Page 124 of Devil's Dilemma

Pyro

Ilove seeing Mel on the road to recovery. She’s come through so fucking much and is starting to emerge the other side. Sure, she has moments which are darker, you don’t get abandoned and then find the man you thought was dead come back to life without it leaving some scar.

I can see the effect each morning when I leave for work. There’s a nervousness there, a clinginess before letting me go.

Today is no different. I tell her my normal form of goodbye, “Got my phone with me, darlin’. I’m only a call away. You know the number of the shop too. You get worried? Just call.”

She shrugs it off, trying to act as though she’s not scared I’ll be leaving and never return. “I trust you, Ro.”

“I know you do. Fuck the FBI wanting to drag everything back up.” I sweep back my hair, wishing going to this meeting was something I could do instead. There’s no doubt it’s making her anxiety worse. I thank fuck she agreed to see the counsellor I’d arranged. Sometimes I wonder whether it’s her state of mind that’s affecting her, stopping her falling pregnant again.

It’s another thing I hate about Skull. He got her pregnant, something I’ve so far failed to do.

“Go on, Ro. You’ll be late. I’m leaving just after you.” She makes a shooing gesture with her hands.

“I love you.” I say it as forcefully as I can. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

But as I walk out to my bike, I pause a moment.Skull might have used those very same words.

All of a sudden, I know just what to do. If my plan doesn’t work, nothing will.

“What we got on today, Judge?” I ask, tossing my bike key into the pocket of my cut as I arrive at the shop.

“Two services, one new exhaust.” He waves to the cars which citizens must have brought and left. “One has a problem with the gearbox.” He then indicates the bikes, the first in line I recognise. “Thunder wants new tires back and front and wants an oil change at the same time.”

I grin, relishing my position which means I can allocate jobs. “You start on the cars with Wills, I’ll do Thunder’s bike.” I much prefer to work on two wheels, rather than four.

“Morning.”

There’s a voice I didn’t expect. The prez doesn’t normally come to the shop this early in the day.

“What’s up, Demon?”

He jerks his head toward the office, his intention is clear, so I lead the way. As we pass it, I indicate the vending machine. “Want a coffee?”

I understand his grimace and the shake of his head. It was put in mainly for waiting customers to use. It’s drinkable, just. Does the job if all I want is to wet my throat.

“What can I do for you?” As he props himself against the wall, I perch on the desk.

He frowns, and I begin to suspect I’m not going to like what he has to say. “Red’s been in contact. Up to you and your woman to say yes or no, but he wants some of your time.”

Okay. So far, nothing to worry about. “For what?”

Demon’s arms are folded across his chest. He takes a breath. “He wants you to take Mel to Vegas to speak to Clare Jordan.”

I’m immediately shaking my head. “No fuckin’ way, Prez. Has he lost his motherfuckin’ mind? Mel’s just moving on. Going to speak to the FBI is going to be hard enough, seeing that woman bragging she’s got the man isn’t going to do shit to help her.”

“From what Red’s said, she’s cut him loose,” Prez responds in a mild voice. “Fuckin’ hard on Mel, I agree. If I thought this was just to rub shit in her face, I’d refuse to have her anywhere near Vegas, but I get the view Clare’s kicked Skull out on his ass. She’s looking for closure too, and it might just aid Mel as well.”

“That motherfucker.” I slam my fist onto the desk, wishing it was Skull’s face instead.

“There are two women involved, Ro. Might just help them both to talk through their issues together.”

I gaze unseeingly at the floor, unsure what to do for a moment or two. Then I look back up as he starts speaking again. “Vi never knew why she was raped, that there was a reason behind it. When she found out, I think it helped. Sure, she learned shit about her parents that she’d never dreamed of, but truth has a way of coming out. Better if you’re armed with it, than left in the dark.”

“You think Clare’s got something Mel needs to know before she’s faced with the feds?”

“Could be, Ro. That’s my thinking.”

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