Page 14 of Absolute Valor

“You know when you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.”

—Dr Seuss

Something pressed hard in the center of my chest, an indescribable force telling me I had to get to the shop as quickly as possible. Only the family and Audrey knew the location of panic alarm With her habitual choice to work late, I couldn’t stand the thought of her being there, Lucas coming by, and her not having a way to call out for help.

Pushing my engine to the limits, I flew down the streets in my mission to reach her. I ignored the possibility it could be someone else, Audrey could be tucked away in her bed, dreaming of a world she longs to make a reality.

As I round the last corner, I reached down and killed the engine, needing to arrive as stealthily as possible. Training from the Marines taught me how to surround a building. Standing beside a SEAL taught me how to take out a target without making a sound.

Dylan pulled up a second after I did, nearly forgetting to lower his kickstand and tossing his helmet to the grass. I signaled for him to cover the left side of the shop.

When we were younger and out of school on summer vacation, we would head out into the wooded area by our house to play army men. Austin taught us hand signals he’d read in a book, so we would hide in the trees and capture our pretend enemy before being called in for supper.

Dylan signaled he could see two people and was moving to the back of the shop. I give him ample time to get into a position where he can catch anyone who decided to go flying out the back way. I moved along the front of the building, avoiding the walk as it’s monitored by the cameras. Crouching down under a window, I heard a female laughing. Pressing my ear to the glass, my heartbeat quickens as I recognize Harmony’s voice.

“I handpicked Chase, pulled him off of a list of people I wanted to fuck over. Everything I’ve done for the past four years has been to get back at him for what the Morgans have done to me.” Racking my brain, I’m confused by what she is saying. What have I done to her?

“Cash took care of me, beating the other boys off when they wanted a piece of me, but didn’t want to pay for it. I fucking loved him and how good he made me feel.” The only Cash I knew was the motherfucker who I’d tossed off a fucking bridge for roughing up Lainie and trying to mess with Claire. Pissed me off when he spoke my Momma’s name and what he wanted to do to her.

“He knew I liked to be fucked hard against the fucking wall, not wrapped in arms and smothered in fucking ‘love you’s’ and shit.” Something between anger and revulsion bubbled in my gut. Harmony came on strong in her sexuality, kinky as fuck in the way she played in the bedroom. She had a number of piercings in her clit, twisting them while having me pull her hair as she shoved whatever toy she had up her ass and cunt.

“The thought of fucking Chase made me sick, always wanting it to be just the two of us. The only thing about him to turn me on was the amount of money I was taking from him.” On the last night she’d spent in the condo, she suggested inviting a few of her friends over, assuming every man had the same fantasy of an orgy.

“Lucas loved sharing, almost as much as he loved letting me watch as he sucked off Cash.” Acid churned in my stomach and I sent a small prayer of thanks to all the preaching my parents did about protection.

“Last time I was with Lucas, he said something about you being colder than a block of ice. It made me want you give you my key to the condo, giving Chase something to love on for once.” Swallowing the bile in the back of my throat, I tried not to think of the ton of crow waiting for me to eat when this is all over. My family had been right about her all along. I made the choice to ignore all the warnings, silencing the alarms I heard everyday.

Catching movement to the left, I see Dylan leaning past the edge of the building, signaling he was going in. Backtracking around to the front, I notice the shadows on the sidewalk, confirming two people inside the building. Austin stood beside the magnolia tree in the front, letting me know he had a visual of what was going on. As he stepped forward, I slipped around grabbing the door handle when the screams of a cat fight rang out.

Harmony sat over the top of Audrey, blindly throwing her fists, aiming at Audrey’s head. Audrey had her hands full of hair, pulling as if her life depended on it. Dylan came barreling down the hall, as I reached the back of Harmony’s shirt, tugging it like I would a grown man. If this bitch didn’t want to act like a lady, then fuck if I’m gonna treat her like one.

The harder I pulled, the more she resisted. My knuckles turned white and the muscles in my arms burned from the constant strain. Finally, the tension was lost as Harmony shrugged out of the torn shirt, the dangling material loose in my clenched fist. Taking a hint from Audrey, I grabbed the back of her hair. I’d had plenty of practice in doing it, so I wrapped the ends around my wrist, pulling like I’m trying to get back up the drop line dangling from a black hawk. I was positive the screams she was giving were of pain, and not pleasure. Dylan jumped over the two of us, taking the half-naked hellcat with him. Tossing her to the floor, he planted his knee in the middle of her back. I bet the bitch won’t enjoy the set of handcuffs he’s slapping on her wrists.

Austin had silenced the system, giving the monitoring company the codes for a false alarm. Sirens were screaming in this direction, responding to the accident I passed on the way here. Everyone had been walking around as I passed, chasing away any guilt I would have felt for not stopping.

Audrey would have a bruise on her cheek, the redness deepening as I helped her to her feet, steadying her, since she seemed to still be getting her bearings. My fingers intertwined with hers, refusing to let go as I guided her to the couch. Pulling Audrey close, I tucked her head under my chin, while rubbing her back with the hand not holding hers.

Her buildup of adrenalin had given her the shakes, I held on tighter as her body quaked while she came down. As a Marine we were taught to use the surge in our favor, as a guide to keep us safe. Mine would get so high sometimes, I would get sick when the danger passed. Considering how I’d felt when I left the cemetery, I should be doubled over heaving my guts out. Instead, I felt calm, an odd feeling of relief and contentment.

“Why aren’t you out of fucking town?” Harmony’s eyes were smeared in black from her makeup running, her hair in chaos around her head. On a second scan, I caught several patches where her scalp shined through. Audrey had pulled chunks of her hair out, or maybe it was me, who knows. “You can’t even give a fucking date right.” I guess that answers any question I had of her getting my messages.

“Chase.” Audrey called, her voice quivering and breaking my heart. “Is your guitar okay?” I released the hold I had on her, but kept her hand in mine. Our eyes meeting again, the strength and the sadness resting in her hazel orbs, “I tried to save it, but I think I damaged it when I threw it toward the couch.” Looking around the room, my eyes searched until the neck of the guitar revealed its resting place under the table.

I noticed immediately one of the strings had broken—not a big issue as I noticed it when I played it earlier. A tiny scratch marred the side by the signature, other than that, it was perfect. “Just a little scratch and a broken string.” I shrugged, intrigued as to why Audrey would have thrown it at the couch.

“Oh my, God, I’m so sorry. I—I tried.” She shook her head as she reached out to touch the frayed end of the string. “I didn’t want her to take the only thing that meant anything to you.”

My head jerked up to Harmony, the anger from earlier bubbling up again. “Why the fuck would you take my guitar?”

Something changed in her face, she straightened her back up, her bottom lip starting to quiver. “I got your message and I wanted to surprise you. I hoped you would be here and not on the—”

“Stop!” Audrey shouted, slapping her hands on the leather of the couch. “You’re such a liar, Ginny. When are you ever going to take responsibility for what you’ve done to this family?” Her eyes closed tight and I could feel the anger and frustration rolling off her. The adrenaline spike left her unable to control her emotions. “You lied to him about who you are and what you do.” Turning her head to look at me, she points to Harmony. “She is a stripper who has been hanging around Lucas for over a year. The two of them are partners in cooking up meth—at least they were until a month ago. She came here to steal your guitar so she and Largo could pawn it, to get more money for supplies. Her real name isn’t Harmony, that’s what one of the guys she fucks on a regular basis calls her.”

I’d heard this before, except for the drug part. I never wanted to believe someone I thought I cared for could end up this way. “The girl who…” She paused, her voice grainy as she continued. “Who you’ve chosen to share everything with, her name is Virginia Greyson. You met her at the children’s shelter when you were a little boy.”

“Chase, it isn’t true. I came here to—”

“Hold it right there.” Austin came to stand in the center of the room, his hands raised in surrender. “Obviously something went down in this shop tonight and there is only one way to find out exactly what.” Taking his phone in hand, he tapped several times on his screen, the television on the wall comes to life, a blue screen showing the current time and the connection status. The image changed and there I was, sitting on this very couch, playing for Audrey. Austin pressed a few more times and the footage moved ahead at a fast rate. When it stopped, the room was empty, the timestamp showed twenty minutes prior.

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