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Chapter Five

Coyote

It took me a few days of running errands before I finally made it back to the auto repair shop. When I arrived, Breaker was leaning against the building waiting for me. I got out of the van and went to unlock the door. "How did you know I was coming in today?"

"You told your sister, who happens to be my wife, in case you've forgotten. She sent you breakfast," he said, as he handed me a brown paper bag. It was warm and I could smell the biscuits even with the bag closed.

"I hope you haven't been waiting long?"

He shrugged, "Not long." Gesturing towards the big ugly panel van, he asked, "How much longer are you gonna be riding around in a fucking cage?"

Opening the door to the shop, Breaker followed behind me as I explained. "I had to pick up a new bathroom sink this morning and I needed something to haul parts around in. It was a spare from the Slayers' auto repair shop. I might buy it, it could be useful for deliveries."

"What happened to your tow truck?"

"It's getting repainted with my company logo."

"At least you looked badass driving your tow truck."

"Don't worry dude, I ain't giving up the truck," I muttered as I headed inside the small kitchen area. I put on a pot of coffee and while it was dripping, I ate my biscuit in four gigantic bites. The scrambled eggs and bacon melted in my mouth. If there was one thing my sister could do, it was make a mean biscuit.

"Yeah, that van is the ugliest thing I've seen in my entire life," Breaker said as he grabbed a couple of mugs.

"Did you just come here to razz me today? If so, you can just leave."

"Chill the fuck out, man. I'm just joking with you."

"Yeah, you're a damn laugh a minute. Did you ever think about doing standup?"

"No, but I'd be fucking brilliant at it."

I know I sounded tetchy, I think it was because I still hadn't done anything about Bethany. I'd had the big idea to drop in to see her again, on the pretext of wanting to discuss the launch, but I'd chickened out.

I poured us some coffee and we got started on the painting. Thanks to my hard work over the last two weeks, we were down to the trim work in the office today. As we got started, Breaker asked, "Anything new and interesting going on in your world lately?"

I sighed, my brother-in-law might think he's a joker, but maybe he'd be a good sounding board. "Yeah. I bumped into Bethany working for an event planning company in Patterdale. I thought she left me three years ago and ran off to LA, and she was living practically next fucking door."

Breaker frowned. "Did she say why she ghosted you?"

"No, and I didn't ask," I replied sharply.

My firmly delivered words didn't keep Breaker from giving his opinion though. This brother-in-law of mine was relentless sometimes.

"You know what happened with her was all kinds of fucked up. You were good to her, man. The two of you had the spark that everyone is looking for. She was a fucking idiot for running out on you."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure she doesn't see it that way. I've thought long and hard about the situation and I know she must have had her reasons. The only reason that makes sense is she fell for someone she knew I wouldn't like being replaced with."

"Like a banker or a lawyer?"

I slowly turned to look at my oblivious brother-in-law. "No bruh, not like a fucking banker or a lawyer."

He shrugged. "Why are you getting your panties in a twist? Bankers are cheats and the modern-day equivalent of money lenders of ancient times. Jesus wrecked their tables for a fucking reason if you ask me."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Of course, I don't believe that bankers are evil, but I don't wanna argue about it either.

Breaker ran a small brush along the seam between the wall and the baseboard. "And lawyers are the worst. Bunch of ambulance chasing assholes. You know all the jokes about lawyers."

"No bruh, I don't. What in the hell are you talking about?"

He carefully laid his brush down on the edge of the paint can and glared at me. "Why did scientists replace rats with lawyers?"

"This feels like a joke of some sort," I murmured.

"It's because there are some things even rats won't do."

I threw my head back, stared up at the ceiling and silently counted to ten. That was the lamest joke I had ever heard. When I glanced at Breaker, he was looking up too.

Then he commented reassuringly, "Don't worry about the ceiling, we can paint that too. We'll need to rent scaffolding to reach it though."

"I wasn't planning on going quite that far."

He switched up the topic. "Have you thought about how far you want things to go with Bethany now that you found her again?"

"No. Because she doesn't want me in her life. If she did, she'd walk back in the same way she walked out."

"Yeah, women don't always know what they want. If you want her, you'd best go for it before someone else does."

"For all I know, someone already did. She could be married."

"She's probably not," he reassured me.

"How in the hell would that even be possible? She's fucking drop dead gorgeous and sweet as apple pie. She could have any damn man she wanted. She doesn't have to settle for me."

He persisted, like he had some kind of vested interest in seeing us together. "What would it look like if you did go after her again?" He coaxed.

"I can't afford to get involved with her again. My unconscious mind gave it whirl in my sleep the other night and I ended stroking my cock in the shower like a goddamn teen."

"You're not the only man who's resorted to stroking his own damn cock, so don't act like it's some kind of Greek tragedy."

"I'm just saying she provokes strong feelings in me and that's not cool since she's made it clear that I'm not her guy."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. So far Callie and I have resorted to planning our date nights. Otherwise, kids, work, and her schooling squeeze out all the us time."

"Being married to the woman of your dreams puts you in a very small percentage of men. You don't know how lucky you are in that regard. Being salty about one-on-one time with the missus seems like looking a gift horse in the mouth if you ask me.

"Yeah, whatever," he said dismissively. "Tell me this much, did you check on your lady friend to make sure she was safe?"

My head came up to pin him with an assessing stare. "What do you mean? She looked perfectly fine to me."

Breaker pointed at me with his paintbrush, dripping paint onto the tarp I put down to catch spills. "You don't know what's going on in her life. She could be trapped in a shitty relationship and getting hit as we speak."

I threw my paintbrush down in the paint bucket. "Why the fuck are you trying to get me riled up today?"

"I'm just pointing out that you don't know what she's been up to. You should dig around a little just be on the safe side."

I drew my legs up and wrapped my arms around my knees, as I thought over his words. "I'm not sure that would be a very good idea."

"Then you suck ass as a protector. I'll fucking go chat her up myself if you won't."

"What do you mean chat her up? You have a fucking wife, in case you forgot. She's my sister. Her name's Callie. You do fucking remember that, right?"

"Maybe it's time to look into getting a side piece. Bethany might do nicely. She's a sweet little thing, pretty too."

My fist flew towards his face so fast that I didn't even realize what I'd done until he caught my fist in his hand and raised his eyebrows. "Seems like you fucking care a whole lot more than you let on. I knew you were hiding your feelings for her."

"I don't know about going there again so soon. It might seem like stalking or pressuring her to work faster on my grand opening."

"Or," Breaker stated firmly. "It might look like you've been thinking about your business and have some more ideas to share with her, you know, to make her job easier. Maybe she'll be so happy to see you that she accidentally falls on your cock."

I gave the big fucker a rough shove and told him in no uncertain terms, "Breaker, let it go for now."

"Not a chance. I'm thinking of throwing Callie a birthday bash later this year. Want to come with me while I get a brochure on their services?"

Now, I know going there twice in the same week was a bad idea. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to resist joining him. The fucker played to my jealous nature, fuck him for that, but he wasn't wrong.

***

When we arrived at the store, I was glad we came. Bethany was behind the counter, trying to key a transaction into the cash register with her back pressed against the wall to avoid being grabbed by a shady guy in polyester pants with a bad combover.

I immediately hate the syrupy sound of his voice. "Hey there pretty thing. You don't have to be scared of old Rufus. I don't bite."

She gestured to his mini helium tank on the counter with a pack of balloons. "That'll be forty-eight dollars and fifty cents please." I didn't like the tone of her voice. It was small and anxious. Her body language was also hunched and kind of folded in on itself.

"I can't seem to find my wallet. Why don't you put your hand in my front pants pocket and see if you can find it for me." His response is shitty enough to get a beatdown from me.

I stalked across the sales floor and was on him before he realized what was happening. I grabbed him by the upper arm, spun him around and kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. "Here, you stupid fucker. Let me help you find it. I punched all his pockets until I hit something hard and then pulled the wallet out, gave Bethany the cash and hauled the moron outside. Breaker strolled over to the counter and picked up the guy's merch and followed us out.

I'd kept hold of his upper arm this whole time, so he didn't roll around on the ground holding the balls I just busted. When we were clear of the building, I tossed him against the side wall. Breaker stood behind us to block us from view of the public.

"Who are you?" he asked breathlessly.

Flipping his wallet open, I held it up to Breaker who took a pic of it with his cell phone. Taking a quick glance at his ID, I say, "Look Rufus, I'm the man who's going to quite literally break every bone in your fucking body if you show your face at this store again."

"You have no right to…"

I didn't even mess around. Instead, I punched him square in the face with my fist which caused the back of his head to hit the wall.

He groaned, "Stop it. I didn't do anything to you."

"You're not listening and that pisses me off. Your first stupid move was coming here to harass the employees. The second stupid thing you did was argue with me when I told you never to come back here."

"I have to come here. It's the only party supply store in town."

I gave him another leisurely punch, hoping he would smarten up.

"Damn, I think you broke my nose."

"Yeah, it looks that way. I'm thinking of cutting off your dick so you can't wave it in anyone's face. You gonna be okay with that?"

"No way," he responded angrily. "Fucking fine. I won't come back here. Are you happy?"

I gave him a nice hard punch in the ribs. "Don't smart me off, you stupid fuck. I have a copy of your photo ID. If I have to track you down, they might not find your fucking body."

"Jesus Christ. I get what you're saying. Let me go and I'll do what you say."

I grabbed his shirt and shoved him onto the sidewalk. He stumbled and barely managed not to fall onto his face. Breaker tossed his shit, and I threw his wallet at him. He snatched up his stuff and was gone so fast it looked like a cartoon character running at sonic speed.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Breaker mumbled.

"I'm going to go check on Bethany. I'll be right back."

Breaker pulled out his vape and leaned back against the wall as I went back inside.

Bethany was standing behind the counter wide eyed. She looked wary when I approached her. I lifted both hands in a placating gesture. "Hey there querida, are you okay?"

She panicked and started babbling. "I didn't do anything to lead him on. I told him to keep his hands to himself. He's always like that, with everyone, not just me."

I stopped in front of the counter, not sure what I was hearing. "What are you talking about, Bethany? Of course, you didn't lead that filthy fucker on. What kind of thing is that to even think?"

She snapped her mouth shut for a brief second before explaining, "Sometimes men are like that with me. I don't encourage them."

I responded seriously, "I know all about how you don't encourage men. I had to chase your ass for months to get a kiss. Remember that?"

She seemed to calm down. "Yeah, I remember. It's just that I seem to attract trouble, you know?"

"No. I most certainly do not know anything of the sort. If this happens to you off and on, it's because you're a beautiful woman and a certain cross-section of the male population can be absolute assholes. That's what's going on here. Nothing more."

She nodded, but I could tell she still felt like this was somehow her fault.

Now was not the time for self-esteem building so I let her know the danger would stop. "I had a little talk with Rufus about finding someplace else to buy his party supplies. If he steps foot back in this store, I want to know about it."

"Our owner is normally here, so he he's never gotten this out of control before. Mr. Archibald went to Vegas with his friend. Rufus tried to take advantage of the situation."

"Well from now on when things go sideways, I want you to call me. I'm the answer to dodgy shit happening when the owner is out. You got that, darlin'?" She still looked a little freaked out, so I added, "Are you going to be okay? Do you need me to stay for a while?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm good. What did you need today?"

"Nothing. We just came to check on you and make sure you were safe."

"That's nice, but why would you do that? It's a bit of a strange thing to do."

"It was my friend's idea. Know what's even stranger? That you needed me."

"Yeah. This was a random situation. One in a million, really." Bethany's voice was small, and she was still pressed against the wall. It was clear she didn't think it was a random situation, and it got me thinking about how many other men she'd had to fend off.

"Is it okay if I leave now or do you want me to stay?"

"Maybe go for now. I need some space, and this is our slowest day of the week."

"Text me if you need anything," I stated before forcing myself to put one foot in front of the other and leaving.

Walking out of that store was one of the hardest things I have ever done. All my protective instincts were telling me to turn around, go back inside and scoop her up in my arms. I had to remind myself more than once that I offered to stay, and she turned me down. I couldn't force myself on her to appease my own need to protect her. All I could do was come when she called. That was the right thing to do.

However, finding out that Rufus had done this more than once made my blood boil. I had a good mind to track him down and beat him to a bloody pulp. I didn't though, because I'm not a fucking unhinged lunatic. Instead, I got on my bike, and Breaker and I headed back to my auto repair shop.

I normally loved to ride my bike, but right now it brought me little comfort. I swallowed down my misery and forced myself to ride out of town. I wanted to keep checking on her every day, but I wouldn't because there was a fine line between protecting and stalking. I didn't want to find myself on the wrong side of that line for a couple of reasons.

First, it might scare Bethany. I didn't know why she left me, whether she was with anyone right now, or what she'd been up to for the last three and a half years. All I knew was that this woman clearly had enough on her plate already, without some stupid shenanigans from me adding to her worries.

The second reason was because I didn't particularly want to risk landing on the wrong side of local law enforcement in another town. Small towns could be strange towards outsiders, especially if it looked like one of them was engaged in staking. Law enforcement already had a propensity to think of bikers as outlaws. So they'd do whatever they could to pick us up and squeeze us for information.

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