Page 35 of Claymore
I was on the edge of my seat the entire ride to Crystal’s. I dug my nails into Claymore’s torso, feeling the wind pierce my skin and the sun beat down on me hard. I was sweating, my palms slippery, my head spinning. I went into a full-blown panic the second we pulled up out front. Seeing the cop cars near the door with their red and blue flashing lights, the sound of their radios going off, it was all too much.This is all my fault.
I entered, feeling the hot air on my skin, knowing the air had to be off for hours. When I laid eyes on Louise over by the ticket station, talking to the two cops, the tears welled up behind my eyes. I ran over to her, wrapping my arms around her tightly, wishing I never had to let go.
“Louise. Louise, I’m so sorry,” I cried.
“It’s okay, Ella. Everyone pulled through. Everyone’s going to be fine, or at least it looks that way. We have to close up shop for a few days until things get settled, but I meant what I said. You shouldn’t have come back. I should’ve known something was off when you told me you needed vacation time.”
She was a lot calmer, a lot more level-headed now. I wonder what jolted her out of the shocked, terrified state she’d been in. I imagined it was news about Derek, knowing he’d be fine, knowing that we didn’t lose anyone.
I pulled her aside, folding my arms across my chest, just as Claymore came up to join us. Just by the looks of him, she staggered back in fear.
“No, no. Louise. It’s okay. He’s not one of them.”
“My daddy always said bikers were real trouble. I didn’t know how much trouble until last night,” she spat.
“He can help. We’re trying to find the people that did this.”
“You need to leave that up to the cops.”
“The cops can’t help with this, Louise. Please, just hear us out,” Claymore chimed in.
I’d waited a long time, trying to keep Ray in my past, trying to forget that he ever existed. Telling Louise the truth in the back room surrounded by straw bags of vegetables felt like I was baring a part of myself no one had ever seen before. She listened attentively, twisting the ring on her finger to calm how anxious all of this made her. When Claymore told her how much I’d been through, how far he’d gone to protect me, she broke down in tears.
“You were shouldering all of this by yourself, Ella?”
“I wasn’t as alone as you might think,” I said, glancing over at Claymore who flashed me a warm smile.
She put her hand in mine, squeezing tightly.
“Whatever you do now, I need you to promise me that you’ll be careful. I won’t lose you, Ella. We’re all a family here. You know that.”
“I know, Louise.”
“If there’s anything at all you need, you let me know.”
“I need you to stay safe. Keep everyone safe. My brother is reckless and he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. I need to figure out what that is.”
Louise nodded, wiping away the tears that streamed down her face. She gathered her things, getting ready to head back to the hospital.
“Give Derek my best,” I said.
“I will.”
I spotted her say something to the cops who had been glancing over at us. They returned to their work, leaving us be. I sighed deeply, watching Louise leave through the cutout window in the kitchen, as the little bell over the front door rang one last time.
“Ella, we’re gonna need to come back later. We can’t possibly search this entire place with the cops strolling around. They start asking the wrong questions, we’re gonna be in some seriously hot water,” Claymore whispered, eyeing the cops out front.
“I should probably say something.”
“No, you shouldn’t. You weren’t here. You didn’t see anything that could help them. We’ll be back once they’re done. Maybe a day or two when this place is locked up. It’s not like the cops are gonna be watching the place. We’ll have plenty of time to search then.”
“What if the cops destroy the scene by then?”
“They won’t. It’s an open investigation. This was a hit in broad daylight. Besides, they won’t know what to look for. This is our territory now.”
“Yeah, all right.”
“Come on.”
