Page 6 of Medusa's Revenge

“You’re looking for a job? Have you ever worked on cars before?” He looks me up and down.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover. I went to law school and became a lawyer because of my Dad. It was a do-as-I-say type of career. My love has always been cars. I went to a trade school at night to become a mechanic. My grandfather and I would worked on cars before he passed away.” I handed him my application so he could see what I was saying was true.

“My name is Tanner, but everyone calls me TJ. I own this shop.” He looks at the woman, and she nods as she walks away. “This is a unique shop. We have a contract with a local motorcycle club so we do a lot of maintenance there. There is another garage in town, but they’re not as busy as ours. They try to poach our customers and my mechanics. It’s one of the reasons I’m hiring.”

“Got it. I’m new to town and would love to work here. The smell of grease and oil feels like home to me. I’m used to workingon old cars, and I tinker with my car a lot. I’d love it if you give me a chance.” TJ sighs and looks over the application.

“Okay. Let’s start you on a trial basis.” I hold out my hand to him, and we shake. I start filling out the new hire paperwork. He told me to be here tomorrow morning at eight.

“You live in Smitty’s apartments?” I nod. “He’s a good dude.”

"Yeah, he is. I appreciate everything he’s done for me so far. I’m grateful for it.”

“When you get here, if you don’t see me, ensure you find Ruby. She runs my day-to-day operations.”

“Thank you for giving me this chance. You won’t be disappointed.” I tell him, shaking his hand again.

“I do have an off the wall question for you.” I nod for him to continue. “Are you still a lawyer?”

“I’m looking into transferring my license to practice if I make friends here and they need my legal help. It’s more like a legal aid for those who can’t afford the shark. A shark trained me, so I know how to handle myself in a courtroom.”

“Sounds like you’re a good man.” TJ smiles at me. I head out and drive back to my apartment. I smile because this new life I chose for myself is working out.

Chapter Five

Medusa

I walk into my house after having a breakfast feast at the clubhouse. I yell out Michelle’s name, but nothing. I take off my leather jacket and hang it up. Remove my boots and grab the stack of mail on the stand by the door. I flop onto my recliner and get comfy before going through the mail. My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I reach for it to pull it out. I see it’s Derby calling.

“Yo!” I answer.

“Can you not answer the phone correctly?” She sighs. I giggle. Derby is not as prim and proper as she pretends to be, but she grew up attending etiquette classes thanks to her grandma.

“I’m sorry, Your Highness. I forgot I’m talking to the Queen of Saltina, Indiana.” We laugh. “What’s up? How is work?”

“Work is good. TJ hired someone today.” I sit up and move the pile of mail off my lap.

”Did you send the information over to Joker?” Joker is our resident computer nerd who likes to dabble on the dark web.

“As soon as he left. He’s a lawyer who only went to college to please his Dad but loves working on cars. He was forthcoming with everything. TJ likes him, and he lives in the apartments Smitty owns. Noah sang Smitty’s praises, which made TJ like him.”

“Good. So his background is good?” I’m overprotective of my siblings. It can be suffocating, as Michelle likes to remind me.

”Yes. Everything Joker finds is legit. She’s still running her deeper dive, but it all points back to him being a good guy.”

“I hope he works out for TJ’s sake. He needs to find someone to help him and won’t be swayed by the DeMarcos.” I still can’t believe they’re trying to act like a legit family-run business. It’s just a way to launder their money. We figured that out fast enough when one of our prospects new to the area did some recon there.

“Have you seen Michelle today?” Derby pulls me from my spiraling thoughts. She knows when it comes to them, I go dark and inside my head too much.

“No. She’s not home. Joker reviewed her cell phone records; his number is a burner cell. I can’t help but think he’s not who he says he is.” I groan as I lay my head back on the headrest.

“You need to let her make her mistakes. She’s old enough to find her path. You can’t keep her in this bubble you made for Michelle.” I know this is the same speech I get from TJ, Bubbles,Derby, and DaVinci, who I’m closest with because we all grew up together. I’m thankful for them, but putting that hat away is difficult.

“I know, but it’s hard.” I close my eyes, and I see the little girl clinging to my hands as we put my dad into the ground. She’s not that little girl anymore. Derby tells me she needs to get back to work. We hang up, and I sit there thinking about everything: the club, Michelle, TJ, our businesses, and how to shut down DeMarcus once and for all. I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting here, but my stomach growls. I guess I’m hungry. Standing from the recliner, I look down at the stack of mail I don’t remember dropping but see a brown envelope. It has Amelia Baxter written across it. There is no stamp or address written on it. “Who would’ve delivered this letter?” I mutter to myself.

As I’m opening it, my hands shake. The last time I received a note like this, it was from Tommy DeMarco shortly after my dad’s murder, making sure I knew he was watching me. Pulling out the paper, I read the words and drop it.

Hello, Bella. I see you and can’t wait to see you again.

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