Maria

 

The smell of food woke me up. I was still sitting in the armchair in the living room at the cabin. I could hear Brawn in the kitchen. It sounded and smelled like he was cooking.

 

I pulled myself out of the chair and tried to fight off the groggy feeling in my head from exhaustion and alcohol as I stumbled into the kitchen.

 

“I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” I told Brawn, who was standing over a pan and a couple of pots on the stove.

 

“No, it’s fine. You were only out for maybe ten, fifteen minutes, something like that.

 

“Oh.” I felt like I had slept for hours. “What’s for dinner?”

 

“Pork chops, green beans, and mashed potatoes. It’s not anything special, but it’s sustenance,” he said.

 

“It sounds and smells really good,” I told him.

 

“Thanks. Go ahead and sit back down if you’d like. I’m almost finished in here.”

 

I went and sat back down in the arm chair, leaning forward so I didn’t fall asleep again. It had been one hell of a day. I shook my head as I thought back to how I had planned on going in and quitting my job that morning, then leaving to go live with Elissa by the afternoon. I’d had no idea that my world was going to get turned completely upside down by the end of the day.

 

“Here’s some water,” Brawn said, bringing me a glass of ice water with my meal. Everything looked so good.

 

“You didn’t have to do this,” I told him.

 

“Nonsense. We both have to eat,” he argued as he grabbed his plate from the kitchen and brought it into the living room. He sat down on the couch with it, but I waited to dig in.

 

I didn’t know what to expect from him anymore. I almost expected him to say grace when he sat down, but he didn’t. He simply started eating, allowing me to follow his lead. I was starving, and his pork chops were amazing.

 

“Is it good?” he asked.

 

“It’s phenomenal. You know, I never thought I’d say this, but I’m actually kind of glad you kidnapped me,” I told him.

 

He chuckled. “How so? And you’re right, that is an odd statement.”

 

“Well, for one, you got me away from my father. You have actually helped me make that a much better situation,” I admitted.

 

“Well, I guess I’m glad I could help. I never imagined it would turn out the way it is.”

 

“Yeah, I’m sorry it hasn’t gone exactly as planned, but I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if my father had taken you seriously and actually paid the ransom. I can’t imagine going back to that house.”

 

We didn’t say anything else on the topic for a few minutes while we ate. The room started to feel awkward as we sat there in heavy silence. I could tell we were both thinking about what to say to each other.

 

“And for another thing,” I said eventually, “I didn’t know what I was going to do for work once I moved in with my best friend, you know?”

 

He nodded, his mouth full. He’d just taken a bite before I started talking again.

 

“I need to call her at some point and let her know plans have changed.”

 

“Not a bad idea,” Brawn agreed, washing his food down with beer. “I’ll get you a new phone when we leave here.”

 

We. Talk was changing from you and I to we. We were becoming a team. How often did that happen? I wondered. I couldn’t explain why it had caught me off guard when he said it, but it did. The fact that he had talked about us as a unit floored me. I hadn’t expected it.

 

“So, this isn’t where you live?” I asked.

 

“Not hardly. I have a place in town. This is just where I go when I need to work or when I want to get away.”

 

“What the hell does a biker have to get away from?” I asked him. “No offense, Brawn, but you’ve got a group of guys backing you up, and you typically don’t join an organization like an MC unless you want to be part of that life.”

 

“True,” he agreed. “But unlike my brothers, I never really wanted to be part of it. I’ve always been a loner, you know? Sometimes I just don’t want to be around the guys, and I don’t want to deal with all the pressure the MC puts on its members to perform certain tasks.”

 

“Look, you don’t have to be vague around me. My father is a contractor using his business as a cover for mob money. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but that’s what it looks like,” I said, encouraging him to speak a little more candidly with me.

 

“Just MC activities, you know? Everything they do isn’t legal, and I’m just not that big on the illegal stuff they get into. Also, like with my brother, Shift, and his business, I’m going to be expected to run some of the profits from our illegal dealings through my company. They weren’t too happy when I stopped working for one of the guys and went to work with your dad because he’s out of their reach, I think,” Brawn finally confided in me.

 

“I see what you’re saying. So, when we get your business started, I’m going to have to help you cook the books a little bit, huh?”

 

“No, we have a guy named Numbers for that,” he told me. “He handles everyone’s books to make sure all the money looks legit and consistent. Honestly, the only way the money would ever show up is if someone put all of our books together.”

 

“So Numbers doesn’t keep a separate record like you hear about so often in documentaries and stuff?” I asked, looking for clarification.

 

“Right. He doesn’t have to. He has his own special way of doing it so he doesn’t have to write anything down separately.”

 

I raised my eyebrows. “I hope he never gets caught.”

 

“I hope that’s not a threat,” he said back.

 

“Oh, no, sorry.” I laughed. “Besides, why in the hell are you telling me all of this?”

 

“I think you need to know what you’re getting yourself into. Plus, if you had really wanted to be a problem, you could have kicked my ass by now,” he said, shrugging.

 

“True. I could have. Hey, sorry I bit you, but I really thought some serious shit was about to go down,” I told him as I took another bite of my food.

 

“I don’t blame you. I was just surprised. Where did you learn to fight like that?”

 

“I told you, self-defense classes,” I told him again.

 

“But why would someone like you need self-defense training? When the hell are you ever in need of that?” he asked.

 

“Are you seriously asking me that right now, after you tried to kidnap me?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “I’ve known the kinds of guys my father hires for a while now, so I took some classes a while back to make sure I didn’t have to worry about anyone at work. Thugs, bikers, illegals with nothing to lose? Not to mention my father’s associates.”

 

“So you knew you were never really safe at work or around your father, then,” he said.

 

“Right. I had to make sure I could defend myself in case anything happened. And, you might be surprised to know, you weren’t the first person I’ve had to use my training on,” I told him. I went back to eating, finishing my food.

 

“I’m sorry to hear that, Maria. I really am.”

 

I shot him a guarded look, letting him know not to ask me about the last time I was attacked. I didn’t know what the guy wanted; I had an idea, but I never let him get far enough to find out exactly what that was.

 

“Well, look, now that you’re going to be working for me, you’re not going to have to worry about anything. You’ve got all the protection you need,” he assured me. “Women aren’t allowed to be members of the MC, but friends, family, old ladies, and even employees are protected by the club.”

 

“Old ladies, huh?”

 

“Yeah, girlfriends and wives. You know, someone permanent,” he explained. “I mean, you can hear a lot of this talk by watching TV these days. There are so many TV shows out there about bikers and life on the open road, it’s hard to miss.”

 

“Yeah, but I don’t watch a whole lot of that,” I told him. “I mean, I know it’s all out there, but I’ve never been much for TV. Now, movies are another story, but I don’t watch a whole lot of TV.”

 

He sighed. “That’s fine. That means you also don’t get a lot of the misconceptions the shows and documentaries create by telling partial truths about what we do.”

 

I shrugged. “I’m just going to need you to be my biker dictionary, all right?”

 

He laughed. “Fair enough. You finished?”

 

He took my plate into the kitchen with his and started washing up from dinner. I followed him with my glass of water.

 

“So, how many times do you think this actually happens?” I asked him.

 

“How many times do I think what happens?” he returned the question without turning around.

 

“Someone kidnaps someone and it turns into a legitimate business deal, not just trying to hold someone for ransom,” I explained.

 

“Yeah, I guess that’s a little strange. You know, you still haven’t actually accepted the job.”

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. I thought it was evident. Yes, I accept. I mean, what else am I going to do for money in the meantime?”

 

“What about staying at my place while you’re working for me?” he asked.

 

“As long as that’s still on the table, I’m okay with it. I just don’t want to impose.” I was starting to get distracted by his massive, manly arms getting soapy in the sink as he washed his dishes. He was not at all what I had expected from the guy who wrapped his arms around me and wrestled me to the ground that same morning.

 

“Okay. When we get back to town tomorrow, I’ll get you set up in the guestroom. Are you going to need any clothes or anything?” he asked.

 

I laughed hard. “Now he thinks about it,” I teased. “I guess you shouldn’t have jumped the gun and grabbed me before I had a chance to pack up some of my shit. Yeah, I’m going to need some clothes and things.”

 

“I guess we need to go shopping tomorrow, too,” he said with a sigh. “Looks like I’m going to be borrowing a lot of money from my brother.”

 

“Hey, don’t sweat it. I’ve got my savings, too. I can dip into that if I need to,” I assured him. “No need to borrow too much more than you need to, you know?”

 

“No, it’s fine. Hold on to your money. You need it. I’ll just borrow more from Shift so I know we have everything we need until the business gets off the ground.” He put his dishes on a rack on the counter next to the sink as he finished scrubbing and rinsing them.

 

There was something about watching him do domestic chores that endeared him to me. In the course of one day, he’d gone from being the creepy, leering biker thug who worked for my dad to being the guy who was kidnapping me for whatever purpose, to a business partner, and possibly even a friend.

 

After he finished cleaning up in the kitchen he turned to me. “I guess we need to figure out where we’re sleeping tonight. I guess you can take my bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch. Sound good?” he asked me.

 

“You’ve got a bedroom, too?”

 

“Yeah, it’s on the other side of the bathroom. I don’t have any pajamas or anything for you, though. I guess you can grab a shirt from my closet. You can use the shower if you want, and there is an extra toothbrush, unopened, in the medicine cabinet.”

 

“Wow, Brawn. You are something else,” I told him. “Are you saying you’re ready for bed now?”

 

“No, I was just letting you know in case you were. I’m going to crash on the couch and watch some TV before I head to bed. You’re welcome to join me.”

 

“Can I grab a beer?”

 

We sat up well into the night and talked about anything and everything. We got to know each other a little better, and once I felt myself starting to get drunk, I decided it was time to call it a night before I did anything stupid. Despite my initial impressions of Brawn, he was very attractive, and seeing the sensitive, domesticated side of him made him that much more attractive to me.

 

He stopped me with a hand on my arm as I started to walk out of the room. I turned cautiously, afraid he was going to try to kiss me, or worse. I was afraid because I didn’t know if I was of sound enough mind to turn him down.

 

Instead, he just looked at me with his winning smile and said, “Maria, some serious shit is about to go down.” He winked and let me go.

 

I knew what he meant. We were about to go into business together, and he was confident it was going to be good.