I continued my rhythm while she rode out her orgasm before I picked up the pace for mine. Sweaty and sated, I carefully lowered her to the floor. After tossing the condom in the trash, I righted my jeans and pulled my shirt over my head.
When I turned back to her, she was already dressed and staring at the floor. “Well, looks like I don’t need that coffee now,” I said and walked out the front door without another word.
This went on for a couple of weeks. Sometimes she came to the bar, and I took her home and fucked her before I left. Other times, I knocked on her front door late at night, fucked her, and went home. We never said more than a few words to each other, but what we were doing was working for us. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I had every intention of enjoying it while it did.
Then, one night, I stopped by Precious Metals on my way back from visiting Gramps and found her sitting at the bar. I was exhausted, but being back in Croftridge had me feeling antsy, and I needed an outlet. So, I took her home, we drank a little, we fucked, and then we fell asleep on her couch.
Crash.
The sound of metal crushing metal on impact filled my ears while an unrelenting pressure against my chest held me in place. My neck snapped forward and my vision filled with a flash of white. Before I could make out what was in front of me, my eyes began to sting.
I bolted upright, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. That fucking nightmare. It happened every night at first, but had lessened over time to once or twice a month. I hadn’t actually had one that I could recall since I’d moved to Devil Springs. Wiping the sweat from my brow, I carefully moved Grace so I could wash my face off before I left.
I made my way down the hall looking for the bathroom. I’d never been anywhere in her house other than the living room or the kitchen. Once I found it, I took a piss and then splashed some cool water on my face.
Fuck, I hated that dream. It always messed me up for a day or two afterward. Ready to get the hell out of there, I dried my face off and yanked the bathroom door open only to freeze in horror. The picture hanging on the wall across from the bathroom was of two small children I knew very well. They didn’t know me, but I knew everything about them. Because I was the one responsible for ruining their lives.
Oh, fuck! I whirled around and dropped to my knees just in time to vomit into the toilet.
How could I not know it was her?
It was her.
She didn’t look the same. She was so thin.
Because I ruined her life.
I’d been dicking down the wife of the man I killed.
And she let me.
Each horrific realization was followed by another burst of vomit until my stomach was actively trying to hurl itself out of my mouth. I had to get out of there. I didn’t even bother to rinse my mouth out. I hit the lever on the toilet with so much force I probably broke the damn thing as I got to my feet and bolted for the door.
I didn’t give a shit what time it was. I fired up my bike and roared out of her quiet neighborhood without looking back.
7
Ranger
Iwas sitting on my favorite bar stool at the clubhouse watching the boys dart in and out of Phoenix’s office while trying to decide if I wanted to see what had them running around or wait for them to come to me. After finishing my lunch, I decided to go see what in the hell was going on.
“Byte’s trying to find the last location on his cell phone right now,” Phoenix said into his phone.
“What’s going on, Prez?” I asked and took a seat without waiting for his invitation. He might be the President, but I was around when he was in diapers, so I commanded a level of respect the others didn’t.
“We can’t find Savior anywhere. Coal thought he might be sick because he hadn’t come out of his room since the day before, but when he went in to check on him, he wasn’t there. No one’s seen or heard from him in almost twenty-four hours and his phone’s turned off. Last time anyone saw him was when he left Precious Metals to give some girl a ride home.”
“Shit,” I cursed and pushed to my feet. “I know where he is.”
“Where?” Phoenix barked.
I turned back to my Prez slowly and raised one eyebrow. “If you think about it for a minute, you’ll know where he is, too. I’ll go get him. You fuckers stay here. He don’t need everybody seeing him like this.”
“Fuck,” Phoenix hissed. “Should I—?”
“No, don’t do anything. I’ll bring him back,” I said and hoped like hell I could bring him back in more ways than one.
Twenty minutes later, I found him right where I thought he’d be—well, almost where I thought he’d be. Instead of sitting between his parents’ graves, he was sitting beside the headstone of Officer Ian Parker, with an empty bottle of Jack beside him and a half-drunk one in his hand.
