Page 32 of Eagle

His hand was shaky as I took the bag from him. I looked inside and there were several items but it looked like takeout. “What is all this?”

“You seemed to have a lot of drinks last night, and then well, the bathroom. This stuff always helps me feel normal again after a bender.”

I couldn’t fight the smile and I wanted to kick myself. “Thanks for this. But I don’t know what else to say.”

“Thanks is good.” He moved so quickly I couldn’t react. But he didn’t go for my lips. Instead, he kissed my forehead, ran his hand over my head, then his lips were by my ear. “I miss you, Lacy.”

As quickly as he leaned in, he was in his truck and leaving. My heart was racing and my arm had reached out on its own. I nearly took a step toward the driveway, but stopped myself and put my arm down.

Once he was out of sight, I closed the door and took my bag to the kitchen. There was wonton soup with the little crunchies, a few sports drinks, a bottle of Ibuprofen, a tin of mints, and there was a box.

Pulling the top off the small box, I gasped as I pulled out the handwritten note.

Please don’t block my number.

There was a phone inside. I pulled it out and turned it on. After the homescreen came on, I noticed there was a text. I already knew it had to be from him. I was nervous at what it would say, but my curiosity couldn’t ignore it.

Eagle: I know this won’t fix everything. But I’m asking you to give me the chance to try.

It may have been the exhaustion, the hangover, or the words, but tears filled my eyes and I didn’t try to stop them.

Chapter 16

Eagle

The first part of my plan was complete. I couldn’t remember anything ever being so hard, though. My hands were shaking the entire time, desperate to grab her. She was wearing my shirt. That had to be a good sign. A little voice in my head kept saying to toss her over my shoulder and take her back where she belonged. Instead, I stuck to what I originally thought of. I had to start over and do things right.

She looked so beautiful, even after having such a rough night. I still needed to explain myself and apologize, but until I could get her to listen, I’d save it. This would require patience. I’d exercised some with her before and I could do it again. If I started spouting off everything I wanted to say she would only shut down and not change her mind. And I wouldn’t be able to blame her.

This would require effort and finesse. Effort I could handle. The finesse part would be challenging. I was used to getting what I wanted, especially when it came to women. But I’d neverwanted someone like this–like her. All the others before her were just for short-term fun and there was no room for anything else in my mind. Whether that had to do with my hang ups about women or because Lacy was so amazing, I couldn’t say. Either way, I’d never wanted anything as much as I wanted her. I took it for granted because I thought I had her and kept telling myself it wasn’t special, when deep down I knew it was. Now, I had to work for it.

It helped that I had shit to do. Keys found the owner of the Trans Am, so I was going to tail him a little. Something didn’t add up because the owner, Kelvin, was listed as a manager of a landscaping company. When Keys checked it out, it was a pretty high-end company handling some of the golf courses in the area. Keys blew up the pic and worked some magic and there was a sticker on his back windshield. Why would this guy be driving Uber, and in his classic car?

I was in the cage since I was checking this guy out. Plus, if I found an opportunity to speak to him, having a classic truck would be a great topic to get him talking. Car guys would talk to anyone about cars, but bikers could be intimidating. I needed to figure out his deal before he learned I was with DE. If he was really driving Uber, he may have just been at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Nothing about this guy screamed illegal shit, but that didn’t mean anything. Most people involved in crime operations didn’t live in shitty little shacks. Maybe the very low-level runners that were just pawns in the game. But even the middlemen usually had cute little houses with white picket fences, two point five kids, and a dog.

The stories of the suburban busts always got reported, but buried in the news. Usually because of money and connections. Most people skim over them, not wanting to admit that Mr.Jones at the end of the block who always waves as you pass by was smuggling drugs through your perfect little neighborhood. Ignorance is bliss to the masses.

After checking a few of the addresses Keys gave, I finally spotted the Trans Am. It was parked at the clubhouse of one of the golf courses his company was contracted with. I didn’t see the Uber sticker, but that was definitely the car and the same tags.

Looking over the outside of the building and watching two groups of men walk inside, I knew I would stick out like a sore thumb in there. They all had dress pants and golf shirts. I’d have to see if he ended up somewhere a little more casual. I lost my cut once I got back into the cage, but jeans and a t-shirt were probably against the dress code.

Pulling away and parking down the street, I waited a while to see if the Trans Am left. I wanted to pull my phone out and send something sweet to Lacy, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the exit of the golf club. Instead, I sat with the windows cracked and killed the engine. It was hot as fuck but I found a spot in the shade. My truck was too old to leave running in park, and the AC would just blow hot air after a while if it wasn’t moving. You could update an old vehicle, but you couldn’t make it new.

Less than an hour later, I saw the classic car leaving the golf club. I fired up the engine and pulled out in the same direction. After a minute, I saw him up ahead. I kept my distance and followed behind. The rest of the day it was a game of cat and mouse. He kept stopping at businesses I couldn’t walk into and I’d wait until he drove to the next one.

I pulled my phone out after the fourth stop since I knew he’d be a few minutes. Looking at it, I was drawing a blank. I couldn’t pour my heart out in a text but didn’t want to send some cheesy fucking shit that would annoy her. Instead, I texted Hawk to lethim know how it was going. I told him before I left I was going to check this guy out. He told me to take Falcon or Jackal but I insisted it would be better as a one man job.

Jackal was a bit older than us, even Butch, and having him around had been useful. With events of the past couple of years, we found ourselves with a young group of officers. Don’t get me wrong, we knew our shit and had shown our commitment, that’s the only reason we could take over. But Hawk wasn’t too proud to admit having a seasoned guy like Jackal around who could lend support and guidance was a blessing, and neither was I.

Finally, Kelvin left his stop and took off, so I waited a minute, then followed. We drove a while but ended up at his house. Keys had sent me the address and a picture, so I knew that’s where we were. I drove past and waited a while before I turned around to leave. When I did, I noticed some kids toys in the front and a swingset in the back. There was another car in the driveway, so I snapped a picture to send to Keys. It was probably just his wife’s car but you can never be too sure.

We already knew he had a wife and kids and where he worked. But the Uber thing still didn’t make sense. Keys checked, and his salary was decent. His wife worked as a schoolteacher. Their house was within their means. Since he only drove the Trans Am, he probably didn’t have another car. Most folks with a second car would drive it for daily shit and only use the classic for cruising.

Once I got the picture of the tag, I kept going. I was decent at tailing but he could have eventually noticed me behind him. Before I got back on the main road, I sent the picture to Keys then called him.

“Yo.”

---