CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Winters hung his head over his bathroom sink, despondent and depressed. It’d been three days since he was released from the hospital. He should’ve shaved his beard when he got home, but he had neither the energy nor the motivation. Other than Clara, nothing interested him. His mother tidied around the house, trying for conversation, and he brushed her off like the prick he was.
Unlike his mother, the guys were as subtle as whores hocking blow jobs. They arrived uninvited and unappreciated, and did nothing but pepper him with moronic questions. They started out with lead-lined softballs like how’s Mia and ended with power-punches about his health, his mindset, and his ability to get his shit together.
He leaned off the vanity and watched the image standing before him in the mirror. Two weeks off was an eternity. He needed to work out, to train and pump iron until his muscles gave up on him. Something, anything to alleviate his tension. But exercising sounded like an awful waste of time, and he didn’t want to muster the energy.
His cell phone sat quiet, charging on the vanity counter. It didn’t ring a lot, but now it was infuriatingly silent. The guys hadn’t shown up all day. Maybe they went out on a job. An operation Jared didn’t tell him about.
With a few more splashes of water, he finished in the bathroom, then went to Clara’s room. She stirred, her infant fists balled over her head in a tiny stretch. Not that he had much to base assumptions on, but Clara was an awesome baby.
More or less, she kept to a schedule. He knew, to a five-minute window, when she would wake up. Right now, he had a few moments to sit and watch her slumber. It was the only thing he could enjoy.
Her bright blue eyes opened wide with the realization she was awake. Without giving her a chance to cry, he scooped her off of her purple sheets and cradled her against his chest. She was getting to be a big girl.
“Baby girl, I missed you while you were sleeping.”
He walked her over to the changing table and made fast work of a diaper change.
“I know, I know. It was awesome when Mia was here before. She’d be so proud of you.” He smoothed the baby’s cowlick down. “Peas and sweet potatoes. Who knew babies like that? I sure didn’t.”
She gurgled and reached for his face. Used to the smooth skin of a clean shave, Clara tugged his beard, intent on investigating.
“Yeah, I miss her, too.”
His cell phone vibrated on his hip. They could screw off. He was busy now. He ignored two calls as he sat on the floor, watching Clara try to crawl. A pile of toys encircled them, and he fashioned two guns out of large, pink building blocks, then set up a row of stuffed animals.
“This is how you take out the enemy. First, you—” Clara stared at him, reaching for her pink block weapon. “Let me have that back.”
He took a few of the blocks off. “You’re too young for guns. Even pink ones. This is a pink stick, and I have no idea what you should do with it.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. What did he know about babies? Faking it wasn’t fooling anyone, particularly him. He didn’t know what the hell to do. Mia would know babies didn’t get pink guns of the building block variety. She’d know how to turn a pile of pastel plastic into something girly and appropriate like… he had no idea.
The phone rang again, and he looked at the screen. “What do you want, Cash?”
“Three times. You made me call three times before you picked up the phone. You’re acting like a chick.”
“Maybe I was on the shitter.”
“Yeah, maybe, but I think you’re all bullshit. I talked with Judith. She’ll be there in ten minutes. You and I are going out. Make yourself reasonably presentable.”
Winters dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. “Fuck that. And since when do you and my mom chat?”
“The world’s conspiring against you, bro.” Cash chuckled and hung up.
Winters returned to making large stacks of blocks. Pink skyscrapers or were they pink bridges? Pink sticks. Straight lines were the only things he could fathom that weren’t based on violence.
Winters cracked his neck, snagged Clara, and walked into his room, ignoring the few items of Mia’s on his dresser. He shimmied out of pajama pants and into jeans and a shirt.
Coffee. That was next on the list of things to do before they arrived. It might be the only way he could survive. He rounded into the kitchen and saw two vehicles traveling up the driveway. His mother, followed by Cash. This wasn’t what he needed.
Winters held Clara in front of him, at arm’s length. “This is going to suck.”
He poured a cup of coffee and watched out the window. His mom and Cash stood out there, chatting like a couple of good old boys. He downed the coffee in few blistering swallows and poured another cup.
They walked into the kitchen, both staring with the same disapproval.
“Dude, you’ve got to get out of the house. You look like shit.”
“Watch your mouth around the baby.” His mother reprimanded Cash.
“Sorry, J. My bad.”
J? Cash was past first names and onto nicknames with his mom? In what world was this happening?
“Colby, I’ll take Clara for the afternoon.”
“Grab your favorite gun.” Cash rummaged through his pantry. “Grab more than one. You might need ’em.”
Winters tore open a box of Dots and dumped in a jaw-full. Cash snacked out of various containers in the cabinet, and Winters’s mom took Clara into the living room.
“By all means, Cash, help yourself. Where we going anyway?” He threw in another handful of candy.
Cash chewed and talked, mouth wide open. “You’re going to lose your boyish figure eating shit like that.”
“Says the man who just housed a sleeve of crackers.”
“I burn carbs like you cry over girls.”
“Watch yourself, Cash. I’ll leave you in a puddle of your own blood.”
“Nah. You’d be too worried about Clara getting in it. Move your ass. We’ve got places to go.” He motioned to a box of cookies. “I’m taking these. I’ll meet you in the truck.”
Winters took two stairs at a time to his weapons stash, unlocked the safe, and selected a handgun and rifle. As he headed back down, his mom cleared her throat. Twice.
“I’m glad you’re getting out of the house.”
He grumbled. “I’m not.”
“That’s precisely my reasoning. You need to see different walls. You’re a mess.”
“Thanks, Mom. Exactly what I needed to hear.”
He slammed the new door behind him hard and heard it shake. He was definitely the leading candidate for worst son of the year. Also, biggest asshole of the year. What other awards would he rack up? Prick, dick, jerk? He could go on and on.
Winters got in, and Cash switched radio stations, stopping on the Eagles singing Desperado directly to his sorry ass. He didn’t want to be in this truck, going God knows where. Even the radio mocked him. Cash burned past the speed limit, looking excited.
“Want to tell me where we’re headed?” Winters stared at the unfamiliar road.
“You needed to get out of the house, so what’s it to you? We’ll be there in a minute. Man, your panties are in a twist.”
“Get off my back, Cash.”
Several songs later, they turned onto an unfamiliar two-lane road that curved and angled. Cash drove the odd turns like he did so every day.
“We almost there?”
“Yup.”
“And there is?”
“My secret getaway. Where all your problems will be forgotten.”
They slid into a small dirt parking strip and splashed through mud. A nondescript sign read GUNS. The words dangled under a rusted, larger-than-life bison replica complete with a snarling face and a charging hoof pulled high. A few pickup trucks lined the lot in front of a one-level, brick building with bars on the windows.
“Your secret escape is a gun range? I could’ve shown you a half-dozen thirty minutes closer.”
“Patience, buddy.”
Cash jumped out and shut his door. Winters pressed his head against the headrest. What the hell? Pounding out a few rounds might help. He followed Cash with far less enthusiasm than his buddy. A security camera traced their path to the door. Cash rang a doorbell and, seconds later, a buzz preempted the door popping open.
They entered a small room. It was dimly lit and glass cases lined the walls. Handguns and throwing knives hung on the dark-paneled wall. An empty desk sat in the corner next to a shady hallway. It was dingy and hadn’t shown any of the promise Cash raved over. Winters trailed a finger over the smooth countertop, peering down at a compact Beretta 9mm.
“Well, if it ain’t my favorite of all my favorites. Hi ya, Cash. You come down here to play with your toys or mine?”
Winters spun around. The woman wore black leather pants like a second skin. Her silver belt buckle of dueling pistols etched over a jagged heart shined near a belly ring. Her black cotton shirt hung to right below her full rack. The lettering scribbled over her tits read Girls Love Guns.
Christ. Cash brought him to a whorehouse.
The smile on Cash’s face reached from one sideburn to the other. “Well, hi there, Sugar. I brought a friend.”
The woman wore lipstick that was far too red. Her tussled hair was piled in a way that screamed pull here, and she smelled like scotch and spice. Her gaze raked him up and down, lingering over his crotch, before his lips pulled off hello.
“Does your friend have a name?” She flicked a wink intended for both of them. “’Cause I was back there, field-stripping a .22 LR, and he looks handy with a long rifle.”
She stepped toe-to-toe with Winters and planted a hand on her cocked hip. “It’s just a little thang for range practice. But I promise, it’s real smooth. Grab a couple bricks, and we can go all night long.”
Cash was a dead man. This was such a bad idea. Weeks ago, she might have been what he needed to blow off stress and excess energy. But now, his inner horn-dog was annoyed and far more interested in shooting a long gun, than fieldstripping in any capacity with her.
He needed to change the course of this exchange. Winters extended his hand. “Name’s Winters.”
“Well, Winters, welcome to my range. I can’t believe Cash never brought you here before.”
“I don’t bring anyone here, Sugar,” Cash said. “Haven’t you noticed? You’re my not-so-guilty secret indulgence. I’m not one to share.”
She batted her thickly-painted eyelashes and nodded to Winters. “So, what’s the special occasion?”
“He’s in need of a distraction.” Cash laughed.
Winters growled. “Christ, Cash. Mind your goddamn business.”
“Aw, Winters, don’t be so harsh.” She licked her pink tongue over her very cherry bottom lip. “I happen to specialize in distractions.”
This stunt was borderline ridiculous.
“I think we better just pound out a few rounds.” He paused, no idea how to address her. “I didn’t catch your name.”
“Sugar’s my name, but Honey, Dollface, that’ll work, too. Call me whatever you want. If you like it, I like it. But you already have my laser-focused attention.”
No appropriate name popped to mind. He eyed Cash hard and ran a hand from his beard to his nape.
Cash jumped in and ambled to the hall. “Okay, Sugar, we’ll just take a couple of lanes. Put it on my tab.”
Winters followed, not wanting to spend any alone time with the woman. Her exotic perfume hung thick as they walked to the range.
“Think you could have warned me, man?”
“About what? She’s your type, and you need a distraction.”
“And what’s my type?”
“Aggressive, vampy, and without strings.”
“I don’t need a prostitute.”
“Well, Dollface back there isn’t a pro. She’s just a few kinds of fun.” They entered a ready room that narrowed to the lanes. “Hell, they’re all fun.”
Winters looked around at the range. Typical tactical team types practiced shots, and a few range grunts focused on the targets. But there were women. Women like Cash’s Sugar. Sexy leather pants, too-tight shirts, strapped with guns.
“What the hell is this place?”
“Something of an invitation-only gun club.”
“And all the women?”
“What? You’ve never seen a lady in the lanes before?”
“This is sex on display.”
“Sugar knows how to run a profitable business. Nothing out of line. Just gorgeous gals who have our type of fun and know their weapons. What’s hotter than a woman wearing a belly shirt, holding a grenade launcher? She’ll find you one if that’s your fancy.”
“Christ, Cash. So this is…” He wasn’t sure how to ask him if he was mixed in a hooker ring.
“It’s no different than you nailing some broad from a bar.” Cash stood in front of a lane but didn’t step forward. Winters moved adjacent to him, feet from the starting line.
“Cash, man, I don’t need a special invite to those bars.”
“It’s a social club, not a bunny ranch. Dude, what’s your deal? I’m not trying to lure you into some seedy, VD bordello. It’s a gun range that quality females with special interests frequent. If someone catches your eye, do something about it.”
He turned from Cash and stepped into the cubbyhole. After he ejected the empty clip, he loaded the rounds and donned protective glasses and earplugs. Do something about it. Cash was off his rocker if he thought a piece of leather-wrapped tail would do something for him right now.
He owed it to Mia. She’d never know, but that wasn’t the point. Sugar wasn’t appealing. Winters jumped his gaze from one lady to the next. Hell, none of them were interesting. Maybe his taste in women had changed.
Winters slammed the clip in and blew out a heavy breath. He pinched his eyes, then focused on the target twenty-five yards away. He squeezed the trigger and absorbed the kickback.
Yeah, he needed that.
He cocked another round into the chamber and fired again, and again. The kick was a relief. A constant. Something comforting that happened with every trigger-pulled blast.
“Winters,” Sugar said, almost purred, seconds before he was overpowered with her perfume.
He didn’t need to look behind him, but he did. Sugar wrapped herself around the edge of the partition.
Go away.
But she didn’t. He took off his protective shades, took out his earplugs, and gave her a nod but didn’t offer a response. Instead, he punched the button, and his shot up cardboard target raced forward on the track and came to a stop, swaying. Each gunshot landed where he’d intended. His precision was a work of black powder beauty.
“Hey, champ. That’s your everyday carry?”
He nodded, curt and not friendly. “You’re here to make small talk?”
“Look, we got off on the wrong shitkicker. I’m far past outrageous. I get that. Cash told me you thought I was…offering more services than I actually do.”
He closed his eyes so she didn’t see them roll. Cash was earning his ass kicking. “I didn’t mean—”
“Of course you did. But don’t sweat it. I threw myself at you. And Cash rightfully assumed I would, which is why he brought you here. I can be a distraction, I know. So, you’re doing okay?”
He watched her take small steps closer. Her hips swung more than they needed to, and she flipped her now-down hair over a shoulder.
“And you’re distracted from whatever you need distracting from?”
“Guess so.” Firing off each shot cleared his mind. It was a first since he woke up in that hospital bed.
“So here’s the deal. I’m not a pro. Nor am I insulted you thought so. You, Winters, you have a body to jump. I’ll distract the hell out of you, if you’re interested.” She stepped close, ran a finger over his pec, and stood on tiptoes to reach his ear. “I promise you, whatever is weighing heavy on your mind will wash away.”
She flicked a tongue onto his earlobe. He flinched.
“You’re keyed up. I can do something for you, baby.”
Her hand dropped further, cupping him.
He grabbed her hand off and dropped it. “Not interested.”
She ignored him and crushed her body onto his. “It’s your circus. I’m just here for the rides.”
“Not interested.” The muscles in his neck tensed, and he leaned away from her mouth. If she kept rubbing him, disinterested or not, she was going to get a reaction out of him. And he was, without a doubt, not interested.
She pulled back, her tongue dancing over her lips again.
“If you change your mind, I’ll be in my office.” She pointed down a hall at the end of the lanes then trailed her hand across his bicep. “This time. Next time. Whenever. I sense my kind, and darlin’, you’re my kind. It’d be fun for both of us. Think it over.”
She winked at him and turned away, swinging her ass in those tight pants. He really should’ve thought about it. He needed his old normal. Sugar was his style and didn’t ask for a morning after. That was exactly what he liked in a woman. Right? He shook his head, confused. He didn’t know what he liked anymore.
He was tired and cranky and empty. It made him wish Mia was waiting for him at home all the more.
Winters dropped the clip from the gun, reloaded, and holstered the piece. It was time to head home. Whatever Cash was up to, he could finish later. Sugar lurked within eyeshot, and he wanted to get away.
He spotted Cash, signaled to go, and headed to his truck. The door was unlocked, and he hopped in with Cash hot on his heels. Cash jumped in, threw it in reverse, and traced their return path.
“Sugar didn’t do it for ya?”
“You told her I said she was a pro. That wasn’t an awkward convo.”
“I didn’t say pro. I said madam.”
Winters glared at him. “Big fucking difference.”
“So she’s not your type anymore?”
“I don’t have a type.”
“And I call bullshit on that one. Leather, fake tits, ready to—”
“I got your point.”
“No, you’ve completely missed my point.”
“And that is?” he said through clamped teeth.
“My point is she’s not Mia.” Cash stared from under the low-set brim of the cowboy hat.
“So today was to screw with me. Great. Thanks. I really needed it.”
“You’re stupid. Connect the dots. More than willing female. Your stereotypical fuck. But you didn’t care. The Winters I know wouldn’t mind blowing off some steam with the likes of Sugar.”
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“No, brother, you’ve just got Mia Kensington on your mind. And you should deal with it.”
“I’ve dealt with it. End of discussion.”
They pulled up to the front of his house. Winters grabbed his rifle and jumped out with Cash laughing behind him. Winters walked through the front door, threw the door shut but caught it just before it slammed. No need to wake Clara if she slept and make both of them miserable. He was doing it well enough for two.