Rough Ride (26 page)

“Mrs. Warner did the man who held you at gun point break into the garage or did he follow you inside?” He then asked her.

“He was already in the garage when I went inside.” She replied.

“See you Monday morning Ms. Waters” He said sweetly into the phone before ending the call.

“Ms. Waters approved me to request that you both write out in as much detail as possible everything that happened here tonight.  She will review them briefly when she arrives Monday morning and submit them to my office by the end of the business day.”

She looked at Bobby who glanced at her and then looked back at the man.

“You are free to go but please do not leave town until we can get your written statements.” The man said.

The three men turned and walked away as Detective Sanders patted Bobby on the shoulder and started to walk away.

Turning back to them he said “Try to get some rest Lilly, I know between the last two weeks and then tonight… just get some rest.  Mr. Jackson, since I made the mistake of thinking her safe, she is your responsibility until she testifies.  Don’t let her leave your sight.”  Then he winked at them and walked towards his car.

Bobby pulled her into his arms briefly and then led her over to where Tommy and Dickie sat on the bikes still guarded by the two officers.

“Can you guys run and check on Gran?  I know she’s heard about all this by now and is freaking the fuck out.” Bobby said to Tommy “We shouldn’t be much longer”

“What about Chuck?” Dickie asked

“He’ll be coming back with us.  We’ll meet you at Gran’s.” Bobby replied

“It’s been real nice talking to you fellows, tell your wives I said Hi” Tommy said to the officers with a grin as he started up his bike.  Dickie reluctantly started his as well and they drove off.

As they headed towards where Chuck still sat in the back of the patrol car, she stopped and looked up at Bobby “I’m sorry about the trip… I was looking forward to it.” She said.

“I think it’s the man upstairs telling me to do this thing right.” He replied before kissing her.

“I don’t understand… what are you talking about?” She asked.

“You’ll see.  Let’s get Chuck” He replied putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her over to the car.

An officer stood leaning up against the rear side panel of the patrol car as Chuck sat watching them approach from the backseat.

“Is he under arrest for something?” Bobby asked

“Not at this time, he’s free to go for now.” The officer said with disgust.

She smiled at him “Let’s go.”

“Thanks for hanging with me man” Chuck said offering his hand to the officer as he exited the car.  The officer turned away from him and headed towards a group of officers standing together while Chuck headed for his bike.

“Stop by Gran’s and let her know we’ll be there soon.” Bobby called after him.

Chuck waved an acknowledgment and then started up his bike and drove off.  After watching Chuck pull out of the lot Bobby turned to her and said “Wait right here, I’ll be back.”

Bobby made his way into the garage, where he stopped and spoke to several officers.  He walked over to his work counter and moved some things around and then put something in his pocket and started back towards her.  He stopped and talked to the same officers again and they appeared to write down what Bobby was saying.

She decided to call Sherri in case she had heard about the police being at the shop.  Upon receiving her voicemail, Lilly left her a long message detailing everything and letting her know that she was ok.  As she finished up her message, Bobby approached.

“Do you want me to take you back to Sherri’s?” He asked.

“I can drive myself to Sherri’s but you should get home and check on Edna.” She replied.

“You’re not leaving my sight, so I can either go back to Sherri’s with you or you can come with me to Gran’s.” He said

“I’ve never seen your house…” She said

“Truck or Bike?” He asked

“We can take the bike… that’s fine.” She replied.

As they pulled up to a small but cozy looking house, she recognized the guys’ bikes parked in the driveway.  Bobby grabbed her hand and led her inside.  As soon as they entered the house, Edna came over to them and hugged Bobby and then grasped Lilly’s face in between her hands.

“Oh thank the Lord!  You’re both ok.  Let me get you some tea.” She said and then headed for the kitchen.

“I don’t need anything” She said to Edna’s retreating back.

“Just let her, it helps calm her down to make sure we’re all ok.” Bobby said

As she looked around the small living room she noticed all three guys had a glass of iced tea and Chuck was eating a sandwich.  Looking at them now, one would never have guessed the events that had occurred only a couple hours earlier.  Looking at Chuck, she could feel her eyes tear up and a large lump formed in her throat.

Bobby led her to a seat and then releasing her hand he walked over to where Chuck sat eating and stood in front of him.

“I can’t repay what you did for me tonight man, but if you want the painting gig at the shop… it’s yours.  It may take a while to get it setup but once we do… you’ve earned it.” Bobby said to him.

“Seriously?  Man that’s epic!” Chuck said with a smile, while holding up his fist to Bobby.

Bobby laughed and bumped fists with him and then came back to where she stood watching the exchange.  He sat down in the chair that he had led her to and pulled her onto his lap.  She laid her head on his shoulder trying to be mindful of his injured hand.  Edna returned with two glasses of iced tea and handed them to Bobby and Lilly.

“You guys want something to eat, are you hungry?” She asked

“No thank you Edna.” She said politely.

“I’m good Gran” Bobby said.

Edna made her way over to a chair near Tommy and sat down.

“So Miss Lilly, it looks like you’re going to need around the clock protection until they catch all the bad guys…that about sum it up?” Dickie asked seriously.

“The FBI and Police Department’s attempts to protect her failed miserably I’d say” Chuck said

“She should be safe at the shop as there is always at least two people there besides her… or at least there will be from now on” Bobby said looking at her “Nights and weekends she will be with me.” He finished looking at Gran.

“Normally I wouldn’t approve of you staying with her or her staying here since you’re not married but in this case I will make an exception.  She could have died tonight…” Gran said to Bobby.

Bobby gave Edna a look and something unspoken seemed to pass between them.  She looked up at him with some confusion but he simply glanced at her and then looked back to the guys “I don’t know anything about this lawyer we’ve supposedly hired and I’m hoping she don’t cost a small fortune but we’ll figure that out when she gets here.  For now, nothing is said without her present.  I don’t know what kind of game they are playing but… I trust the Detective… he was in there with us.  The rest of those clowns can kiss my ass.” He said

“I’ll pay Chuck’s legal fees…if there are any” Dickie said “It’s the least I can do for saving the woman who keeps me from having to pay bills for the shop and call people who haven’t paid” He finished with a nervous laugh.

Chuck looked at Dickie and nodded and then looked away.  She couldn’t help but notice the look that quickly passed Dickie’s face before he looked away from Chuck.  Talk turned to the shop and the upcoming build, having to fix the door to the office and setting up a paint booth so that Chuck could begin doing custom paint jobs.  She relaxed as she listened to the guys talk.  She knew they were avoiding talking about the events of the evening for her benefit and it seemed to endear the bunch of hell raisers to her even more.

Bobby received a phone call from one of the officers letting him know that they were done investigating for the night but would need to return the following day and had roped off the entire lot and building.  As Bobby hung up he said “I’ve got to run back to the shop and lock up but I’ll be back soon.  Do you want to go with me or stay here with the guys?”

“I can go lock up the shop Bobby.  I have to go get Gretchen anyway.” Tommy said.

“You bring her back here Tommy.  She can sleep in with me.  I’d just feel better knowing you all are safe.” Edna said.  “One of you can take the back bedroom and one can take the air mattress and one gets the couch.  Miss Lilly you want to come with me and I’ll show you where you can sleep.”

Standing Edna headed out of the living room.  Lilly looked at Bobby and placing his hand on the small of her back he nudged her to follow Edna.  Lilly followed the old woman down a hallway and as she passed one door she said “That’s my room and the bathroom’s right there.  This here is Bobby’s room.” She said opening a door and turning on the light. “He’s pretty taken with you Miss Lilly and I’m glad to see he picked a nice girl to settle down with.  Just make yourself at home here… you can sit out there with them until you get tired.  I just wanted to show you where his room was so you can turn in whenever you’re ready.”

She was surprised by Edna’s actions in light of her earlier comments about them not being married.  “Are you sure you are ok with this Edna?  I do not want to offend you in your own home.” She said.

“I’ve always had that rule in place because quite honestly I don’t like trash in my house.  You are not trash Miss Lilly…so you are welcome anytime.” Edna said “I’m so glad nothing bad happened to you…I think it would have killed him.” She finished laying her hand on Lilly’s arm.

She placed her hand over Edna’s and gave it a light squeeze.  “I’m so glad nothing bad happened to him because
that
would have killed me.” She said.

The old woman gave her a knowing smile and headed towards the door to her own room. “You send that little heathen in to me when she gets here.” She said and then entered the room closing the door behind her.

She smiled at her description of Gretchen it was accurate but somehow sounded like an endearment when coming from Edna.

She made her way to the small bathroom and washed her face and freshened up a bit.  As she finished up and opened the door she saw Bobby standing with his back against the far wall staring at her with his dark eyes.  Never had someone looked so good to her before.  She realized how much she had meant what she’d said to Edna.  Losing him
would
have killed her.  The time they had spent apart had nearly done her heart in, but those few moments when she thought he could be killed had taken years off her life.  She would take another page from Sherri’s book and learn to communicate better with him… no more mistrust… no more assumptions.

As she started towards him, he made his way to her and suddenly she was in his arms and he in hers.  His hold on her was tight and rough as though if he held her tight enough she would meld into him. He held her for several moments and then led her to his room where he pulled open a couple of drawers and provided her with a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants.  She smiled her thanks for the clothes and loosened her blouse from her jeans and began to unbutton it.

Grabbing her roughly he devoured her mouth, nipping and biting at her lower lip. 

“If you undress in front of me, I’ll be inside you before you’re done.  So if you don’t want everyone to hear me making love to you, let me leave first.  I’ll be in the living room for a while if you’re tired you can go to sleep.  If not you can join us.” He warned, after finally releasing her.

Stepping back from her he continued to stare at her as though daring her to continue to undress.  The heat that always ran between them seemed to build until she could hardly breathe.  He finally turned and left the room closing the door behind him.  Her legs felt like Jell-O and she sat on his bed for a moment before finally undressing and putting on his overly large shirt and sweatpants. 
Thank God for the drawstring on the sweatpants.