Page 35 of Watcher

We stay hidden behind a group of trees and wait. Eventually, a car pulls into Harrison’s driveway, and a beautiful woman gets out. She’s wearing a tight skirt and a tight shirt. Her high heels echo through the neighborhood. Our boy has ordered himself an escort.

Jessica and Emily cross the street. Diablo gets off her bike and joins them before the three disappear around the side of the house. I step out, but Kentucky pulls me back when a police cruiser rolls by. Another cruiser arrives from the opposite end of the street. The second cruiser stops at Diablo’s bike. The first cruiser pulls next to the Camry.

“They’re cucked,” I say.

“Nothing we can do right now,” Kentucky says.

The officers get out, flashlights in hand, other hand on guns.

Diablo runs out from the side of the house, and an officer grabs her. He throws her to the grass and has her in cuffs in one single motion.

“I’m gonna kick her ass,” Kentucky says.

Jessica appears next, screaming at the cop pinning Diablo to the ground. She goes after the cop, but the other officer grabs her and slams her to the ground next to Diablo.

“Where the fuck is Emily?” I step from the trees but stay hidden. We’re close enough to hear Jessica cussing like a sailor. Diablo tries to get her to shut up, but Jessica isn’t listening.

“There’s Emily,” Kentucky says.

Emily steps into the shadows, and neither officer sees her. Jessica tells the officer she was the only one in the car.

Jessica and Diablo are loaded into cruisers, and the police leave.

“We can’t let Emily leave in the Camry.” I step around the wooden fence hiding me and run down the street toward Emily, who is running for the car. “Emily. Stop!”

Scared shitless, Emily stops on the sidewalk next to the car. ‘Why’re you here?”

“You’re welcome,” I say.

“We had it under control.” Emily grabs the car door and I stop her from opening it.

“Another cruiser will be by shortly. They’ll patrol the neighborhood the rest of the night. If the Camry is gone, they’ll know someone was with Jessica.”

Emily looks as though she might get pissed but seems to reconsider. “Okay.”

Kentucky and I lead Emily back to the bikes, and she climbs behind me. Not every woman I’ve had on my bike feels right. Emily should have gone with Kentucky.

We stop at the rink and leave Emily behind, insisting she not go to the jail.

“Now what?” Kentucky asks. “We bail her ass out, and she’ll know we followed her.”

“Emily will eventually tell her we saved her ass.” We’re fucked regardless of what we decide to do. “Fuck it, let’s go get them out. She’ll just have to be pissed.”

We roll into the station parking lot twenty minutes later to find a stretch limo in the parking lot. We park the bikes where they can’t be seen and walk toward the entrance. Through the glass, I can see Jessica’s father chewing someone’s ass. Money may be the root of all evil, but it can quickly wash away evil, too.

“Let’s go,” I say. “We’ll head back to the rink and see if we can talk some sense into Emily.”

It’s a fucked up situation. That’s all I can make of it. I care deeply about the woman but can see she’s a bird leaving the nest and needs room to spread her wings. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad for me. I resign myself to the fact this thing may not work out after all. We caught lightning in a bottle and then let it escape. It wouldn’t be the first time for me.

On the way to the rink, I think about my son and him being stuck caring for his mother. That’s no way for him to lead his life. Maybe I should step in and help. Or maybe I just need to call and ask him if he’s okay. Tell him I love him and my door is open anytime he wants to come down. Assure him I’m not a bad guy. Lost every now and again, but not bad. I’m a hard guy to understand, much less love. I know that. At least, I can admit it.

Several cars sit in the rink parking lot, and we question whether or not we should go in. If they really want to be a club like the Brothers of Chaos, they need to figure out their shit on their own.

"We should go," Kentucky says.

I sit silently for a moment and then nod. "You’re right.”

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