Page 65 of Scar

The windows were down in Simone’s car. Tally needed the fresh air to help calm her nerves and found the mountain summer breeze to be more comforting than she expected. The small town had a nice smell to it, including coffee beans and a delicious, doughy scent from a local bakery. Nothing like the exhaust and stink of the city. Having grown up in Alexandria and then going to college in Washington, D.C., Tally had been a city girl all her life and hadn’t spent much time in small towns like Mount Grove.

The atmospheric contrast was surprisingly pleasant.

“All right, we’re here. Last chance to turn back, Tal.”

Tally felt the car make a right hand turn and then brake. She had no intention of turning back. Not wanting to stick her head out of the window like a dog, she asked Simone, “What do you see?”

“Not much. There’s a large black gate in front of us. We’re next to what I guess is a guardhouse, but it’s empty. I can see the roof of a building in the distance, but it’s down a small slope so I can’t see much beyond the drive and grass.”

“Is there a call box or some way to buzz the gate open?”

“Yeah. Hold on.” Tally heard theclickas Simone unbuckled her seatbelt. Then the rustle of her friend reaching out the window. A buzzer sounded, followed by silence. Simone sat back in her seat. After several tense seconds, Simone asked, “Now what?”

Tally shrugged, unsure. “Maybe they’re not home? It is a Tuesday.”

It was a good thing that Simone was a stay-at-home mom and was able to drop everything to help Tally without needing to fake a medical or family emergency to get out of work. When Amelia started school in a few years, Simone planned on going back to work as an antique restorer.

Tally was practically running away from her responsibilities to come here. Her restaurant had just burned down and there were countless things sheshouldbe doing, and yet she wasn’t doing any of them.

A male voice came over a speaker to their left. “Can I help you?”

She felt Simone turn to her. Tally leaned over the center console to bring herself closer to the box. “Um, we’re here about Scar.”

There was another long moment of silence before the whirr of the mechanical gate sounded. Simone put her seatbelt back on before putting the car into Drive. The car started forward slowly.

Tally leaned her head towards the open window, breathing in the grassy air. She got a sweet, almost bitter scent, that made her think of the dandelions and buttercups of her parents’ backyard.

“We’re approaching a very large building. It looks maybe two stories. The club’s logo is on the front of it, so we’re definitely in the right place. And there’s a shit ton of motorcycles parked out front. I see some houses in the distance too. Like a mini community. It’s… Well, it’s really nice looking, to be honest. Paved walkways, clean, and I think that’s a kids’ playground set back there.”

Tally felt the car curve to the left slightly.

“Two guys just stepped out of the building. I think motorcycle clubs call them ‘clubhouses’, but don’t quote me on that.”

Tally gripped her cane tighter. She felt awkward now, wearing the cut under her shirt. It was big enough that she’d had to tuck it into her jeans, but she hadn’t been able to take it off that morning when she’d gotten ready to go. Like she needed it for protection. The leather felt good on her skin.

“One guy’s definitely older, fifties-ish. Best way I can describe him is a ‘yummy silver fox’. I’m happily married, but damn, that guy is hot. I’d put him as the leader, I think. It’s the way he’s standing. He also has tattoos down his right arm.

“The other guy is younger but still older than us. Maybe early-forties. Dirty blonde hair with some gray. And believe it or not, he’s got a baby strapped to his front. They’re both wearing the same sort of cuts we found in your bedroom.”

Simone parked the car, putting up the windows.

“Remember,” Tally said softly, “you need to pretend I’m blind.”

“Youareblind,” Simone scoffed.

Tally scowled, unbuckling her seatbelt. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” Simone got out.

Tally waited for her to walk around to her side of the car. They’d agreed that Tally should overemphasize her blindness until they knew more about what they were walking into. It had been Simone’s turn to slap Tally upside the head that morning for her suggestion that she drop Tally off alone.

Simone guided Tally up and out of the car. Since Tally didn’t have her own set of sunglasses, Simone had already given Tally her pair before they’d pulled up to the gate. Tally’s eyes were fake, so she didn’t need to worry about accidentally looking into the sun and burning her retinas like someone with eyeballs who was blind or visually impaired did.

It had been a long time since Tally had needed someone to ‘guide’ her as Simone was now, but it was sort of like riding a bike. She never really forgot. Simone looped her arm through Tally’s and started them forward.

“Step,” Simone warned as Tally’s cane connected with the lip of a sidewalk.

Tally was not comfortable going into the situation completely blind, though. She clicked her tongue every ten seconds or so, a more discreet sound than her usual. She also loudly tapped her cane on the sidewalk to help fill in the gaps.

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