Page 15 of Hell Bent

“Yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have gone after Jerome.” Tossing the wrench on the toolbox, Sway looked at her best friend. “How did you know about that?” She hadn’t told her.

“Dawson was hanging out with a few of the fighters he trains. He told me.” Lottie squinched her nose as she got a whiff of motor oil.

She hadn’t seen him there, but her focus had been on kicking Jerome’s ass. Sway wanted to tell Lottie about running into the jackass the night of the funeral and that Vicious had walked her home, but she chose not to, telling herself she was keeping her friend safe.

“I know you’re upset about Tesh, babe, but your brother wouldn’t want you getting killed over him.”

Sway knew Lottie was right. Tesh had spent his life protecting her from their father when they were children and from their mother after their father died. And as adults, he protected her from all the assholes who’d come in and out of their lives. The problem was, she’d never protected him. She’d always believed, however naïve, that her big brother was invincible. That no one would ever hurt him, and that no one would dare betray him. Reality was a bitch. “I’m good. It won’t happen again,” she told Lottie.

“Come out with me and Dawson tonight. Cut loose, have some fun.”

“Nah, I have a couple oil changes to finish up. Once I’m done here, I’m heading upstairs.” The last few weeks, her life had been all about work. Before that, it had been a week going to the hospital to stay with Tesh. It had been up to her to keep the business running smoothly until her brother recovered. But Tesh hadn’t recovered. He passed away, and now, she needed to keep it running for herself. Her life had been stuck on rinse and repeat, and she wished the cycle would end soon.

“You can’t work all the time, Sway. You can’t keep running on empty.”

“Lottie, if I don’t keep things running, the shop won’t make it. I’ll have to fire everyone, including myself. And I’m not running on empty. I’m just running on less right now.”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Don’t be. I’m fine. I need to find my way, is all.”

“I’ll leave you alone for now, but if you need me, I’m a phone call away.”

“Thanks, Lottie.” Sway was thankful when Lottie let it go. When she blew Sway a kiss and headed out the back, Sway felt like a bad friend.

“I’ll lock up,” Lottie said as she disappeared into the shadows of the backroom. Going back to the oil change, Sway kept her mind on task. Thinking about dancing into the early morning hours wouldn’t pay the bills.

Two hours later, she tossed a rag on her workbench. Going to the fridge, she grabbed a beer from inside and twisted the top off. Taking a seat, she filled out the work order before closing out the job. Once the paperwork was done, she tipped back the bottle and drank the cold liquid. Closing her eyes, she embraced the silence. A month back, she’d been sitting in a drab hospital room listening to the sounds of machines beeping and wheezing as she watched old westerns on an antiquated TV. What she wouldn’t give to be up there with her brother still alive.

“You need to deal with it,” she told herself. What she needed was a long, hot bath. A hot bubble bath. Damn if that didn’t sound good. She could almost feel the sudsy bubbles caressing her overworked skin, the smell of cashmere floating through the air. Those images had her saying fuck it. She could take a couple hours for herself. It might do her some good. Closing the place down, Sway made her way through the shop, making sure everything was in its place.

She made sure that all the tools and all liquids had been put away and cleaned up. The last thing she checked was that all the lifts were let down. With the radio silent and the lights turned low, she made her way to the back door. Sway didn’t know where the emotions had come from, but they bubbled up and over. She was so alone now. The feeling of having no one left almost crippled her some nights.

It took her two weeks not to cry herself to sleep, and another week to stop looking for Tesh in the office when she needed something.

Keeping to her usual schedule gave her a sense of normalcy. Made her feel as if she was still connected to her brother in some small way. With everything the way it should be, all she needed to do now was drag her tired ass upstairs. She hated when the day ended. It was the worst part, when things went quiet and there was no one to lean on. No one to discuss the stress that hounded her daily. The pamphlets said there were five stages of grief. She was still in the stage of denial and anger. Some days, she found herself bargaining with God to bring Tesh back. At every corner, something reminded her of her brother. How could it not?

Depression was ever present in her daily routine. Everything from people telling stories about Tesh, paying bills, to running the shop. Figuring out payroll and taxes. Ordering supplies and invoicing customers. Even the leaky sink in her kitchen that needed fixing reminded her of Tesh.

All of it made her cry and want to throw something at the wall, but all that would do was give her one more reason to miss her brother. Yes, depression was a contender, but denial and anger were still in the race. According to those damn pamphlets, she had to go through every holiday and celebration without her brother before acceptance set in. Evidently, whoever wrote those fucking things had never lost anyone.

Chapter Ten

Over the past weeks, Vicious kept to himself. The last thing he wanted was to go another round with Teller. It would happen at some point. They had been circling each other since thrown into their new positions.

If he’d wanted to be President, Vicious would have put his name in the hat. He didn’t want it. He was honoured to be VP, but if he told the truth, he would have picked someone else for the position. Someone like Player. But since he held the spot, he’d do his best to do it justice.

Lifting his whisky glass, he glanced around the common area, taking in the room. The clubhouse had come together in a good way after a lot of hard work and even more hustling. From the aged brick walls to the naturally discoloured concrete floor, you could feel the years that had passed through the place. The building had been a textile business in a time when the area was at the mercy of the trade imports and exports climate.

Thinking about the clubhouse, his thoughts went back to the last break-in at a warehouse the chapter owned. Something about the break-in left him wondering if they were too focused on the Scorpions that they were overlooking something. It could have just been punks making their bones doing some B-and-Es. Not having proof, he kept his suspicions to himself.

“What’s that look for?” Hearing Teller’s voice, Vicious looked up at him.

Lying sometimes was the best thing when it came to avoiding an argument. “Just enjoying the view.”

Teller frowned as he looked around the outdated clubhouse. There was nothing to see. The place was vacant, with just the low rumble of rock music playing through the speaker system. “What view? The place is practically empty.”

“Teller, I’m appreciating the aesthetic.”

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