No.
It was one of those big vans that had no side windows, black rims, and dark tinted door windows.
A creeper van.
The ones you saw rolling slowly down the road and you just knew they were creeping looking for their next victim.
Stereotypical, yes, but I blame that on TV.
“If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t let you get in the van, sweetie,” Gene snickered. “He might chain you up and never let you go.” Gene tipped his head to the side. “Maybe you should let me go instead.”
“Stop,” I laughed. “You and I both know that man wouldn’t have to kidnap anyone to have his way with them.”
“James, James, James,” Gene chanted. “I am in love with James, not Cue Ball.”
Cue Ball hopped out and rounded the front of the van. “Well, you’re in luck, doll. You can sit in the front, the second row, third row, or I could even toss you on the roof.”
“Uh,” I laughed. “I think I’ll go for the front seat.”
“I would have asked if his lap was an option,” Gene muttered.
“Gene,” I gasped.
“What? You know you were thinking the same thing.”
Well, I hadn’t been, but now I was.
“Everything okay?” Cue Ball called.
Gene popped up and wheeled me over to the van. “All good. I was just reminding Olive she needs to take it carefully for the next forty-eight hours. Having someone waiting on her hand and foot would be ideal.”
“Stop,” I laughed. Gene had been a sort of stick in the mud while I was up in my room, but he was like a different person out here. Probably because I had been discharged, and waiting for Cue to bring the van around gave him time to be outside.
“Someone will check in with you tomorrow to make sure you’re on the mend.” Gene helped me out of the wheelchair and into the van. “No abducting little kids on the way home, okay?” he instructed.
I gave a small salute. “I’ll do my best not to.”
Gene stepped back and waved. “Try not to get blown up again, Olive. You were pretty lucky this time.”
“Again, I’ll do my best not to.” Gene was just trying to make me laugh now.
Cue Ball shut my door and nodded to Gene. He jogged around the front of the van, and I fastened my seat belt.
“Good?” he asked. He slid into his seat and shifted into drive.
“As soon as you buckle,” I scolded.
Cue Ball rolled his eyes and pulled the belt over his chest. “Not used to buckling up, doll. Something motorcycles don’t have.”
“Please tell me you at least wear a helmet.”
“So, where do you live?” Cue asked, avoiding my very important question.
I rolled my eyes and settled into the seat. “King Road. I live in the blue house with a yellow door. My mom lives on Prescott Street.”
“In the country?” he asked.
I nodded.
“So you don’t live with your mom?” he asked.
I shook my head. “That is a big fat no. I love my mom, but we are like oil and water when we’re in close proximity for too long.”
“But she watches your son for you?”
“Yes. She was pissed as hell at me for getting pregnant ten years ago, but she never took that out on Rocky.”
“Is that why she wasn’t your emergency contact at the hospital?” he asked.
“Yup. I didn’t talk to her the whole time I was pregnant, and she wasn’t there when I gave birth. Though the day after Tag signed away his rights, she was at my door fawning over Rocky and hasn’t left since.”
“Sounds like she wasn’t a fan of Tag, not you,” he pointed out.
I hadn’t ever thought of it like that. I just figured she was there because she didn’t think I could do it on my own. “You know…” He was onto something there. Mom had never been a fan of Tag while we had dated, and when she found out I was pregnant, I was out the door before I could even get the sentence out of my mouth. “I should probably ask her, but I hate to ruin the good thing we have going.”
Cue Ball nodded and headed in the direction of Prescott Street.
“We could head to the gym to get my car,” I volunteered. “You can just drop me off, and I can get out of your hair.”
“Doll,” Cue Ball drawled.
“What?” I asked.
“Pretty sure your car has a weight bench on top of it right now.”
“No,” I cried. “Please tell me you are kidding.”
Cue Ball shook his head. “If you were parked in the back parking lot, your car is toast.”
Let’s make a list of the things I lost in the past day.
My job.
My car.
And now my sanity.
If I didn’t figure out another job, I could add my house to that list.
“It could be salvageable. I’ll get it hauled over to the garage and take a look at it.”
My car wasn’t the best before gym equipment was tossed on it. “Are you guys miracle workers there?” I laughed flatly. “I needed a new car before last night. I’m sure it’s just a big paperweight now.”
Cue Ball patted the steering wheel. “If you’re interested, I’m sure I could talk to Yarder to get you a sweet deal on this.”
“I know I need a new job, but I don’t think I’m that desperate that I need to dip my toes in human trafficking.” Not yet, at least. I would probably sell my own kidney before I would take someone else's. My kidney would probably be worth a good bit if I found the right buyer.
Oh lord.
Was I really contemplating selling my own kidney on the black market?
“She’s here if you want her,” Cue Ball laughed. “And you still have a job. The gym is going to be rebuilt, and I’m sure we can find something for you to do until it’s done.”
“What?” I asked.
“You technically work for the club, so we’ll just find something else for you to do.”
“I have very few skills that a motorcycle club could use, Cue Ball.” The Iron Fiends owned a gym and a body shop. I had been doing pretty much the only job I could.
“Don’t worry about it right now, doll.”
I sighed and laid my head back. Yeah, I could worry about what the heck I was going to do with my crumbling life when the sun rose.
“Which house is hers?” Cue Ball asked.
We turned onto my mother’s street, and I directed Cue Ball to her house.
“I’ll just run in and get Rocky, okay?”
Cue Ball nodded to the house. “I don’t think that is going to be necessary.”
The front door flew open, and Rocky came running down the sidewalk with my mom close behind him.
“Why on earth is he awake?” I cried. I threw open my door, and Rocky was wrapped around my waist when my feet barely touched the driveway.
“Mom!” he called. “Are you okay?”
I cringed as he squeezed me tight, but I didn’t push him away. “I’ll be okay, sweetheart. I just had a little accident.”
“You call being blown up an accident?” my mom started. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “I was so worried about you, Olive,” she whispered into my ear.