Merrick: Harlequins MC (5 page)

“Same here. I’ve got this,” he said when Blake began to collect his trash. Blake nodded in thanks, then turned and followed his PA. Merrick watched the two men walk away, finished his water, then rose, gathering up the trash and tossed it into the nearby can. He walked back to the caterer’s table and stepped around and hefted the smaller cooler of ice and water.

“Where are you going with that?” the woman asked as he turned to walk away.

“My men need water.”

“That’s Poppy’s water! Take the other!”

Merrick paused and looked at the large cooler. “Nah, that’s too big to carry. This’ll do. Thanks.”

“Wait! Wait, you can’t take that!”

Merrick ignored her as he walked away then down the line, allowing his brothers to pull bottles out until it was empty. He returned, put ten more bottles into the cooler from the larger one, and carried it back to the barricades, making sure everyone who wanted water had some. After everyone had water he returned the cooler, loaded it with bottles from the larger one, and placed it back where he found it.

“Thanks,” he said to the woman with a smile and a nod before walking away again.

“Did you get this?” Merrick asked as he showed Jason the email.

“No. What’s Abana want?” Jason asked, shading the screen of Merrick’s phone with his hand so he could read the email. “What’s he talking about?” he asked when he was finished.

“I have no idea.” Merrick looked at the email again. “We can’t move the shipment up, can we?”

Jason shook his head. “No way. It’s already on the water. It’ll be in Corpus Christi in a couple of days. Figure a day in customs, then we can get it to him. But he wasn’t supposed to take delivery for, what, another thirty days?”

Merrick reread the email. “How the hell did he lose so much hardware? And, more importantly, why does he think we had anything to do with it?”

Jason shrugged. “Damned if I know.”

Merrick nodded and began to type a reply. “Let me see if I can find out what the hell is going on. Why the fuck did this have to happen now, when we’re tied down with this shit?”

“It’s been pretty quiet today. Maybe we can start pulling back.”

“Maybe,” Merrick muttered as he stared at the small screen and typed with his thumbs. “But it’s Sunday and only the second day. Let’s see what happens tomorrow before we claim victory.” He finished typing and pressed
Send.
“Let’s see what Abana has to say. Maybe we’re just not reading his email right.”

The two men looked up as a woman approached, and Merrick dropped the phone into his pocket out of habit. “Mr. Capra, Will wants to see you.”

“It’s Merrick, and okay. Lead the way.” He looked at Jason and shrugged then followed the woman.

She led him to the edge of the crew when a voice cried, “Lock it down!”

She put her hand in his chest and placed her finger to her lips just as a tone sounded. “Speed!” someone else called from his right.

“Action!” Will said. Merrick took a step the side and watched as Poppy and Blake had a lengthy discussion about something, a long boom with a fuzzy mic held over their heads as they slowly walked, a camera rolling along with them on tracks. When the tone sounded again and the crew began to move, the woman cut a weaving path through the crew.

“Let’s do it one more time. Blake, I want you to put a little more
oomph
into it, okay? Remember, your dad was just killed and Abigail is being blamed for it.”

“Will, Merrick is here,” she said then stepped back out of the way.

Will turned away from the screen he’d been watching. “Merrick, good. As soon as we complete this shot, we’re wrapping, finishing, for the day. Good job on the crowds today and last night. Best three grand we’ve spent yet. We’re going to be shooting some second unit stuff tomorrow. Can you spare some men for that?”

Merrick grinned.
I thought bikers used a lot of slang.
“Second unit? That means you will be on two locations at the same time?”

Will gave him a crooked smile. “Yeah. First unit is this one, where the stars are. Second unit films all the other stuff. Drive-bys, establishing shots, close-ups of hands or props, anything that doesn’t have the stars in it. Second unit is pretty low key, but with all the trouble we’ve had…” He paused and shrugged. “Tomorrow we’re going to shoot establishing shots, buildings and the like, so the audience will know where we are when we cut to an interior. If you can spare the men, it might be helpful when wrangling the crowd.”

“I think we can work something out. How many?”

Will shrugged. “I have no idea. Probably not more than ten or twelve. Like I said, there is no star power to draw the crowds, and the shots are usually quick without a lot of elaborate setup. Even having people in the shots isn’t a problem so long as they aren’t mugging or looking at the camera. That’s where you come in.” Will grinned. “Want to give your guys some walk-ons?”

“What’s that?”

“We’ll put them in the scene for crowd effects if you want. You’ll have to lose the colors, but otherwise…”

Merrick snorted then grinned. “Our faces might break the cameras.”

Will chuckled. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.” Most of the Harlequins he’d see so far were good looking guys. Especially Merrick. Tall and well built, with broad shoulders and a trim waist, he had the triangular shape women loved. Add in his sun-kissed skin, muscular arms, and the slight swagger in his walk, he had the classic rugged American hero look. Not only did he have the body, but with his strong chin and cheek bones, deep brown eyes and sandy blonde hair, Will knew the camera would love him in a close up. Merrick had leading man written all over him and Will wondered what would happen if he were to put the guy in front of a camera.

Merrick nodded. “We’ll make it happen.”

Will grinned. “Excellent. That’s a four am call at the hotel for the second unit. See Hayden Jefferies. He’s the second unit director and he can tell you what he wants.”

Merrick pulled out his phone and typed a moment so he wouldn’t forget. “Hayden Jefferies, La Palacio Hotel, 4 am,” he muttered as he typed. “Got it. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it. First unit has a 10 am call at…” he paused. “Shit, I can’t remember now. Patricia! Where are we starting tomorrow?”

The woman who had come for him flipped through her notes. “At the convenience store. 2209 Jacaman Road.”

“Know where that is?” Will asked.

“We can find it.”

“See you there. Oh and, Merrick, we’ll have plenty of water available,” Will said as he gave him a grin and a wink.

Merrick chuckled. “You heard about that?”

“Merrick…” Will began then chuckled, “everyone heard about it.”

“Am I in trouble?”

Will’s grin spread. “Personally, I think she needed it. Just don’t be
too
much of an asshole.”

Merrick smiled and gave him a small salute before walking away.

***

“Any word from Abana?” Jason asked as he lounged in his chair in the Harlequin clubhouse, sipping a beer. Katalin, his old lady, was sitting on the arm and sipping a beer of her own. Most of the brothers were gone, but a few were still hanging around, discussing the news that Abana’s compound had been hit.

“Not a peep,” Merrick said.

“Why the fuck did he think we were involved?” Tim asked.

“No idea.”

“What are you going to do?” Maria, Randy’s old lady, asked.

“Nothing,” Merrick replied before taking another pull from his beer. “Not until I hear back from him and find out why—” He paused as the door opened.

“Hey, baby,” Sonya said as she ambled in. “Muriel said you were here.” She planted a long wet kiss on Merrick.

“Yeah. Just winding down and cooling off,” Merrick said. Sonya was just a club girl and she wasn’t in the loop.

“I’m free tonight if you want some company.”

He grinned. “I might.”

She swayed into the kitchen and returned with a beer of her own and a fresh one for Merrick, handing him his before lounging on the arm of the chair as Katalin was doing. “How goes the security gig?”

“Not bad. Hot as hell just standing around in the sun.”

“I wish I had been there last night when you kicked that guy’s ass.”

“You heard about that?”

Sonya smiled. “Maria told me.”

“Jesus, nothing is secret around here,” he teased, though he knew none of the old ladies would ever talk about the club’s off book activities.

Sonya grinned. “Watching you kick some punk’s ass turns me on.”

“Not that you need much,” Haven, Tim’s old lady, said with a grin.

Sonya smiled back and tipped her beer in acknowledgement. She couldn’t help it if she was horny all the time. Of course, having Merrick in your bed would be enough to make Mother Teresa horny. “What can I say? I’m just a randy slut,” she grinned, causing everyone to laugh. She’d never been shy about her abundant sexual appetite.

“I’ll shoot you a video next time,” Kyle chuckled.

“Please do,” Sonya purred, playing to her friends.

“There wasn’t a lot to see,” Tim said. “Hell it was over in…” He paused as there was a rap on the door. The Harlequins looked at each other as the women moved away and clustered farther back in the room. Nobody came calling on a biker clubhouse…nobody with half a brain anyway. The men rose and pulled their pistols. It was probably nothing, but better to be sure.

As Tim, Randy, Jason and Kyle hung back, out of the line of fire of the front door, Merrick approached, his weapon up and ready. He peeked through the peep and then turned to grin over his shoulder. “Relax,” he said as he opened the door. “Blake. What are you doing here?”

“Hey man. I wanted to come see how the other half lives. I hope you don’t mind.”

Merrick thought about it. The clubhouse was
theirs,
and they jealously guarded their privacy, but how often you have a Hollywood star pay you a visit? “Come on in,” he said as he stepped back.

“Thanks,” Blake said with a smile as he stepped into the clubhouse. “This is amazing,” he said as he looked around. The walls between the rooms had been taken down, opening up the living room, dining room and kitchen into one large area, with a wide opening into the enclosed and finished single car garage for additional space. The main room had been decorated in leather and wood, with Harley and Harlequin memorabilia on display through out the room. The kitchen, or what was left of it, housed a sink, dishwasher, and huge refrigerator, but no stove and very few cabinets.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to do a movie where I could play a biker. Do you mind if I take some pictures of this place…as inspiration for an art director?” Blake asked as he pulled out his cell.

“Actually, I do. Sorry,” Merrick said holding up his hand.

Blake grinned and tucked his phone back into his pocket. “No problem. This part of your gang?”

Merrick chuckled and gave his head a small shake. “First off, we’re not a gang, we’re a club. We—”

Blake held up his hands in surrender and smiled. “Sorry! Didn’t mean to offend.”

“Don’t worry about. As I was going to say, we don’t go around mugging little old ladies, smashing windows, or terrorizing the common folk. We’re just a group of men and women who enjoy riding together.”

“Club. Got it.”

Merrick grinned. It was impossible to dislike the guy. “This’s Jason, my VP, and his old lady, Katalin.”

Merrick paused as Blake stepped forward and shook both of their hands. “Nice to meet you. Blake Teagle.”

“Over there is Tim, my Sergeant at Arms, and his old lady, Haven.” Again Blake shook their hands as he introduced himself. “That’s Kyle, my Secretary and Treasurer, and his old lady, Maria.” Blake continued down the line. “Finally, that’s Randy and his old lady, Gemma.”

Blake finished shaking hands. “And who are you?” he asked as he took Sonya’s hand.

“Sonya. Sonya Lynch.”

“Nice to meet you, Sonya.”

“Nice to meet you, Blake. Did I see you in
Smokejumpers
?”

Blake grinned, obviously delighted to be recognized. “I was. I was Danny McKay.”

Sonya’s face split with a grin. “I thought I recognized you!”

“You saw the movie?”