“Okay, I’ll see you then, Doc.” I put down the phone, startled at the conversation. It had been a weird week, to say the least. Maybe it was something in the water in this backwoods town of Mississippi. Whatever it was, I planned on keeping my wits about me. The phone call put me on edge. I walked away from my desk to calm down, but my heart still kept pumping hard in my chest as my mind raced with what they may possibly want. I walked out to the back porch and looked out over the rooftops.
The weather felt less muggy than yesterday, and the weight of the fluffy grey clouds in the sky spelled rain. I hugged my arms to my chest protectively. Another client would help, but did I want to take a contract from a Devil Rider? I felt a mixture of feelings course through my veins. One of them being fear, the other being intrigue. I eventually resumed working again, but it wasn’t the same. All I could think of was the phone call and the fact that a Devil Rider had my phone number.
I managed another couple of hours of work and by that time, I was ready to head out to the meeting. I slipped my tape recorder into my bag along with my notepad and pen. I probably didn’t need all of it, but I took it just in case. I drove to the local spot I requested we meet and conducted a thorough scan of my environment. The diner was a little run down, white paint peeling off its sides. The main sign also looked banged up, but the diner fared pretty well, and their all-day breakfast was amazing.
I gulped what I felt like was a tennis ball lump down in my throat and clutched my handbag tightly.
As I walked inside a whoosh of cool air hit me. They had the A/C running full blast.
A man with a hairy arm raised his hand when he saw me looking around.
Only a smattering of people were in the diner and it looked like a slow day. The scent of coffee beans made me inhale. I caught a faint whiff of burgers cooking in the back. I slid in the booth with a scraggly man.
His beard was silver, along with his hair, which was slicked back. His eyes were intense and beady, making me wary of wanting to sit down in the booth. His bulk took up space with his elbows lodged over the table and his biceps flexed. A few tattoos were visible on both sides of his arms, one of them hidden in the crook of his arm. True to his word, he was wearing his Devil Riders leather vest with patches on it. He slid a large canary yellow envelope in front of me. “Hello, Mia. Nice to see you. Great place you picked. I like a good diner,” he said slyly.
“Hi. Thanks for meeting with me. What’s this for?” I asked formally. I wanted to keep him at arm’s length.
“Ah, it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship, I would say.” He grinned, revealing a devilish smile.
I felt suspicious instantly, not that I hadn’t been before. The envelope wasn’t closed. I squeezed it open, and inside was a hefty stack of dollar bills rubber-banded together. My eyes bulged as I counted quickly; thousands of dollars were inside.
He chuckled as he reviewed my response. “That’s what I thought. I’m the VP for the Devil Riders, nice to meet you.”
The VP. Shit. I sat back, pressing my back into the diner booth seat, trying to put distance between me and him.
“The reason I called you here today is because the club would like to utilize your services.”
“How did you get my number in the first place?” I enquired.
Just then, a young waitress came over to greet us.
Doc diverted his attention from me to her and gestured for me to place my order.
The young waitress was holding her pad in hand, anticipating our order.
I knew the menu inside out and this encounter was putting me off my appetite. “I’ll take a refill coffee and one of your honey buns. Thanks.”
“I’ll have a coffee too. That’s it.”
As he ordered, I skimmed my eyes over him. He reeked of violence, and my gut was sending signals to me that it was a bad idea to accept anything this man had to offer. The mental calculation I ran through in my head led me to the safe conclusion that inside the envelope was enough money to help me shift my mother into the hospice care she so desperately needed.
“So, you were asking how I got your number and to that I want to say… I have my sources.”
I recoiled in my seat as his lips lifted into a greasy smile. “What can I do for you?”
“Well, I want you to represent the Devil Riders. I heard what you did for that accountant, and your services would be valuable to us.”
The money was tempting, but no way would I trust the guy. I looked away briefly around the diner. More people were leaving than coming in and those heavy clouds were now producing rain. Great. I was stuck in the booth with this criminal and no umbrella.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to pass.” I slid the money back over to him with one finger as our hot coffees came out and I smiled up at the waitress.
“Here we go, hot coffees all round and your sweet bun.” She dropped the honey bun with a thin coating of icing on top in front of me.
I didn’t know why I ordered ? maybe because I wanted something to line my stomach while I spoke to this fool.
Doc’s mouth eased over the coffee cup as he drank. “I thought you might say that. Even with my generous offer you still feel this way?” he asked coyly.
“Yes, even with your offer,” I said simply. I blew on my coffee, taking a slow sip.