feigning a smile. “Thanks for not leaving a bloody handprint on my window this time.”
He didn’t smile as he rose and stepped off the porch. I hadn’t told him a thing about the day before, but for some reason, that’s where my mind went. The look on his face told me something was wrong, and I immediately went on high alert.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
“We need to talk,” he said. “Inside. Right now.”
9
Trip
Fuck. This is a mistake. It’s a mistake. There’s no doubt about it, this is a goddamn mistake. You should back out of it now while you still have the chance.
But what better way to keep tabs on Cutter and what he’s up to than this?
I was in my truck, on my way to Barstow to pick up Cutter’s sister. He’d personally ridden to Ridgecrest the day before to talk to me, beg me even, to keep her safe.
She had evidently been threatened by the cartel, and he felt she would be better off in my care. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but I seized the opportunity to strike a bargain with him:
Keep the drugs and guns out of Ridgecrest, fuck off of my men, and I’ll keep her safe.
I didn’t even know Cutter had a sister, so I was preparing for the female version of himself. Ugly, bitchy, nothing I wanted to deal with but something I’d put up with to get my way.
Sounded about right.
I pulled up in front of the address he gave me and I recognized his bike out front. I got out of the truck and he opened the door, walking out with a bag in his hand.
“She’s not happy about this and she can be more than a handful, so I hope you can manage her,” he said.
I gave him a look. “I did three tours in the desert; how hard can this be?”
“Meg get out here! Your ride’s here!” he shouted over his shoulder. There was shouting coming from inside the house, but I couldn’t make out any of the words.
Then, his sister appeared. If it were possible to knock someone over with a feather, it could have happened to me.
I took one look at her and immediately my hand went to the back of my head to the exact spot where she’d knocked me with the bottle.
She stopped short on the lawn, the expression on her face clearly indicating she was thinking the same thing.
“This is Trip. Trip, Megan,” Cutter said. “Now get out of here.”
“What, that’s it? That’s the only introduction I get?” Megan asked. “And you’re sending me off with this guy?”
“I know him and he’s going to keep you safe!” Cutter snapped.
“I don’t need to be kept safe!” she argued, but he grabbed her by the elbow, leading her to the truck. He was talking fiercely into her ear the entire time, and I rolled my eyes. Now everything made sense. I was feeling less and less thrilled with the plan by the second, but Cutter seemed eager to get her out of town.
“You hold up your end of the bargain, and I’ll hold up mine,” he said after shutting his sister in the vehicle.
I shook his hand. He clearly had no idea how she and I already knew each other, and I wasn’t about to tell him.
“Likewise,” I said. “Likewise.”
“I don’t want to go with you,” Megan said as soon as I got in the truck.
“It’s for your own safety,” I replied.
“What about my ki
ds?” she snapped.
“You have kids?” I asked in surprise, looking at her. She gave me a dirty look.
“I’m a school counselor. They need me here. Especially with everything that’s going on.”
“They’ll be fine,” I assured her. “And hopefully this isn’t going to last very long.”
“Don’t bullshit me! You know this shit can go on for months,” she said.
“And exactly what kind of shit are we talking about?” I asked, giving her an inquisitive look. She gave me another dirty one in exchange, and I smiled.
“You think this is so funny, don’t you?” she said. “You and my brother, just packing me off like a child.”
“Cutter’s not here,” I said.
“For the first time in my life, I’d rather be with him,” she announced.
“Too bad that’s not an option right now,” I commented.
“Look,” she said as she turned to me. I glanced her way. “I know you think you’re some hot shit. You’re what, the club president, right? I’m going to tell you right now I know you’re all a bunch of criminals and liars, and I want nothing to do with any of this.”
“At least we got that out of the way,” I said. “Want to listen to the radio?”
“Oh, I’ve just begun,” she said with an agitated laugh.
I sighed and settled into the seat as I drove.
It was going to be a long ride ahead of us.
“For the love of God, do you ever shut up?” I finally asked. It had been a long drive back from Barstow. Though it was only an hour and a half, she had told me every single thing she wasn’t going to do while with me, including hooking up.
I handed her the key to the hotel room I’d booked for her. “My apartment is right next door if you need me.”
“Oh trust me, I don’t need you,” she shot back, taking the key from me.
I sighed. “Look. No one here asked you to come. No one here asked you to have sex. No one here asked you to do anything but stay inside, and please, shut up!”
Protecting Her: An Enemies to Lovers Romance Page 5