Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski
ChapterSeven
Bubba gave his meal preference and drink order to the kid who’d been manning the bar when he came in. Gizmo had said the kid’s name was Sackett before he’d sent Bubba into the back room to talk to Ruger and his wife.
Bubba was still reeling from finding out Ruger had married and was expecting a baby. From the looks of his wife, who had been sitting at the big table in the back room with her feet up in another chair, Ruger would be a daddy sooner rather than later. That Bubba was looking forward to seeing. Ruger had spent too long being a ladies’ man and picking up everything in a skirt, Bubba almost hoped his wife was carrying a girl.
“What’s the smile?” Celia’s voice brought him back to where he was and what was going on.
“I was just thinking about something I just learned.” He gave his head a slight shake and turned his attention back to her. “Like I was saying, we have a room, clean clothes, and bedding. I’ll take you up and let you shower and go to bed whenever you’re ready.”
“Soon, but not yet. This is really good.” She motioned to her plate with her fork.
“It smells like it. I should have some soon myself.” He glanced around the room, taking stock of who was there and the new faces. There were more women around than when he’d left and they weren’t club whores. Or at least not most of them.
Linda was still here. She was sitting at the end of the bar next to Snake. Bubba wasn’t surprised to see Snake snuggled up to Linda, she was just his kind of woman. Easy, cheap, and not interested in more than tonight.
“Give me a little bit,” Celia said between bites. “I want to finish. And he’s supposed to be bringing me something to drink.”
“No worries. We can stay down here as long as you’d like. We’re safe here. Even if your father and Troy showed up here and tried to get in, tried to take you away, there would be more than a few willing to stand up and stop them.” He made a point of looking around the room. “No one will let anyone take you if you don’t want to go.” He couldn’t help being glad she felt safe enough to want to spend some time down here.
Bubba could tell by the way she sat she was still hurting. He’d asked Ruger to get Kinard in to check on Celia, make sure she wasn’t hurt worse than he thought. Ruger said Kinard was on shift, but he’d call in Deanna. Bubba wasn’t sure who Deanna was, but it seemed Ruger trusted her, so he would too. A woman would probably be better than Kinard too, Celia would likely be more comfortable around her and might tell her more than she’d been willing to share with him. At least so far. He hadn’t asked much. He hadn’t wanted to push before they got here.
Now that they were here, he was through having her hide. He didn’t care if her daddy or that fucker Troy found out where she was now. Now that he was home and had his brothers to back them up, he kind of hoped they’d find them. He was looking forward to telling them both where to go for what they had done to Celia.
* * *
Bubba had finished eating and pushed his plate away. He sat sipping from a long neck bottle of beer, watching Celia from the corner of his eye and the rest of the room with the other half of his attention. The door, the only door in opened and a woman he didn’t recognize stepped inside with the confidence of someone who knew her way around. She stopped inside the door and scanned the room before moving to the bar and talking to Sackett for a moment then heading to the backroom where Ruger still sat with his wife, Krissi he’d said her name was.
The new woman wasn’t in the back room long but came out and scanned the room. Bubba noticed Ruger standing behind her, talking and nodding in his direction. He’d lay odds this was the Deanna he was waiting for.
“You ready for that shower and bed, sweetheart?” Bubba looked down at where Celia sat beside him, looking more relaxed than she had since he’d walked into that dilapidated motel room in Pascagoula.
She turned and looked at him.
“Sure. Why not.” She looked at the glass in her hand, there was still about a quarter inch of whisky in it.
“Take that up with you. What is it and I’ll get you another if you’d like?”
“Jack Fire. And not now. Maybe later though.” She tipped the glass back and drained the last of the amber liquid then set it on the table with a thump. She started to her feet but stopped with a wince, then continued, moving slower.
“I haven’t moved around enough and I’m all stiff and sore.” She shot him a wry smile, but he knew it wasn’t just that she’d been sitting still. It was her injuries that made her so sore. Once more he was filled with rage. What he wouldn’t give to have the opportunity to do to the asshole that hurt her what he had done to her.
“Let me help you. We’ve got to go upstairs and that won’t be easy, once we’re up there, I have someone here to check you out.”
She shot him an unhappy look. “You already did that.”
“I made sure you weren’t too hurt to make the trip. She’ll make sure you don’t need something more, that I wasn’t wrong. My training is limited to lifesaving stuff. She will be able to do more for you.” At least Bubba hoped she would. “Besides, I want to make certain you’re not more hurt than I thought. And two days in the truck certainly didn’t help how you feel.”
Celia shot him a glare. He could tell she wasn’t happy but wasn’t going to argue. He motioned for her to lead the way to the stairs, then followed, making sure she didn’t stumble and made it to the top. He directed her to the room they would share and unlocked the door. When he stepped in, he found the bed bare.
“Well, I guess you could call that clean bedding.”
Bubba didn’t miss the sarcasm in Celia’s voice. “I’ll get the bedding. But the nurse is coming up to check on you now.” A shadow filled the door he’d left open when he followed her in the room. Ruger cleared his throat, announcing their presence.
“Sweetheart, this is Ruger, he’s the club treasurer. His wife Krissi oversees the clubhouse,” Bubba introduced him to Celia.
She stepped forward and held out one hand.
“Hi. My name is Sissy, despite what he calls, me.” She tilted her head toward Bubba. “I’m sorry to drop in with no notice like this.”
“Looks like you weren’t in a situation to give us notice. We’re not worried about that.” Ruger shook her hand then stepped to one side. “This is Deanna. She’s a nurse and works with us sometimes. If you don’t mind, she’ll do an exam, maybe ask a few questions, and make sure you’re okay.”
Ruger watched Celia as if waiting for her to refuse.
“I’m tired and I’m fine, but Cole is going to pester me until I let someone with more training than he says he has make sure I’m not lying about how hurt I am.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Might as well get it over with so I can shower and get a whole night’s sleep.”
“Good. We’ll step out here and let the two of you have some privacy.” Ruger’s gazed flicked to Bubba where he tilted his head toward the doorway. He didn’t want to leave Celia, but knew she’d talk more freely to another woman if he wasn’t in the room, so he followed.
“I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
Celia rolled her eyes.
“We’ll be fine and I’ll talk to you both when we’re done in here,” the new woman said as Bubba stepped past her and out into the hall.
“Let’s me show you where you’ll find bedding and things,” Ruger said as he pulled the door closed behind them. “Normally, Krissi does all this but she’s getting close to her due date and I want her to stay off her feet as much as possible.” Ruger led him down the hall.
Bubba couldn’t help but shake his head at the change in Ruger.