Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys

Chapter 8

(unedited)

Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys: Chapter 8

It'd been a week and I still couldn't stop thinking about the notes. I didn't know much about my father's old biker club, but I knew it was the reason we moved so far away from our home. They were the reason Dad picked such a small, middle-of-nowhere town. They were the reason Dad chose such a boring job, instead of reopening his beloved garage. They were the reason Mom, Mark and Luke weren't with us anymore.

"Harley!" I jumped a little at the shout, my head swinging to my left. Andy looked at me, eyes scrunched as he frowned at me. "Come here."

I made my way over to his office, closing the door behind me. He took a seat behind his desk, papers and receipts crowding the top. "You okay? I called for you four or five times." He leaned forward on his elbows.

"Yeah, sorry." I sighed, bringing my hand up to rub at my sore eyes. I hadn't had a good night's sleep in days, and I'd been running more and more each morning in an attempt to clear my head, even for just a little while, but it hadn't been working. "Just had a lot on my mind lately."

He hummed, nodding his head once and turned to his computer. "Well, something's come up." He sighed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing's particularly wrong, but I didn't want to say this in front of everyone." He typed a few things on the keyboard before bringing his attention back to me. "I have something really important for you to do." He looked at me seriously and I shifted from one foot to the other, scrunching my eyes together.

"Okay." I slid my hands into my back pockets and waited for him to continue.

"I have a customer who needs work done on their bike." He started. I had no idea where he was going with this. So, he had a customer. We had lots of customers. I didn't see the big deal. "It's a pretty important customer and I've been instructed to put my best on it." He looked me in the eye. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, so put Jeb on it. Why are you telling me?" He shook his head.

"I'm putting you on it." I was quiet for a moment. I didn't know what to say. I couldn't possibly be the best in this shop. "I need someone I can trust with it. Someone I know that's going to take every care in the world with it. Someone I know won't fuck around and will get the job done right the first time. Quickly and quietly."

I didn't understand why he was being so weird about it, but I nodded my head. "I can do that." He nodded once, standing from his chair.

"That's why I chose you." He opened the office door, tilting his head to the right indicating for me to follow him. We made our way around to the back of the shop and to something covered in a white sheet. He pulled the sheet off and revealed a beautiful blue bike. Andy turned and noticed my awe, giving me a small smile. "She's a beauty, isn't she?" I couldn't do anything but nod. "He's not sure what's wrong with it, unfortunately, so I can't help you there, but I need it done as soon as you can, okay?" I nodded again and he left me to it. I was thankful for the distraction. Maybe I could finally clear my mind. I removed my jacket and got to work.

By mid-afternoon, I'd shed my t-shirt in favor of my tank top but was stuck with my jeans. The July heat was really settling in and Andy had opened all the garage doors to let some air pass through. I could feel the sweat rolling from my hairline, down my face and neck and disappearing underneath my tank top. To say I felt gross and irritated would be an understatement. I used a shop towel to mop up the sweat around my face and continued what I was doing.