Page 3 of Rattler
“Where to, lady?”The ticket agent looked bored.
“How much for a one-way ticket to Atlanta?”I’d been there once on a vacation as a kid, and I’d loved the old South feel of the city.It was also big enough to get lost in and no one knew me there, which made it the perfect destination.Plus, my brother had talked about a motorcycle club somewhere near there he planned to join when he mustered out.
The agent keyed something into the computer and quoted a price that would seriously deplete my supply of cash.“If you want on this one, you’d better get a move on it.Bus leaves in fifteen minutes from stall eight.”He inclined his head toward the back of the terminal.
That decided me.Fifteen minutes and I’d be on my way out of town, away from Tim and any consequences of my actions.“I’ll take it.”
The agent didn’t even flinch when I pulled the money out of my bra.Probably not the first time he’d seen that trick.He punched a few more keys on the computer and a ticket spat out of the printer.He didn’t even bother to look at me as I grabbed it and headed in the direction he’d indicated.
The driver was checking tickets as the line of passengers boarded.He reminded me of the guy who played Santa at the mall when I was a kid.He was probably old enough to be my grandfather, his face lined with deep wrinkles and a portly belly straining against his shirt.A flowing white beard added to the resemblance.I shifted my backpack to the other shoulder as I approached the head of the line, willing the kitten to be silent.I wasn’t sure, but I bet pets were a no-no.
Just as I handed my ticket over, the traitorous little furball let out a high-pitched yowl.
I froze, my gaze flying to meet the driver’s.
He handed me back the ticket, a slight smile curving his lips.“Sounds like you got one of those new toy cats in the backpack, right?”
My heart pounded against my ribs as I nodded.
“Try not to let it make too much noise on the trip.People might get annoyed.”He turned to take the ticket from the elderly lady behind me.
I climbed the steps and scanned the bus for an empty seat.The back area held a gang of teenagers laughing and talking so I picked an empty row of seats several rows behind the driver.Sitting the backpack down in my lap, I lifted the flap high enough to check on the kitten.He stared up at me, his big green eyes wide open.He tilted his head as if to ask what was going on.I held my fingers to my lips.“Shh!You have to be quiet.Okay?”
His little pink tongue flicked out, and he licked my hand.His tongue felt rough, like a damp piece of sandpaper.
The driver climbed into his seat, and I saw him studying me in the big mirror hanging from the roof in front of him.A slow grin crossed his features as he winked at me.
“All aboard for Atlanta!”
* * *
Rattler
Thor and Janet were actually going to tie the fucking knot!I suppose I should have seen it coming, but they’d been playing friends-with-benefits for so long I guess I thought that’s all they’d ever be.And now here I was -- sitting in a bakery waiting for a box of frilly wedding-type cupcakes to take back to the clubhouse for the old ladies to sample.Not sure how I got conned into playing fetch.I was happy for them and all, but you’d think they could have sent a prospect, not the fucking VP.
The bell on the door tinkled, and I looked up as a woman came in.She looked rough.More than rough.One eye was black, and through the open collar of her coat I could see a circle of greenish yellow bruises on her neck.Her clothes looked like she’d slept in them, and she had a bulging backpack slung across one shoulder.She looked young, too young to be stuck in the kind of relationship those bruises indicated.
She glanced in my direction and quickly looked away.Yeah, she was scared of something.Or more likely, someone.She walked up to the counter, and I noticed a slight limp.Probably from the same incident that gave her that black eye.
Maybe I was wrong.Ace always chided me for jumping to conclusions.She could have been in a car accident or tripped and fallen down a flight of stairs.The problem was, in my experience, that only happened once in a very long while.I’d bet my bottom dollar there were more bruises hidden under her clothes, in varying shades of blue, yellow, and purple.Evidence of an ongoing series of attacks.
Impotent assholes who beat up on their women were one of my triggers, and I looked outside to see if maybe this was my lucky day.Maybe the asshole was here with her.
She asked the woman behind the counter for a coffee, and when the lady turned to get it, she grabbed a muffin and stuffed it in her pocket.The attendant turned back and sat the cup of steaming coffee on the counter and rang in the purchase.Pulling a few bills out of her bra, the newcomer paid the bill and hurried back outside, gulping the coffee down as she went.I watched as she turned the corner and headed down the alley beside the bakery.
Standing, I strode over to the counter.Tossing a couple of bills on the counter, I smiled.“For my coffee, and the muffin you forgot to charge my friend for.”
“Your friend?”Her brows raised in disbelief.
“That’s right.She must not have seen me waiting for her.I’ll be back in a few minutes for those cupcakes.”I pivoted and strode out the door before she could ask exactly how anyone could miss seeing someone as big as me.
I turned the corner and saw the woman crouched down at the far end of the alley, petting a kitten that had its head poked out of her backpack.She gave me the side-eye as I sauntered toward her, trying to look as unthreatening as possible.
I obviously didn’t do a very good job.She waited until I was about ten feet from her, far enough away not to touch her but close enough to block the view of anyone who happened to walk past the mouth of the alley.Then she straightened up and pulled the gun out from under her shirt.She made damn sure I saw her flick the safety off.
“Don’t come near me.”She pulled the backpack a little closer as if to protect the tiny scrap of a kitten in it.
Did I seriously look like the kind of guy who’d hurt a kitten?
