Revenge (13 page)
Danni wasn’t sure how a motorcycle gang pulling illegal jobs could have a truce with the cops. She asked, “The cops were on your side? Did you pay them off or something?”
Doc shook his head. “We didn’t pay them off. The police are way too uptight for that.”
Mercer said, “The cops aren’t on our side, but they know we don’t pull any jobs in town and actually kept other criminal elements out. We don’t allow drugs in schools or anything else that could harm the kids and because of that the police turn a blind eye to a lot of what we do.”
“Correction. Past tense. They used to turn a blind eye. When Tank took over all those rules went out the window. He brought drugs and prostitution into Rawlins. Even got some high schoolers to start peddling shit during lunch. That fuckin’ guy would do anything to earn a buck. Didn’t matter to him at all. Anyway, since then the cops haven’t treated us kindly. One of them even pulled me over the other day just to give me shit and tell me I’d better not be thinking of bringing this club back from the dead.”
They were all silent for a moment. Then Danni raised her beer and said, “Fuck ‘em.”
The toasted their beers and all three of them said, “Fuck ‘em”
“We’re coming back. Hell yeah. We’re coming back.” said Mercer.
T
he next few days were a blur of activity. Mercer and Danni didn’t get to see a lot of each other since they were both so busy. While Mercer and Doc got the clubhouse fixed up, Danni went to work finding a place for them to live. Mercer had originally thought they could stay in the clubhouse temporarily but there wasn’t a room in good enough shape to house them, even for a few days.
Danni rented a small hatchback and sent off looking at places. Rawlins wasn’t a major city, but it was big enough she had a hard time finding something decent, in their price range, and near the clubhouse.
After a morning of fruitless search Danni grabbed lunch at deli. She took a seat near a window and let her mind wander as she watched the traffic go by. This was the first meal she had eaten by herself since leaving Tennessee with Mercer and missed his company. It was strange, she lived alone for years. Occasionally going days without speaking to anyone. She had thrived on her independence and never felt like she needed people around her, but there she sat alone, eating a roast beef sandwich and feeling lonely.
It was just the situation, she told herself. Mercer was busy getting the club in order and she was getting used to a new town. She had lived in Calumet her entire life. She had barely even been outside of the city limits and had never traveled so far before. It was natural she should feel out of place.
She wished Mercer was there with her. She could tell him how she was feeling and he would reassure her everything would be OK once they were settled and that would take care of it. She’d try to talk to him tonight back at the hotel room. Or, hopefully, their own apartment.
“You mind sharing a table?”
The voice caused Danni to come out of her haze. She looked up and saw a tall, very handsome man, in a leather jacket standing over her. His square jaw had several days of stubble and she could see flecks of gray in most dark chin hairs. His short hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like he had been riding for days. Danni wondered if she had looked like that when they came riding into town.
When Danni saw there were no other seats available she offered the seat across from her and he sat down. He took a big bite from his sandwich and took a long drink before saying anything to her.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ve been riding for hours and was starving to death. I’m new to town and don’t know anything about anything here. This is the first place I’ve found that looked like it would pass a health inspection.”
“I’m new here too. Picked this place pretty much for the same reason you did.”
He took another bite. “Pretty good actually. I been eating in diners along the highway. Pastrami on rye hits the spot. Name’s Cruz.”
“Danni,” she said. They almost shook hands but saw that both of them had fingers covered in mustard.
“Here’s to life on the road,” he said and took another drink from his cup.
“You passing through or staying?”
“Can’t say just yet. Got to talk to some dudes and see what the score is. And I got to see if I can get used to the cold. Sunny California is a lot warmer than this place.”
Danni nodded and his deep tan made sense now. “I know the feeling. I’m from Tennessee. 60 degrees doesn’t feel too bad right now, but this winter is going to be a big change. How was it riding a bike from SoCal?”
“How’d you know I was on a bike?” he said, a little suspiciously.
“Let’s see. Leather jacket, you obviously see a lot of the sun, and your name is Cruz. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to get it.”
A smile broke out over his face. “You’re right. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to be a dick about it. It’s just that some people don’t trust bikers.”
‘I got a lot of experience with them. I came here on the back of my boyfriend’s bike.”
“Boyfriend? Damn and I thought we were getting to know each other.”
And older man interrupted them and asked if they were done eating if he could take their table. The cleared their dishes and took them to the bin next to the trash. They stepped outside and Cruz took a cigarette out his pack and lit one up. He offered one to Danni. She accepted and he lit it for her.”
“You said you been here a couple of days? You know a good hotel around? One that’s not too expensive.”
“We’re staying in the Sunset Inn. It’s a few blocks over. Not the greatest place we’ve stayed along the way, but it’s OK. From the look of the place there’s plenty of empty rooms.”
“Thanks. Listen, it sucks being the new kid in town and since we’re both the new kids we should hang out if I stick around.”
He wrote his number on the back of his deli receipt and handed it to her.
“And what if you don’t stick around?”
“Then you have to be the new kid in town by yourself, I guess. I get the feeling I’ll be sticking around anyway. I got a call from my Uncle Larry to come out here and he wouldn’t call me if he wasn’t serious.” He walked to his bike and climbed on. Just before he started the engine he said to her, “Don’t leave me waiting, beautiful.” The bike came to life and Cruz was around the corner and out of site.
Danni looked at the piece of paper in her hand. She shook her head and tossed it the number into the trash. He had been nice and very handsome, but she knew trouble when she saw it.
***
Danni checked out a couple more apartments that day but still couldn’t find anything she felt good about. Too small, too expensive, too much like a scene from a horror movie. She decided she couldn’t look at places anymore. She would try again tomorrow but made a couple of notes on the better ones she saw that day in case she just needed to find something.
The day had become overcast and gloomy. She buttoned her denim jacket up to her neck but it wasn’t enough. She needed something more appropriate to the region so she used it as an excuse to explore the town. There was a row of shops in the downtown area she passed earlier and set off the hatchback.
Walking to the shop areas from the car the sky started to spit. It was just a light rain, but it didn’t help Danni’s increasingly bad mood. She didn’t know where the mood was coming from. She just couldn’t shake the feeling that she had made a mistake coming here. She didn’t regret coming here with Mercer, that part she was very confident about, but if she was being honest with herself she thought coming to Rawlins was going to be a fresh start. She thought moving to a new place would free her from the desperation she’d been feeling in Calumet, but being in a strange town without knowing anyone or how to find anything it was getting to her. Especially with the cold rain coming down on her.
She shouldn’t feel so bad about not knowing anyone in town. It’s not like she had a ton of friends back home. Ben was just an easy lay, not much of a friend at all. Jeannie, the other waitress at the bar where Danni had worked, was nice, but she had kids and a mother to take care of so work was the only time they spent together. Maybe this was her chance to make a few friends. Danni would have to look for a job, but once the MC started bringing into some money maybe she wouldn’t have to work every second of every day. Use some of that time for socializing.
Not only that, but folks had a way of treating her in Calumet that wasn’t exactly disrespectful, but wasn’t overly friendly either. Like they pitied her or something, just because her high school boyfriend had died on a motorcycle. Even if she could move on she knew that town never could.
She was feeling better by the time she searched the second store for a nice jacket. She found one there that was perfect. A fur lined leather jacket that looked great on her and she knew Mercer would love. Make her really look like the girlfriend of a biker.
She looked at the price tag and winced. It was expensive, but she bought it anyway. She deserved it, and besides, didn’t she need to look the part?
Wearing the jacket outside she felt better protected from the wind, warmer and even more capable in that strange city. Danni decided the best way to get a feel for a new place was to experience it so she purposefully chose places to go that weren’t nearby. She got coffee from a place across town and even found the local library. Just as the sun was setting the phone rang. It was Mercer.
“How you doing?” he said.
“Not bad. Better than earlier anyway. What’s up?”
“Can you meet us at the clubhouse. Bring some food?”
“Sure,” she said. “Pizza again.”
“How about some burgers. There’s a place on Third Street. Makes good stuff. Just get enough for five people.”
She said she’d be there within the hour and wondered who else was at the clubhouse.
Danni made good time getting the food and getting back to the clubhouse which was nice because she was very hungry again by the time she parked out front. Walking in the door she saw obvious improvements since even the day before. There were windows again and the place had a real front door instead of a piece of plywood. She heard voices coming from the main meeting room. She called out and Mercer came out. They kissed hello and Danni felt a lot of the tension leave her body.
“Nice jacket,” Mercer said.
“We can’t afford it, but I didn’t care.”
Mercer gave her a very loving look. “I think we’ll be OK. This club is going to start earning soon. Very soon thanks to Doc and guys he called in.”
Mercer yelled over his shoulder for others to come out and meet Danni. First through the door was Doc, then a very tall, very round man with a shock of red hair and giant beard to match. He nodded to her but didn’t say much. Then, to Danni’s surprise, Cruz came through the door.
Crash - Black Ice MC Part 2 Out November 15, 2014
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About the Author…
Rayna Bishop grew in a small Kentucky town eating biscuits and chasing boys.
Always having an overactive imagination she wove stories while her momma hung clothes on the line.
Now that she’s all grown up she drinks bourbon and writes these stories down to share with the world.