Page 24 of Property of Baffle
“You have nothing to apologize to me for.”My explanation was met with a blank stare for a moment before the man collected himself.
“I do.I appreciate that you’re willing to let it go, though.My ol’ lady and Roxanne won’t be an issue for you anymore.You have my word on that.”
I offered him a stiff nod because I wasn’t sure what to say to that.Then, I shored up the courage to look around the room.There were a lot of sympathetic looks thrown my way, the same one I fussed at Tilly for moments ago when I realized she knew what Roxy had done to Baffle.
“You told them what he did?”I asked as my gaze finally landed on my husband’s when he took the seat beside me.
“I did.They had to know, so we can keep you safe and because of his affiliation with the Mojave Devils.”
“Okay,” I murmured while stirring the yogurt that no longer held my interest.He had a point.Unfortunately for me, it was one I couldn’t argue without looking like an ungrateful brat.I hated that people knew what almost happened to me but at the same time, I understood.Besides, it would help explain the hint of yellowing on the faded bruise at the bottom of my mouth since I didn’t have makeup to cover it up.I certainly didn’t want anyone to think Baffle may have done that to me.
“That’s it?All you have to say is, ‘Okay?’”My husband seemed confused, or for lack of a better word, Baffled.I almost snickered at the play on his name.Then I lost the battle and giggled.
“Yep.Did you expect me to pitch a fit for some reason?”My husband shook his head and tossed a panty-melting grin my way.I ignored it, despite wishing we could be alone in that moment.“Now that they know, when can we go back to Flagstaff to clear out my studio?I have expensive equipment, supplies, and a partially completed commissioned piece sitting there to worry about.”
“You do commissioned installations?”Rick asked, sounding impressed.A few other members were also paying close attention as they waited for my answer.
“Sometimes.A friend of this guy bought something else I sold online and asked if I could do a specific piece in a similar style.It was in my wheelhouse, even though what he wanted was on a much larger scale, so I agreed.”
It wasn’t really a huge deal to me, outside of the fact that I was making a very large paycheck on the piece upon completion.I had been paid a portion upfront, to help with expenses, but I would need to hit my deadline for the project to get the full amount.That was assuming my studio hadn’t been discovered by Slicer.If my work had been destroyed, it would set me a little too far behind to meet the previously agreed to timeline.
“Need you to do something for me,” Rick said as my mind raced to the worst-case scenario for my work.
“What’s that?”I asked as a nervous bubble formed in my belly.
“Need the address, keys, and code if there is one, for your studio space.”Rick didn’t give me a chance to argue with him.“I know it’s your personal space and you might not be ready to share your art with me but it’s not safe for you to go back there right now.I won’t gamble with your well-being.We just said our vows and I don’t even have my patch on you yet.Not gonna take the chance that the fucker is lying in wait and possibly has his friends in the Devils at his back.”
Reluctantly, I handed over everything he asked for.I should have expected what came next, but somehow it still felt like an unwelcome surprise.Since Rick was going to Flagstaff to collect everything in my studio, that meant I was stuck at the clubhouse on my own until he made it back.The last time I’d been left on my own things hadn’t really gone too well for me.
“Crutch is going to be looking out for you while I’m gone.You need anything, anyone bothers you, go to him.Do not hesitate.”
Knowing Crutch was the one I was supposed to go to didn’t leave me with warm and fuzzy feelings.I didn’t get any bad vibes off the man, but again, his wife had been the one to demand that I leave the clubhouse the night before.Sure, she apologized, but that could have just been a front.What would happen if we were left alone again?Crutch was her husband, her old man, surely he would have her back over mine.
14Insane Art
Baffle
“Holy shit!”Grunt’s child-like exuberance caught my attention and I turned to see what the fuck had caused him to act like a giddy kid at Christmas.He tipped his head toward Nell’s studio where the garage-style door had lifted enough to show off the interior.“Your girl is rebuilding a ’57 Chevy?!”It sounded like a question but his excitement bled through at the same time, so I wasn’t sure.
“No.She’s an artist, not a mechanic.”
Grunt pointed toward the center of the studio where a replica of a ’57 Chevy sat on what looked like an overlarge pallet.At first glance, it did look like she was rebuilding it.As we all wandered inside, it quickly became obvious that it had been an illusion.The closer I got, it was easy to see all the incongruent pieces of metal and junk parts that made up the installation.
Within some of the finer details, there were words formed by the placement of the parts.
Pride.
Envy.
One glance at the paperwork sitting on a bench nearby showed that the piece was titled: Classic Sin.
“This is fucking amazing!”Knuckles commented as he noticed the words, too.He pulled his long, dirty-blond hair up in a knot at the base of his neck as he stepped in for a closer look on the backside of the piece.“Do you think she’d sell this?”
“Pretty sure this is the commissioned piece she was working on,” I explained.My club brother wasn’t the only one who was interested in owning it.I wanted the damn thing for myself.In the back of my mind, I knew she had to be talented to have people paying her to make them a specific piece.Still, after her hesitation when I originally asked to see her art, I thought maybe she was concerned because she might not be as talented as she hoped.That couldn’t have been the case.My wife was in a league of her own with this type of work.
“Maybe when she’s finished, we can pull our resources and commission a Harley with our club code worked into it,” Knuckles suggested.
“Hell yeah,” Grunt agreed.“Nobody fucks with the Kings!”
