Page 23 of Devil's Work: Dark

I know where Green is parked. As I continue to walk close to other shoppers, I take in a breath, internally count to three, and take off running as fast as my legs will go. I Usain Bolt it over to my car. The man is surprised and sprints behind me. The SUV guns the gas. Green sees me running for him and jumps out of the car, gun raised, spectators be damned.

Rather than face off in a busy parking lot with Green, the man ducks between some parked cars until he rendezvouses with the SUV and it speeds off, almost hitting a couple of bystanders in the process.

Green pulls his phone from his front jeans pocket and presses a contact. “Walmart in Middleboro,” he barks. “They went after Rae.”

“The fuck?” Dark’s voice booms loud enough that Green has to pull the phone away from his ear to not go deaf.

“Calm down, brother.”

“Why the fuck she at the Walmart in Middleboro? Why isn’t she home?” Apparently, Dark has chosen not to calm down.

Done with this talking, or rather screaming, about me like I’m not standing here, I surprise Green by ripping the phone from his hand. “She’sin the Middleboro Walmart becauseshehad a job interview today,” I say snidely. “If you’d stayed around to talk to me, I’d have told you about it. But for some reason, you’ve been acting weird toward me and left Green in charge of my safety. So thanks for what you’ve already done, but if he agrees, I’ll keep Green as my security. I’ll owe him instead.”

“The fuck you will. Put Green back on.”

“No. We’re done here.” Okay, so I might be taking my life in my hands pissing off a big, bad, super scary biker, but it’s my life, someone just tried to abduct me again, and he’s being a jerk. I figure that’s my free pass, and I hang up. Green looks at me with his mouth hanging open, like he can’t believe I had the nerve to do it. “Close your mouth,” I tell him. “You’ll catch flies.” Then I use the tip of my finger to gently push his mouth closed before rounding the car to climb inside. As I slide into the seat, Green’s phone rings back.

“That’s got nothing to do with me, brother,” Green says into the line.

Getting Green in trouble wasn’t the goal. I guess I thought that Dark and I were friends now. It pissed me off when he stopped being that friend. Stupid me, right? Like a biker would ever be friends with a single mom. I know better.

On top of everything, tonight I have this parents’ meet up night thing at the elementary to attend. It’s a time for parents to meet each other and the teachers. Something about community involvement—and completely different from student/teacher night which is when you actually bring the kids. I was on the fence about going, but now that these bastards have shown themselves in Middleboro, which means they’ve been following me in Bentley, too, I have to go. I have to get a look at the faces of the men to see if anyone looks familiar. It’s obvious that these guys work for the men who abuse children. They have to know by now that I have children and one of them could be posing as a parent. If revenge is what they’re after, there’d be no better way to get to me then by getting to my kids. Ty and Lacy won’t be safe unless I weed them out. The children of Bentley won’t be safe unless I weed them out.

Poor Green, he’s not going to like it. As a matter of fact, I decide not to tell him yet. That’s something better to be sprung on him last minute so he can’t create a reason for me not to go. Bikers are good at that, coming up with reasons for me not to do things if given enough time.

I don’t even groan when he pulls Five Finger Death Punch up on his playlist. He needs to be in a good mood. I’ll cook and everything. This way, he won’t know what hit him.

When we turn down the drive leading to my trailer, there’s a nondescript sedan driving away faster than they should be on the bumpy road. Other than Mable and me, there are two other trailers, but I’ve never seen that car here before. And the idea that it’s so nondescript scares me.

“Call Winky,” I shout.

“What’s up?” Green asks.

“That car. I’ve never seen it before. Call.”

He immediately presses Winky’s contact. “Mable and the kids okay?” he snaps, then settles. “Winky says all’s well. He can see the kids and Mable inside watching a movie from her sofa.”

Okay, so maybe today’s events frazzled me more than I realized at the time. I begin to feel stupid. “Sorry,” I say. “False alarm, I guess.”

After hanging up, Green reaches his hand over to pat my knee. “It’s been a tough day.”

The moment Green parks in front of my place, I head over next door to get the kids while he goes inside. I force myself to calm down before knocking on Mabel’s door, not wanting to scare the kids in any way.

With him not in earshot, I greet Mable with a hug. “Thanks for watching them,” I say as a greeting.

“Not a problem,” Mable answers. “How’d it go?”

“I think it went well. She said it did. So… fingers crossed.”

“Fingers crossed,” she says back.

This is the hard part. I hate to do this to her, but she’s the only one I trust. “Mable, I hate to do this to you, but if you’re not busy, could the kids hang out here a little later tonight? It’s parents’ night at the school.”

“I love Ty and Lacy. You don’t even need to bring them home now.”

“I appreciate it, but I have to get them dinner and bathed.”

Mable smiles, nodding. She steps out of the way and I call out to my kids. “Ty, Lacy, let’s go, kiddos.”

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