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Charlie
“Youdon’thavetogo with me,” I say for the thousandth time since we’ve been in my room. I’m throwing as much as I can into two bags while Lucy runs back and forth from her room to mine to make sure I’m okay.
“Uh-uh, sister. I told you family sticks together, so you’re stuck with me. Besides, I’ve never been to Massachusetts.” Trying to inject something good in this shitshow that is once again my life, Lucy gives me a wide smile. I return it with a shaky one of my own.
“I still can’t believe he found me.” A full-body tremor ricochets through me when I think of his smarmy smile and the way he so flippantly brought up our past. “I thought New Orleans would have been far enough away, and when we came to Texas, I never imagined anyone would find me here. We haven’t even used our real IDs since coming to town.”
Thankfully we had the foresight to spend some decent money on fake IDs when we were in NOLA. Lucy already had one by the time I met her, and fortunately, the guy who made hers was still around. It’s amazing what you can find in big cities. Up until then, I’d been lucky enough to find places that let me work under the table, so there was never a paper trail following me.
“Thank God those guys were there. I doubt Billy and his friends would have been able to do much against Jace and his guys.”
Lucy makes a good point which reminds me that I still need to call Jimmy and tell him what happened and that Lucy and I are leaving town.
“Yeah, you seemed real grateful for Jude,” I tell her with a wry smile.
“That man is an asshole with a capital A. I can’t believe he had the audacity to blame you for what happened to Linc.”
That’s another thing about Lucy—don’t ever piss her off. She holds grudges like nobody’s business, and once you find yourself on her bad side, good luck.
“He wasn’t completely wrong. I did hightail it out of Liberty the second I had the chance and left Linc to deal with the fallout.”
“Now listen here, Char.” Lucy pins me with a hard look, steely determination brimming in her gaze. “You had no other choice. What would have happened if you had stayed? The second Jace got out of the hospital, he would have found you and probably finished what he was on his way to doing. You’d be dead, Charlie. We both know that. You don’t need to explain to anyone your reasons for leaving or take any blame for anything that happened to you. It’s horrible that Linc was sentenced at all, considering what Jace was doing to you behind closed doors. But that’s the bullshit justice system in a small town for you.”
I inhale a deep breath and let it out through my nose, trying to calm myself for the millionth time since seeing Jace’s face. This is a similar speech Lucy has given me throughout the few years we’ve known each other. There’s been plenty of nights I regretted not staying and trying to help Linc. Lucy has been there every time to talk me down and try to help me cope with what, for a very long time, I considered some sort of betrayal to Linc.
“Ladies, you about ready?” I hear an accented voice call from the living room.
Lucy rolls her eyes at the interruption while I zip up my bag, then we head to the other bedroom to grab the rest of her things.
When I grab the notebook, I’m reminded of the weird almost-memory I had in the bar before Jace showed up. There was something pulling at me when I saw the patch on Linc’s cut. I open the notebook and scan its contents. There are notes with dates, times, and addresses. Some of it Jace wrote using only initials. One that stands out is BR and the initial O and T.
Knowing what I do about motorcycle clubs, I wonder if that stands for Black Roses, especially considering Linc seems to know who Jace’s cousin is. This is info Jace collected while doing odd jobs for his cousin I hardly knew anything about. The only thing he told me about his cousin was that he’s connected. Jace liked to brag about it. He enjoyed telling me I could disappear from the face of the Earth, and no one would find me because of who his cousin was. I only met the man once, and he didn’t exactly strike me as the friendly type, so I had no reason to doubt Jace. Then when I saw him in New Orleans, I could only assume Jace was going to make good on his threat.
Now looking over the initials, I can’t help but question if I’m walking into the lion’s den by going with Linc. Though he’s never been anything but protective toward me, there’s no telling what his club would do if they knew I had information about their deals with the Irish.
“You ready, sweetie?” Lucy asks from my doorway.
I slam the book shut and shove it to the bottom of my bag. I’m probably overthinking this. The initials could be anything. Who’s to say Jace’s cousin even knows about this notebook? My guess is it would get Jace in a lot more trouble with the wrong people if he ever found out.
“Yup, let’s go,” I call back, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder. Right now, my priority is getting the hell out of town.
Our next stop is the hotel where the guys had planned on staying the night. It takes them about two minutes before they’re on their bikes and we’re heading north.
Watching Linc on his motorcycle as we speed down the highway is truly a sight. He looks one with the machine between his thighs as the engine growls and rumbles. I’ve never even ridden with someone on a bike. The effortless ease of the way he handles the machine is hypnotizing. He and his brothers maintain a triangle in front of the van Lucy and I are riding in, as if they’ve been doing it their entire lives. Every turn we make reminds me of a flock of birds in the sky, never breaking formation.
After about two hours and crossing into Arkansas, the guys exit the highway and drive through another sleepy little town similar to the one we just left. It takes thirty minutes on a dirt road before we come to a stop. The headlights shine on a man standing in front of a barn, waving to us. Jude is the first off his bike and walks up to him, shaking his hand, then motioning for us to get out of the van. The older man, who I would guess would rather be sleeping at this hour than dealing with us, opens the large door.
Linc walks to Lucy and me as we take a minute to stretch after being in the van for the last few hours.
“We’re switching out vehicles,” he tells me. “How are you feeling?”
That’s a loaded question I have a million different answers for.
“Tired, but good,” I reply, offering a small smile. Best to keep my answer as benign as possible for the time being.
Linc takes a minute to look me over as though he’s making sure for himself. Once he seems satisfied I’m not going to drop from shock like earlier, he reaches into the van and pulls the few bags Lucy and I brought with us.
“Come on, I’ll put these in the new ride, then we’ll be on our way.”
