Through The Weeds (Nightshade MC Book 2) (9 page)

“What does that mean?” Ace asked as they made their way down the stairs.

“You'll see. And I need you on that video, Ace. I want to know who came here to see Clark today.” What Buster wanted most of all was answers. If they found out who came there, they'd find him, and then he'd get those answers one way or another.

“It'll take me two minutes to pull them up. Come on.” The computer and security system were kept in the storage room off of their meeting room. Ace sat down at the computer. “It'll just be a second. Wait a minute, what the fuck? There's nothing.”

“What do you mean there's nothing?” Buster demanded. “How can there be nothing?” It only took a trip outside for them to see why there was nothing. The camera had been painted over with black spray paint.

“I'll check and see if whoever did the painting got themselves caught on camera, but honestly, I doubt it. You go to this much trouble, you're not going to just stroll up and try to appear casual.” Ace shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “And I take back what I said earlier, this isn't Miller. Miller would have wanted us to see him. He'd have left the cameras alone.”

“You're right about that. I want that camera fixed, more cameras out here. I want actual eyes out here. Use the hang-arounds if you've got to,” Buster ordered. “I'm going to get someone on cleaning up inside. Make sure that Clark's taken care of.”

“I'll get it done. I'm going to grab Bones. Let's see how good the skinny little shit really is.” Ace headed back into the bar, a man on a mission.

Buster remained outside. He didn't know why he was surprised that just as everything seemed to be looking up, it all started to go to hell. It was the first real crisis since he'd taken over. The men inside and the people around them were going to be looking to him, to see how he weathered the storm. He needed them to see him as strong, so they would be strong.

He took a moment, just stared up at the sky. The rain from earlier was gone. Everything was clear. Everything except his mind. Buster reached into his cut, took out the pack of smokes he hardly ever touched anymore. His fingers brushed against his phone, and he took it out.

Caroline had called once. She'd also sent him a picture. The backdrop obviously her bedroom, more specifically her unmade bed, with her stretched out on it. From the angle she'd held the camera he couldn't see her body, but her bare shoulders suggested that she was naked. He didn't need a picture to remember the sight of her. She was burned into his brain.

Buster wanted to call her. He wanted to hear her voice, even though he knew that she was okay. She'd been far away from the bar when Clark lost his mind, but she just as easily could have been there. She could have just as easily been hurt, and it would have been on him, because she was with him, just like Hanna, who had paid the ultimate price.

“Buster!” Danny called his name from the door.

“Coming.” He tossed the cigarette he hadn't even taken a drag off of, returned his phone to his pocket and headed back in. Buster didn't expect the kick to the gut it was to see the place with all the lights on and everyone who wasn't taking care of Clark with trash bags in hand.

“Clark had to be out of his mind to do this.” Danny sighed. “He loved all this stuff, called it history.”

“Kept them all clean. Kept everything clean. I'm going to miss him. We're all going to miss him.” Buster knew that it was true. “We'll find who did this to him. They'll regret the day that they set their sights on Nightshade.”

Chapter Eight

It had been a week since she'd seen Buster, not that Caroline was counting or anything, and it had been nearly as long since he'd texted her more than a one word answer. She'd last texted him two days before, and he still hadn't responded. She didn't know what to make of that, so she just went about her life as she normally would.

Eventually the little voice in her mind started, the one who said all the things that she didn't want to hear, all her deepest fears laid bare. He'd hit it and quit it, smashed and dashed, bounced on her and bounced. The nagging voice told her she'd been a fool to ever trust him in the first place. He had gotten what he wanted, and now he was gone. It made her feel physically ill every time that she thought about it.

She thought about it a lot. It seemed that she'd thought of nothing else but him since they met. Sure, they had a few false starts, but the day at the warehouse had made her realize they'd built something together. Caroline had told herself she was being paranoid. He wasn't that type of guy. He'd pursued her. Wined her. Dined her. Held her hand. Why all that effort for something he could get by crooking his finger at the bar? There was no shortage of willing women around him.

“Caroline, the phone has been ringing for five minutes straight. Are you okay?” Ryan looked equal parts concerned and annoyed.

“I'm sorry. So sorry.” She reached for the phone that wasn't ringing any longer. “Shit.” Caroline felt her face turn red. Great, first she didn't do her job and now she was cursing in front of her boss. “Sorry. I shouldn't have said that.”

“I've heard worse.” Ryan just looked amused now. “You're working too hard. Go home.”

“Like I'm fired go home?” Caroline asked.

“No,” Ryan laughed. “Like it's Friday and already after five. Get out of here.”

“Thanks, Ryan. I can come in tomorrow if you need me.”

“Nope. I don't need you. I've got it covered.”

“Okay, I guess I'll see you Monday, then.” Caroline was actually a little disappointed he didn't need her to come in, because she wasn't quite sure what she was going to do with herself.

“You need a lift?”

“I'm not going home. I've got to go and check on my garden.”

“I can still drop you off if you promise me fresh veggies,” Ryan offered.

“Deal.”

<#<#<#<#

It was just getting dark when Caroline got home. She was pretty dirty from her time in the garden. She'd need to soak her pants to make sure that the grass stains didn't set. Next time she went straight from work she needed to remember to bring something to kneel on.

The sporty little red car in the driveway told her that Jillian had company. If it was Jake's, Caroline's suspicion that the man was overcompensating for something would be confirmed. She walked inside, smile in place, but found Jillian alone. “Hey. I thought you had company. Did one of the neighbors park in the driveway again?”

“No.” Jillian looked up. Caroline could see that she'd been crying. “That's my car.”

“Wait, what?”

“Jake got it for me. He said that it's not safe for me to walk everywhere. So, when his sister decided to get a new car, he got the old one for me. He bought me a fucking car.” Jillian's voice cracked and she looked down at the floor. “He calls me during the day to make sure I got to work okay. He's really...” She inhaled deeply. “I'm lucky to have found someone who cares about me so much. I'm being silly not taking the car and just saying thank you. Right?”

“I don't know. I've never had anyone give me a car before.” Caroline sat down next to her friend. In truth, she thought that the gift was too much too soon and bordered on creepy, but she held her tongue.

“What if Buster gave you a car?”

Caroline let out a snort of laughter. She'd had some time to stew while she gardened and she was back to being pissed. “Yeah, I can't see that.”

“Did something happen?” Jillian asked. “You haven't been mentioning him lately, and I guess I've been missing him when he's here.”

“You haven't been missing him. He hasn't been here.” Caroline swallowed hard. She'd been avoiding the subject of Buster with Jillian because she couldn't take hearing her friend say I told you so. “I haven't really seen or spoken to him.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it didn't matter. “I'm starting to think I was fucked and chucked.” And it hurt more than she could even describe.

Something had sparked between them. She'd felt it, especially the last day she'd seen him, when he'd fucked her against the warehouse wall. That whole time, the shooting and the fucking, had replayed on a loop in her mind. At first, they'd made her warm and tingly. Now, they made her feel used up and dirty.

“I'm sorry.” Jillian reached out and grabbed her hand. Caroline held on to her friend. Shut her eyes and told herself she wouldn't cry. Too many tears had already been shed over something that was her own fault. She'd let herself fall too fast, too deep. “Are you okay?”

“You're not going to say I told you so? Because if you are, let's get it over with.”

“No. I'm not. Actually, I thought that Buster was different or that he could be different. I thought that...” Something hardened in Jillian's eyes as she spoke. “You know what? I'm taking the car. I'm lucky to have a guy like Jake in my life. And we're going out. Whatever you want to do.”

“I'm dirty, Jillian. I was at the garden. And I'm tired,” Caroline protested. There was something suddenly too bright in Jillian's tone “Besides, don't you have to be at work like right now?”

“No. I don't. Go. Shower. At the very least we're taking a ride in my new car and getting something to eat. You need a burger, with bacon and an order of onion rings. Tell me that doesn't sound good.”

“It does sound good.” Caroline was suddenly hungry, which made sense because she hadn't eaten since lunch. “I'll be quick.”

“Alright. I'm just going to call Jake, tell him I decided to take the car. Thank him.” Jillian smiled. “But don't take too long. And don't lie down and fall asleep like the other night. We're going to have so much fun.”

“Don't get all chipper on me,” Caroline warned as she got to her feet. She heard Jillian on the phone before she was even out of the room. She wished that Jillian hadn't accepted the car or even better, that she'd never met Jake. And she knew that she should have lied when asked about Buster because that disappointment had been what pushed Jillian over the edge.

Caroline showered and dressed in comfortable jeans and one of her favorite tank tops. She slid her feet into sandals and threw her hair up in a ponytail. She was ready to go in less than twenty minutes. It took another ten for Jillian to hang up with Jake. They ended up getting food at a drive-through, eating in the parking lot and then riding around town. Caroline found herself relaxing, even feeling happy. Maybe Jillian's sudden enthusiasm was rubbing off on her. Whatever it was, she felt good and that was enough.

“Do you want to drive?” Jillian asked as she turned onto a dimly lit residential street. It was one of the neighborhoods that had been hit hard by the blight. If there were four occupied houses in a three block radius, she'd be surprised.

“No, I'm good. Where are we going?”

“I've got no destination in mind. I forgot how much fun driving is. I can get used to this. And I can get another job that's not on the bus route to replace Gino's.”

“Wait, what happened with Gino's?”

“His niece came back to town. She needed a job. I was the newest hire, so I was the first fire. I'm not upset about it. It wasn't the best job. I got out so late. I swear that someone was following me a few times.”

“You never said anything.”

“I felt silly. I told Jake, and he started coming to pick me up after I got out.” Jillian smiled. “He's great like that.” All night Jillian had been bringing Jake up, examples of what a good guy he was. It was almost like she was trying to convince not only Caroline but herself.

“Where is Jake tonight?”

“He had a family thing. Dinner with his grandparents. He's really close with them. I'm supposed to go to dinner with him next week, meet them. Imagine that, me meeting his family. And I said I didn't want serious.”

“Do you?” Caroline blurted out the question. “I mean, ever since I met you, you've been pretty vocal about loving being single.”

“Maybe I was wrong. I'm not getting any younger. Do I really want to be alone for the rest of my life?” Jillian shook her head. “I don't.” She leaned forward, turned the radio up louder. “I love this song.”

Caroline had never heard the song before. She settled back in the seat, watched out the window. It was nearly complete darkness, something she would never be used to inside of a city. A flash of light in the side view mirror caught her eye. She looked over her shoulder and saw the unmistakable light of a motorcycle pulling out of a deserted church's parking lot. It was followed by another and another. She reached out and lowered the radio.

From the rumbles of the engines, she knew that the bikes were Nightshade. Jillian did, too. She gripped the steering wheel hard. “This was such a nice night.” The lights were getting closer, the sound of the engines louder.

“Just keep driving. They don't know the car. It's not like they're going to pay attention,” Caroline said. She kept her voice cool, but inside she felt anything but. Her heart beat hard and fast at the thought of seeing Buster. As much as she wanted to see him, she didn't want to be proved right that he'd just been out for a fuck. They stopped at a traffic light. The houses were in better shape, and Caroline caught sight of an all-night convenience store. They were back in what passed for civilization. The caravan of bikes came to a stop behind them.

The moment the light turned, Jillian took off like the hounds of hell were on her heels. It was the worst thing that she could have done, because it drew their attention to the car. They were about a block away when a bike came up alongside of them.

Caroline looked over, saw Edge looking back at them. To say that he was surprised to see them was probably an understatement. He reached out, knocked on the window and pointed towards the curb. “I think that he wants you to pull over.”

“Think I can outrun him? He's got to be a little pissed at me. I haven't been answering his calls.” Jillian let out a nervous laugh. “He looks pissed. Like really pissed.”

“Oh for fuck's sake, just pull over before you piss him off more. And for the record, they'd have never even noticed that it was us if you hadn't taken off like that. And why haven't you been talking your brother?” Caroline knew that there was no way to get those questions answered in the amount of time that they had, but they spilled out anyway. It was something to distract her from the fact that Buster had to be there.

“Because,” Jillian replied. “You didn't want to hear I told you so earlier, right? Well, I didn't want to hear his shit about Jake. The second I say that I'm seeing someone, it's all bitching, pissing and moaning from my baby brother.” She pulled the car over to the curb. “This should be fun.” The moment that the car came to a stop, the motorcycles blocked them in the spot. Yup, that sounded just about right.

“Unlock the door.” Edge rapped his knuckles against Jillian's window. “Now.”

“Just do it,” Caroline told her. “Get it over with.” She undid her seat belt. Edge did look really angry. Too angry. The moment that Jillian unlocked the doors, hers opened, and she looked over to see Train standing there with a grin on his face.

“Hey, Train.” She smiled at him. “How'd you like the last batch of cookies?”

“Double chocolate chunk? Delicious. To die for. I actually told people they'd die if they touched them.” Train held out his hand to help her out of the car. “Why don't you come on over here? Give those two a little time to talk.”

He'd only led her a few feet away from the car when Buster came over to them. Of course, he looked as good as he always did. The bastard. She'd never seen a man sexier than he was in jeans, a tee shirt and his cut. “What the fuck is going on here? What were the two of you doing in this neighborhood? At this time of night?”

Caroline hadn't been sure what to expect when he'd walked over, but this particular line of questioning wasn't it. Was he actually serious right now? “We were plotting world domination. What the fuck do you think we're doing? We were taking a drive, which is perfectly legal. Or at least it was the last time I checked.”

“Answer the question, Caroline. I'm not fucking around.” Buster stepped closer. Caroline was essentially trapped between him and Train, yet she didn't feel any real fear. Maybe that was a mistake. She hoped not.

“I'm not fucking around either. I already answered the question. You want to tell me what the problem is?” Caroline looked over to where Jillian and Edge stood a bit away from everyone else. The body language suggested it wasn't a pleasant talk. “What else could we have possibly been doing?”

“Following us,” Buster replied. “Following us in a fancy car that neither of you can afford. Whose car is that?”

“Fuck you, that's whose car it is.” Caroline retorted. “Let me point out that you came up behind us. We were just driving, minding our own business.”

“Whose car is it, Caroline?”

“It's my fucking car!” Jillian shouted from where she stood. Caroline's head snapped towards her friend. “It doesn't matter where I got it. It's mine.”