“Stop.” Grizz held up a hand as he strode toward the car. “Stop right now. Stop right here.” He walked to the passenger side and asked Grunt through the open window, “Where’s Blue?”
“He had to go somewhere,” Grunt replied matter-of-factly.
Grizz crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood back. He looked at the car slowly from one end to the other. “You traded my Cadillac for this piece of shit?” His face was red with anger. “Moe, turn it off! I can’t hear myself talk.”
Moe turned the key. It sputtered for almost thirty seconds before finally turning off completely. As if on cue, a giant cloud of black smoke appeared from the exhaust pipe.
Grunt got out of the car and looked up at Grizz. “It’s the one she wanted. I know it’s making a lot of noise, but Axel can fix it.” He paused. “It’s perfect for her.”
Grizz was actually at a loss for words. He gained his composure and asked calmly, “Where is he? What’s her name?”
“He left with Pauline.” After a short pause, Grunt added, “You shouldn’t be upset. I got you a deal. I told you I would handle it.”
“This is a deal?” Grizz growled.
“Yeah, it’s a deal,” Grunt replied, reaching into his pocket. “It’s the one Moe wanted and I wanted her to be happy. And now she’s happy. And you shouldn’t be so mad.”
He handed over something to Grizz. It was an envelope.
Grizz opened it and took out a piece of paper. He carelessly tossed the envelope on the ground and opened the folded document. It was a car title in the name of Richard O’Connell and stapled to it was a check from Al’s Auto.
Grizz’s eyes widened when he saw the amount of the check that was made out to his alias.
“Told you I’d get you a deal,” Grunt said as he strolled back to his room.
Chapter Sixteen
2000
“Grizz’s chess set?” Ginny asked.
“Yeah.” Tommy crossed his arms, a line creasing his brow. “Grizz didn’t mention it. Someone must’ve packed it up from the prison and sent it here. I guess it’s something that should really be saved for Mimi.”
“I don’t think we could give it to Mimi without explaining why it would rightfully be hers,” she answered him coolly.
“I didn’t say we should give it to her today or even tomorrow, Gin. I just said we should save it for her.”
“Fine. Then it’s agreed. I say we stick it in a closet until we can figure it out.” She put her hand to her forehead and, lightly shaking her head, said, “I can’t think about this now, Tommy.”
She didn’t look angry anymore. She looked sad.
“What are you thinking about, sweetheart?” His voice was quiet.
She stiffened at the “sweetheart,” but her desire to talk prevailed. “I was just remembering when I got it for him,” she whispered. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I was so into saving the animals when I was a kid. I’d started this petition to free the porpoises from the Seaquarium when I was ten.” She gave a rueful smile, thinking back at the girl she’d once been. “I’d spend hours walking down my block with a laundry basket, wearing oven mitts. I couldn’t stand the thought of the land crabs getting run over so I relocated them.”
Tommy already knew this because he had witnessed some of it. But he didn’t interrupt.
“But I never realized what that chess set cost the animals that had to die for it. I mean, ivory pieces?” She shook her head. “What an idiot. Never once did it occur to me to wonder where ivory came from. Maybe we should donate Grizz’s set to charity. Maybe it could be used in some way to put an end to the illegal ivory trade.”
“Ginny, will you ever stop beating yourself up about everything? I’m not an expert and neither were you when you got it for him. You were only fifteen. We didn’t even have the internet back then for you to look into it. How would you have known if the ivory trade was illegal or not?”
“It should’ve been.”
“Yes, Gin, it should have been.” He walked over to where she was still sitting on the piano bench, taking her hand. She pulled it away. “We have to talk, Ginny, and we can’t do it now. We don’t have time. Jason is expecting a ride later and you and I have too much to discuss. What you said before, about his friend asking if we’d gone to see someone get fried? And now this journal?”
She stood and looked at him sadly. “You still have to leave, Tommy. I honestly don’t think I can have you living here. Not after knowing you kept this—this huge secret from me for so long. I have things to settle in my head. I have thinking to do.”
He started to speak, but she held up her hand. “I don’t care how you look at it. You deceived me. I am a fool for never having seen it, but still, you should have told me.”
She sized him up now with fresh eyes. Tommy didn’t look like Grizz, didn’t have the same features, but he was big and imposing. He had matured into a man with the same build as his father. How had she never noticed? Or had she noticed and never let herself pursue the thought?
No. She wouldn’t do that to herself. Tommy didn’t resemble Grizz in the least. She’d never had a clue.
He’d deceived her. They’d all deceived her.
Her life was a lie.
Tommy touched her arm. “Gin, I can’t leave. Mimi and Jason would want to know why. No.” He shook his head, his voice firm. “I’m not leaving.”
She wrenched away from his touch. “Well, then, I guess I will.”
“Ginny, wait. Moe’s journal. I never knew about it. Don’t you think we should read it? Together?”
“Maybe, but not now. I need to pack. I’m going to Carter’s.”
“You can’t leave, Ginny. What do you want me to tell our children?” His eyes were red. “And—and do you really think Carter’s house is the best place for you to be after today?”
If she was weakening before, that question bolstered her resolve. Carter and her husband lived in the house Grizz had built for Ginny in Shady Ranches. Ginny straightened her shoulders.
“I’ve been to that house a hundred times since I moved out. And so have you. I can be there. It doesn’t bother me.” She started for the bedroom, then turned back. “And as far as the kids are concerned, make something up. You seem like you’re really good at that.”
Tommy just stared after her.
He looked down and realized he was still holding the journal. Maybe they shouldn’t read it together after all. Maybe there was something in it that could hurt her more. Maybe there was something in it that could hurt him, too.
He headed for the kitchen and roughly sat at the table, staring at the closed notebook.
Did he even want to know what was in it?
Chapter Seventeen
1972
Grizz stifled a laugh as he watched Grunt quickly grab his glass and suck down the water in one long chug.
“My mouth is on fire!” Grunt cried.
“I told you they were hot. You wanted to try them. Now you know.” Grizz smirked. “You want me to get you the mild ones now?”
“Here, kid. You can have some of mine. I don’t like ‘em hot either,” Axel said as he slid his basket of chicken wings toward Grunt. “Mine won’t burn your mouth. Go ahead. Try ‘em.”
Grizz signaled the waitress, Rhonda. She was an attractive woman, well-liked by her regulars at the restaurant. It was a little hole-in-the wall dive, known mostly for the best hot wings in South Florida.
Grizz had business to discuss with Axel but decided to bring the kid along. Grunt didn’t get out much and Grizz knew this would be a treat for him. He even allowed himself to give in when Grunt insisted that they take a quick drive by Ginny’s house. He didn’t like to drive by her place because he knew he’d have to turn around at the end. But he also knew Grunt was never around any kids his own age. Who knows, maybe checking on the girl made him feel like he had a silent friend.
Grizz was actually quite amused by what they’d seen that day. The girl was wearing ov
en mitts and carrying a laundry basket full of crabs. The crabs were trying to crawl out of it, and she was so engrossed in keeping them inside that she never noticed the same car passed her twice. It was a comical picture, a determined girl in oven mitts and a ponytail carrying a basket of crabs, and Grizz found himself smiling as he remembered.
Rhonda saw Grizz signal her out of the corner of her eye. She was always on the lookout for Grizz. She didn’t want to chance him not getting her attention and having one of the other waitresses go to his table. She left the drink order she’d been filling for another customer and rushed over.
Rhonda had only been working at the restaurant a month or two when the biker had first come in. She was immediately attracted to him. He was younger than her, but boy, was he hot. Big, tough, handsome in a rugged sort of way. A real bad boy, and Rhonda was always drawn to the bad boys. She’d tried to warm up to him, but he wasn’t really friendly. Today was the first time he’d come in with the kid. She wondered if the kid was his or just another up-and-comer in the gang.
“What can I get ya, Grizz?” she grinned at him after she’d hastily made her way to the table, ignoring the other customers trying to get her attention.
“Another order of wings. Mild this time,” Grizz said and nodded toward Grunt.
“A little too hot for you, honey?” She smiled kindly at Grunt.
“A lot too hot. Can I have some more water too, please?” Grunt motioned to his empty glass.
“Yeah, sure,” she answered him. She then looked quickly at Grizz and Axel. “You boys need anything else?”
“I’m good,” Grizz answered.
Axel had a mouth full of food and shook his head. She walked away.
“She’s nice,” Grunt told Grizz. “She likes you.”
Grizz looked up from his food. “What do you mean she likes me?”
“She keeps watching our table to see if you need anything. She doesn’t watch anybody else’s table.” Grunt crunched on some celery, adding, “I think she wants you to notice her chest. She seems like she’s always making sure her tits are right in your face when she’s over here.”
Grizz looked at Grunt and then at Axel. Axel just nodded and smiled. Grizz hadn’t noticed. She was a nice lady. Older than him, he suspected, but well kept. He looked around the restaurant and noticed some of the other customers glancing appreciatively in Rhonda’s direction. She did have a nice rack. And she seemed to get along with everybody. He’d just lost two girls at The Red Crab and one at Razor’s. He wondered if she’d work topless. Couldn’t hurt to ask.
Less than a week later, Rhonda was behind the bar at The Red Crab. The place was packed and the bartender couldn’t keep up with the drink orders. She was grabbing a couple of beers so she didn’t have to keep her customers waiting. She was placing the beers on her tray when she sensed him. Grizz had come into the bar. She stopped what she was doing and just stared. He’d been walking toward the bar, but was stopped by a regular at one of the tables. She couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“Don’t bother. We’ve all tried. He’ll bend you over the desk, but that’s all you get.”
Rhonda turned to look at the waitress who’d just come up to the bar to get her drink order. Pauline. Rhonda hadn’t been working at the bar long enough to really decide whether or not she liked Pauline.
“Maybe you haven’t tried hard enough.” Rhonda shrugged. “Maybe he hasn’t met the right woman yet.”
“And you think you’re that woman? Ha! I’m telling you, it’s a waste of your time unless you’re into quickies. He’s not that kind of guy. No hand holding or kissing. You’ll never be more than a lay.”
Rhonda raised an eyebrow.
“I know from experience,” Pauline continued. “He has a humungous dick, so it’ll definitely be worth it. But if you have fantasies of waking up in his bed one morning, you can squelch them now. I don’t know of any woman who’s actually been in his bed, and I ain’t tryin’ to insult you darlin’, but I don’t see anything special about you. You’ll just be another chicky in his hen house.” She looked away from Rhonda then, yelling at the bartender. “Mike, my order? C’mon, man, you’re costing me tips!”
A month later, Rhonda asked one of the guys for a ride to the motel after her shift was over. It was Friday night and her daughter, Louise, was staying at a friend’s house. She was going to make her move on Grizz.
She knew about the gang. Or did they call themselves a club? She didn’t remember and she didn’t care. She just knew that if she wanted to get into Grizz’s bed, she would have to be at the motel. She didn’t know a whole lot about gangs, but how bad could it be?
She’d done her best the past month to play it cool with Grizz. Flirted with him, but always backed off before it went too far. She knew she had his interest. Just how much interest, she couldn’t tell. Grizz wasn’t an easy man to read.
They pulled up to the motel and the guy she was riding with cut the engine. His name was Chip. He seemed like an okay guy. She got off the back of the bike and started looking around the motel. It was late and very dark out. A big fire was roaring and she could see some people sitting around it. She spotted Grizz immediately and started walking toward him. Whistling and lewd comments surrounded her as she approached the fire.
Grizz had noticed Rhonda when she first got off Chip’s bike. What was she doing here? She was okay, but he didn’t think she was gang material. He thought she had a kid. Maybe he was wrong.
He took a swig of beer and watched as she sashayed toward him. Without looking at anyone else around the fire, Rhonda walked straight up to Grizz. Cocking a hip and standing over him, she pasted on her coyest smile and said, “Hi, Grizz. What are you doing here?”
Grizz looked at her. “You know damn well I live here. What are you doing here?”
“Oh, just wanted to take a ride with Chip and this is where we ended up. Think you can bring me home later?” Even in the hazy firelight, he could see her flutter her eyelashes.
Grizz stood and grabbed her by the arm, almost pushing her toward the motel. When they were out of earshot from the others, he stopped and looked down at her.
“Rhonda, I thought you were a smart lady,” he growled. “You know what coming here means, right?”
She didn’t know what to say. He seemed mad. She started to answer him, but he cut her off.
“It means you have just made yourself available to any man sitting around that pit.” He leveled a look at her. “If that’s what you want, fine by me. But if not, you’d better find yourself a ride back and we’ll pretend you never came out here.”
He started to walk away from her, striding toward one of the motel units. She was stunned. He seemed so cold and hard. She knew he could be like that, but he’d always been so nice to her at the bar.
She ran to catch up with him. “Grizz, stop! Grizz, wait. Please, just listen.”
He stopped and turned around. “What?”
“Fine. I’ll be honest. I wanted to be with you. I didn’t want it to be at the bar, like the other women. Is that so wrong to admit? That I want to sleep with you?”
There, she said it. It was out. She almost felt relief. She would ask for a ride back to the bar so she could get her car and go home. Maybe Pauline was right.
But before she could blink, Grizz grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the motel. They went into number seven and he shut the door behind them.
Grizz flipped on the light. It went from pitch black to dim.
“Is this your room?” Rhonda asked as she looked around the clean but old space.
“No. It’s not my room.” Grizz walked over to an old dresser and reached into one of the drawers. He took out a condom and tossed it on the bed, then stared at her matter-of-factly. “You want to give me a reason to want to put that on?”
Rhonda decided to pull out all the stops to try and arouse Grizz. It didn’t take long. She was worried that because he’d already seen her breasts, there would be no ant
icipation for him there. But that didn’t seem to matter. She breathed a sigh of relief when he got an erection almost immediately. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw Pauline had been right about his size. Time to spin her magic.
But as hard as she tried, she couldn’t get him to kiss her. It was the craziest thing. She’d never thought about kissing in the past with any guy, but the fact that Grizz seemed to purposely avoid it nagged at her.
A little while later, she was under the covers, eyes closed. He was finished but still inside her. She sighed; it had been the most fantastic sex she’d ever experienced. As far as she knew, she’d gotten even further than Pauline had. This wasn’t a quickie bent over the desk at the office of The Red Crab. She wasn’t in his bed per se, but she’d managed to get him into some kind of bed, at least.
She started to say something when he lifted himself off her and headed straight for the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came out and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling his clothes back on.
“You know, Grizz,” she cooed, “next time we make love, you don’t have to wear one of those nasty rubbers. I hate those things. I’m not like your other girls. You’re not going to catch something from me.”
Grizz didn’t look at her. After putting on his jeans and boots, he stood and pulled his pants up all the way, then buckled his belt.
He tossed a glance at her. “If you’re going to be coming out here regularly, you need to come up with a name. I don’t like anybody that comes to the motel to go by their real names.”
Regularly? Of course she would be here regularly now that she knew she was making progress. She knew she would eventually work her way into his personal bed. And as far as the kissing was concerned, she just needed a little time.
“How about Chicky?” she purred. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Pauline’s face the first time Grizz referred to her by the name—the very name Pauline had suggested so sarcastically last month. That would show Pauline and her sorry ass.