Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys

Chapter 20

(unedited)

Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys: Chapter 20

   It'd been a week since the incident at the fair happened. There'd been no word or action from the DH and I was starting to get really pissed off at the fact that they were either too stupid to be trying to pull something like this off, or they were just toying with me and stretching it out to mess with my head. I couldn't go a couple minutes without continuously checking over my shoulder to see if someone was watching or following me.

   Tools clanged against carts and benches. The clinking sound of bolts being dropped on concrete and boots scuffing the floor swirled around the room and reached my ears as I finished tightening the clamp on a brake line. I'd started to go stir-crazy this last week without being able to do my own jobs. I'd kept myself so busy inventorying everything in this building, that I could tell you how many rolls of toilet paper we had left and where every single roll of paper towels we had were kept. Andy finally let me start working on bikes again when he caught me organizing wrenches by size and weight.

   It was a dark time.

   It felt good to get my hands dirty again. It was a little after five and I was washing my grease-covered hands when Andy strode over to me.

   "Hey, you busy after you leave here?" I looked at him confused. All I had planned after work was to go back home and binge a few shows and annoy Jared. He was like a little brother and I loved annoying and pranking him. Tyson had stuff to do for his mom and Corey had to go pick up Casey.

   "No, not really. Why, what's up?"

   He hefted a bag onto the counter next to the sink. "I need you to run this to the bank for me. I gotta go do club stuff, and I don't have time to run it in to deposit it. Can you do it for me? Just deposit it into the Andy's Mechanics account and bring the deposit slip back in with you tomorrow, okay?" I nodded, drying my hands as I watched him hustle back into his office and jog back out. "Lock up for me, will ya?" I didn't get to answer before he was gone.

   I finished locking up and strode over toward Jared as he leaned against his bike, waiting for me. "Hey, walk with me." I nodded toward the sidewalk. "I gotta drop off this deposit at the bank for Andy really quick. You mind?"

   "Nah, it's cool."

   As we made our way down the street, we engaged in easy conversation. Jared was the type that didn't like long silences. He filled the silence with jokes and laughter. When we made it to the bank, the short brunette woman at the desk looked like she was more than ready for her day to be over.

   "How can I help you?"

   I attempted a polite smile, but wasn't sure I'd accomplished it, and set the money bag on the counter. "I need to make a deposit for Andy's Mechanics, please." She heaved a sigh, glaring at the bag for a moment, before taking it and sending me the most sarcastic smile I'd ever seen.

   "Just a moment."

   As we waited, Jared decided we'd play a game. We would people watch and decide what a random person's name was and who they were in life. My eyes settled on a girl in her mid-twenties, her blonde hair was up in a sloppy bun and her eyeliner was collecting in the corners of her eyes. She stood in line at another teller in capri leggings and canvas shoes, a gaudy gold wallet tucked under her arm. "Her." Jared followed my eyes and made a face.

   "Well," He started. "that's Laura Finley. She's twenty-six and she finally finished her degree in philosophy. She's moved back home with her mom and dad because she hasn't quite found the job she thought would pop up as soon as she graduated. She's working at the ice cream shop up town to pay off her thirty-seven-thousand dollars in student loans til the right job presents itself." I raised a brow at him in amusement and he shrugged. "She's really regretting choosing philosophy now." I chuckled quietly and we turned to scan the room.