Edge of Ashes (Sons of Ash Motorcycle Club) (11 page)

“I’ll protect you Kari.” He says with
earnest.

“I know you believe you can but you can’t
be with me 24/7. Ripper knows it and will pick a time when you’ve stepped out
to take a piss or something and it’s curtains for me. No… I have to stay out of
sight. The only safe place I can think of is work. I don’t think he’ll go
beyond harassment and try to kidnap me there.”

“Yeah…you’re probably right, but I’ll still
be watching you whenever I can. Now let’s get out of here. I’m beginning to
smell the blood from your room.”

“I think it’s the blood on my tits that you’re
smelling Adam. But yeah, let me change and we’ll get out of
here.”                                                  

Several days later…

When Anna finally invites me to dinner to
meet her new boyfriend I can’t wait. I have been out of her life for so long
who knows how many boyfriends I missed. I do not want to miss this one. She
seems really serious about him too. This is not some fling to her. For the
first time she’s thinking about the future and apparently it involves this guy
and I get the idea that they have even talked about getting a place together.
While I think she’s way too young to be thinking this way with anyone, I’m not
about to jeopardize our new found friendship by casting a pall on the new man
in her life. I’m meeting her at Zebra’s a trendy new eatery that I have been dying
to try. Whenever I get in the mood to go there I can never get a reservation.
They’re usually booked solid for weeks on and during the week and even longer
on the weekends.

It takes me two hours and twelve outfits to
find the perfect one for the evening. I end up wearing the first thing I tried
on; a slinky black dress that doesn’t come anywhere near my knees. I tend to be
a tee shirt and jeans kinda girl but you can’t wear pants in a place like
Zebra’s; you’d get stared out. No one would laugh, they’d just look at you like
you’re a loon until you give you and go home. At least that’s what Cave
Junction’s only food critic Wilson Phelps says on his blog. Anna’s new man must
have some pull there. According to her he just picked up the phone Thursday
night and ten minutes later they have a reservation for Saturday evening;
that’s this Saturday, not one two months from now.

I take one more look at my legs and decide
for black pantyhose. You can still see faint bruising from the fight almost two
weeks ago at the Bronze. Satisfied I grab my purse, toss my phone in and head
out. I should arrive in about a half an hour. That’ll give me plenty of time to
perfect my Nervous Nelly act except that it won’t be an act at all. It’s
important that I make a good first impression on my sister and her new beau. I
want to stay in her life so I can be alienating the guy; Jeff’s his name I
think.

“Twenty dwarves took turns doing handstands
on the carpet. Twenty dwarves took turns doing handstands on the carpet. Twenty
dwarves…”

Forget it. I’m never gonna be able to calm
down. Even the twenty dwarves mantra that Warren Beatty in the movie Bugsy used
to say when he was a nervous wreck doesn’t help me a bit. I’ll just order a
stiff drink when we sit down and that’ll calm me.

As I get out of my car the valet
complements my dress with his eyes. Guess I chose the right outfit after all. I
can feel his eyes on my ass as I walk through the entrance. It’s gonna be a
good night. I walk up to the Maître Di and return his pleasant smile.

“Hi I’m Kari, I have a reservation with-”

“Kari!”

My sister just squeals my name from across
the room. I’m surprised I can hear over the beat of the music. My little sis’s
smile lights up the room as she makes her way through the crowd to where I’m
standing. She gives me a warm hug.

“I can’t wait for you to meet my new man.”
She breathes into my ear. You’ll just love him.”

“I’m sure I will. I can’t believe he got a
reservation here. This place is amazing.”

“It’s off the hook!” She replies.

Her face is literally glowing. It takes me
a minute before I realize part of that glowing has to do with the famous Zebra
bar. I didn’t know she even drank. She seems pretty well lit tonight.

Anna takes my hand and leads me through the
maze of tables until we get to ours. The view is stellar. You can see the
entire town and the surrounding hills. Her boyfriend is there with his back to
us sipping water. He’s a big guy.

“Jeff,” Anna announces. “I want you to meet
my sister Kari.”

He sets his glass down, removes his napkin
from his lap and stands up. Man is he tall. As he turns I take a little step
forwards and extend my hand.

“So pleased to meet you Kari,” Ripper says
as he turns to face me.

I am so shocked my knees begin to buckle
and I just about end up on the floor. This has got to be some kind of mistake.
This man can’t be Jeff. This man is pure evil. Can my sister not see that? I
force myself to act normal and take his proffered hand. I’m just about to shake
when he pulls me into a hug. At first I think he’s going to whisper something
in my ear, but instead I feel his slimy tongue flicking around my inner ear
before he take my lobe between his teeth. I nearly squeal as he bites down
before letting me go. I’m thankful my sister is facing him and can’t see the
reaction on my face. I really need to keep it together until I find what this
creep is up to. I swallow the bile that’s building up in the back of my throat
and take a seat next to my sister, facing Jeff who is really Ripper the
ruthless leader of the Sons of Ash.

How can my sister not know he is evil. Pure
venom literally exudes from his every pore. He doesn’t have to say a thing. You
can just feel the complete lack of a soul. The man is bereft of any of the
things that makes us human. He’s a soulless reptile and now he has ensnared my
little sister.

Fortunately my Anna carries the
conversation as usual and has a constant stream of anecdotes and stories at the
ready. It’s only when our waiter shows up that she falls silent. After ordering
she excuses herself and goes to powder her nose.

The second she’s out of earshot I light
into Ripper.

“Listen Ripper, yeah I know it’s you. A
fancy suit and a haircut can’t even begin to cover your foul stench. Your horns
are plenty visible to me. I don’t know what your game is or why you’re trying
to date my sister-”

“There’s this cross in your sister’s room,”
he says, interrupting me. “I don’t know if you’ve seen it or not. It’s yay big,
and about a foot long. It’s a pretty big piece of wood that hangs above her
bed.”

I just stare at him. What an odd thing to
bring up after what I just said.

“Tonight when I’m fucking your little
sister I’m gonna take that cross and shove it up her ass. Do you think she’ll
like that?”

My mouth drops open. I look around to see
if anyone but me actually heard what he just said but everyone seems to be
engaged in their own conversations. It literally takes me ten seconds before I
can form words again.

“You have got to be kidding me! How can you
sit here dressed like you’re actually human and not the creature you really are
and-”

“You know they say, once you go up the ass
you never go back… No that’s not it. It’s once you go black you never go back.
That’s the saying. I guess mine doesn’t quite fit. But I think you’re right
Kari, she’s going to just love it. They used to say it was a guy thing. You
know with the way it stimulates the prostate and all… Doesn’t do anything for
me but your sis with her dainty little hole… well, let me just say, it’ll be
love at first thrust I’m sure.”

I slam my palms down on the table so hard
it makes me wince and I’m about to push myself back from the table when a voice
behind my sister says:

“What are you guys talking about?”

I can’t believe this is happening to me…to
my sister. How long has this guy been brainwashing her. She has no idea what
kind of man he really is. I take another look at him, then at my sister’s
shinning face. I can’t say anything. If I even tried to convince her that Jeff
is really Ripper she’ll shut me out of her life forever; which may not be long
with her dating Ripper. He’ll eventually kill her to get at me; I’m almost
certain of it. There has to be a way of convincing her of who her new man
really is. I need to get away and call Adam. If I can get him down here then I
may have a chance at getting Anna to see the man’s true colors.

She is waiting for me to include her the
conversation at hand. What do I tell her? I certainly can’t tell her the holy
crucifix is gonna be shoved up her bum tonight. Jeez I don’t even want to think
about my little sister having any kind of sex and especially not that kind!

“He’s got this…condition and he thinks
it’ll be an issue but I told him you’re not that shallow.”

“Oh my god is something wrong honey?” She asks
Ripper. All of a sudden she’s this uber sensitive caring person. “What is it?
You can tell me anything Jeff. You know my sister’s a nurse. I bet she can help
you. What’s wrong sweetie?”

“It’s herpes,” I begin, before Ripper can
say anything contrary. “He thought it could be cured but I was just advising
him that it can never be cured. He can even infect you even when his… even when
he’s not leaking puss.”

My sister turns as white as a sheet. She
collapses in the seat next to me; speechless for a change. I hated to do this
to my little sister but I just can’t let her carry on with Satan himself.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She finally asks
Ripper.

“Because it’s not true.”

“But…but Kari wouldn’t just say something like
that out of the blue. I mean, what reason would she have for doing that?”

“She’s a woman, who can guess?” Ripper
replies angrily.

“She’s not a doctor you know.” She says to
Ripper. Then she turns to me. “You could be wrong right?”

“Google it. You’ll find out all about it.”

“Ripper, it’s okay. There’s nothing to be
ashamed of.”

“Look here pet, I don’t have anything even
remotely like it. Your sis just doesn’t like me for some reason and she’s just
trying to stir up trouble. You know, I went to a lot of trouble getting this
reservation and I really don’t want to spent it talking about…about diseases
that I don’t even have.”

“Is that true?” Anna asks me. “Do you not
like Jeff? You just met him. How could you form an opinion of him so fast?”

“He’s not who you think,” I reply. “Jeff is
not Jeff. His name is Ripper and he’s the president of the outlaw motorcycle
club Sons of Ash.”

I can tell she doesn’t even begin to
believe me. Right now Ripper/Jeff looks more like a TV evangelist than a biker.
Maybe if I can make him mad enough he’ll lose his cool and explode in outlaw
biker fashion.

“I don’t believe you,” She replies, “and I
don’t know why you’re so bent on spoiling the evening. Jeff is a good man and I
won’t hear any more crazy stories about herpes or any other diseases that might
come to your mind. If you can’t be civil maybe you should just leave.”

“I can be civil,” I reply. The question is,
can Ripper be civil? There has to be a way to make him blow his top.

Suddenly Ripper scoots over to the other
chair and pats the one beside him that he just vacated.

“Anna dear, why don’t you come over here
and keep me company? It looks a bit frosty over there.”

Anna gets up. “I think I will.”

No sooner than she moves to the proffered
seat Ripper starts his harassment campaign. He leans back a little in his chair
so Anna has to look back a little to see him. Once he catches my attention he
makes a goose egg with his left hand and takes his index finger and pantomimes
sticking it rapidly in and out; the universal sign for fucking. I barely manage
to keep a straight face. I’m pretty sure my eyes may have bugged out because
Anna gives me a strange look. Next he points to me and then to my sister before
making a V with his middle finger and his index finger. He positions the V at
the base of his chin and flicks his tongue in and out. He could not be more
obnoxious!

I’m having a really hard time following my
sister’s monologue about work or something or other. I try to focus on her when
I feel a shoe press up against my crotch and I’m pretty certain it’s not my
sisters foot that’s violating me. I clench my legs together but he still
manages to yank his foot back.

“Are you okay?” Anna asks.

“Of course.”

“You jumped in your seat.” She observes.

“Yeah it just got this wiggy feeling like
somebody just walked on my grave.”

“Your what?” She asks, clearly confused.

“You know, when you get all jumpy inside.
They say it’s because somebody just walked on your grave.”