After riding for a few miles, I turn onto the dirt road, only slowing when I approach the edge of the river. Ray climbs out of his truck as I turn my bike off and get off.
“Hey, man, good to hear from you,” he says, slapping my hand and pulling me in for a half hug. I laugh.
“No, it’s not. No one calls you when it’s good news.”
He puts a cigarette in his mouth and lights it, nodding. “Well, you’re right about that. So, what’s up?”
Running my hand over my hair, I look out over the river. “Your friend, Shaun, still doin’ time?”
“Yeah.”
“He still in the Pen?”
I glance over at him and he nods as he draws on his cigarette. “Sure is. This the same thing as last time?”
“He’s got someone following me. Following my girl, too, and someone broke into her house earlier this week but didn’t steal anything.”
He nods, pulling out a notepad like the cops use. “What’s his name again?”
“Ian Blackwell.”
“And what’s he doing time for?”
I suck in a breath, turning back to the river. “Murder.”
“How bad you want him hurt?”
What a loaded question. I would love it if he were just as dead as the woman he killed but Blaze’s voice sounds in my head, reminding me that we aren’t the bad guys and we can’t act like thugs.
“Bad enough to drive the point home. He calls off his brother and stays the hell away from me and my girl.”
He finishes scribbling something and tucks the notebook back into his pocket before slapping me on my shoulder. “I’ll call you when it’s done.”
* * * *
“Church in five,” Blaze calls just as I walk in the door, and everyone nods at him before turning back to what they were doing before. I slide onto a barstool next to Chance and nod at Teresa when she sets a beer down in front of me.
“Well, don’t you look fucking chipper,” Chance says, and I laugh, almost choking on my beer.
“That a bad thing?”
He shakes his head and takes a sip of his own beer. “Suppose not. Just different.”
He’s right; it is different. For the past six years, I’ve had a dark cloud hanging over me, and it was visible to everyone, but not anymore.
“You just got over it like that, huh?”
“Naw, man. I didn’t just get over it but Ali, she makes it all easier, you know. Gave me a reason to smile again.”
He snorts and nods. “Yeah, okay. Don’t go getting all sappy on me.”
“Shut the fuck up, dude.”
“Hey, Storm,” Smith calls from the back corner of the clubhouse where he and Moose are playing pool.
“What?”
“You and that neighbor of yours serious?”
Red-hot rage blinds my vision as I think about him putting his hands on her. Brother or not, that shit is not happening. Possessiveness wells up inside me, and I stand, slamming my beer bottle down on the bar.
“She’s fucking off limits.”
Everyone grows quiet, all eyes trained on me. “You claimin’ her, then? Officially?”
“You’re damn right I am.”
Kodiak laughs and jumps up from the couch, slapping me on the shoulder. “Well, it’s about damn time.”
“Church,” Blaze calls from the doorway, a knowing smile on his face as I pass him and take my seat at the table. Everyone else files in and fills the rest of the table as Blaze goes to the head of the table and bangs the gavel.
“All right, let’s get down to business. Kodiak and Smith, what do you have from Ali’s house?”
“Honestly, boss, not a whole lot,” Kodiak says, and Smith nods in agreement, only increasing my suspicions about what really happened.
“The back door looks like it’s been jimmied quite a few times so it’s impossible to say how many times this guy has been in there. That alone rules out the possibility of this being an attempted robbery,” Smith adds, and I shift in my seat. I don’t like the fucking sound of this at all.
“And nothing was taken?” Blaze asks, and Kodiak and Smith share a look.
“Possibly some panties but there’s no way to know for sure.”
“Ali said her bed was made when she left that morning, and it was messed up when we were there like someone had been lying in it,” I say, and they all turn to me. This feels so familiar, and it turns my stomach just thinking about it.
“Sounds like she’s got a stalker,” Fuzz says, and my heart drops.
“It’s Ian’s brother.”
Everyone turns to look at me except for Streak, who just nods in agreement. I glance over at Blaze, and he’s studying me. “How do you know this?”
“Had Streak look into him. I never even realized that Ian had a twin brother but it makes sense with the pictures that have been left on my doorstep.”
He stares at me for a moment longer before turning to the other guys around the table. “We should put a guard on her.”
“That’s not necessary. I’m already taking care of it.”
Blaze turns his focus back to me. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means I’ve got a guy taking care of it.”
He slams his fist onto the table, and everyone falls quiet. “I fucking told you not to do anything.”
“Honestly, Prez, with Storm claimin’ her, it might be the best way to go,” Smith says, playing his part as sergeant at arms. “It’s been a long ass time since we’ve had to worry about protecting an old lady, and we don’t want to set a precedent with this.”
I look to the back of the table where our two older members, Red and Earl, sit. They are the only ones with old ladies anymore so it’s not something Blaze has had to worry about in a while.
“We can’t just go around killing people. That’s part of the reason we got in that mess six years ago.”
“I’m not killing him,” I say, knowing that will in no way pacify Blaze.
He turns to me and sighs, running a hand over his face. “And if he doesn’t get the message?”
“Then we’ll be having this conversation again.”
“Goddamn it, we have to be careful here. Rodriguez may be a friend but he’s a good cop, and he won’t protect you if shit goes down.”
I nod. “I know. But I’m gonna do whatever the fuck I have to do to protect my woman. This shit is not happening again.”
He studies me and I see the moment it clicks, the moment he realizes that I’m living a nightmare all over again, and he nods. “Understood, but we discuss it here before you do anything.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Alison
Dear Alison,
I’ve been seeing this guy for a little while, and I’m really into him but I can’t tell if he feels the same about me. He’s hot and cold, there one minute and gone the next like I mean nothing to him. I really want to be with him but I don’t want to waste my time or get my heart broken. What should I do?
Dazed and Confused