It was easy to get lost in the fascination of some mysterious man, but it was more than that. I felt like I was getting to know him through his emails. His interest… his hobbies… even what he wanted in the future. This Kane Blackwood was no simple man. He was passionate about his work, and he was proud of the success he’d had at SF Construction. Kane was not afraid of hard work. It was one of the things I found most endearing about him. When he told me that he was a member of a motorcycle club, I was immediately intrigued. There was something about that secret world that I found appealing. As crazy as it sounded, the idea of having a group of brothers that had your back, of having a family that you could always turn to, made me envy him. When he first mentioned his motorcycle, I found myself fantasizing about what it would be like to ride with him. I had never been on one before, but the thought of it excited me, giving me goosebumps all over. Everything about him excited me, and truthfully, that scared me a little. The more we talked the more he seemed to be genuinely interested in me. That made me feel… well… wanted.
Honestly, the whole thing was the ideal situation for me. I’d always kept men at an arm’s length, even if I really liked them. It was an unfortunate side effect from my solitary childhood. I didn’t let my guard down easily, so romantic relationships had always been a struggle. My little online infatuation was the perfect mix of intimacy and self-preservation. I got the affection I craved without the danger of having to be truly vulnerable. The anonymity of being online gave me the safety net I needed to be confident and flirty… brazen even. I allowed myself to open up for the first time in forever and engage in a little harmless fun. He had a way with words, and it was hot. I didn’t want it to end.
We continued down that path for almost two weeks, messaging back and forth every chance we got. As Neil started to remind me of our deadlines, though, I began to get nervous. I was going to have to actually meet Kane soon and get the ball rolling on the Youth Center. No more hiding behind my computer. I had to show him the location of the building site, and I needed to discuss the blueprints with him.
Neil had started prowling around just outside of my office, glancing in my direction like he knew something was going on. I shook my head and tried to focus on the task at hand. I pulled up my email, and after explaining Neil’s demands, I asked Kane if he could meet me at the site on Thursday. I had to get things started and fast. Time was up. As soon as I hit send, my heart started to race. What if I had been wrong about everything? What if he was some kind of serial killer? Or a fat, balding old man with a boner for younger women? I had been so stupid, but there was no turning back. I had no plan B. When his response popped up on my computer screen, however, all my doubts quickly disappeared.
May 1, 2015
2:45 p.m.
Kane Blackwood
SF Construction
Morning All-Star,
So Thursday’s my lucky day, huh? Just tell me where and when, and I’m in. Don’t worry about your presentation. I’ll make sure I’m ready; you just make sure you’re ready. I’m going to need you all day to get this done right.
*
Butterflies and fear raced through me as I read his words. I smiled to myself when I saw the new nickname he had for me. I still don’t know what had possessed me to tell him that silly story. I’d nearly died of embarrassment the day I tried my hand at baseball. I never forgot the expression on the coach’s face as my ball crashed through the front windshield of his car. He was furious. It didn’t matter that I had actually hit the ball for the first time; he was too busy freaking out about his car. I never was able to hit the ball like that again, and eventually I gave it up altogether. Sports were just not my thing.
*
Chapter 2
Guardrail
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“How’s our little project going? Have you found out anything we can use?” Maverick asked.
“I know she isn’t frightened of the club life like she should be, if that’s any indication of how much she talks to her brother,” I told him as I took a drink of my beer.
“You think she has any idea what he’s been up to?” he asked.
“No. Nothing has come up on any of the feeds. He hasn’t been to her house, and there hasn’t been any communication between them through her phone or email. The prospects are still rotating shifts, and none of them have seen any sign of him.”
As Vice President of Satan’s Fury, it was up to me to find Tony, the lowlife motherfucker that stole a fifty thousand dollar shipment from the club. Because he’d been a long-standing leader of one of the street gangs in town, he’d gotten a unanimous vote at the table for the drug distribution. He was a professional, but in the end, he’d decided he could fuck us on our money. Surprisingly, the asshole actually thought he’d be able to get away with it.
He’d forgotten that Satan’s Fury owned the whole damn town. Because drugs were an unavoidable reality in the outer east and west side of our territory, we negotiated which gangs could run product and where. It was the best way for us to keep control of what drugs were sold in our area. We’d allowed Tony and his minions to distribute our product, same as the other little set on the west side. We used them out of necessity. Our product kept us in control of the territory. They did the distribution, and we took our cut… a large cut.