Chapter Twenty-Seven
Raven was stillwalking on air since Muerto’s proclamation of love the previous week. She couldn’t believe he’d told her he loved her. Muerto. The tough outlaw biker. It was too wonderful. And she loved him too. Even though it seemed like the last several weeks with him were like being on a roller coaster, she loved every minute of it. She never thought she could fall in love so hard and so fast, but she did and it shocked the hell out of her. The guy she thought was the biggest, arrogant asshole in Alina was the love of her life.But that was before I got to know him. I’m so happy I gave him a chance. When I was with Brent I thought love was supposed to be comfortable, routine, easy, but since I’ve been with Muerto, I know how much I was missing out on.She now thought of her time with Brent as the dress rehearsal and her life with Muerto as the main performance.
Humming under her breath, she went outside to pick some vegetables for the evening’s dinner. As she plucked red and green peppers, she saw a shadow behind her. Twisting around, she saw Walter’s taut face. “Hi, Walter,” she said.
“Why did you lie to Muerto about me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She shielded her eyes from the afternoon sun.
“You told him I was bothering you. You lied to him.”
Racking her brain, she tried to remember if she’d said anything to Muerto about Walter. Then she remembered.But that was a while ago. Why’s he bringing it up to me now? He’s such a fuckin’ weirdo.“I just mentioned that you made me uncomfortable when you’d stare at me while I tried to garden. That was a couple of months ago.”
“You think you can seduce all men, don’t you? Well, you didn’t seduce me. You think you’re so hot. And just because you’re fucking the owner doesn’t mean you have to lie about me. Were you mad because you couldn’t snare me in your web?” His face mottled with anger, he kicked over her watering can. “You’re a fucking slut!”
Raven had never seen Walter like that; his anger was over the top.I need to get out of here.She slowly inched over to the porch.
“You really think you’re something. The pretty ones are always the worst. I wish a man would turn them down. Just reject them so they can know how it feels to be below average.”
“I hear my phone ringing. I have to go.” She made a mad dash up the porch stairs and went into the house, closing and locking the door behind her. Sooty’s luminous eyes stared at her. “We’re fuckin’ out of here,” she told Sooty, who just sat at Raven’s feet.
She watched Walter out of the peephole as he stood glaring at her porch, talking to himself. It seemed to her that the more he talked, the madder he became until he was cussing, screaming, and waving his fist at her closed door.
She plugged in Muerto’s phone number. “Walter’s really gone off the deep end,” she said to her attentive cat as she waited for Muerto to answer. When her call went to his voice mail, disappointment weaved through her. She then plugged in the management company’s phone number.
“JB Management,” a female voice said.
“Deanna?”
“No, this is Taylor. Deanna no longer works here.”
“Can I speak with Jay?” She tapped her fingers against her thigh as she waited for him. Sneaking peeks outside, Walter still stood in front of her porch, his arms crossed.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Jay. This is Raven. I’m trying to get a hold of Muerto, but he isn’t picking up. The tenant in the back, Walter, is sorta freaking out and I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Muerto’s at a meeting and told me he couldn’t be disturbed. Maybe you should call the police.”
“Yeah… maybe.” She glanced out again. Walter seemed to be growing tired of his psychotic game and moved onto the sidewalk. “I think he’s calming down a bit. It was like totally weird and scary. Something’s majorly wrong with that guy.”
“I’ve noted it. I’ll make sure Muerto knows about it. I don’t know the guy very well, but he always seems okay on the phone.”
“Well, he isn’t okay. He’s a freakin’ nutcase.”
“It’s noted. Is there anything else?”
“I was surprised Deanna didn’t answer the phone. The new girl told me she doesn’t work there anymore.”
A small exhalation of breath. “She just up and quit the day before yesterday. I worked with her for over eight years and never would’ve expected she’d do something like that. It’s left me in a real bind. Are you looking for a job?”
She laughed. “Not yet, but if my paintings don’t sell, I may be calling you. What about Taylor?”
“She’s from a temp agency. If you have any more problems with Walter, let me know.”
She went into the kitchen and took out an iced tea from the refrigerator.Walter obviously has a problem with women. And he doesn’t like women he finds attractive.It was like Walter was punishing her because he was attracted to her. “He probably has some crazy mother complex,” she said to Sooty, who’d jumped into her lap.
Frazzled, she couldn’t concentrate on her work, so she just sat in the kitchen, stroking Sooty’s thick fur. When her phone buzzed, she leapt and Sooty meowed, jumped down, and scurried away. Looking down, her heart raced when she saw it was Muerto. She knew over time that reaction would lessen, but she was enjoying it immensely.
