Page 5 of Rebel

When I got out, I had to listen to a lecture all the way back into the office building about how I didn’t get paid to gab on the phone, how he was gonna have to dock my pay for the time I spent outside, and how he was forced to answer his own phone while I was out. Christ on a cracker. This man was downright obnoxious.

***

The rest of the day flew by. I organized everything so it would be easy for Mr. Edwards to find stuff after I’d gone, and I even typed out a paragraph on each of the jobs in progress, whichelectrician was assigned to them, and basic details of the jobs. If he couldn’t get by with the information I was leaving, then I didn’t know what to tell him.

Right before I left for the day, I typed out my letter of resignation, thanking him for the opportunity to work for his company, and explained I was leaving because of a family emergency. Then I signed off on it, snapped a picture of it with my cell phone and put it into an envelope. When I went to deliver it to him, he had his door shut.

A chill shot through my body when I heard him screaming and cursing at his wife, calling her a stinking whore and worthless piece of shit. I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t know how horrible he was, but I just never really understood how deep the hate ran between him and his wife.

Unsure how long he’d be on the phone with her and not wanting to talk to him after such a heated conversation, I shoved my letter of resignation under his door and beat a hasty retreat. The moment I pulled out of the parking lot, my anxiety clicked down.

As I drove away, a tiny, crazy little part of my mind told me that I had dodged a bullet and warned me that after he read that letter, he might lose his shit because it’d be one more huge problem to hit him, right after the blow out he just had with his wife.

Then the rational part of my mind kicked in and I realized that I was nothing to this man, just a peripheral person who existed only in his work environment. I wasn’t worth a personal visit where he begged or coerced me to stay. Nope. He was likely going to just call the employment agency that sent me and ask them for another person to fill my spot. I laughed a little atthe thought of him being upset over losing such a good worker. Employees were all interchangeable and I was certainly nothing to write home about.

Chapter 3

Lacey

Tonight I was sitting across the table from Zoe and her younger sister, Alison. This would be the first Saturday we’d met up in years. Sipping a cold margarita, I was thoroughly enjoying getting caught up on everything that had been going on since I left town. Zoe was the older sister figure that I always looked up to growing up. If I was being honest, I’d admit to idolizing her a bit. Hearing how she hunted down stories about corruption in our town, I realized she was part news reporter, part blogger, and part detective.

“Your parents must be so proud of your success,” I said enthusiastically.

“Yeah, they are,” Zoe confirmed. “My vlog,News Not to Miss, has half a million subscribers now. Obviously, not all my viewers are from Griffinsford. Folks tune in from all over the world. I guess some people just like a glimpse into small town corruption.”

Alison spoke up, smiling and happy. Her cheeks were red, maybe from drinking a little too much, “We’re so proud of Zoe. She’s even been interviewed on one of the national morning shows as an example of the difference between individuals in small towns being vigilant as opposed to vigilantes.”

Zoe smiled ruefully over her margarita, “If they only knew the real story about small town vigilantes their heads would explode.”

I glanced around the Dark Slayers clubhouse, wondering if she could be referring to the men roaming around in leather cuts with the club emblem emblazoned across the back. “I never saw you hooking up with a biker in my crystal ball.” Before she could get defensive, I added, “Even if this isn’t a one percent club and all the members are law abiding former war heroes, my stupid brain keeps saying bikers equal bad news.”

Zoe and Alison laughed, but it was Zoe who addressed my comment. “I think you’re getting bad and badass confused. My Storm is a total badass, but he doesn’t go looking for trouble.”

Alison agreed with her sister. “Same with Grit. He was never in the military though. My old man isn’t one for starting fights, but he’ll sure as hell finish one in a heartbeat, especially if anyone messes with me.”

Something uncomfortable squirmed in the pit of my stomach. “Aren’t you afraid he’ll get hurt finishing fights? I mean anytime there’s physical contact, there is a risk that someone might get injured.”

Alison had already had three drinks and snort laughed at my comment. “I forgot, you haven’t met Grit.”

Suddenly, a huge muscle-bound biker started moving through the bar towards us. He was like nothing I’d ever seen in real life. This dude had muscles stacked on top of muscles. “Did I hear someone mention my name?”

“My old friend, Lacey, is afraid you’re gonna get hurt if you end up in a fight.”

Her gigantic husband’s stern expression morphed into one of amusement and he pressed his lips together as if to keep fromlaughing. After a few seconds he said proudly, “I ain’t never met the man yet that could beat my ass. And that’s saying a lot because I used to fight in underground bare-knuckle boxing tournaments for fun.”

My mouth dropped open because my childhood friend married herself a brute. I gave him the once-over and decided that he could probably hold his own in fight with a gorilla. Lifting my glass to Alison, I told her, “Forget what I said a minute ago. Your husband is what all the creepy things in the dark should be afraid of, not vice versa.”

Everyone laughed, including Grit. Alison tried to take a drink of her margarita but spilled it all over the table. Zoe and I scrambled to wipe it up with napkins. Grit grabbed her glass and set it aside. “I think you’ve had enough to drink for one night. You want to come downstairs with me for some fun, or should we head home to the kids?”

“No going home. We’ve got a babysitter for the whole night, and I plan to take advantage of it.”

Grit grinned like her words were music to his ears. “You got it, sweetness. We’ll head downstairs.” He tugged her up out of her chair and she followed him. Halfway across the room he whispered something in her ear that made her break out in gales of laughter.

I shoved the wet napkins aside and asked, “So, is your husband like Grit?”

Zoe tossed me a mischievous grin. “Hell no. Storm came from money, rejected his family because they were all assholes, and founded this club because too many men were coming out of the military with PTSD and not finding the support they needed.In fact this club sprang from a support group he originally ran. They would meet up regularly, and discovered they had a shared love for biking and brotherhood. That’s how the Dark Slayers MC started.”

“Yeah, but why pick a name like the Dark Slayers? That sounds kind of wicked.”

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