KILTED DESIRE 2 - Russian Roulette (6 page)

“So who’s your friend, Scott?’ she said, as she served up
two bottles of beer.”

“Hey Sam, this is Chris.
An old friend of
mine from back haem.
And aye, he talks funny too.”

“Well, hello Chris. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Guid tae meet yer too.” Chris replied.

Chris was a tall guy, but was about an inch or so shorter
than Scott. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes, and like Scott, was in good
physical shape.

“So,
where’s a guid place tae go
fer a night oot in Columbus, Sam?” Scott asked.

“It depends what type of thing you’re looking for. Are you after
live music?
Lots of women to hit on?
Or anything else in particular?”

“I’m nae really sure, I guess music would be guid. As long
as
it’s
nae too loud, we’re getting old now,” Scott
said smiling.

“So you’re not after girls tonight?” she replied, teasing
them.

“Probably nae, we’ve nae been having much luck with women
recently.” Scott said.

“Aye, yer nae wrong there,” Chris agreed.

“Well, let me tell you this. No matter where you go in Columbus,
looking like you two do, and especially talking like you do. You’re going to
get attention from girls, trust me.”

“Aye, I’ve noticed the accent does get noticed aroond here,”
Scott added laughing.

“I dinnae mind where we go.
I quite
like it in here. We dinnae get places like this back in
Glasgae
,”
Chris said.

“It should get quite busy in here a little later. The
Buckeyes game is
on,
they are playing against Michigan
tonight. It’s a big local rivalry game.”

“
Aye, that
sounds guid tae me. I
like basketball,” Scott said smiling, looking at Chris.

“
It’s
yer birthday mate, whatever
yer want tae do is fine with me.”

“Happy birthday Scott.
You didn’t
tell me it was your birthday. I won’t ask how old you are,” Sam said cheekily,
smiling at Scott.

Scott smiled back at her. Chris liked to tease him about his
age too, he was a couple of years younger than Scott and frequently liked to
remind him of that. The bar started to fill up for the game. Sam returned to
work since there were new customers coming in to take care of.

“She seems nice,” Chris commented.

“Aye, she is a nice
lass
. I’ve
talked tae
her a
few times afore.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Scott’s phone. He
received a text from Katie. His face went pale as he read it. She claimed she
had an abortion and there was no need for Scott to worry about the baby anymore.
It was a short text and gave very little information. Scott knew it was most
likely just more lies and games, but still, that little voice in the back of
his mind told him that she could be telling the truth. He didn’t really feel
like celebrating anymore. Was Katie really lying to him and doing all these
nasty things? How could he have misjudged her this badly? He really thought she
was a good, nice person. He was usually so good at judging a person’s
character. He desperately needed to find out the truth, but how? This was
something that was going to continue to bother him but he wasn’t sure what he
could do about it. He didn’t want to call her, because if she was lying then
that was what she would want. But, what choice did he have? How else could he
find out the truth? Scott was upset, but he knew it was his last night with
Chris so he tried to put it out of his mind and enjoy the evening with his
friend.

Three Months Later

 
It was now
mid May
, the weather in Ohio was really warming up. Flowers
were blooming and all the trees were green again. It was a Thursday evening and
Scott was driving home from work. He had found a job at a new fitness center
that had opened the previous month in Columbus. It was about a thirty minute
drive but Scott enjoyed it, and he needed the money. He was teaching kickboxing
again, like he had done many years before. He taught three classes a night,
three days a week, to lots of different age groups. Starting with four and five
year olds and continuing right the way up to adult classes. Also on Friday
evenings he taught a women’s only self-defense class. Scott liked meeting new
people, and although he would have preferred something a little closer to home,
he was happy with his four evenings a week working arrangement. He especially
enjoyed teaching the younger
children,
they made him
laugh a lot.

Scott also had his appointment with the Neurologist, in
March. It went very well. He was told that everything looked good. The doctor
wanted to see him again in September, just to make sure.

He never heard anything directly from Katie. But, he ran into
her Mom at a mall in Columbus, a few weeks earlier. It was an accidental, unexpected
meeting. They happened to pass each other in a store and she informed him of a
few things about Katie. She moved out of her parent’s house. Plus, she was now
living with a very undesirable character near Mansfield, and was working two
cleaning jobs. The girls still lived with Katie’s parents. Apparently, there
was no room for them at her new boyfriends, yet! Scott learned that her new man
was very abusive and had a long police record. Apparently, he used to have a
construction business but received a very poor reputation for being an
unreliable builder and never finishing the jobs. So he turned to dealing drugs.
He was in and out of prison many times and enjoyed intimidating people. Scott
could see that her Mom was very worried about her. But, he knew it was none of
his business anymore. Scott didn’t mention anything about the ‘pregnancy’ or
the ‘abortion’. He did find it strange that Katie had seemingly gotten herself
involved with another abusive controlling man, after all the trouble she went through
in leaving Michael. He also found it very strange that she would move in with
this guy and leave her kids at her parent’s. Scott didn’t know for sure how
much of what Katie’s Mom told him was accurate, but it still played on his
mind.

His thoughts wandered. He now wondered if Katie ever loved
him, or just looked for someone to take care of her. Lots of memories continued
to flash through his mind, particularly when Katie asked him to buy her things,
and give her money. He remembered many instances, even the girls asked him to
buy them things and to give them money, even when he was just home from Baghdad,
around Christmas time. He never blamed the girls, but Katie never stopped them.
They must have learned it from somewhere. The more he thought about it, the
more he realized he was better off, out of that situation. Surprisingly, he
didn’t feel any animosity towards Katie. He knew they shared some good times
together. He genuinely hoped things would work out well for her and the girls.

As Scott drew closer to home, he thought about the phone
call he had received from Britney the previous day. She told him that one of
her Father’s friends wanted to talk with him about some security advice and a
possible job opportunity. Her Father asked if it was okay to give his friend,
Scott’s number. He happily agreed and said he didn’t mind talking to any of her
Father’s friends. It was the first time in quite a while that he heard from
Britney. It was only a short call. Scott never told her that Katie and he broke
up. He knew she would probably hear sooner or later though.

It was just after 11:00 p.m., when Scott arrived home. He
parked the car on his driveway and walked up the pathway to his front door.
Lots of moths and bugs congregated around the security light above the door so
he closed the door quickly behind him to prevent as many of them as possible
from gaining entry into the house. He made his way to the kitchen and opened
the freezer. It was too late to cook properly, but he was hungry. As he decided
which delightful frozen microwave meal to eat, his phone started to ring. It
was a restricted number, so Scott let it go to voicemail as he pulled a frozen
spaghetti meal from the freezer. Five minutes later he was sitting on his
couch, a steaming plastic tray on his lap, and had turned on sports updates on TV.
When he finished the relatively small meal, he checked the message.

It was from one of Bill Parnell’s friends. It was a short,
polite message from a man named Jim Robinson. He left only a phone number and
stated that he had a proposition for Scott. He asked him to call back as-soon-as
possible. Since he was a friend of Bill’s, and that he called so late, Scott
presumed that he must live out on the West coast too. But, he never mentioned
that in the message. Scott was intrigued, so he turned off the TV and called
him back.

“Hello, Mr. Robinson. This is Scott Maclaren, returning yer
call.”

“Hi Scott.
Thanks for calling. How
are you? And please, call me Jim. We’re very informal around here.”

“Okay, Jim. I’m guid, thanks. What can I do fer yer?”

“First of all, I have to tell you, my wife will love your
accent. I’ll have to let her talk to you when we are finished.”

“Och, okay. Nae problem,” Scott laughed. He could tell he
was going to like this man.

“Well then, down to business first. A very good friend of
mine recommended that I call you. Bill and I go way back. We went to college
together and have stayed very close friends ever since. I trust his
recommendations immensely. Scott, I need some security advice and there are not
many people who could help me with this.”

“Okay. Tell me more. I’d be happy tae try and help yer.”

“Would you possibly be interested in coming out to
California? And stay with us for a couple of days, so we can discuss this face-to-face?
I would pay for your flights and $1000 per day, for your time.”

“Yer want tae pay me $1000 a day just fer advice?” Scott
said, quizzically. He was very skeptical, although, this man sounded genuine.

“Absolutely.
This concerns one of
my children, so I need advice from the best. Can you make it this weekend?” Jim
asked, sounding very anxious to get Scott to meet him.

“I have a class tae teach Friday night, but I’m free during
the weekend. And, I dinnae have another class until Tuesday night.”

“Okay then. If I can get you on a flight to Los Angeles,
Saturday morning, returning on Monday. Plus, pay you $3000, will you come?”

I would nae normally do this, but yer sound like a guid guy
and I have nae reason nae tae trust yer. Plus, the money will come in handy.
Can yer tell me anything else aboot the advice yer will need?”

“I will tell you everything when we meet. Thank you so much,
Scott. What is your closest airport, Cleveland?”

“Nae, Columbus is closer. But, if Cleveland is all yer can
do, I can get there.”

“Columbus is fine. I just wasn’t sure exactly where you
were.”

“So, yer live in Los Angeles then?”

“No, were north of L.A., near Santa Barbara. Scott, I will have
my secretary get the flights booked and one of us will call you tomorrow with
the details. I’m sure the airline will need some more information about you. When
you arrive, I will have a driver meet you at the airport, on Saturday.”

“Okay Jim. I look forward tae meeting yer.”

“Thanks so much Scott. We will see you this Saturday. Oh,
and my wife won’t need to talk to you on the phone now. She will hear your
accent in person! By the way, her name is Linda and she is very much looking
forward to meeting you too.”

“Sounds guid.
I will see yer and
Linda on Saturday. Bye.” Scott said, smiling.

He thought they seemed like nice people. And, if he could
help them and make some money at the same time, that would be great.

All the details were sorted out on Friday and Scott received
his tickets via email. He finished teaching his self-defense class on Friday
evening, went home and slept for a few hours. He got up and threw a few things
in his backpack and drove to the airport early Saturday morning. His flight
left just after 9:00 a.m., and with time difference between Ohio and the West
Coast, he arrived just after 10:00 a.m., local time. Scott had looked at the departure
and arrival times on the tickets, but he never noticed that they were ‘First Class
tickets’. It was a pleasant surprise for him, he had never flown like that
before and the extra legroom and comfort certainly made a considerable difference.
As promised a driver waited for Scott at the Los Angeles airport. And, soon he
was seated in the back of a very luxurious car and on the way to his
destination. First Class travel and private drivers was not something he was
used to, but he certainly enjoyed it. Scott sat back and relaxed as he looked
out the window at the view as they made their way up the coast.

About two hours later, they arrived at the Robinson
household in Montecito, just outside of Santa Barbara. The house was a huge,
modern, a stunning two-story building which overlooked the ocean. As they
approached, he noticed a gated driveway, a large swimming pool with fountains,
and there were large decks on the ground and upper levels. The large, white,
futuristic-looking structure was a lot different from Scott’s house back in
Ohio. He was in awe. He expected the house to be nice, considering the money he
was offered, and the First Class travel that had been afforded to him. But this
took his breath away. This home was amazing, just like where you would expect a
Hollywood movie star to live. Scott got out of car and looked around. He could
hear the sound of waves as they gently rolled onto the shore and the smell of
the ocean was very evident. Within moments, he was approached by a tall silver-haired,
tanned man wearing white shorts and a white polo shirt, carrying a tennis
racket.