A Family Man (7 page)

"Okay. Joe?"

"Yes, sugar?"

"Can I really call you whenever I want?"

"Any time at all. I told you, if I can't answer, I promise I will call you as soon as I can."

She nodded and rested her head against his arm. "I'm a little scared."

"I know, sugar." He gave her a tiny squeeze. "To tell the truth, I'm a little scared too."

"You? You ain't scared of nothing."

"Yeah, me. I'm scared you'll forget all about me."

"I won't, Joe. I promise."

"Good to hear. C'mon, let's get you back to this wedding."

Sophia looked around. "Where's Amy?"

Maria smiled. "With Joe."

"Oh Maria, I'm sorry. I told him to stay away. The last thing you need is him coming here causing trouble."

"It's okay, really."

They both turned as the subject of their conversation walked in.

Joe stalked over to Sophia and kissed her on the cheek. "It's okay, Ma, I ain't staying." He bent and kissed Amy on the top of her head. "Bye, sugar. I'll speak to you soon." Then he turned and approached her new stepfather. "Rob."

"Joe, I presume."

"You presume right." Joe's lips curled up into a sneer. "That little girl and her mom mean everything to me. You hurt them, and I will kill you."

Joe turned on his heel and, climbing back onto his bike, rode away, feeling the darkness embracing him once again.

TEN

Maria and Amy stood, open-mouthed as they gazed at their new house. Rob had said it was big, but neither of them had envisioned just how big. The kitchen alone was bigger than their entire former home. "So?" Rob grinned. "What do you think?"

"It's…Wow, it's huge." Maria placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Do you like it, Honey?"

"Yeah, I guess." Amy looked through the window. "Is that a pool?"

"Yeah. Want to take a swim?"

"In a bit. Where's my room?"

Rob led her through the house and up the widest staircase she had ever seen to her bedroom. "There you go, Amy. Make yourself at home." He turned and left her alone to take in her surroundings. Like the rest of the house, the room was huge and Amy felt a tiny bit intimidated. Maybe if it hadn't already been decorated and furnished she would have felt more comfortable. But clearly the person who had done this room knew nothing about her, other than she was an eight-year-old girl. It was decorated in lilac and cream, with everything coordinated. She climbed onto her new bed, pulled out her phone and pressed '1'. "Joe?"

"Hey, sugar." Joe stretched and, suppressing a yawn, glanced at the clock on the dresser. Seven AM, shit. Maybe he should have explained the time difference to her. "How do you like your new house?"

"It's okay. I guess."

"Just okay?"

"It's big, an' it's got a pool."

"Wow. That's good, right?"

"I guess."

Joe sighed and lit a cigarette. "Amy, it is okay to like your new house."

"I know. But I don't. My room is too girly an' the bed's too big, an' Mom said I couldn't keep my quilt cuz it was ratty." She sniffed loudly. "How am I supposed to sleep without my quilt?"

"Hey, hey. C'mon, sugar." Joe could hear the hysteria growing in her voice. "All your stuff is still in your old house. Nana Sophie has a key, I'll get her to rescue your quilt and send it to you. Okay?"

"Okay. Joe?"

"Yes, sugar?"

"I hate it here."

"Give it a chance, Amy."

"Okay. Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I call you tomorrow?"

"Sure, sugar. Take care."

Joe lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. He really hoped that this new guy had Amy's best interests at heart. Without someone fighting her corner, it would be easy for the kid to be overwhelmed, and he doubted that Maria would be up to the task. With a sigh, he flipped open his cell. "M."

"Joe? Shit."

"I ain’t gonna cause trouble, Maria. But I just got off the phone with Amy. Kid's freaking out."

"She's fine."

"No, she ain’t. I'm gonna get Ma to send her some of her stuff, make her feel more at home."

"She don't need all that old junk. Rob has promised to take her shopping, get a load of new stuff."

"I ain't arguing with you over this, M. She needs familiar shit around her right now, not something that matches the décor." Joe shut the cell before he started to yell. Deciding there was no way he was going back to sleep, he climbed out of bed and headed for the shower. He had planned to spend the day working on his bike, but now it looked like he could get an early morning ride in as well.

Rob had not been impressed when, a few days later, Fed Ex delivered two huge parcels to Amy. She, however was delighted and happily spread the threadbare quilt across her bed, then proceeded to hang the posters of Harleys on her pristine new walls. "This." He scowled as he picked up a moth eaten pooh bear by its ear. "Is that biker scum."

Maria said nothing as she watched the little girl give her first genuine smile in nearly a week. She frowned as her new husband marched into the room. "Amy. What do you want all this junk for?"

"It's not junk. It's my stuff." Amy stuck out her bottom lip and snatched Pooh from his hands. "Joe bought this for me when I was a baby and Nana Sophie made the quilt."

"But I can buy you new stuff."

"Don't want new stuff."

"But the quilt's falling to pieces and those posters make the walls a mess. Wouldn't you like some nice new pictures?"

"No, I like these." Amy wasn't going to budge on this. It was her room and she would have it the way she wanted.

Rob shook his head and looked in the second box. "But you don't have to put up with old broken toys anymore. I can get you nice new ones."

Amy sighed as she placed her Barbie horse on the dresser. She had cried and cried when she had broken its leg off, but Joe had fixed it with duct tape and it was fine now as long as she was careful. She didn't really play with it much any more, but it was a present from Joe so she kept it. "It's okay, I don't like shopping, much."

"Amy, is this just stuff that Joe gave you?"

She frowned. "No. Of course not. This”--she pulled out a chipped ceramic rabbit—"belonged to an old lady called Rita, she gave it to me when she went into a home. Beth gave me the fluffy owls when we went to the zoo." She continued to rummage through the boxes, ignoring Rob's glare. It may have looked like junk to him, but to Amy, these were precious memories.

Maria touched her husband's arm. "She needs this, Rob. This has been a massive upheaval for her."

He sighed. "I suppose it has." He followed her back down stairs, leaving Amy alone.

~ oOo ~

The Seattle clubhouse was quiet as he walked through to the dorms out back. He would try to get a decent night's sleep before heading across the border in the morning for the protection run with Samson and a couple of Seattle guys. After depositing his bag on the bed, he headed back to the bar for a beer. Barney was leaning with his back against the bar. Joe grinned. "Wassup, bro?"

"Same old, bro." Barney passed him a beer. "You doing the Canadian run tomorrow?"

"Yeah."

"Well watch yourself. Couple of trucks have been hit recently."

Joe nodded. This was old news. It was also why Samson had asked specifically for him. He was sure any of the Freaks could have done the job, but the nomad president was extremely paranoid, and Joe was one of only a few people he trusted to have his back. As he took a pull on his beer, his cell vibrated. "Hey, sugar. Did Nana Sophie send that stuff?"

"Yeah. My room looks much better now."

"Good to hear. So how's your new school? Do not use cuss words."

"I wasn't going to.”

"So you like it?"

"No. There ain't any boys, I have to wear a stupid uniform and the girls are bitches." She sighed and Joe chuckled. "And Mom said if I punch any of them, she'll ground me till I'm seventeen."

"Don't get caught then, sugar."

"Joe. They'll rat me out."

"Guess you'll have to suck it up, then."

"S'not fair, Joe. I hate being a kid."

"Life rarely is. I gotta go Amy. I'm gonna be on the road for a couple of days, so I'll call you next weekend, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, Joe."

"Bye, sugar."

Barney raised an eyebrow as Joe hung up. "That Maria's kid?"

"Yeah."

"They okay?"

"I guess." Joe frowned. Since when did Barney show an interest in Maria and Amy? As far as he knew he had only met Maria a couple of times, years ago, and had never met her daughter.

The doors opened and Samson marched in dragging the cold air behind him, and he pushed any thoughts of Maria and Amy to the back of his head as he followed his president into the chapel to discuss the upcoming run.

ELEVEN

Without doubt, this had been one of the worst runs Joe had ever experienced. The rain had been relentless and visibility was practically nonexistent. It was cold, too. Bitterly cold. Joe was beginning to wonder if he'd ever feel his face again. With no shelter in sight and a mere thirty miles to their destination, the little convoy of four bikes and one truck had no choice but to push on.

Gritting his teeth, he looked over to his president. As usual, Samson looked unaffected by the biting wind and driving rain. Joe guessed the big Alaskan was made of tougher stuff than his puny Californian companions.

No one was expecting an ambush, least of all Joe. If he was honest, all he could concentrate on was keeping his bike upright and trying to stave off hypothermia ,and as a result was completely blindsided when the black van came from nowhere forcing his bike towards the big eighteen wheeler. As he tried to right himself, he was aware in his peripheral vision of a bike going down, and the sound of gunfire. He couldn't get to his gun—his jacket was zipped up tight and he couldn't feel his hands—not that it would have made any difference as the van, again, swerved towards him, clipping his front wheel.

He was losing it! Every instinct told him to hang on, but as he started to slide towards the wheels of the truck, self preservation took over and he threw himself away from his beloved Dyna and rolled to safety as it disappeared under the big rig's wheel with a sickening sound of twisting metal.

He was alive. Of that, Joe was acutely aware. Death would be a lot less painful. He lay, face down in the road, and tried to assess his injuries. His left arm and shoulder were fucked, possibly his collarbone too. There was pain in his left hip, but he thought that was probably superficial, nothing broken. His face too, seemed to have taken a hit, although it was too numb to gauge. More worrying was the pain in his abdomen, deep inside. He coughed, tasting blood. If he didn't get help soon, he was going to die right here on the side of the road in this godforsaken country in the rain. He closed his eyes, too cold and tired to fight, only vaguely aware of a battle taking place around him and someone shouting his name over and over again.

Warm. He was warm, and definitely not dead. With a groan, he forced open his eyes.

"Brother. Welcome back." Samson grinned. "Big help you were."

"Sorry, Prez." Joe croaked then groaned as fire invaded his guts.

Samson chuckled. "That's okay, man. Fuckers got the jump on us. Managed to fight 'em off. We're all whole." He laughed again. "Apart from your bike that is. Sorry bro, we couldn't save it."

Joe closed his eyes. "Shit."

The door opened and a young woman in scrubs walked in. "Good morning, Mr. Taylor. I'm Dr. Jameson." She smiled. "You've been remarkably lucky. You had a ruptured spleen which we had to remove and some abdominal tearing which will heal in good time. You've also got a dislocated shoulder and a fractured ulna, both of which we've managed to fix. Everything else is superficial, just a bit of road rash and bruising. In a couple of months you'll be back on your bike, as good as new."

"Thanks, doc." Samson winked and gave her his best grin, causing her to blush a pretty shade of pink. "When can we get him out of here?"

"Oh he should be fit to travel in a couple of days or so, as long as he takes it easy."

Joe lay, eyes closed, in a world of pain. He had a busted arm, his guts were on fire and his bike had been destroyed. How was that lucky? As if reading his thoughts, Samson laid a hand on his shoulder. "You ain't dead, Tiny. Count your blessings."

He was right, of course. He could easily have met his maker under the wheels of that truck, but he had survived to fight another day.

~ oOo ~

As Amy climbed out of her mom's car after yet another awful day at school, she failed to notice the nondescript, silver Honda parked on the other side of the road. She didn't even look up at the sound of a car door slamming. Not much caught her attention these days. Mom had enrolled her in ballet classes, but she had two left feet, and she had joined the tennis club, but she really wasn't sporty. Amy liked to ride her bike and climb trees, not dance around in a tutu or mess around on a tennis court. It had been two months and she still hated her life here. She missed her school friends, missed Beth and missed Nana Sophie. Most of all though, she missed Joe.

"Hey, sugar."

"Joe?" Amy spun round. "Joe!" She ran towards him, as fast as her feet would carry her.

Laughing as she launched herself at him, he pulled her close using only his right arm. "Hey, sugar." He buried his face in her hair. "Pleased to see me?"

Laughing and crying in equal measure, Amy threw her arms around his neck, causing him to grunt in pain. "What did you do to your arm?" She noticed the plaster that encased it.

"Came off my bike, sugar. Can't ride for a while, so I thought I'd fly out and see you." He looked up and his eyes met Maria's. "I'm staying in a motel downtown for a few days. I ain’t here to stir up shit."

Maria smiled. "I know. But, please, stay out of Rob's way." She looked down at her daughter. "Maybe Joe could take you out for supper or something."

Joe nodded and held out his hand to the little girl. "Wanna Happy Meal, sugar?"

Taking his hand, she nodded and let him lead her to the little rental car across the road. "I don't know where a McDonalds is."

"Don't worry, sugar. We'll find it."

They never did find a McDonalds, but they did find a little diner. As they sat in a booth next to the window, Amy examined the man sitting opposite her. Most of the bruises had faded, but parts of his face were still scarred and discolored. "How did you fall off your bike Joe?"

"It was raining and a van drove into me, I guess he didn't see me."

"You will be okay, though?"

"Sure. My bike was pretty smashed up though. Gotta get a new one."

She fell silent and looked out of the window. She didn't like to think of Joe getting hurt.

Joe frowned. "Don't look so worried, Amy. I'm okay." He passed her a menu. "Why don't you pick something to eat."

"Anything I want?"

"Anything at all." Joe grinned as she ordered the cheeseburger with extra bacon and fries, then promptly smothered them with ketchup and mustard, ignoring the disapproving looks of the waitress.

They ate in silence, until it was broken by Amy's loud burp. She grinned. "Sorry."

He gave a one shouldered shrug. "S'okay, sugar." Taking advantage of the break in the unfamiliar awkwardness between them, he started to speak. "Amy, what's going on in that head of yours?"

She shrugged. "I hate it here. At school, they call me white trash, an' I keep on getting in trouble for stuff that ain't my fault." She sniffed. "I can't help it if I don't know stuff."

"What does your mom say?"

"She gets mad at me. She says I ain't trying. But I am, Joe. All the kids are smarter than me." She blinked and a solitary, fat tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't help it if I'm dumb."

"You ain't dumb, Amy. You're the smartest kid I know."

"You don't know any other kids."

"True dat. Even so. I know you're a smart kid." Joe grinned. "Smarter than me, anyhow." Amy didn't smile back, and his cold, black heart broke for her. "Amy, sugar. I wish there was something I could do to make this better."

"Take me back with you."

"I can't, little girl."

"Why not? I could stay with Beth, or Nana Sophie." She sighed. "Beth was gonna move here, but Rob said it was a bad idea, so mom told her not to. I don't think Rob likes any of our old friends or family. He gets weird if we talk about them."

"Weird how?"

Amy shrugged. "If I talk about my old friends, he says I'm an ungrateful bitch. He says my life is better now, but it's not."

Joe's jaw clenched. Up until now, he had tried to stay out of Maria's shit, despite every instinct telling him to do otherwise. He loved Amy, but she wasn't his kid and he was scared that if he pushed too hard he would be prevented from seeing her, and there would be nothing he could do about it. "I think it's time me an' your mom had a little chat."

Amy nodded. She had always hated it when her mom and Joe got into fights. It was hard watching the two people she loved most in the world hurt each other. But right now, she didn't care. She just wanted someone to make her mom and Rob understand just how unhappy she was. And the only person who could do that was sitting opposite her right now.

Rob's car was in the driveway as they pulled up outside the house. They both climbed out of the little rental car and headed towards the house. Joe knew this was a risky strategy. Rob was a jumped-up little shit, who would think nothing of calling the cops if he felt threatened, but it was a chance he was going to have to take. He didn't understand Rob's motivation, but he had seen controlling behavior enough times to recognize it. By isolating Maria he had her in his pocket, a willing slave to do his bidding. He wasn't happy about that, but she was a big girl and would have to look out for herself. Amy, however was different. He couldn't stand by and watch him chip away at her until there was nothing left of the little girl he loved so much.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rob pushed his dinner away and got to his feet. "Amy, go to your room."

Amy tucked herself behind Joe. "I want to stay here."

Joe gave a tiny smile as he felt her hand clutch at his tee shirt. "S'okay, sugar. You can stay and hear this." His eyes met Rob's, boring into them until the smaller man took an involuntary step back. "I want to talk to Maria."

"I'm not leaving you alone with her. Who knows what you might do."

Joe shrugged. "So stay." He turned to Maria. "I ain’t sure how this gets fixed, M. But you need to know how hard Amy is finding all this shit right now. The kids at her school are picking on her, and she's struggling to keep up with the work. She needs you to support her, M. Not yell at her. Why you suddenly hellbent on turning her into something she's not?"

Rob stepped forward. "We are trying to give her the best opportunities in life. And that doesn't involve her hanging round with biker scum like you."

Joe's lips curled up into a sneer. "Oh, I agree that I probably ain’t the ideal person for a kid to be hanging with. What with me being an uneducated criminal type an' all. But the difference between you an' me is, that I love Amy and will always want what's best for her."

"And what might that be? Running wild on the streets, getting into crime, drugs?"

"I ain't saying that couldn't happen, given her family history. But Beth's done okay. And growing up surrounded by people who love her has gotta be better than this."

"We love her." Rob pulled himself up to his full height, which was still several inches short of Joe's. "This isn't about Amy, it's about me taking Maria away from you. And you losing your influence over her."

"Don't flatter yourself, asshole. I don't give a shit about you an' Maria, cuz trust me, if I did…" He left the rest of the sentence unsaid, as Maria shifted uncomfortably in the background. "All I'm asking is that you give Amy a break, maybe look around for a different school. Somewhere she can shine."

His eyes sought out Maria's. "Please, M."

Maria nodded. "Maybe."

Knowing that was the best he could hope for, he turned to the little girl standing behind him pulling his teeshirt out of shape. "I'll come, pick you up tomorrow morning. We'll go and spend the day on the beach or something."

"She has school in the morning."

Joe scowled. This asshole was really starting to push his buttons. "No, she don't." He bent and kissed Amy on the top of the head. "See you tomorrow, sugar."

Maria stood and followed him to the door. "Joe."

"Just have her ready for me at nine." He reached out and touched her face. "I'll see you tomorrow."

TWELVE

Grinning, Joe watched as Amy kicked her way through the waves. It was good to see her smile again. He had been afraid that Rob would try to sabotage their day trip, but he had prudently decided to butt out.

He got that he wanted to keep them apart. He hadn't been lying when he said that he wasn't the sort of guy that should be allowed around kids. Not that he'd ever hurt them. He may have been one of the most feared of his brothers, and according to various psyche reports he'd had done in jail, he had definite sociopathic tendencies. But he wasn't crazy, and he'd never kill for fun. He understood loyalty, family, and he knew how to love. It still spoke volumes about Amy's life when the only person prepared fight her corner was him. It would have been so much easier if he had been her dad. If there was any way he could get her away from that douche, Rob, he'd take it. Surely Maria could see what he was doing. He had to get her alone, had to talk to her.

Amy laughed at the feeling of the sand between the toes as the tide dragged it back, the tiny pebbles making a chattering sound under the waves. She looked over to where Joe was sitting, smoking a cigarette, and gave a little wave. Life was always better when he was around. She knew Rob didn't like him and for some reason thought that it was because of Joe that her mom got sick and sad. Amy didn't believe that. It was Joe who paid for her to go to the place to get better. And he and Nana Sophie always made sure there was food in the cupboards and that she had somewhere to sleep.