Starting Over (7 page)

trying to smile from the left side of his face, which was still unmarked from the stroke.

The right side of his face drooped as if half of his face had melted. It was hard to look

him in the eye, but he’d always been a good employer, and he deserved her respect.

“Hi there, I was coming home from the housewarming party the Breed are throwing,

and drove down your street. I hope I’m not interrupting you on this beautiful night. It is

a good night to sit outside though.”

Dena smiled and stood almost running to the doorway. “Let me get you a nice

glass of sweet tea, dear. Darnell and I have been staring at the lightning bugs and not

much else, so you aren’t interrupting a thing.”

JK Publishing, Inc.

Starting Over by Ryder Dane

Before River could say a word to decline the tea, Dena was through the screen door

and left their sight. She turned and smiled at Darnell and he was trying to tell her

something, so she leaned in close enough to try to lip read what she couldn’t

understand verbally. “Come on, man, slow down, I have the time to get it right, you’re

gonna have to work with me here.”

He rol ed his eyes and she burst out laughing. “Oh come on, cut me some slack

here, I’ve never had to deal with your particular problem, but if I can decipher what

Freddy Joe Barnes says when he’s falling down drunk on the sidewalk, I can figure out

what you’re saying. Just consider me a not to bright kid and be patient. Okay?”

Darnell made a noise that sounded like the cross between a duck and a growling

cat. She realized that he was laughing at her, and she grinned at him. He nodded, and

she returned the gesture.

“Thank you for pitching in, Dena is dealing with me and my shit. Thought I was a

dead man for awhile.” He did his best to look toward the door to see if his wife was

eavesdropping, but couldn’t move that far. He jerked his left hand toward the doorway,

and asked, “Is she there?”

River shook her head, “No, I’l watch for her.”

The old guy nodded again, and almost fell over trying to get closer to her to tell her,

“She don’t know, I’l be dead soon, doctor told me.” He sat back trying to catch his

breath. “I wanna sel the bar, she’l need income, not rich, sel the bar, she can move to

south, kids.”

He seemed to go to sleep after that. She was deciding how this would impact her

managing the bar. How long would it take to sell the place, then her second thought

was regret that she was leaving, even though she knew she had to go.

He shifted in the wheel chair and reached his hand toward her. Once she took it, he

thanked her. His speech was even more slurred than it had been, and she squeezed

his fingers.

“I’ll help in any way I can.”

His gaze stayed on her face, and as if a light dawned, he startled her by saying,

“Tuck, good kid, sorry. Mambo, we cal ed.” This time he did fal asleep, and she was

itching to ask him for more information, but drool was trickling down his chin as he slept.

Dena came out of the house with a tall glass of tea and handed it to her. She sat

down in the chair she’d vacated, and the concern on her face toward River made her

want to cry. These people knew who she was. How that was possible she had no idea,

but they could give her answers, and seeing Dena put her finger to her lips, stopped her

questions before she could voice them.

She mouthed, “later,” and nodded her head as a young man in a Prospect cut came

out from behind the house, and Dena introduced him as Halo.

“I don’t know what we’d do without him.”

Her words made the young man blush, but he gave her a quick nod and took

charge of Darnel ’s wheelchair. “Time for bed, buddy, say goodnight to the pretty

ladies.”

River got up and held the screen door for him to push the chair through, and got a

hasty, “Thanks,” for her help, as he pushed the chair into the house and disappeared

down the hallway that ran alongside the living room.

JK Publishing, Inc.

Starting Over by Ryder Dane

Dena looked wrung out, but River wasn’t leaving without knowing what she knew

about her brother and his death.

“I’m sorry, but I have to ask you what you know about Tuck. I know he was here

when he died, at the club I mean, so what happened. Please tel me.”

The older woman was staring at the porch rail before turning her eyes toward River.

“I only know what Darnel told me, and it wasn’t much.” She drew a couple of deep

breaths and a sip of her glass of tea, before talking, “Here it is. Darnel came home

from the bar one night in a tizzy. When I cornered him, he broke down and told me

about Tuck. He said the kid had been killed for seeing Wolfman doing something that

he shouldn’t have. He’d been stabbed and left to rot on the side of the road, down by

Second Street. Darnell was told that by Mambo, and they found your number tattooed

on the inside of the boy’s ankle. Darnel called you, and him and Mambo met you that

night.” She brushed her hand over her face and shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s al I can tel you, I don’t have details, and I’m sorry for your loss, he was

always nice to me and Darnel .”

River had to ask, “Did you know what Darnel told me about sel ing the bar?”

Dena just nodded and laid her head back on the cushioned chair back. “Yes, I was

the one to bring it up, I guess he final y figured out that he wasn’t going back and

running it for a long while. The old bastard is so stubborn that I didn’t dare start making

plans to move us. Sure as hel he’d decide to stay put just out of cussedness.”

River finished her tea, and thanked Dena. “Thank you for more than the tea and

being such a great employer, but thank you most for letting Darnell bring my brother

home to me, he’s al the family I had.”

Saying goodbye, she walked off the porch and got back into the van. She drove on

autopilot to the bar. At least she had a reason, and knew who had befriended Tuck’s

body and her that night. The place was dark, but something didn’t seem right. There

were two bikes behind the building, and they weren’t ones she recognized. That wasn’t

unusual in itself, but why would they be parked in the back. The only thing she could

think was that Maisey was in there, she’d been sleeping in the storeroom while she

saved up money to get herself a place to live.

“Fuck, dammit, why does this have to get complicated now?” She didn’t have her

gun with her, all she had were her boot knives, and she thought about calling the cops,

but if Maisey was entertaining voluntarily, and she called the heat down on them, it

could create problems that she didn’t need. “Shit, I know I’l be sorry for this, but she

might need help.” She cut the engine and left the van in the narrow driveway between

the road and the dumpsters. There was no way for the bikers to leave on their rides.

She had to climb out of the back of the van due to the fence being on one side, and the

building on the other with very little space on either side. Climbing over the top of the

van was an experience she didn’t want to repeat. If her mission wasn’t so important,

she would walk in the front doors and find out what was going on, but the building was

dark. Maisey had her odd ways at times, but the woman was responsible. The alarm

would be on, and the little bell that rang whenever the door was opened would

announce that she was there.

JK Publishing, Inc.

Starting Over by Ryder Dane

The backdoor latch was broken, so she knew that whoever was inside hadn’t been

invited in. She pulled the door open and almost knifed Maisey as the little woman was

sliding out of the doorway. She almost knocked River over, and opened her mouth

when she saw the wicked knife, but she put her hand on River’s chest and gave her a

push. The women hopped the concrete barriers that Darnell had put in after they’d

found the last poisoned biker by his dumpsters. They ran a full block before they

stopped for breath, and River reached for the cellphone in her back pocket.

Maisey put her hand on the phone and shook her head. “No, not the cops, they’re

Breed, cal War, he’l come and get them. They aren’t from around here, but we need to

let the club take care of them.”

River was pissed, but handed the phone over to her friend. “I don’t have any of

their numbers, if you do go for it. They’re going to pay for the damages those bastards

are doing, I heard the glass breaking.” She sat with her back to the old storage garage

that they’d taken refuge behind and tried to calm her breathing down. She noticed that

she still held her boot knife in her fist, and slid it back into the leather sheath inside the

neck of her right boot.

Maisey made her cal . “It’s me, uh Gummy. You know I’ve been working at the

Double D right? Well, here, River can tell you.” She shoved the phone toward the

woman that was giving her a dirty look. “Sorry, he sounds mad.”

She took the phone and scowled at her little companion, and she didn’t wait for

whoever was on the other end of the line to speak. “This is River over at the Double D,

you have some brothers over here that broke into the place and are trashing it as we

speak. You have twenty to get their asses out of there, and bring your checkbook,

you’re gonna need it.” She hit the end cal icon and shook her head at Maisey.

“Don’t ever let me hear you cal yourself that damn name again. You don’t have to

kiss their asses or suck their dicks anymore. Fuck them. You told me you wanted out

and that you had permission to go. You are a beautiful, strong woman, and don’t you

forget it.” She took the woman by the shoulders and shook her a little.

“Maisey, I’l be leaving in a few weeks, I’d planned to ask you if you wanted to come

with me. You can start over if you want to and have a good life. I have a business and

you’ll have a job if you decide to come with me. You told me that you wanted to feel

free. You can do or be whatever you want. It’s up to you. I’m not your momma, or your

actual boss. All I can promise you is that you don’t have to grovel to anyone again if

you seriously want to change your life.”

The women grew silent and listened to the roar of bikes coming their way. Maisey

grinned at River. “I’ve never heard anyone speak to Race like that before, even

Wolfman showed him and War respect to their faces. He’s gonna be madder than hell

about the brothers trashing the bar, but he’l give you an earful about respect once he

thinks on it.”

River didn’t bother to refute her claim, “If the demanding bastard has a problem with

a woman asserting herself, well then I guess all I can say is,
fuck him
.” She

JK Publishing, Inc.

Starting Over by Ryder Dane

remembered something, “I thought you said you were cal ing War, why did you cal

Race?”

Maisey shrugged, “I hit the wrong numbers and when I heard his voice, I got scared,

he scares me. He must have used the old club’s number for his cel phone, that’s the

number I cal ed.”

The women walked back to the bar in the same path they ran away from it on. The

bikes were parked in front, and there was two skinny Prospects standing at the alley

entrance watching the bikes.

River walked up to the front door of the building, and was blocked from entering by

the young men.

“We’re sorry, no one goes inside until I get the go-ahead.” The kid with the scruffy

beard was trying to be tough but polite, and the other one stood his body in front of the

door like he would stop anyone from entering with his life if need be.

“That’s good, but I happen to be the manager of this place, I need to see what the

damage is, and my employee here, will need to help me start cleaning it up. So you

need to get permission or whatever, so we can start.”

The kid was shaking his head, and the other one mirrored his gesture. “Look, lady,

I’m sorry, but club business is going on in there, you stay outside until I get told

different.”

The women ended up sitting in the cargo hold of the van with the doors open,

waiting to be granted permission to enter the building. The longer they waited the

madder River became. Maisey laid her head down on the thick moving pads they used