Page 15 of Baja
“Check in once you’ve handled the job,” Salem barks as he watches Laredo and Juneau leave. Then he turns to Mystic and me, voice low and firm. “I’m heading home to my woman. We’ll discuss the outcome and money later. Go home.”
On that note, Salem starts his bike and exits the parking lot.
“Catch ya later, brother.” Mystic salutes me, and then he leaves.
I’m left sitting on my bike, alone in the hospital parking lot. Midnight has come and gone, dragging every ounce of my energy with it. I’m beginning to feel the weight of a long day again as my adrenaline rush fizzles out. Exhaustion settles into my bones as I start the engine and kick up the stand. I want to get home, close my eyes, and not get out of bed for the next several hours.
I pull away from the hospital onto the open road.
Halfway home, I realize I’m nearing the turn for Alice’s place.
My grip tightens on the handlebars.
The magnetic pull toward Alice is overpowering, more intense than ever before.
But then, I snap out of it.
What the hell am I doing?
I twist the throttle, revving the engine and speeding past the turn to Alice’s, battling the fierce urge to turn this bike around and head right back to her.
7
ALICE
When Sukie begged me to come to lunch with her today, I should have known she was up to something. Last night, she and Harlem stopped by the house for dinner, something she makes a point of doing at least twice a week. Ever since Sukie moved out, her presence has been missed because, for years, we were each other’s rock. As painful as it is to admit, my daughter was my crutch. Then, she found Harlem.
Watching my daughter bloom because she found a man who loves and cherishes her the way she deserves has been the highlight of my life. I would never in a million years admit how lonely I am. Still, Sukie knows me better than I know myself, so she makes it a point to stop by almost every day, invite me to lunch a few times a week, and has gone as far as to pretend to need my help at the shop.
Once, she called, saying she was out of lavender honey botanical bar soap, and asked if I could bring a box. When I got to the store, I entered the storage room and found a box of soap hidden behind a stack of crates.
Last month, she called me from the mall parking lot, saying her car needed a jump. I could smell the bullshit over the phonebecause there was no way Harlem wouldn’t have known she’d broken down first. When I made it to the mall, her car had miraculously started. That’s the day she roped me into shopping.
Honestly, it feels good knowing my daughter loves me enough to devise ridiculous plans to spend time with me and draw me out of my comfort zone of being a hermit.
Today, however, feels different. After lunch, Sukie took me to get a mani-pedi. Then she took me to this cute little boutique that opened last month, where she convinced me to buy several new outfits, which included matching shoes. Then my tiny demon seed announced she had booked us an appointment with Sage and Juniper, which brings us to now.
Sage and Juniper are Sukie’s friends. They moved to Salem a couple of years ago, and the duo opened a hair salon across the street from Belladonna’s. Sage is married and has a daughter with Fallen Ravens’ president, Salem. I will forever be grateful to Juniper and Sage for the way they took Sukie under their wings when they first moved to town. They ignored town gossip and got to know Sukie. Something tells me they are in on whatever my daughter has planned. My suspicions are proved correct when I turn my head and look through the salon window to see Sage and Juniper peering at us with goofy grins and the same glint in their eyes as my daughter.
“What’s going on?” I glare at Sukie as we stand outside the hair salon.
“What makes you think I’m up to something?” Sukie asks innocently.
I roll my eyes. “Please. You are not as smooth as you think you are.”
Sukie bites her bottom lip to hide her smile.
I shake my head and sigh. “Let’s get this over with.”
“Yay.” Sukie claps, grabs my hand, and drags me into the salon.
Juniper’s grin turns into a megawatt smile when she sees me. “You’re with me today, gorgeous.”
I nod at Juniper. “Are you going to tell me what you all are up to?”
Juniper’s wanna-be innocent look is no better than Sukie’s. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“You know, you’re just as bad at lying as my daughter.”
