veterinarian before.
Dated?
Well, maybe we weren’t dating. Maybe we could just start out as friends. But if I was planning on leaving town, there wasn’t much point in developing anything more than that. I needed only one finger to count the number of friends I had at this very moment. Bones. I could stand to have another, couldn’t I?
I kept glancing at the clock, but the morning dragged by incredibly slowly. Then, just about lunchtime, my cell phone rang. It took me a moment to find it, buried under a pile of clothes on my bed. I didn’t recognize the number, although the area code was local.
“Hello?”
“Keep your mouth shut or else.”
Click.
That was it. The voice had been deep, slightly muffled as if the caller had held something over his mouth to disguise his voice. I didn’t have to wonder who the message came from. One of the Outlaws. I frowned and tossed the phone back onto the bed. Why the drama?
Stupid drug induced paranoid criminal wannabes.
I stood by one of the grimy, dusty windows looking down on the street below, frowning as I went through all the possibilities. Coming up with nothing, I reached for my phone and dialed Bones. After two rings he answered.
“Hey, Ash, how’s it hangin’?”
“You still in town?”
“Yeah, I talked to my cousin up in—”
“Not too many details, Bones. Just wanted to let you know I just got my own message.”
Silence for a moment. “What was it?”
“Keep my mouth shut or else.” Bones said nothing. “I think they’ve been watching me, my loft. There were a few of them hanging around outside the mall when Kathy—”
“Kathy? Who’s Kathy?”
“You know that girl I met from the pet store, the one I told you about? I had a cup of coffee with her Saturday afternoon at the Starbucks not far from the pet store where she works. Anyway, we were having coffee outside when three of the gang drove down the street, twice. The second time, they called my name and one of them acted like he was shooting a gun at me.”
“That’s not good,” Bones commented.
“That didn’t bother me nearly as much as what Kathy told me. She has a second job near the mall, and she said that when she got off work, the same trio were hanging around outside. They left when she did.”
“That’s not good either.”
“So what do you think? Intimidation or something more serious? Have you heard anything, gotten any more messages?”
“I heard some whispers the other day. Mops said something about a plant.”
“A plant?”
“Yeah, an undercover DEA agent, a Feeb, maybe even a local cop in the gang.”
Well, that would do it, but why focus on me? “Doesn’t make much sense when applied to either one of us. We were never in the core group.”
“No, but I wonder… you weren’t jumped-out, so I thought everything was cool with you leaving.” He paused. “I was gonna take off in a day or two myself.”
Jumping out was something that some gangs did, basically requiring a member to be willing to get the shit beat out of him before he could receive “permission” from the gang to leave. I hadn’t heard of that going on with the Outlaws. Maybe they were worried about repercussions from police. I was holding onto a secret, a secret that not even Bones knew about, but they were apparently keeping an eye on Bones too. Why?
There was no doubt that Bones and I had hung around the fringes of the gang and weren’t core members. So why the hell did they even care? Did they know? How could they? Did they suspect?
“You there, Ash?”
“Yeah, just trying to think. I called to let you know about it and to tell you to watch your back too.”
“You gonna be around later? I can come by. Talk.”
“I’m taking Kathy later for a ride, an early dinner, then getting her home before dark.”
Bones chuckled. “What, she underage or something?
I smiled. “No, nothing like that. I just want to make her feel comfortable. It’s not like I’m used to dating
Dated?
Well, maybe we weren’t dating. Maybe we could just start out as friends. But if I was planning on leaving town, there wasn’t much point in developing anything more than that. I needed only one finger to count the number of friends I had at this very moment. Bones. I could stand to have another, couldn’t I?
I kept glancing at the clock, but the morning dragged by incredibly slowly. Then, just about lunchtime, my cell phone rang. It took me a moment to find it, buried under a pile of clothes on my bed. I didn’t recognize the number, although the area code was local.
“Hello?”
“Keep your mouth shut or else.”
Click.
That was it. The voice had been deep, slightly muffled as if the caller had held something over his mouth to disguise his voice. I didn’t have to wonder who the message came from. One of the Outlaws. I frowned and tossed the phone back onto the bed. Why the drama?
Stupid drug induced paranoid criminal wannabes.
I stood by one of the grimy, dusty windows looking down on the street below, frowning as I went through all the possibilities. Coming up with nothing, I reached for my phone and dialed Bones. After two rings he answered.
“Hey, Ash, how’s it hangin’?”
“You still in town?”
“Yeah, I talked to my cousin up in—”
“Not too many details, Bones. Just wanted to let you know I just got my own message.”
Silence for a moment. “What was it?”
“Keep my mouth shut or else.” Bones said nothing. “I think they’ve been watching me, my loft. There were a few of them hanging around outside the mall when Kathy—”
“Kathy? Who’s Kathy?”
“You know that girl I met from the pet store, the one I told you about? I had a cup of coffee with her Saturday afternoon at the Starbucks not far from the pet store where she works. Anyway, we were having coffee outside when three of the gang drove down the street, twice. The second time, they called my name and one of them acted like he was shooting a gun at me.”
“That’s not good,” Bones commented.
“That didn’t bother me nearly as much as what Kathy told me. She has a second job near the mall, and she said that when she got off work, the same trio were hanging around outside. They left when she did.”
“That’s not good either.”
“So what do you think? Intimidation or something more serious? Have you heard anything, gotten any more messages?”
“I heard some whispers the other day. Mops said something about a plant.”
“A plant?”
“Yeah, an undercover DEA agent, a Feeb, maybe even a local cop in the gang.”
Well, that would do it, but why focus on me? “Doesn’t make much sense when applied to either one of us. We were never in the core group.”
“No, but I wonder… you weren’t jumped-out, so I thought everything was cool with you leaving.” He paused. “I was gonna take off in a day or two myself.”
Jumping out was something that some gangs did, basically requiring a member to be willing to get the shit beat out of him before he could receive “permission” from the gang to leave. I hadn’t heard of that going on with the Outlaws. Maybe they were worried about repercussions from police. I was holding onto a secret, a secret that not even Bones knew about, but they were apparently keeping an eye on Bones too. Why?
There was no doubt that Bones and I had hung around the fringes of the gang and weren’t core members. So why the hell did they even care? Did they know? How could they? Did they suspect?
“You there, Ash?”
“Yeah, just trying to think. I called to let you know about it and to tell you to watch your back too.”
“You gonna be around later? I can come by. Talk.”
“I’m taking Kathy later for a ride, an early dinner, then getting her home before dark.”
Bones chuckled. “What, she underage or something?
I smiled. “No, nothing like that. I just want to make her feel comfortable. It’s not like I’m used to dating
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