Noah:
I want you to feel safe again. They’ll have a box of cherries so you know you can trust them GTG
That almost makes me laugh, in reality it isn’t funny. I slouch back in the seat, not sure how I feel about this. It’s not like anything happened at the house. I don’t dare say that, he might decide to have his men follow me around.
I gnaw on my lower lip thinking about that. Would he do that? Does he care that much? We barely know each other, except in the biblical sense. That introduction has gone way beyond strangers running into one another a couple of times.
When I get home, as he said, there are two motorcycles parked out front with men standing beside them. They’re wearing leather vests like Noah’s and as I get out of my car, they nod like they know who I am. One I recognize from the bar that day opens a bag and holds out a box of cherries with a grin.
Jesus Christ.
I take it and introduce myself asking their names. I relax a tiny bit more. They follow me inside, one of them carrying a toolbox. The one called Nashville smiles politely at me.
“We’re putting some extra locks on the windows, changing the deadbolts front and back and putting a new lock on the door.”
“I don’t need a new lock.”
“Prez asked for it.”
“Let me guess, he asked for a copy of the key.”
Nashville doesn’t answer that. The other guy seems quite stern and hasn’t said more than his name. Nashville on the other hand is more open, and he smiles to reassure me.
“I’ll take all copies of the keys,” I tell him. “You can tell him I decide who can enter my property.”
That gets another smile, this one much wider, then he follows the other guy. I stay back as they work their way through the house, remaining on edge until they finish up in the kitchen. Ronin leaves and Nashville brings over the keys. Both sets. I make him swear that is all he has.
“How about I let you tell him about that,” he winks. “Preferably before we get back to the clubhouse and he asks for them.”
When they leave, I lock the door, admiring the shiny new locks. The annoying thing about all this, dad would approve. He’d want me to feel safe here. After checking the rest of the house, not that I expected they’ve done anything additional, or gone through my things, I head back down and send Noah a text letting him know they’ve been.
My phone rings, surprising me.
“Everything good?”
I contemplate not telling him about the spare keys but don’t want his men to get into trouble. “If you want a key to my house, it’s going to take a lot more than changing the locks.”
“That so.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “Well maybe I’ll swing by soon to collect.”
“Maybe I’ll let you in.”
He laughs. “I gotta go.”
“Wait about the… what you said the other day.”
“Don’t worry about that, Cherry. By the way, a picture of you eating one of those would be nice.”
He’s trying to put me off asking, and it’s kinda working. “Not a chance.”
“I’ll see you soon, Cherry.”
He hangs up before I can say anything else. I blow out a long, heavy sigh my eyes landing on the box of cherries. No, I shake off the idea. If he wants to watch me eating a cherry, it is going to have to be in person.
The following day I’m off rotation at the clinic and Dana comes round to keep me company. Dana has been with me through so much shit the last few months, she’s been agodsend.
She helps me upstairs going through dad’s things and gives me hugs when I need them. She keeps eyeing the bruises and asks what the police are doing. I haven’t heard anything from them so I doubt much.
“Bastards need a taste of their own medicine,” Dana mutters. “You know they’ve been doing this a while. Other people are coming forward. It’s like an epidemic or something.”
