Sins of the Father

Chapter 14





I gasped at the sound of his voice. It was deeper than it had been a minute ago; more guttural and harsh.

“You know my boss?” I asked, confused then shook my head. “Wait, what does Archer have to do with anything?”

“Wait here,” Zephyr barked as he turned on his heel and walked in the back.

What the hell just happened?, I wondered. What was all that about? I looked around at the other customers, but no one had been paying attention to our weird exchange. I bent my head down and picked up the front of my shirt, smelling it. It smelled fine to me; like Gain laundry soap and apples. Why did he act like I smelled bad? I felt my cheeks flush hot in embarrassment and tried to put the scene out of my head.

About a minute later, Dic came out of the back and he was closely followed by a weary Zephyr. “Hey, there beautiful girl,” he said with a happy smile as he approached my table. He was wearing a tight, plain white t-shirt that accentuated his corded, tattoo covered arms, distressed blue jeans, and black chucks. “I believe you ordered a Chupahopra?” he cocked one eyebrow as he set the beer down in front of me.

“Hey there yourself, mister,” I smiled back as he took a seat on the couch next to me. I glanced up at Zephyr as he was standing at the ready just a few feet away. “What’s the deal with your server?” I asked quietly as I motioned toward Zephyr with my head.

“Zee is just a little protective,” Dic said dismissively. “Don’t pay him any attention. So, does your boss know you’re here?”

I felt my brow furrow hard. “What’s the deal with you and Zee? Why would Archer need to know I was coming here?” I asked, perturbed. “Not that it should matter, but I didn’t even know I was coming here until my friend Sissy brought me for a beer. I had no idea that you owned this place. Hell, I didn’t even know this place existed until I pulled up out in front of it today.”

Dic reached his hand out and patted my thigh comfortingly. “Well, I’m glad you’re here, Skye. I just don’t want Archer to think I’m trying to steal his assistant out from under him, that’s all,” he said with a playful wink. “I hear he’s a ruthless businessman. I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

I pursed my lips and crossed my arms over my chest. “Uh-huh. Why do I think there’s more to this than just what you’re telling me?”

Dic laughed and turned to Zephyr. “It’s okay, Zee. She’s not going to bite,” he said under his breath.

What is with those two? Zephyr acts like I’m going to take a shot at Dic or something. I defiantly cocked my eyebrow at Zephyr and looked at him expectantly.

“I’ll be at the bar if you need me, sir,” he growled, displeased, as he stared at me. He finally turned away with a huff and went back to work.

“Okay,” I said slowly with wide eyes, before sarcastically adding, “that wasn’t weird at all.”

“You’ll have to forgive Zephyr, babe,” Dic said as he settled back into the couch and stretched his arms out across the back, getting comfortable. “He’s just doing his job.”

“Did you hire him as a guard dog or something?” I asked sarcastically as I picked up my beer and took a long sip.

Dic threw his head back and laughed heartily. The sound was masculine, rumbly, and incredibly sexy. It did funny things to my stomach and I bit my bottom lip to keep from wiggling in my seat.

“Oh man,” he said finally when his laughter died down. “That’s hilarious. I wouldn’t let him hear you say that, though.” He angled his body toward mine and slowly looked me up and down. “So tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure, Skye?”

“It seems my friend Sissy has a crush on Zephyr,” I explained as I picked at the label on the bottle of beer. “I ran into her earlier and she asked me to have a drink with her here.” I looked up at him and smiled. “I was surprised to see you when you walked in. I had no idea this was your place until Sissy pointed you out to me and told me you were the owner.”

“Well, be sure to thank Sissy for me,” he rumbled as a sly smile played upon his full lips. “I’m glad you’re here. I was hoping to see you again.”

“Well, you know where I work,” I chuckled. “I’m always there.”

“True, but I was hoping to see you outside of work.”

“Oh?” I asked as I felt my cheeks blush and I looked down, refocusing my attention on the beer bottle label. “Why is that?”

Dic reached over and tucked a strand of long hair behind my ear. He smiled mischievously as he studied my face. “Because, Skye, I’d like to get to know you better.”

I bit my lip and took a deep breath. “I should tell you that I’m seeing someone.”

“How long have you been seeing this someone?”

“A few days,” I murmured and licked my lips.

Dic smirked playfully. “What do you say we go get something to eat?” he asked as he dropped his hand from my hair and sat back into the couch. “I’m starving.”

“Sounds good to me,” I smiled. “I’ve only had an apple and beer today.”

Dic tsked and stood up. “That just won’t do. Let me go tell my crew that I’m leaving. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay,” I said as I turned my attention to the remainder of my Chupahopra. I turned the bottle up and quickly finished its contents. I set the empty bottle on the table, gathered up my bag, and walked up to the bar to pay my tab.

Zephyr finished up with a customer at the smoke shop counter and made his way over to me. “Can I get you something else?” he asked plainly, his eyes bored.

“No thanks,” I said as I pulled out my wallet. “What’s the damage?”

Zephyr looked at me and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s on the house.”

“I’m sorry. What?” I asked, confused, thinking that I had misunderstood him.

“It’s on the house,” he repeated staccato, annunciating each word carefully.

“Um, that’s okay,” I said slowly, uncomfortable with the way he was talking to me. “I’d like to pay.”

“It’s on Dic,” he said over his shoulder as he turned and walked out to attend to a table of customers. “End of discussion.”

I watched his back as he walked away and hesitantly put my wallet back in my messenger bag. Dic came out of the back a few seconds later and walked up to me.

“You ready to go?” he asked with a happy grin.

“Yep,” I said with a lopsided smile. “Thanks for the beer and the smoke, but you didn’t have to do that for me.”

“Are you kidding? It was my pleasure. What good is being an owner if you can’t treat your favorite customers every now and again?”

“You’re sweet,” I smiled and lightly shoulder bumped him. “Thank you.”

“Come on,” he said, putting his arm comfortably around my shoulders. “My car is parked out front.”

I let him lead me to the door and open it for me. I walked beside him to the end of the parking lot and we stopped when we reached a hot, vintage muscle car.

“Is this yours?” I asked, impressed. The early ‘70s model royal blue Dodge Charger was pristine and incredibly cherry.

“It is,” he chuckled. “This is my baby. Duke, meet Skye,” he said as he unlocked the door and held it open for me. “Skye, this is Duke.”

“Duke is seriously sexy,” I grinned appreciatively as I got in.

Dic smiled, cocked his eyebrow, and watched me for a few seconds before he closed the door and went around to the driver’s side.

“What was that look you just gave me?” I asked, trying not to smile as I spoke.

He chuckled as he started the car. “It’s just…,” he started and then looked over at me with a playful smirk. “You look good sitting in my car.”

I felt my face flush hot and I looked down at my hands. Somehow, that one statement was very intimate. Maybe it was just the look in his eyes when he said it, I don’t know.

“Um…thanks?” I managed before I looked back up at him. “So, where are we going?”

“I’m taking you to my favorite barbecue joint down the road,” he smiled over at me before backing out of the parking space. “Their brisket is to die for.”

“Cool. I dig barbecue.”

He smirked knowingly at me, pulled out into traffic, and reached over to turn on the radio. Skulls by the Misfits blasted out of the speakers and I turned to him with a grin.

“Misfits fan?” I asked, impressed.

“Always,” he winked.

“Bummer that they broke up,” I said conversationally. “Glenn Danzig has an amazing voice. Are you into his subsequent bands: Samhain and Danzig?”

“Of course. I’ve been to several of his shows over the years. ”

“I’ve never had the pleasure, unfortunately,” I said with a small sigh. “I do enjoy going to concerts, though.”

“What’s the last concert you went to?”

“Aside from trying to catch every local Manky Langer show, a friend and I drove up to Dallas to see System of a Down three weeks ago,” I smiled as I looked over at him. “Serg Tankian is something else. I love that his songs contain such a strong social message.”

“It has nothing to do with how hard he rocks it?” Dic laughed.

“Well, a little of that, too,” I chuckled. “What other bands do you listen to?”

Dic smiled a heart stopping smile and quickly looked over at me. “I’m a huge Pantera fan. Texas boys know how to rock the hardest,” he said, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.

I laughed and shook my head at him. “I love Pantera.”

“What’s your favorite song?”

“Hm…that’s a hard one,” I said and pursed my lips in thought. “I’d have to say Walk is my favorite song.”

“That’s mine, too,” Dic grinned as he drove. “I also like old school Metallica…none of that new crap they put out. Anything after the ‘And Justice For All’ album is shit.”

“Hey,” I defended. “Don’t hate on the ‘Black’ album. It was good.” I glanced over at him and saw that he was looking at me with a thoughtful smile. “Anything after the ‘Black’ album is shit,” I gave him.

He laughed and focused back on the road. “I think we’re going to get along just fine, babe.”

A few minutes later we pulled into a small parking lot that housed an even smaller brick building. The painted sign out front read: “Jax Meat Market & BBQ”

“I’ve never been here before,” I said as Dic opened the car door for me.

“It’s been owned by the same family for over 60 years,” he explained as he helped me out, closed the door, and led me into the entrance.

“Look at what the cat dragged in!” an old man laughed from behind the meat counter. “Well, if it isn’t that old dog Dic! How’ve you been son?”

The gray haired man walked unsteadily from behind the raw meat counter and came over to shake Dic’s hand.

“Hey, Jack,” Dic rumbled affectionately. “I’ve been good, old man.” Dic turned to me and put his hand on my back. “This is my friend Skye. Skye, I’d like you to meet the best meat slinger in the south. This is Jack. He’s owned this place with his family since it opened.”

“Nice to meet you, Jack,” I smiled brightly and shook his calloused hand. “It smells amazing in here!”

“Well, sit yourself down, youngen’,” he said as he motioned to one of the picnic tables. “I’ll fix Dic here the house special.” I watched as he walked over to the barbecue counter and got to work cutting meat.

Dic smiled affectionately at the old man and then turned back to me. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself at home.”

Dic walked over to join Jack and I took a seat at a picnic table by the window. I took a good look around at the décor as I waited. Jax was a simple place with simple furnishings. There were roughly six picnic tables scattered around and most of them were full of hungry customers. The walls were decorated in old metal beer and gasoline signs and family photos from when Jax first opened.

“Here we go,” Dic said as he returned and sat down across from me.

He set a butcher’s paper bundle in the center of the table and spread it out to cover the space between us. There was brisket, sausage, a half slab of baby back ribs, bread and all the trimmings piled in the middle of the paper. Dic tore two napkins off the paper towel roll at the end of the table and handed me one along with a plastic fork.

“Dig in, babe,” he said with a smile as he started piling meat on a piece of bread.

I smiled and did the same. “This is absolute heaven,” I purred as I chewed my first bite. The brisket was tender and moist. I liked how Jack didn’t cover up the pure flavor of the meat with the use of BBQ sauce. The meat stood on its own merit and it was amazing.

“I had a feeling you’d like it,” he nodded. “So Skye, tell me a little about yourself. I feel like I know you from our meetings at The Mausoleum, but I really don’t. I’m very curious about you.”

I felt my cheeks redden a little as I chewed the rest of my bite and dabbed my lips with the paper napkin. “Um, well, there isn’t a whole lot to tell,” I said shrugging one shoulder. “I was born and raised in Houston and I moved to Austin to go to school.”

“What did you major in?”

“Ancient History and Classical Civilization.”

“And you work at a nightclub?” he asked, confused.

I nodded my head as I picked at the crust on my bread. “I haven’t had any luck finding a job that uses my degree so far. But I just got the job at The Mausoleum and I love it. I can’t see myself leaving anytime soon.” As long as it doesn’t get too crazy, I added silently.

“How did you get end up getting mixed up with Archer Rhys?” he asked with a frown.

I looked up at him and felt my brow furrow. He was watching me closely, waiting for my answer. “Archer isn’t a bad guy, Dic. I don’t know what his reputation is like out on the street, but he’s a cool guy and a great boss.”

“That didn’t answer my question,” he said with a crooked smile as he bit into a sausage link.

My lips pulled up into a small smile at the memory of how we met. “Well, I was at Afterburners downtown having a coffee when my ex-boyfriend showed up and started in on me.” The thought of Jesse made my heart hurt and I felt the smile slide right off my face. I had a flashback of his bloody blond hair clutched in Ruarc’s fist and I closed my eyes and involuntarily shivered.

“Are you okay?” Dic asked worriedly.

“Yeah,” I mumbled as I mentally shook myself and took a deep breath. I couldn’t fall apart in front of Dic. Not only would it be über embarrassing, but he wouldn’t understand and I definitely couldn’t tell him what happened to Jesse. “Anyway,” I said with the best fake smile I could muster, “Archer saw my ex get a little rough with me and he intervened. We got to talking and he asked if I wanted to interview for his Executive Assistant position. Needless to say, I got the job.”

“Do you like it so far?” he asked as he watched me. I had a feeling he wasn’t buying my fake smile.

“I do,” I nodded and gave him a genuine smile. “Everyone is really great. It’s an interesting atmosphere to work in.”

“I’ll bet,” Dic said quietly under his breath as me made himself another brisket sandwich, then looked up at me and smiled. The dimple on his right cheek was deeper than the one on the left when he grinned and it was really cute. I found myself studying his face and thinking how handsome he was. “So, enough about work, what do you do for fun?”

“Nope,” I chuckled as I speared a slice of sausage with my fork. “It’s my turn to ask a question.” He chuckled and motioned for me to go ahead with his hand. “What do you do for fun?” I asked, biting into the juicy piece of meat.

He raised his eyebrow at me and smiled at my stolen question. “I like to work on classic cars in my spare time,” he answered and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I like to salvage classic rides from the junk yard and give them new life. I completely redo them, inside and out. Once they’re ready to go, I sell them.”

“Sweet. Is that what you did with your Charger?”

“No,” he smiled wistfully. “It was my dad’s. He gave it to me when I turned 16.”

“Nice gift,” I raised my eyebrows, impressed.

“The best,” he agreed and then cocked his head to the side with a playful smile. “So, what do you do for fun?”

I bit the corner of my bottom lip and speared a hunk of brisket before I answered. “Well, you already know one,” I teased. “I love to dance. I also read, paint, study Israeli Krav Maga, and I like to sing karaoke.”

Dic raised his eyebrows and his eyes got big. “You study Krav Maga?” he chuckled skeptically. I cocked my eyebrow, slightly unamused at his skepticism, and nodded my head as I took a bite of the brisket, pickle and raw onion half sandwich I made.

“But…,” he started and then stopped himself. “It’s just that you don’t seem the type.”

“What does ‘the type’ look like?”

He studied me for a second before he answered. “Not like you, beautiful girl.”

My face flushed hot and I struggled not to smile. “You’re just a regular Casanova, aren’t you? Do you feed all the girls you take out to dinner that line of crap?”

Dic laughed heartily as he finished the last bite of his sandwich. “Just the pretty ones.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. Dic was cute, playful, and a lot of fun and I realized that I was really enjoying our dinner together more than I had anticipated.

“So,” Dic said slowly, a look of uncertainty marring his handsome face. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but it’s really bugging me and I can’t just keep pretending that it’s not there. Why do you have bruises on your face, throat, and arms? You look like someone kicked the shit out of you today.”

My hand immediately went to the left side of my face and I gingerly touched the swollen mass. “Someone did,” I chuckled. “But I think I held my own pretty well.” His face frowned and I quickly explained. “I’ve been doing some extra training, knives and hand-to-hand combat, and my teacher is new. We were testing each other’s waters, so to speak. It isn’t as bad as it looks.”

“I’m glad,” he grimaced and bit into a piece of sausage, “Because it looks pretty damn painful.”

“I’m used to bruises,” I shrugged, “Comes with the territory.”

He chewed his bite as he looked at me thoughtfully. “You’re a pretty tough chick,” he grinned. “I like that.”

I blushed and looked down at my food. “So, how long have you lived in Austin?” I asked.

“All my life,” Dic answered as he tore a rib from the half-rack. “I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. Besides, we sort of have a family business here. I can’t really just up and leave.”

“Tricky Dic’s?” I asked as I accepted the rib that he offered me.

“No, no,” he mumbled between his bite. “That’s all mine. I opened it about ten years ago.”

“Wow,” my eyebrows raised in surprise. “How old are you, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Dic chuckled as he got up from his seat. “Old enough,” he replied cryptically. I watched as he walked over to a wall cooler and pulled out two bottles of beer. He lifted them up a little to show Jack that he had taken them. Jack gave him a thumbs up as Dic walked back to the picnic table. He sat back down and twisted off one of the beer caps.

“Thanks,” I said as I accepted the bottle of Zeigenbock. “So, you’re not going to tell me how old you are?”

Dic smirked as he twisted his own top off. “I’d like to hear your guess.”

“Hm,” I mumbled in thought as I put the bottle up to my lips and took a long drink, my eyes studying his face. “26,” I guessed when I put my beer back down on the wooden table.

He laughed and shook his head. “Nope.”

“28?”

“Nuh-uh,” he smirked and took a bite out of the last rib.

“You can’t be older than 29,” I said, my forehead wrinkled in thought.

“Close,” he chuckled as he wiped the grease from his lips. “I’m 30.”

“Holy crap, you’re kind of old,” I joked as I took a big bite out of my pork rib. “You totally don’t look it, though.”

“Thanks…I think,” he smiled and took a sip of beer. “I feel it sometimes.”

“Well, I’m 23 and I definitely feel older than I am,” I smiled, shrugging one shoulder.

“You act older than 23,” he smirked playfully.

I bit my bottom lip and grinned. “So, I’m dying to know,” I said, changing the subject. “Is Dic your real name or just a nickname?”

He took another quick swig of his Zeigenbock and set it back down on the table before he answered. “Nickname. My real name is Dean Ian Cruz. Dic is just a nickname I picked up in high school.”

“And how in the world did that happen?”

He smirked and relaxed back on the bench some. “My cousin Dylan and I went to the same school and played varsity football together. A player’s jersey would normally just say their last name, but Dylan and I had the same one. In that case, a school will usually put the player’s first initial in front of the last name. Since Dylan and I shared first initials, our school put my middle initial on my jersey to distinguish us. My jersey read D.I.Cruz and everyone started calling me Dic for short.” He cocked one eyebrow and shrugged a shoulder. “It just sort of stuck. Once I became All-State, everyone outside of school started calling me that.”

I licked my lips as I finished the rib and wiped my mouth. “I think I like the name Dean better,” I said honestly. “Would you mind if I started calling you that instead?”

Dic chuckled and leaned over to comfortably rest his elbows on the table. He looked up at me and I saw the playfulness in his eyes. “You can call me Dean if you’d like. Hell, you can call me whatever you want just as long as you call me, gorgeous.”

I bit my bottom lip and tried to suppress a smile as I felt my cheeks begin to burn hot from the attention. “So, what made you open a head shop? Do you smoke?” I asked quickly, desperate to change the subject once again.

“God, no,” Dic, I mean Dean, laughed as he bundled up the trash on the table. “Owning a smoke shop in a college town is a lucrative business. Once I obtained my license to sell beer, and I opened the hookah bar, it really took off.” He stood and took the butcher’s bundle of trash to a nearby trash can and deposited it. He walked over to Jack, handed him some money, shook his hand and said his goodbyes.

“Thanks for the food,” I said when he returned to the table. “It was really good.” I stood and finished the last sip out of my beer.

“Anytime, babe,” he smirked sexily as he took my empty from me and threw it away on our way out the door. The sun was starting to set and I guessed it was around 7:30pm by the pink hues that lightly tinted the sky.

Dean opened the passenger door for me and I climbed in. Just then my cell phone started ringing and I dug around in my messenger bag for it.

I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Archer. “Hey, boss man,” I answered, feeling fully sated and happily relaxed.

“Hello Skye. I just wanted to check in with you,” Archer rumbled from the other end of the line. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is great,” I said as I watched Dean slide into the Charger’s front seat.

“So, I was thinking we could…” Dean started to say but I waved my hand and pointed to my ear to show him that I was on the phone.

“Who’s that?” Archer asked sternly.

“Oh, that’s my friend Dean,” I said with a smile. “He took me to grab a bite to eat at this amazing barbecue joint south of downtown. It’s seriously yummy.”

“Dean who?” Archer enunciated slowly, his voice deeper, holding an edge of anger.

“Um…,” I stumbled. “Crap. I forgot his last name.” I turned to Dean and asked him to repeat his last name.

“It’s Cruz,” he said with a smile as he backed the car out of the parking space.

“What the hell are you doing with him?” Archer growled savagely before I had a chance to relay his last name.

“What?” I asked confused, suddenly worried.

“What the f*ck are you doing with Dean Cruz?” he roared then shouted something in Gaelic that I couldn’t understand. “I’m coming to get you. Right now! Where are you?”

“I’m fine, Archer,” I explained, getting a little mad. “What’s your freakin’ problem?”

“Tell him to calm down. I knew this was going to happen.” Dean sighed as he looked over at me and shook his head exasperatedly. “You’re such a buzz kill, Archer. Keep your panties on. Tell him I’m taking you over to The Mausoleum now and to meet us in the back parking lot.”

“What?” I asked, shaking my head. “You don’t have to do that. I want to hang out with you. He’s just being…well, crazy is the best way I can put it.”

I turned my attention back to the phone and Archer’s angry breath sounds. “What is your deal, Rhys? You can’t dictate who I hang out with. It’s none of your damn business what I do,” I spat angrily. “You gave me the night off. This is my personal time, Archer. I can do what I please when I’m on my personal time.” I didn’t know what his problem was, but Dean was no threat to me. He was an awesome guy and I had been having fun with him. I didn’t want to be taken back to The Mausoleum like some errant child.

“You tell him that I will meet him outside,” Archer growled angrily. “And that if he lays a hand on you, so help me God, I’ll kill him.”

“What?” I screeched in disbelief. “I will do no such thing!”

Dean chuckled and reached over to take the phone from my ear. “I heard you, blood sucker. Calm down. I haven’t laid a finger on Skye that she didn’t welcome,” he said into it before hanging up on Archer.