Edge of Ashes (Sons of Ash Motorcycle Club) (3 page)

“Kari baby!” Shouts a familiar voice. Then
following an awkward pause… “And Jenny sweetie you’re here…”

He tries to cover for his slip but I’m not
sure Jenny’s buying it. He just looks too confused.

“We need to talk,” Jenny begins.

Adam looks at us both. “Y-you t-two know
each o-other?” He stammers as he walks from around the counter to meet us.

“I guess you’ve already met my best friend
Kari,” Jenny says. She steps up to Adam and makes like she’s going to give him
a kiss on the mouth but he deftly turns his head to the side and she gives his
ear a smooch instead.

“So what’s going on here Jenny?” He asks.
“We’re over. I thought I made myself clear on the phone.”

“Clearly confused is more like it,” Jenny
counters. “You’re suffering from a gunshot wound and of course you’re not
thinking clearly.”

“No I was pretty straight forward. I’ve
found someone else and besides, there never really was much between us right? I
mean, we had some fun between the sheets and all, but I really have found
someone else.”

Jenny’s beginning to get angry. “I wanna
know who it is you think you’ve fallen for and Kari here is going to help make
sure you’re not lying about it.”

“Why is this important?” Adam asks.

“So I can get closure,” my best friend
replies.

I really don’t think she’s looking for
closure. She’s a black belt in some Chinese martial arts so I really think
she’s leaning more towards delivering an ass kicking kind of closure.

“You may not like it,” Adam replies.

“I already don’t like it,” Jenny begins. “I
don’t see how this can get any worse.”

“It’s gonna get worse.” He replies.

“I just wanna know,” my friend pleads. “I already
know she works at either my hospital or Kari’s and that she’s a nurse. You gave
that away yourself. Now if you don’t tell me who I’m gonna spend all my time at
work hating every female nurse I see thinking she’s the one. So for the sake of
all the innocent nurses out there you have to tell me.”

“That’s right,” I pop in. “No point hating
on all the other nurses. And being that she’s a nurse, you’d probably end up
liking her, may even like her now. Who knows, she’s probably a really great
person and a true friend.”

“Okay that’s a weird thing to say,” Jenny
replies. “Who died and appointed you head of the home wrecker’s cheerleading
section? She is not a good person. She can’t be.”

“I’m just saying…” I trail off lamely.

The more I stand here looking at Adam the
more I find it enjoyable to stand here looking at Adam. He’s wearing a faded
pair of black Levi’s, a black Metallica concert tee from the Master of Puppets
tour, and of course his trusty cut. Oh, and black motorcycle boots. He looks
like a real shit kicker and I feel sorry for anyone who gets on his bad side.
I’m sure he can handle himself in just about any situation. I also notice he’s
got his trusty knife back. I can tell from the worn leather sheath that this is
one weapon that’s got a lot of use over the years. His handsome face is no
longer smiling as Jenny continues to pressure him into spilling the beans. She
can be a persistent little bitch and I’d hate to get on her bad side one day;
like today.

“Look,” he finally says. “I have to go back
to work so I’m going to just tell you and let you two work it out yourselves.”

I get a sunken feeling in the pit of my
stomach as he glances apologetically in my direction. I know what’s coming
next.

“What do you mean ourselves?” Jenny asks. Then
something clicks and she turns on me. “Oh my god, you know her! You’ve known
all along who it is and you can’t even bother to tell your best friend!”

I give Adam the dirtiest look at my
disposal and hope to god he’s feeling he daggers I’m sending in his direction.

“Out with it Kari!” Jenny barks.

Instinctively I take a step backwards and
force myself to keep my hands at my sides. My first instinct is to raise them
in self-defense; or just run the other way. My heart is pounding in my ears and
I can feel the color drain from my face. I can’t believe Adam just put me in
this position after he professes to be in love with me. What an ass!

“Kari… who is it? Is it that bossy one,
Linda Masterson? No she’s ugly. What about the new girl you’re always going on
about. She’s cute. It’s her isn’t it?”

As much as I want to say yeah, it’s that
new girl, I can’t. Adam is still standing here and to tell the truth, it’s
keeping me honest. If he wasn’t still here I’m pretty sure I would have copped
out and said it’s the new girl. That would have bought me some time.

“It’s me,” I finally say. I cringe away
from here expecting a torrent of angry words unleashed in my direction. Instead
she just laughs.

“Good one Kari, but I’m really not in the
mood for jokes right now. Who is it? It must be a friend of yours or you
wouldn’t be protecting her like this. Is it that nurse who trained you when you
first started working there? Janet was it? It’s okay really. I’m not going to
march over there and make some huge scene. I can be mature about it.

Yeah…I really don’t think she’s capable of
being mature about this. It’s too late for that. I’m just going to have to
convince her it’s me and take my lumps; hopefully not actual lumps.

“I think he’s… I know he’s talking about me
Jenny. I treated him last night and he seemed to have this thing for me. But it
wasn’t returned…the feelings. I don’t feel anything for him is what I’m trying
to say…”

“Is it you? Are you the one he’s falling
for?” Jenny asks.

Wow she can be thick sometimes. “That’s
what I’ve been trying to tell you. Yes, it’s me. I’m the home wrecker. It’s all
one sided though. He’s got it bad for me but-”

“Is that why you kept starring at my ass;
not to mention my dick?”

Jenny’s mouth drops open. Her eyes narrow
and her face turns a bright shade of red. “You saw his…I can’t even say it. You
were so captivated by him that you couldn’t even be professional? So I guess
you guys just found some broom closet somewhere to consummate your love, is
that it?”

Her voice is going up. She started at about
forty decibels and ended at one ten. I can’t believe this is happening. I turn
to say something to Adam only to see his retreating back. He looks back over
his shoulder.

“I’ll let you two work this out.”

Then he smiles and gives me the universal
telephone sign with his hand next to his ear and mouths the words
call me
.
The nerve! That’s one person I will never call.

Meanwhile Jenny is just getting going. She
is working up one hell of an apocalyptic rage, and instead of it being directed
at Adam who deserves it, I get the full force.

“What kind of friend are you?” She rages.
“You could have told me before I came here and made a fool of myself in front
of everybody but you didn’t. You had to let me find out in the worst possible
way.”

“Well it’s not the worst. You could have
walked in on us doing… but that of course never would have happened because
there’s nothing going on between us. It’s all him!”

I’m now shouting as well. This has gone from
bad to friendship ending in the space of a few minutes and I don’t even know
what to do. Obviously I could apologize for not telling her sooner but now I’m
too mad to even do that. I’m even madder at Adam for putting me in this
situation in the first place. What a thing to do to someone who you profess to
have fallen in love with. It begs the question, what would he do if we got in
an argument? Cut my throat with his giant knife?

I suddenly realize I have totally tuned out
my best friend in the middle of her rant. She’s going on about broken trust,
never trusting me ever again, and on and on and on. It doesn’t even occur to
her to be angry at Adam. He is the other part of the equation and should be
held accountable for his part. What really sucks here is that his part is the
biggest part; the only part really. I’m just an innocent bystander; well,
pretty innocent that is.

Thankfully she finally runs out of steam
and just storms off. If I do know one thing about my best friend is that
eventually she’ll calm down and start seeing things differently and will
probably come around to my point of view. At least that’s what she has done in
the past, but this is the first time another man has come between us so we’re
in uncharted territory right now. What a mess!

I keep to myself so I don’t usually get
into scrapes of any kind, but when I do get into a scrape it’s a doosey. There’s
a reason I refuse to date bikers. My one and only foray into the world of
outlaw bikers came several years ago when I began dating Shadow. Yeah the name
right there should have been a big STOP sign for me but I just didn’t see it.
He was big, strong, handsome, and a powerful leader of one of the bigger outlaw
MC’s in the area. Power can be a turn on, and for me it was just that, a major
jaw dropping turn on. By the time things began to get a little ugly I was too
far gone to be able easily extricate myself from him and the life. Pretty soon
I was his old lady and going on rides, hanging out at the clubhouse, partying;
everything that is not really who I am. I was young, impressionable and no one
could tell me anything; not even my best friend. I changed drastically, but
Jenny stuck by me thick and thin and she didn’t even tell me I told you so when
I came crying to her one night after getting beat up by Shadow. That night I
swore I would never have dealings with bikers ever again. Of course it wasn’t that
easy to break it off with him. He considered me his property and I had played
along with it for far too long to see the forest for the trees. It took me
getting my ass kicked by him to such a degree that I had to spend Christmas and
the following three days in the hospital. Jenny was there every day and the day
I got out I moved in with her and stayed with her for nearly five months while
with her help I slowly began to put myself back together.

So imagine my confusion when Adam shows up
in my ER and I begin to salivate! I really thought I had become immune to biker
charms but evidently not. At least I have not gone on any dates with him and
have never spoken to him on the phone so I think I have done pretty well.

Saturday Night at the Bronze…

I rarely go out unless it’s with Jenny. But
with Jenny still giving me the cold shoulder I was restless and ready to have
some fun when one the doctors from my hospital called and invited me to join
her and a couple friends at The Bronze, and local nightclub; the most popular
hangout in Cave Junction. Once a month on a Saturday night they have live music
and tonight one of my favorite local bands was performing. They call themselves
Krokus and they’re supposedly doing covers for Metallica, who along with AC/DC
are my favorite band. How can I refuse?

It’s nearly eleven when I finally get
there. Krokus is just about to begin playing when I get in and begin looking
for my group. I find them in the corner ordering another round of drinks. My
doctor friend Melanie, two other doctors I just know by site and a couple
nurses from ICU are enjoying the evening out. Two stiff drinks later and I have
already forgotten that I’m actually out on the town without my best friend.
When the heavy guitars riffs from Enter Sandman begins coursing through my body
I can barely stay seated. Thankfully Michael an ICU doctor asks me to dance and
I am happy to oblige. There’s just something about metal music, alcohol and
dancing that just gets me going! I promise myself that I am going home alone.
Having set that boundary I am fully ready to party the night away.

By the time the band plays their last tune,
Hero, I am ready to go home. It’s nearly two in the morning. As a group we head
for the door when Michael corners me.

“So…I’m not at all tired, and if you’re not
I’d love to show you my new place. We could have a drink and unwind…”

I knew this was coming, and despite my
earlier promise to go home alone I am ready to live a little. I take a step
closer to him and inhale his masculine scent. It’s a heady combination of
cologne, a little sweat, and his natural manly musk. One whiff of him and I
feel it all the way from my lips to my… my other lips. My clingy panties are
proof to my arousal. One of his hands moves from my low back where it was resting
and moves down to my ass giving me goose bumps all the way to my crotch. I let
my own hands do some exploring as I slip my hand inside his button down shirt
and explore his smooth chest. Oh my…this is going to be a fun night.

Suddenly his lips are whispering in my ear
sweet nothings before moving down my jawline and to the most sensitive part of
my neck. I catch my breath as my body begins to respond. My heart pounds
against his chest as I press my body to his. Did I say I’m attracted to power?
Not only does Michael have a strong body, but he’s a brilliant, respected
doctor who’s known for his critical thinking and fast acting when lives are in
the balance. And tonight I’m going to experience the other side of the man and
it can’t happen soon enough.

I look up at his face. His eyes are
shinning with desire. He has short curly brown hair and several days’ growth on
his strong jawline. I wonder absently if I’m gonna get a rash. His dark lips
form a sly smile as he moves in for another kiss. Instead I grab his arm
pulling him towards the front door.

“Let’s have those drinks,” I breathe into
his ear.

We decide to leave our cars in the long
term parking lot and take a taxi to his house. We’ve both been drinking and do
not want a run in with the police to spoil a perfect evening. As we wait for a
cab we continue our little courtship ritual heedless of an oncoming disaster
until it’s too late.

I am so caught up in Michael the deep
rumble of Harley Davidson Motorcycles don’t even register until they are right
up on us. I look up and the blood literally drains from my body. Getting off
his huge black motorcycle is none other than my ex- boyfriend Shadow! It’s been
so long since I’ve seen him I guess I just figured he and his club was busy
somewhere away from Cave Junction. Michael feels me stiffen next to him and
gives me a questioning look. Michael is not a small man. He is easily several
inches over six feet and he has a fighters build. Unfortunately so is Shadow.
And Shadow fights for a living while Michael practices medicine for a living.
If this gets physical Michael doesn’t stand a chance. I look both ways down the
street praying for our cab, but I don’t see it anywhere.

I catch my breath as Shadow saunters up to
us and looks Michael over like he’s sizing up his next meal. To Michael’s
credit he holds the bikers gaze and doesn’t look away in fear.

“Who the fuck are you?” Shadow growls.

“I’m someone who’s not looking for any
trouble. We’re just waiting for a cab.”

Then Shadow actually smiles at us. I can feel
Michael’s body relaxing. Maybe this won’t end badly after all.

“Well then,” Shadow begins. “Catch your
cab, but the girl’s coming with me!”

“Excuse me?” Michael clearly didn’t expect
this. He also doesn’t know this guy is my ex and I’m not sure I want to tell
him either.

“I think you heard me little man. The whore
comes with me.”

I can feel my date tense up. I look down
and see his fists clenching. This is not good. I have to intervene or Michael
is going to get hurt.

“It’s okay Michael. We can do this another
night.”

“Are you serious?” He replies. I can tell
by his expression he is clearly shocked. “Do you know this guy?”

“I used to…to uh…” I just can’t say it.

“She’s my old lady.” Shadow clarifies.

I don’t know if Michael knows what the term
old lady means, but he clearly doesn’t like me being called old lady. Michael
lets go of my arm and takes a threatening step towards Shadow. Bad move.

“I can tell you’re not a fighter,” Shadow
begins, “so I’ll let you take the first shot.” He sticks out his bearded chin
taunting my date. “Come on pretty boy, what are you afraid of?”

“Well I’m a doctor and I know how much time
and money it’s going to cost you to have your jaw rebuilt after I destroy it.”

Color me shocked…and impressed. I would
have never expected Michael to respond like that. Maybe this won’t be such a
one-sided fight. Of course Shadow is not alone. He’s got two other brothers
that are just sitting on their bikes watching the whole thing. And who do we
have in our corner? Our group has long since departed so it’s us and no one
else. The doors to the club have long since been locked so any bouncers or
security personal are already gone or are inside closing up.

When Michael doesn’t punch Shadow right away,
he steps towards Michael and gives him a hard shove backwards. Michael goes
with it, stepping backwards and keeping his balance. I step off to the side to
stay clear of flying fists. My date takes a step forward and takes a swing at
the biker who easily blocks it with his left hand. Shadow is not the fastest
there is but he way outclasses Michael and before I can cry out in alarm he is
reeling from three quick punches in the face. Michael’s nose explodes with a
shower of blood. I close my eyes for an instant as my face gets a splatter of
his precious fluid. I hear a thud and open my eyes again just as Michael kicks
Shadow right between the legs. Any other man would have dropped to his knees
from the force of the kick but it barely phases Shadow. When you fight so much
you become immune to most pain unless it is really severe and debilitating. A
simple kick to the groin won’t even register until the fight is long over.

Shadow pounces like a demon with a flurry
of strikes and Michael goes down hard! This is no contest, it’s a massacre! I
open my mouth intending to shout for help when out of nowhere a leather clad
blur charges into the middle of the action. He grabs Shadow by the back collar
of his jacket and actually pulls him back away from Michael and spinning him
around. And that’s when I recognize who Michael’s rescuer is; Adam. Before
Shadow can wrap his head around what just happened Adam cracks the other biker
across the jaw with his elbow then follows it immediately with a right upper
cut to his stomach. Unable to help himself, Shadow bends over gasping for
breath and it would have been over for him if it hadn’t been for Shadow’s two
brothers who decide it’s time to get in on the action.

Adam sweeps Shadow’s legs and the big biker
drops to the ground on his back but before Adam can pounce the other two bikers
attack with a barrage of fists and elbows. Suddenly I see Michael struggling to
get to his feet. His face is a bloody mess. This is one night he’ll not soon
forget. I run over to help him to his feet when strong hands grab my legs and
with a powerful yanking motion I’m completely swept off my feet. I hit the
ground hard and I can’t help from my head hitting the cement with a teeth
clattering bone jarring thud. Some part of me knows that if I pass out now I
may never wake up but it’s hard to keep grounded in reality. My head is
spinning from too much drink and from having been bounced like a basketball off
the sidewalk. Before I can completely collect my scrambled wits Shadow is
crawling on top of me to do what I don’t know.

I kick and squirm trying desperately to
dislodge him but he is far too heavy. Suddenly his face is in mine and his
putrid hot, smelly breath washes over me causing my stomach to rebel.

“So nice to see you again.” He hisses.

I squirm around trying to position myself
so I can knee him in the balls but he’s too savvy a fighter to allow someone to
actually do that,

“Nice try honey, but I’d hate for you to
damage the goods before you get a chance to sample them. Although I’m sure you
remember how much fun we used to have together.”

It’s totally surreal, lying on the pavement
being crushed by the Devil incarnate and talking while there’s a vicious fight
going on just feet from us. Not to mention Michael is still struggling to stand
next to me. Shadow grunts and his full weight collapses on me as another biker
lands square on top of him before rolling off. I turn my head to the side to
look, hoping the biker that landed on us isn’t Adam. One look at the man’s
bloody, wrecked face and I know it’s one of Shadow’s brothers. Thankfully
Shadow rolls off of me and gets to his feet. Signs of battle surround me. From
my vantage point of being on my back I can just see three sets of boots and
legs from the knees down. I squirm around trying not to get stepped on. It’s
bad enough that I have to have sweat and blood raining down on me, but I also
have to keep from getting my ribs broken or my face mashed. Finally squirming
around like a little worm on my elbows and knees I manage go get away from the
dance of death surrounding me. I stand up just as Shadow and his one biker
brother still able to walk makes their way over to their bikes. Adam lets them
go. Right now he is focused on helping Michael stand up.