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There was so many things that Caleb had learned over the years of being on his own. The most important one was how to read people. Right now, however, he couldn’t tell anything about Willow. She’d crossed her arms over her chest and was staring out towards the patio doors.
“What happened to the gang after my father left?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Some went to jail.” He avoided her eyes. “Some disappeared.”
She was frowning at him again. The small crease between her eyebrows was calling out to him. He wanted to reach up and rub the spot until it went away.
“But you said that they found you and want you dead?”
He nodded. “A few months back, I’d heard that some of them had gotten out of jail and were banding back together again.” She shook her head and he knew she didn’t understand. “Sounds like they’re looking to get everyone back together and dish up some paybacks.” He avoided her eyes once more.
“Payback for what?”
“Who do you think put them away?”
“You were just a kid.” She sat up a little. “Surely they don’t mean...”
He nodded, interrupting her. “Lone Outlaws is for life. You don’t snitch on your family,” he said in a drone-like voice.
“They aren’t your family.” He turned his head and looked at her. He knew his eyes and face said everything. “What are you going to do?”
He tilted his head. The fact was, he had several plans. None of them had involved him getting shot in the back alley of a Chinese restaurant.
Remembering, he walked over to pick up his jacket from the chair she’d set it in. Reaching into the inside pocket, he came up empty. “Where is it?” He checked the other pockets.
“What?” she asked from the sofa.
Instead of answering, he frantically searched his jacket then looked in his jeans.
“There was a small brown package,” he said. “Did you see it?” he demanded.
She shook her head as her eyes grew bigger. He watched her ball up tight as she sat on the sofa. Taking a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes and tried to remember the last time he’d had the key to his next step.
“The alley,” he blurted out.
“What?” she asked, causing his eyes to open. Racing around, he grabbed up her ex-boyfriend’s shirt and his jeans and boots. Without answering her, he walked into the bathroom and shut himself inside, changing quickly into his jeans and the borrowed shirt.
When he came back out, he was surprised to see her blocking his exit. She had pulled on a jacket and boots and had her arms crossed over her chest.
“You’re not leaving me here.”
He laughed. “I’m not taking you with me.”
She tilted her head. “You haven’t finished telling me about my father.”
He frowned. “You know enough.” He took her shoulders and moved her aside, but she moved back in front of the door as she held up a set of keys.
“I have a car.” She smiled.
When he reached up to take the keys from her, she quickly tucked them inside her jacket. “I’m going.” She grabbed her purse and opened the door for him.
“Fine, but you’re staying in the car.” He stepped outside and realized it was once again raining.
“Here.” She held out a bright pink umbrella.
He chuckled. “I’d rather get wet.”
She smiled slightly as she looked up at him. “Not man enough to wear pink?” Her eyes laughed at him, so he took her challenge and reached out for the umbrella, holding it for her as she locked her apartment door.
They sprinted to her car, a little silver Toyota Prius.
“This isn’t a car,” he said after getting in the passenger side.
“It’s a perfectly good car. Gets over forty-five miles to the gallon and it’s a hybrid. I’m saving the planet every time I drive to work.”
He shook his head. “You’re one of those—” He cut off when she gave him a dirty look. Turning his head, he chose to remain silent as she backed out of the parking lot.
“Where to?”
“Chinese place by the pier.”
“PJ’s?” She looked at him and waited.
He shrugged. “I didn’t stop to read the sign as the bullets flew by my head.”
He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. Then she opened them and focused as she turned towards the right. At least she was headed in the right direction.
“How are you feeling?” she asked as she drove.
“My side is still on fire, but not as bad as it was earlier.” He looked down and touched the bandage. “I think your stitches are holding.”
“You never told me exactly who is after you.” She glanced over at him. “Or why.”
He focused on where she was going for a moment and decided a half-truth would be best.
“Al and Tony. I spotted the two of them in Miami.” He looked over at her as he talked. “I was working in a night club.” Shaking his head, he turned his eyes back to the road as the rain splashed over her small car. “Anyway, they paid me a visit.” His ribs still hurt from the initial punch Tony had given him before he’d blocked the rest of the hits. “So, I took off.”
“Did you come here looking for my father? Did you think he could help you?” she asked as she stopped for a four-way intersection.
“No.” His voice grew soft. “I knew he couldn’t help. I wasn’t planning on talking to him.”
“Then...” She turned her shoulders towards him. “Why did you come here? To Surf Breeze?” She glanced around. “We’re not exactly a great place to hide out.”
He chuckled. “I figured that out last night.” He rubbed his side as the car started moving again.
“Why did you come here then?”
“I had something I needed to deliver back to him.” He thought about the importance of the contents in the package.
“What?” she asked as she parked in a spot near the mouth of the alley behind the Chinese restaurant.
He turned and looked at her. “Proof he needed in order for him to be free forever.”
She frowned at him. “But he’s dead.”
Caleb nodded. “That’s no excuse.”
––––––––
Something in Caleb’s voice caused a shiver to run down her arms. Throwing the car into park, she wrapped her arms around herself and thought about turning up the heater.
“Stay here.” He started to get out of the car, but stopped and looked back towards her, his dark eyes meeting hers until she felt like blinking and looking away. “Lock the doors and don’t talk to anyone.” He waited until she nodded, then quickly disappeared down the alley.
She noticed that he’d left her pink umbrella behind and shook her head slightly. After flipping the door locks, she reached for the heater and turned it to full blast.
Hot summer days were taking forever to get here. It seemed like only a few months ago she was begging for a little relief from the heat. Now, however, she couldn’t wait for the few weeks of rain and cold winds to be over.
Her eyes were glued to the mouth of the alley, waiting for any signs of Caleb to return. Seconds turned into minutes. The sun slowly sank behind the buildings, giving the dark street an even more dangerous feeling.
After half an hour, the rain eased up and she decided to shut off her car to save what little gas was left in her tank.
She was getting really worried and a few minutes later, she made up her mind. Grabbing her pink umbrella just in case it started raining again, she locked her car and headed into the alley.
There were six small shops, including the restaurant, along the street back. Large trash bins lined the left side of the alley. On the right stood empty pallets stacked higher than her head below the dim alley lights.
The rain had done a good job cleaning the normally dirty backstreet. Still, she couldn’t stop the shivering or the feeling that she should have stayed in the car like Caleb had asked her.
When she reached the mouth of the alley, she stopped and looked around. Caleb was nowhere to be found.
“Can I help you?” someone said from behind her. Spinning around as she squealed, she held her pink umbrella tighter to her chest.
An elderly gentleman stood under a bright light at the back door of one of the shops. The door was propped open with an old chair. There was a bucket full of cigarette butts sitting beside it.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” he said as he threw a cigarette butt into the full bucket.
She took a deep breath. “It’s okay.” Taking a few steps back, she turned to go.
“Are you looking for something?” he asked, stopping her.
“Um.” She glanced around once more, remembering what Caleb had told her. “No. I just turned down the wrong street. Thank you.” She started to turn again.
“Well, I was just wondering, because I found this on my doorstep this morning.” He pulled out a small brown package and held it up. “Thought whoever dropped it might come back looking for it. We don’t tend to get mail dropped around here. Our mail boxes are out front of the stores, you see.” The older man waved the package.
From her spot a few feet away, she could see her father’s name clearly written in dark ink on the front.
“Yes.” She took a step closer. “It’s mine. My father’s,” she corrected.
His eyebrows shot up. “Thought so.” He smiled, showing off a space where his front teeth should have been.
She hesitated for a moment as he held it out towards her. “Well, go ahead. I won’t bite.” He smiled even bigger, showing the empty mouth once more.
She smiled and reached out for it, her eyes totally focused on the prize.
When her fingers wrapped around the crisp brown paper package, she quickly tucked it close to her and took a giant step back.
“Thank you...”
“John.” The older man smiled again. “My wife and I own the doll shop.” He nodded to the brick building.
“Thank you, John.” She turned to go, only to see Caleb striding towards her quickly.
“I thought I told you to stay put,” he growled as he reached for her, his eyes moving over the older man. When his fingers wrapped around her upper arm, she allowed him to pull her back down the alley towards her car.
“You’ve been gone for—”
“That doesn’t matter,” he interrupted. “When I tell you to stay put, I expect you to—”
Willow yanked her arm free. “What? Obey?” She hissed it out and took a step backwards.
She saw him swallow some of his anger and then looked closer to see fear behind those dark eyes.
“Is this what you were looking for?” She held up the small package.
His eyes opened wide as he looked. “Where did you...?” He quickly shook his head and glanced around. “I’m driving.” He held out his hand for her to give him the keys.
“Like hell.” She started to cross her arms over her chest, but then realized she still had her umbrella and the bundle in her hands.
He wiggled his fingers. “Willow, let me drive so you can read that.” He nodded to the parcel.
She thought about it and then nodded and handed him her keys.
“Get in.” He walked over to passenger side and opened the door for her, then moved around and got behind the wheel.
She tucked her umbrella under her feet and reached for her seat belt just as he pulled out of the parking spot.
“Well, go ahead.” He nodded to the package. “Open it.”
She ran her fingers over her father’s name and slowly turned the small box over and tore it open.
There, in her hands, was her father’s old journal. The one she could always remember him having on him. Every time he’d visit, he would tuck the small binder into her mother’s jewelry box on Willow’s dresser for safekeeping. She was never allowed to look inside it, but had snuck a few glances. It had been full of boring names and dates, so naturally, as a child, it held no special interest.
Now, as she opened it, she felt tears sting her eyes when she recognized her father’s handwriting. There was a long row of dates, numbers, and initials on each page. The meaning of it was beyond her comprehension.
“What is this?” she asked, glancing up. She realized that he’d driven them to the outskirts of town.
“It’s your and your sister’s insurance.”
“I don’t understand.” She leaned on the door and blinked a few times as she flipped from page to page. More dates, more initials, more numbers. None of it made sense.
“Check out the bottom of the last page,” he said as he pulled into a gas station.
She flipped back and stared at the short line on the last page. It was written in dark ink and she couldn’t stop staring at it the entire time he was filling up her tank. When he finally got back into the car, she found her voice.
Places to go, people to meet.
“He always said that line to me. But what does this book have to do with my sister and me? What does this book even mean?”
“I don’t know. He never told me anything other than it would assure his freedom and to hold onto it. It could mean nothing in particular. But to your father...” He started her car again. “It meant everything.” He pulled out of the gas station.
“Where are we going?” She finally looked around and realized he was still pointing the car out of town.
“I need to check on something.” His eyes were focused on the road and she could tell he was hiding something from her.
“Where?” She tucked the journal into her purse.
“A few miles outside of town.”
“I thought... How long have you been around here?”
His fingers gripped the steering wheel. “I’ve been hiding out in a little hotel a few miles away for a few weeks.”
She felt her heart skip. “Why?”
His eyes moved over to her. “I had to make sure it was safe.”
She remained silent for a while. He pulled over and stopped in front of one of the scariest looking hotels she’d ever seen.
“You stayed here?” She shivered, dreading seeing what the inside looked like.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” His eyes roamed over the small building that looked like it was falling in. “Stay put.” He started to get out but stopped and turned back to her. “This time I mean it.” Just the sound of his voice told her that he was even more serious than before.
“Fine,” she said, trying to smile back at him. It probably ended up looking more like a scowl than a smile, since his eyes narrowed slightly.
She watched him get out, glance around the small parking lot, then head towards one of the bright green doors with the number four hanging upside down on it.
He disappeared inside and she leaned back in her seat to wait. She watched a young couple arguing as they walked out of the door next to his and continue to argue as they jumped into an old beat-up truck and drive off.
She remembered always fighting with Jake. Their relationship had been like a ticking time bomb. She was never sure when an argument was going to start or when he was going to get up and walk out. She’d hated not feeling like her sister and Cole did.
When she looked at them, there was no doubt that they were one-hundred percent committed to one another. It was strange, seeing her sister with the surfing playboy. Cole was easily the best-looking man she’d ever met. Well, maybe not anymore, she thought as she looked towards the green door with the upside-down four.
She smiled. Caleb was something to look at. Her mouth actually had watered when she’d first gotten a look at his chest and that six-pack he’d been hiding under his ruined shirt.
She didn’t want to admit the reason it had taken her so long to stitch him up was because she couldn’t bear to leave a large scar on his perfect skin.
Just then, her cell phone rang, causing her to jump. Reaching down, she yanked it out of her purse and noticed her sister’s picture pop up on the screen.
“Hey,” she answered, her eyes staying on the green door as she waited for Caleb.
“How are you feeling?”
“Much better.” She closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she didn’t have to lie to her sister.
“I stopped by your place after the game, but I guess you’re out.”
“Yeah, I had a few errands to run.”
“Anything I can help with? I mean, if you’re not feeling—”
“No, I’m fine. I’m just running to the store. You know...” She bit her bottom lip as she watched Caleb walk out of the door with a large black bag thrown over his shoulders. He’d changed his clothes from Jake’s small T-shirt and was wearing a dark gray T-shirt and a pair of worn faded jeans.
He looked more dangerous than he had the night before, trying to get into her apartment. He tossed the bag into the back of her car and got back behind the wheel.
“Helloooo.” Her sister’s voice sounded loud in her ear. She’d completely forgotten she was still on the phone with Wendy.
“Sorry.” She shook her head clear of what watching Caleb did to her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” She could hear worry in her sister’s voice.
“Yes, I’m fine. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She was relieved when Wendy hung up a few seconds later.
“Everything okay?” he asked as he started the car.
“Yeah, just my sister.”
“You two sound close,” he said as he backed out.
“Not really.” She shook her head. “Wendy is eight years older.” She sighed remembering all the years she felt nothing but resentment towards her big sister. “Honestly, it wasn’t until the hurricane last year that things changed.”
He glanced over at her, his eyebrows up in question.
“She was hurt.” A spike of fear that still lingered every time she remembered the day jumped inside her again.
“What happened?”
“She was hit with flying debris and lost her eyesight for a while.”
“You must have been scared.”
She nodded. “Since then, things have changed between us.” He waited, and she could tell he wanted more information.
“I always wanted a brother or sister,” he said, surprising her. She watched his fingers grip the steering wheel more tightly. “A normal family.” He sighed, and she could feel the pain he was hiding, had hidden inside all his life.
“You know; Wendy was my only mother figure. Actually, since our father wasn’t around very much, she played both roles.”
He frowned as he looked at her. “What happened to your mother?”
She’d gotten over the fear of telling everyone where her mother had been during her childhood years ago. “Jail,” she blurted out as she shrugged her shoulders, wanting to change the conversation. “Wendy’s mother died before I was born. Shortly after having me, my mother was locked up and”—she sighed and looked out her window— “she never came back.”
She was shocked to feel his hand reach for hers. His fingers were much bigger than hers, rougher too. Just his light touch sent awareness rushing through her.
“I’m sorry.” His eyes locked with hers for a split second.
“Still, I had Wendy.” She smiled, swallowing the pain of the loss.
He nodded and dropped her hand as he turned the car into her apartment building’s parking lot.
“What now?” she asked after he turned off her car and handed her the keys.
“Now, I leave town.” He turned slightly towards her. “Keep that journal safe.”
She shook her head. “I still don’t understand.”
He sighed. “When I make my next move, you will.”
“You still haven’t told me what it all means.”
He leaned back in the seat and glanced around the small parking lot.
“Come in,” she blurted out. For some reason, she found it hard to curb her tongue when she was around him. She made a mental note to try harder to control those sporadic urges to bark things out. “I mean, so we can talk further...” She felt her face heat, so she turned away and started opening her door.
“Willow.” His hand on her arm stopped her movement. “I can’t stick around. The longer I’m here, the more you and your sister are in danger.”
She swallowed hard and then nodded slightly. “Let me check your bandage and give you something hot to eat, and then... we can talk.” She waited until he finally took a deep breath and nodded.