“Shuddup. You don’t pay my bills. You don’t know what it’s like!”
I closed my eyes, shaking off the memory. She looked a lot different when I’d seen her. She’d cleaned up a lot. I was proud of her.
That life was not something I wanted a repeat of here in Merced. I got up to stretch my legs and peruse the parking lot. I walked back and forth, checking the perimeter. I peeped out on the street just for good measure. Nothing. This part of the street had barely any businesses around it. It was me and two other warehouses tucked away in an avenue. Good for biker association business, but not necessarily for motorcycle repairs. I strolled back and thought about why those bozos would have wanted to case out the warehouse. My mind drifted back to what Misty said about them propositioning her. Seemed like the move of a pimp. Especially with two of them flanking her either side of a bar. The two-for-one special. My blood ran hot thinking about what I would do if Misty was harmed.
I checked the ground, looking for clues. There were none, just smooth asphalt. I sighed as I entered the warehouse and suited up with my coveralls, ready to get down to the business of bikes. I had new parts coming in for one of the two bikes I had left to work on. Turned out one of the Hondas needed more than just a service. It had a little vibration issue going on. Nothing worse than having a bike with a jarring motion underneath you. I test-ran it in the parking lot and knew then I couldn’t give it back without fixing that issue.
I walked to the back of the warehouse and picked up my cell phone, making the call. I paced the warehouse while I did. I didn’t feel like sitting down.
“Hi, I want to ring in for compression and rebound adjusters. Have you got any in stock?”
“Uhh, lemme check. Just hold the line for a minute.”
“Okay, no problem.” The lady on the line came back a few minutes later.
“Yep, we have them in stock. Were you looking to place an order?”
“Yes, I want to place an order. I think I already have an account with you. It’s under Diego Christopher.”
“Let’s see here. I’m just checking my computer… Diego… Okay. Yep. Here we go. I see it. No problem. We’ll add these parts to the account and bill you at the end of the month.”
“Okay, great.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“Yeah, how long will that take to come in?”
“We can get it to you this afternoon. When do you need it?”
“This afternoon would be great.”
“Anything else, sir?”
“No. That’s it. Thank you.”
I hung up. Another one down.
I rang Rick next.
“Hey, Rick, how are you, man?” I kicked some annoying piece of dust up from the ground as I noted the grime on the warehouse windows. I needed to get that cleaned asap.
“Hey, Diego! Nice to hear from you, man. Any news?”
“Yeah, I have some. I wanted to connect you to the club president, Ryder. He wants to talk to you. You know, just to get to know you and see where your head is at. I told him about your security background and that’s a real bonus for us.”
“For sure, pass my number through to him and we can talk. I got a few guys that can, you know, step in if times get rough. You get a look at those two goons that came past your warehouse?”
I grimaced as I looked down at my unlaced boots. “No. They did another lap, but that was two weeks ago. I haven’t seen them since then. I’m keeping an eye out. I have you in mind, so thanks for the back-up.”
“Any time. I look forward to the call from Ryder.”
“Bike running all right?”
“Incredible. I feel like a new man.”
I laughed at the familiarity of what he said. The freedom that riding brings is addictive to the soul.
“Thought as much. Listen, give me a call after you speak to Ryder and we’ll get that vest for you. Just some formalities to go through with getting you sworn in. But unofficially, welcome to the family of Outlaw Souls.”
