Chapter Ten
Slater
That wasn’t Puck and his guys that shot up our hotel room. They don’t carry guns that can do the damage those did. I’m not sure how someone knew we were in there, but I’m not about to wait around to find out.
I need to make a call to her father today to push this meeting up a few days. She’s not safe on the road and it’s only going to get worse from here if someone in fact has a trace on us. My bike is close. I told myself I wouldn’t go get it until I was done with this club shit. I’ve put so much money into it, but since we’re desperate I don’t have a choice. This piece of shit Taurus is only going to get us a few miles.
I paid off an old man for this car and told him he can pick it up tomorrow at the town library in Evansville. He wasn’t too thrilled about the idea until he looked down at the wad of cash I was offering him. I figured a few grand is worth not having him put out a call about a stolen car, which would only give the cops even more information to find us.
She looks terrified and I’m sure she’s scared to death thinking about what just happened. “I’m going to make sure you’re safe.”
“Thank you. How is this all happening?” Tears begin to fall down her cheeks before she dries them with the inside of her shirt.
“I don’t know.”
“What if they follow me all the way to my new house. Will I ever be able to get rid of these guys?” I don’t tell her that it’s not Puck we just had a run-in with. I need to see if I can get some more information before I tell her that her life is in danger in more ways than one.
“I won’t let them. You’re going to be safe. I’ll make sure of it.” The sadness on her face has me making promises I may not be able to keep, but I’ll do my best. “I need to make a phone call. Let’s stop at this gas station up here so I can find a phone.” She doesn’t know I’m going to call her father on the only phone I’m still carrying. She’s going to think the world is against her if she knows I’ve betrayed her with my intentions on this trip. I’ll wait until she’s with him to let her know what’s going on. At least I’ll know she’s safe then.
I dial his number, knowing he’ll answer it. This phone is his direct contact to me.
“Hello.”
“I have the package.” I choose to talk in code just in case we have someone listening.
“What day can you send it?”
“It should be there in two days.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it. Are you going fishing now?” It isn’t like him to make small talk, so this question hits me as odd instantly.
“Not today. Well, old man. I have to go back to work now. I’ll call you later.” I hang up without giving him a chance to respond. Something’s wrong and I don’t like the weird feeling I got when I was talking to him. I walk quickly back to the car and speed off in the quickest direction out of this tiny town.
I roll the window down and throw the phone into the first river we pass. “I thought we got rid of all the phones.”
“That’s the last one.”
“Why do I feel like you’re not telling me everything?” Because I’m not.
“What do you want to know?”
“Who did you just call?”
“If I told you… you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Try me.” She turns to face me. I feel a ping of guilt the second her eyes meet mine.
“Your father.”
“What the fuck? Stop the car.” She sits forward, rage instantly flowing over her.
“I can’t. That wasn’t Puck or his goons who shot us up in the hotel.”
“Then who the fuck was it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m not going to stand around to find out.”
“You fucking asshole. I told you we had to be honest with each other and you’ve been lying all along. What did my father do… send you to drag me back to him?” I look at her confused, because the way he described the situation is that she couldn’t be near him because of the dangers of his job. I had no idea she’d have so much hate for him. He said she’d be concerned to come back into all of it, but she’d get over it once the shock wears off.
“Alright. Here’s my honesty. He hired me to become a member of an MC to get him information. After a few years of doing business with him like that… your name came up in the club I was working with. When I reported that information to your father, he gave me a new job of making sure you were safe and returned to him before the club could get to you. Before I could get everything I needed, you pulled your stunt and Puck rushed The Club to find you. Now here we are… on the run. I’m supposed to be taking you to your father, but after that phone call I don’t know what to do.”
“Like hell if you’re taking me to him. I’m not an object you get to place where you want to. I’m a fucking person and I’ll go where I want.” Her voice echoes through the small car, her emotions going wild as she continues to talk. “He doesn’t get to play games with me after all these years. He’s the reason I’m in danger to start with.” She tosses her bags around a few times before she starts talking again. “What about that phone call has you worried?”
“He tried to make small talk. He’s never done that in all the years I’ve worked for him. He’s all business. I think it was his way of telling me something’s wrong. He asked me if I was going fishing. I’ve never talked about fishing with him.”
“He’s a phony, Slater. I can’t believe you’re associated with him. I can’t trust you now.”
“Bullshit. I just hung up on him and threw the one link to him I have in the fucking river. I’m not sure how much more I can do to prove to you that I’m in this with you. I told you I’d make sure you’re safe… now that’s what I fuckin’ plan to do.” My voice makes hers seem tiny and unsure. She backs off quickly and the rest of the short drive is quiet.
I park the car at the library and leave the keys under the mat… just like I told the old man I’d do. We walk the three blocks to my grandparent’s old house. I’m looking over my shoulder constantly to see if we’ve been followed, but everything is clear. There’s no way I’d come here if it wasn’t.
“This is my grandparent’s house. My bike is in the small barn over there.” We slip through the sliding door before she says anything.
“Aren’t you going to say hello to your grandparents?”
“No. We’ll never get out of here if we go inside.” She looks slightly disappointed, but at the same time I can tell she understands we need to leave quickly.
“Put what you can into this backpack. The rest has to stay here. We can come back for it in a few days.” She starts to look frantic as she’s putting the money she can fit into the backpack. It’s obvious not all of it is going to fit, so I pull open the door to the underground hiding spot I have before she has a chance to say anything.
Her eyes light up as she sees all the cash I have hidden in there for myself. “I guess we both have a habit of saving money for a fucked-up day.”
“We do. I’ve shown you my hiding spot, so you know yours will be safe here. I have more to lose than you do and we’re running out of time. We need to get down the road. This proves that we’re in this together.” I only give her a little bit of logic before she nods and drops the bag into the hole. I close the door and replace the work mat that I use to cover it up.
“Stay here and I’ll grab the gas can.” I slip out of the barn and notice movement in the distance that causes me to freeze mid-step. I study the grass and drop to the ground the second I see the silhouette. “Fuck.” Who in the hell is following us? How did they know to come here and how the fuck am I going to get them away from my grandparent’s house?
So many things begin to run through my mind until I see him stand. That’s when my worst nightmare begins to unfold. I don’t have a chance to stop him before he’s running to the barn. He’s armed… and I’m not. “Slater. I told my father not to use you. I didn’t peg you for being stupid enough to go back home when you’re on the run. That’s a rookie mistake.”
“Charley. Why are you here?”
“My old man says you’re bringing my sister home to him. Is she with you?”
“No. I’ll be delivering her to him in two days.”
“No you won’t. How much is he paying you?”
“We haven’t finalized the money yet.” I lie to him, even though he probably already knows how much I’m supposed to make on this deal. There’s only one thing I know… I’ll never allow Charley to take her. He’s a disgusting human being and I’m not contributing to his psychotic ways of doing business.
“I’ll pay you more to deliver her to me.” He starts walking toward the barn once again and I try to beat him to the door, but don’t make it in time.
My eyes scan everywhere to look for her, but she’s not visible. I notice the rug is slightly out of place, so I’m only guessing she’s in the hole. I guess it’s a good thing I made it large enough for all the money I plan to receive when I deliver her to her father.
“Call me when you’re about to pick her up. We’ll work something out.” He leaves me standing in the barn, wondering where in the fuck she’s at. After he’s been gone about ten minutes, I open the door to the hole and see that her bag is missing and she’s not in there, but my money is still in place.
“Fuckkkk.” I’m going to grip her throat and fuck the life out of her when I find her. She’d better hope I’m the first one to get to her. Because I’ll actually make sure she enjoys it even though I’m pissed off. The other guys won’t be that nice.
The thought of anyone else touching her makes me even angrier as I start to scope out the barn for any sign of her.