Page 16 of Bear (Rebel Saints MC 6)

Chapter Six: Spooked Out

Delphia

The surprise was I’d enjoyed myself at Wheelz. Bear told the truth when he’d said his crew was exciting. They were funny, easy going people. Especially Jaz. She made me feel included and because I’d isolated myself since my brother’s death, I’d forgotten what it had been like to feel alive again without any worries like death or grief looming over me.

I still hadn’t worked out the back door mystery.

Brendan didn’t seem to be upset when I took over the graveyard shift from him. “Hey, I checked the back door thing out; it seems okay to me. Maybe you left it open.”

“Maybe I did.” His theory didn’t sit right with me, but I slid in behind the counter and slung my stuff down like any other day.

“How are you today?”

Brendan’s small talk felt like my teeth were being pulled one by one. “I’m doing pretty good, thanks, Brendan.” My social skills of late weren’t the greatest, so I took the time to at least acknowledge him for a few minutes. My nerves were a little shot from thinking about the back door. “How are you doing? Do you like the afternoon shift better?”

“Ah, not bad. I get home earlier, so that’s always a bonus. Other than that it’s the same old, same old. I dunno, the night shift feels a little dangerous to me. It’s so dark outside, and it’s too quiet sometimes. Creeps me out. Doesn’t it bother you?” he asked.

“Nope. Doesn’t bother me at all. I feel peaceful most of the time when I’m on night shift. I've been doing it for so long.” Except lately, I felt differently about it. As if there was someone watching and peering into the gas station.

“Okay. Well, I’m gonna go. There’s a man who tried to leave the pump without paying, but his details are on the counter. I had to chase him out to the pump. I told the boss man, so he’s got a handle on it.”

I nodded. All standard at Holbeck Gas. That was my life. Sometimes, I chased them or shouted over the megaphone for them to come back. The surveillance cameras would pick up their license plates, and we always caught them.

“Okay, see ya. Have a good night.” Brendan strolled out with his backpack.

I went on with my shift. The afternoon dragged on and as per usual, the icebox air conditioner made me feel as if I was an ice cube in a freezer. I shivered in my jacket and turned it down. I wanted to turn it all the way off, but I figured the customers might not be okay with the result, which would be their clothes sticking to them when they walked to the counter. Sometimes people came into the gas station just so they could have some reprieve from the outside heat.

The day faded away with the numerous chores from the gas station that I had to take care of and soon, the curtain of dusk to dark night fell. A howling wind seemed to be moving through and I flicked my computer on to see if we were about to experience a storm. Nope.

Holbeck weather report: Slightly windy.

“Yeah, right. It’s super windy up in here,” I grumbled as I watched the purple and deep violet sky with interest. It was a pretty thing to look at, but that was about it.

This was the part of the night shift when I felt the Zen. Peaceful, relaxing even. As the time passed, I pulled out my magazine, ate a Hershey’s bar, and flipped through the pages.

A rattling noise near the back exit caused me to freeze and throw it down.

The drumbeat of my heart flooded my chest as I picked up the slim metal pole we used to pull the manhole cover off the gas outlets. My steps were quick and light as I walked through the back. I pushed the men and women’s bathroom doors open along the way to see if anyone was inside.

The disturbing feeling of being watched had its grip on me again, and I felt like I was in a horror movie in the moment right before the attacker emerges. My ears were pricked for the sound again, but no noise came.

Billowing winds were sweeping over the gas station and my weird feeling could just be that. It didn’t have to be someone watching or trying to freak me out, but the way my body reacted to the tinkering sound of what felt like a can blowing away in the wind had made me paranoid.

Flipping on the light from the back door, I still couldn’t see anything. I scanned left to right… nobody there. I looked down. A red Coke can clattered away from my foot. I frowned as my gaze swept the back area and then I tried to shove all the garbage in the compactor.

One lone can had caused my near heart attack.

My pulse rate was still up and I picked up the smell of gas from a vehicle. I knew what it smelled like. A warm car engine had traveled through here, and it wasn’t long ago. I made a mental note to check the video screen when I got back to confirm. I put a hand to my neck where shivers were still running. I didn’t want to stand out back too long. I closed the door quickly and checked it a number of times to make sure it wouldn’t budge, then half-jogged back to the front.

I didn’t even check the footage. I called Bear and it went to voicemail. “Um, hi Bear. It’s Delphia. You asked me to call you if anything strange was going on. Can you come down to the gas station? I feel a little scared. I’ll explain when you call back.” I felt like I was talking to a brick wall, so I hung up.

My throat suddenly felt dry. I coughed, clearing my throat and taking a sip of water from my bottle.

Of course, he wasn’t free at ten at night.

I’d left a message anyway, hoping he would get it. I didn’t call my boss because he would just tell me to call him back if I actually saw anything suspicious.

The phone rang straight back. Seeing the phone screen light up put me at ease.

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