The Junkyard Boys (12 page)

“I’m sorry, Julian. I don’t think talking to you is a good idea. I have a boyfriend and I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate you showing up like this.”

“See? Perfect old lady. I get it, you think I’m using you to get to Buck, but I already know all I need to about that old man. I also know that you and Range have only been seeing each other for a short time, so I decided to try my luck. Don’t worry, sweet thang, I knew it was a long shot.”

Well, damn. When he put it that way, how could I possibly be angry with him? That didn’t mean I was gonna jump on the back of his bike and ride off into the sunset with him or some shit like that, but I could see his point. Like Range, he was a man of action, something he had to be in the life of an MC criminal. The way he was smiling at me when he said it made me blush twelve shades of red, and I had to put a stop to this now.

“I’m flattered, Julian. Really, I am. I hope you find what you came here for soon so you can return to your club life and do whatever it is you guys do.”

“Oh, I plan on finding it real soon, darlin’. I suspect once you tell your old man I showed up here today, I’ll be seeing Buck real soon. If a man like me showed up at my old lady’s house, I would do whatever it took to keep her safe. Don’t you agree?”

I had absolutely no answer to this question. I could only stand there with my mouth hanging open like a dead fish, not missing the meaning behind his words at all. He wanted me to be afraid of him and what he was capable of, but I also had to protect Range from danger. I cared about him too much to see anything happen to him. It didn’t matter anyway. He didn’t expect a response from me. He only wanted to deliver a message. Well, it was received loud and clear.

“I’ll catch you later, sweet thang. Have a good day at work.”

He started the engine and took off down the road in the opposite direction, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. He was right. Once I told Range he showed up at my house, all hell would break loose. I couldn’t be the one to put them in danger. What if he called some of his MC buddies to town and they all started to harass us? If I didn’t tell Range, Julian would just get tired of waiting for Buck and go back home. No way would he stick around town, knowing that Buck no longer lived here. He said himself he knew all he needed to know, which meant he had to know Buck was retired and no longer ran the junkyard. No, I wouldn’t buy into his bullshit and tell Range about this little visit. I’d pray he’d just go away, back to where he belonged.

Range

Getting ready to pick up my girl from work, I couldn’t help the smile that came across my face when I thought about seeing her again. After spilling my guts about my shitty upbringing, I was so mentally exhausted I thought it best we gave each other time to recuperate. Well, that time was over and I wanted my woman in my bed tonight.

I heard Maxwell run in and grab something then slam the door on his way out like a fourteen-year-old child. Looked like he was still pissed I’d called Buck about his behavior and had decided to continue his late night rendezvous away from home. Max was a grown man, and he certainly didn’t need my permission to fuck whomever he wanted, but I was glad I had the place to myself tonight so I could spend time with Clover alone. After everything that happened, we needed this time together to reconnect, although I already knew we were still on the same page.

I grabbed my keys and wallet, itching to head out the door, when I remembered I needed to grab my piece as well. Buck made sure he taught all of us how to properly care for a firearm so that in case anything happened to him, we knew how to protect ourselves. Shooting was one of the things I’d excelled at mainly because I would picture my old man’s face on the target and hit the bull’s-eye every time. Buck thought I was a natural and made sure I took all safety precautions during our lessons. When he’d left the gun in the lock box, I made sure it was always cleaned and oiled in case I ever had to use it. I attached the holster to my leg and secured the gun, hoping I could hide it from Clover. I didn’t want her to get worried. Somehow I just knew my girl would not like the idea of me carrying. But if she found out about it, she was gonna have to get over it, at least until this fucker decided to leave town. Satisfied it was well-hidden under my jeans, I set off to pick her up but ran smack dab into Sebastian walking in the door.

“Dude, where you going in such a hurry? Is there a fire or something?”

“Naw, man, just going to pick up my girl.”

“Your girl? I didn’t know you were seeing someone. When did this happen and how come you didn’t tell me?”

Shit, with all the stuff that had been going on around here, I’d forgotten to fill him in. Sebastian could be sensitive when he thought he was being excluded from things in our lives. It wasn’t that I’d planned on keeping it a secret or anything; telling him just had completely slipped my mind. I knew I had to do some damage control before he went into full drama mode.

“It hasn’t been that long since we’ve been seeing each other, but I was actually gonna invite her over to a get-together so she can meet you guys.”

It was a lie, but I had to think quick on my feet. If I didn’t, Sebastian would think I was hiding her from him because I thought he wasn’t good enough to meet her or some shit. The last time I made the mistake of keeping something from him, he wrote me a four-page letter about friendship and respecting others’ feelings. I could not go through that shit again, no fucking way.

“That sounds great. How about Friday night? I could ask my mom to bake a cake or something.”

“I’ll check with Clover. That’s her name by the way. I’ll let you know tomorrow. I’m sure she would love that.”

“What about Maxwell? Is he coming too?”

Oh hell, could this get any worse? Since Max was currently acting like a little bitch, it was hard to tell if he would even show up if I invited him. I had to find a way to corner his ass so we could talk this shit out. Max was one of my oldest friends, and I hated this rift between us over something so stupid.

“Yeah, of course Max is invited as well. Clover has two sisters. Maybe I’ll see if they would want to join us, make it a real party.”

Sebastian lowered his head to look at the floor without responding, which told me something was wrong. He hated being fixed up with women. Being raised by his mother and great aunt, they always had someone’s granddaughter or niece they wanted to introduce him to, and it always ended in disaster. Not that he wasn’t capable of picking up his own women. But the pressure of the set-up was too much for Sebastian. He preferred to do things on his own, which I couldn’t blame him for.

“Dude, don’t worry, it will be low key. I promise. No set-up whatsoever. Just a few friends hanging out for beer and food.”

“Sure, man, that sounds good. Well, since you’re going out, I’ll just hang with Max for a while.”

“Sorry, dude, he’s gone for the evening.”

“Oh, ok then. I guess I’ll catch you guys later. Don’t forget to let me know about Friday.”

“Sure, buddy. I’ll walk you out.”

I felt like shit when I saw that lonely look on Sebastian’s face, but there was nothing I could do about it now. I would make it up to him later. I had to get to my girl and get our evening rolling, ‘cause I had big plans for her tonight, plans I hoped she’d enjoy as much as I.

***

I was a few minutes early, which was good ‘cause I needed time to check in with Fox. If I trusted anyone to keep an eye on Clover, it was him. I could also check to see if he’d heard anything about that fucking prick Since a lot of that biker crowd loved getting tattoos at his shop, I was hoping he had heard some cross talk. As soon as I stepped inside, I could hear all the chatter coming from the guys or girls sitting at the tables, getting their work done; bullshit talk about some bitch they were fucking later on tonight or how much money they’d made this week. If it were any other circumstances, I was sure I would have been highly entertained, but not now. I needed Fox and fast. I spotted him in the corner, hunched over some guy’s back, and gave him a quick chin lift in acknowledgement. He ripped his cloves off and quickly made his way over.

“Range, my man, what brings you?”

“Just need a quick word, Fox. Sorry to interrupt your work.”

He pointed to the back room, which held his office, and indicated with a tilt of his head to follow him. Once we were inside, he got right down to business like I knew he would. Fox wasn’t one for bullshit or small talk.

“This got anything to do with why you’re carrying all of a sudden?”

There was no need for me to deny it. Fox was a sharp guy. Plus, with all his years of military training, he had to see I was leaning more on my right side from the weight of the gun.

“Yeah, something like that. You heard anything about this biker fuck that came to town, looking for Buck?”

“Yeah, he came around here a few times, talking to some of the guys, asking a lot of questions about Buck…and your girl.”

“Fuck you say? He was asking questions about Clover? Like what?”

This was a surprise and was something I was not at all happy to learn. Buck, I could understand since they appeared to have run in the same circles. But he had no reason whatsoever to ask about my woman. This fucking guy was really begging for my foot in his ass.

“General stuff mainly, but I did see him go into Fosters’ the other day. I didn’t mention it before, ‘cause he came out quickly, empty-handed, and just rode off.”

Fuck. Clover didn’t tell me that fucker was hanging around her store. She must have forgotten with all the bullshit going on with Maxwell and his band of freaks. Maybe she didn’t think anything of it at the time, but she had to be more careful with this guy. He was dangerous, and now that she was on his radar, I had to keep a better eye on my girl.

“Thanks, man. Just keep an eye out for my woman if you can. If you hear anything else, just give me a ring. I got the rest under control.”

“Advice, get Buck’s ass back here to handle this guy. You don’t know shit about the life and there’s no telling what this guy has planned. I’ll do what I can from my end. If you need me, just call.”

I thought about his words carefully as I went next door to pick up Clover. Maybe I should take his advice and call Buck to fill him in. Fox was right about another thing: I didn’t know shit about MC life or what this guy was looking for. I couldn’t take the chance of him getting to my girl and hurting her. Running two businesses left me little time to follow her around everywhere she went, but I had to protect what was mine. I thought it was time this guy and I had a one-on-one. He needed to know I wasn’t one to be fucked with and didn’t appreciate the idea of him talking to my woman. His disrespect had consequences, and it was time his ass found out the price he owed.

Clover

“Clover, dear, your handsome beau is waiting for you outside. Why don’t you invite him in so I can say hello?”

Before I could take my apron off, Mrs. Foster had bolted out the front door and ushered Range inside with a dramatic sweep of her hand. I couldn’t wait to hear what obscene suggestions she was making today. Each time he came to pick me up, it got worse and worse to the point where Mr. Foster had to threaten to leave home if she didn’t stop. Of course, she played it off like it was just a bit of harmless fun, but Mr. Foster was not amused and told her exactly that.

“My oh my, Range dear, don’t you look handsome this fine evening. Got special plans for our girl?”

I knew he got embarrassed by this every evening, but out of courtesy, he never complained and always complimented her, which instantly had her hopping around like Peter Rabbit.

“Nothing special, Mrs. Foster, unless you have an activity you could recommend?”

“Well, in my day, young men didn’t come callin’ to a young lady’s house without flowers and he always asked her parents’ permission beforehand.”

Just like clockwork, Mr. Foster entered the conversation and tried to rein in his wife. Like most times, he let her know just how silly her outrageous flirting with Range had gotten.

“Your day was fifty years ago, dear. And if I recall correctly, your father pushed you out the front door and instructed me to never bring you back or he would shoot me.”

“That’s because he knew what a great catch I was.”

“More like he was just plain tired of your shit and wanted to get rid of you.”

“Well, I never.”

“No, you never really did, that’s for sure.”

It was definitely time for us to make our exit from this joint before World War III broke out. These two would probably go on like this for hours, and I was ready to start my evening with my beautiful man. I grabbed Range by the hand and gave a hasty good-bye to the Fosters. They were still arguing about the good old days and didn’t even bother to see us out. I had to laugh at their antics and couldn’t help but wonder if that was really what it was like to be married for so many years, if you became Yin and Yang but loved each other dearly.

“Can you believe those two? One day, she’s gonna push him too far.”

“No way, baby, that man loves his woman with every fiber of his being. He will never leave and she couldn’t live without him.”

We made our way out to his truck, and as he held the door open for me to get in, something powerful came over me. I had this overwhelming need to feel him, his touch, his strong arms around me. Perhaps it was the smirk he had on his face as he spoke about the Fosters or the flash of future thoughts of us together and in love at their age. Whatever it was, it stopped me cold from getting in that truck, and I spun around so fast I startled myself at how quickly I grabbed the back of his head and brought his lips to mine. It only took him a second to catch on to my need and release the door handle to hold me close as I ravaged his mouth with my own. Sharing a moment like this was magical and I didn’t want it to end. I needed more of him and by god, I was going to get it. Breathing heavy, I forced myself to pull away from our embrace and rested my forehead against his in a failed attempt to calm the heat in my core.