Starting Over (13 page)

know that everyone already knew how Wolf and Zero were fuck buddies, and I don’t

mean they shared a woman. Rumor had it the kid walked into the room when Wolf was

on his knees sucking cock.” He blew out his breath and swal owed, remembering the

kid’s lifeless eyes.

“My uncle Darnell and me got him wrapped up in plastic and called the phone

number on his ankle. It was his sister, and her name was River. I knew who she was

the minute I heard the name at the bar. Hell, she bleached her hair, but her eyebrows

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Starting Over by Ryder Dane

are the same color as his hair was, and the eyes are the same too. It took us al fuckin’

day in the van and we met her that night, left his body in the bed of her truck.”

He was silent for a minute. “I know she had something to do with Wolf’s death, I

just don’t know how.” He remembered, “My uncle spilled the beans that we knew who

her brother was, so she’s probably afraid I’d rat her out to the club. I ended up tel ing

her the part about finding his body and admitted that Uncle and me were the ones to

return the body to her. She took it well, surprisingly well.

“She was more than cheerful the day after the fire when I went to check on things. I

didn’t cal her on it, I’d been trying to think of a way to kil the fucker myself.”

War finally got his answers from the evening of the fire. He knew who had helped

Maisey. The puzzle fit so well, and he had been so blinded by her size that he felt like a

dumbass, but that didn’t stop him from bursting out in laughter and continuing laughing

until he was wiping his face with his hand trying to stop the loud noise he was making.

Every time he looked up and saw the way the men looked at him, he would start

sniggering and try to speak but the laughter kept coming.

Race threw an empty beer bottle at his head and he barely got his hand up in time

to deflect the thing from hitting his head. It took some doing but he finally gained control

of himself.

“I got it, I know how she did it, and when I see her again, I am going to bust that

fancy little ass of hers again, this time I might kiss it all better when I’m done.” He held

his hand up to stop the questions that came at him.

“Picture it, a man is murdered for seeing something he could never un-see. His little

sister gets the body, and somehow knows who kil ed her brother. Now let’s assume

that little sister shows up in the town where the murderer lives, and starts a campaign of

slowly taking out some of Wolfy’s biggest supporters. That drain cleaner was probably

the same stuff they used at the bar. The bastards deserved to die, but our girl probably

lured them with that sweet ass of hers, got them drunk or slipped them something to

make them pass out, all she had to do was make sure they dropped where she left the

bodies.” He shook his head in admiration.

“Let’s say our girl decides to up the ante, she gets tired of picking them off one at a

time, so she recruits someone to help her. Let’s say someone no one would suspect

agreed to be her partner. Someone that has reason to hate the Breed, or Wolf and his

cronies as much as our girl does? Remember the mysterious fire at the shed?” Nods

came from the three men at the table beside him, and he continued.

“Say our girl rigs the propane tank and has her companion ready with a remote

device to set the thing off while everything is chaotic. Who would think it was a certain

abused, overused, and ignored woman who never said boo to anyone that hit the

detonator? I saw Gum—Maisey with the thing in her hand, I knew she set it off, but I

thought one of you had her working with them.” He grinned and looked at his

companions. “Say they stick around long enough to avert suspicion from them, and

then they vanish. No one would think that two little women could cause so many

deaths, or mayhem.” His head was stil shaking back and forth in wonder, “I, hel the

genius of the plan worked to help al of us, and I’m in fuckin’ awe. I don’t know how they

did it exactly, but now I think about it. It fits.”

The room was silent as the men considered War’s theory. There was questions,

and they all hashed them out, being interrupted twice by knocks on the heavy wooden

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Starting Over by Ryder Dane

door, and the people on the other side of the door were told to, “Fuck off, and hold your

shit for a few,” for their trouble.

Race concluded their meeting with, “They’re probably afraid that if by some remote

means, we figured out they were involved, that we would retaliate and hurt them. Hell, I

want to pin a fuckin’ medal on them.” He looked at Mambo and Bam.

“You two find out where they are, stop them and bring them here. It’s time to deal

with the wild women and I’l be damned, but I’l wear my hand out on River’s ass if she

gives you any trouble. Just don’t tel them why you’re bringing them back, let them

worry for a while. Mambo, if you want Maisey, she’s yours. Keep her out of trouble, my

man.”

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Starting Over by Ryder Dane

The electric held out for the night and into noon the next day before it quit

completely. They had everything but their blankets and coats loaded into the bed of the

truck within an hour, and decided to take their chances on the roads.

River came in one last time as Maisey put the last of the perishables into a bag to

toss into the trash on their way out of the park. River left the key to the trailer on the

counter along with the week’s rent. The landlord knew she planned to leave at the end

of the week, so he would find the key and money when he came on Friday. She looked

at her companion.

“Let’s get this show on the road. If we’re careful, we should be in Illinois by

tomorrow, and then Kansas the next day. We aren’t on a schedule, so if the weather

turns bad on the way, we can find a hotel for a night or two. Heck, if we want to take a

detour and go see the museums in Chicago, we can do that too. I went to Brookfield

Zoo one time, it was great.”

Maisey nodded and tossed the trash on top of the canvas bed covering before she

climbed into the passenger side of the truck.

They were quiet for the first hundred miles they put behind them. The roads had

been shitty, and many of the roads were plowed with only a one small track to drive

through, but they made it to the interstate in one piece, and were soon putting distance

between the past and their futures.

Maisey never learned to drive a car let alone a four by four, so River decided that

she had had enough driving for the day by six thirty that night. “I know we planned to be

further by tonight, but my shoulders are killing me from being so tensed up trying to

keep the truck on the road. Let’s find a hotel that has a hot tub and a restaurant that

serves something alcoholic and has little umbrellas sticking out of the top of the glass.

What do you say?”

Her companion grinned. “I’ve never stayed in a hotel, to tell you the truth. I went to

summer camp when I was a kid, but I’ve never been in a hot tub or had a drink that

didn’t come out of a plastic cup or a bottle. I’d love to see how the other half lives, even

for the night. Are you sure? I don’t have money to pay for anything much. I used my

pay from the bar to buy clothes and pay for my eye and teeth. I’m sorry I can’t

contribute more than maybe fifty dol ars.”

River decided to tel the girl at least part of the truth about herself. “Look, I’m not

worried about the money. The truth is, I’ve got some money, and can get my hands on

more if I need it. Remind me to tell you about my life sometime soon. I don’t like talking

about it. But the truth of the matter is, we could spend a month or two in a hotel that’s

better than anything we’ll find on this trip to stay at. When I told you that you can go to

school or be whatever you want, I wasn’t lying. As my best friend, I’l help you

financially and get you setup wherever you want to go.”

She didn’t like to let people know that she had money in a trust fund from the death

of her parents. The insurance that Tuck had finally gotten was a ridiculous amount of

money that had been sitting in the bank for years now. At least helping Maisey find a

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Starting Over by Ryder Dane

good life was something she could feel good about. She might lose her new best and

only friend by helping her, but the money would be put to a good cause.

The bar and vehicles from Mr. McCormick’s estate were hers too. And she got the

payments for the bar every month from the people who were under contract with a

balloon payment at the end of the year. She had been counting on the people to

surrender the place when she came back, but if they were doing well and still wanted to

buy the place, she’d be out of a home of her own.

Yeah, poor little River, you hated that place, you have time, money, and a life to

discover in the big world, quit pissing and moaning about your pitiful life
.

She pulled into a chain hotel and had to relax her fingers from the steering wheel

before she could turn the key off and unbuckle her seatbelt.

The women got out and went to the back of the truck to remove their suitcases, and

it took a few minutes to get the key in the lock. She had to wipe the ice and road dirt

from the slot and the back of the canvas cover. It was already dark, but Maisey held her

cell phone open to provide light while River fumbled with the key and icy stuff.

A van drove in behind them, and they heard doors opening and closing, but were

too busy to pay attention. The women were grabbed from behind. Big hands covered

their mouths, and when the hands left their mouths and they tried to scream, rags were

stuffed into their mouths and tied behind their heads. Pillowcases were pushed over

their heads, and they found themselves taped together back to back lying in the back of

the van. Doors slammed, and they could feel the vehicle backing out and then forward.

River was scared,
who had kidnapped them and what did they want
? If they

planned to rob them, all they had to do was go through her purse and pockets. They

didn’t need to take them like this. Were they planning to rape and kil them? Maybe

leave their bodies on the side of the road? Every possible threat she could think of that

could happen to two women by themselves crossed her mind, and she resolved to save

her energy for when they stopped. Her size lured a lot of people into underestimating

her abilities. Hopefully she’d get the chance to escape.

Pauly was waiting for Race to show up, he had Fat Boy and Orin with him, they

weren’t the brightest of men, but they made good soldiers, and that’s why Prowler

brought them along. Pauly was still in the dark as to why he’d been told to mount up

when they were leaving, but he did as he was told at the time, and regretted having

been in eyesight of Prowler on their way out of the door. Now Prowler and Drake were

gone, their sleds had vanished with them, and Pauly was left wondering why they’d

been left behind. The whore was still sleeping it off in the barracks, and he thanked

God for small blessings. Prowler had called her Precious, but lately she’d answered to

anything. As long as a man had a needle and was willing to give her a bump, she

would do anything he wanted. He didn’t want her riding with him once they were back

on the road. He wouldn’t give her a fuckin’ aspirin, let alone H, fuck that. He saw Race

and War coming down the steps and waited until they had cups of the crap that passed

for coffee around the place, before walking over to make inquiries.

“Hey, Race, I need to make some inquiries if you got the time.” Race nodded to the

chair between him and War. Since it was the only other chair at the table. His

companions retired to the bar to try their hands at flirting with Goody and Queenie.

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Starting Over by Ryder Dane

He sat and gathered his thoughts before asking, “Prowler and Drake must have left

last night or early this morning, didn’t say a word to any of us. I wondered if he wore out

his welcome or if you know why he’d leave in the middle of the fuckin’ night?” He got a