Wrong Side of the Tracks by Ashley Zakrzewski

ChapterSeventeen

“You’re welcome in my bed, sweetheart, any time. But I feel like I need to warn you about something.” Bubba stood beside the bed in the sweats he’d put on when he’d stripped out of his jeans and gotten comfortable earlier.

“What?” She watched him, wide eyed as if half afraid of what he was about to say.

Hell, she might be, and what he said might scare her back to the spare bedroom, but he hadn’t slept well in several days and he’d been wanting to get back into his own bed and be comfortable. Besides, he might as well let her know how things worked in his bed, not in some borrowed bed in a motel beside the highway or at the clubhouse.

“No clothes in my bed, sweetheart.”

“None?”

He gave her a grim smile but shook his head.

She looked down at the oversize t-shirt she’d bought today then back up at him. “So, if I’m not in the mood for sex. I should go in the other room.” She turned for the door.

“I didn’t say that, sweetheart. I said no clothes. All you have to do is say ‘No’. I will never force you into anything you don’t want. You can strip off and climb in then tell me no, and we’ll sleep. I can’t promise I won’t touch you in the night or hold you against me, but I won’t force you. I don’t do that.”

Celia turned back and stared at him a moment with a look that made him want to kill the asshat who left the bruises still marring her face and body. But he kept that thought off his face. She’d never strip that shirt off and climb in bed with him if he saw the rage that just thinking of the fucker sent through him.

“All right,” she said after a moment, then lifted the shirt over hear head, tossed it aside, came back to the bed and slid inside.

Over the next few days they settled into an easy routine. Bubba wasn’t quite ready to go back to the mechanic position he’d held at Mac’s, the shop next to the clubhouse owed by a couple of Souls, so he hung around the house, spent time with Celia. They did some shopping, filling out her wardrobe and replacing what she deemed the most important things she needed.

They’d been back in Tucson about four days and had taken the truck for groceries when Bubba pulled the truck up in front of the house. Before he stopped the truck, he saw the car sitting on the street, and suspected who it was. He glanced over at Celia where she sat in the passenger seat.

She didn’t seem to notice the car, or the man sitting behind the wheel. He parked the truck in the driveway, then pulled the pistol from the holster under his arm and gripping it by the barrel, held it out to Celia.

“You know how to use this, right?”

She stared at the weapon with wide eyes.

“I can but why are you giving that to me?”

“Look over my shoulder at that car and the man inside. Is that Troy?”

He watched as her eyes shifted to the vehicle on the street, then all color drained from her face.

“It’s him.” Her voice dropped to barely more than a whisper.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll take care of it. You stay here. If he gets through me and comes for you, use this.” He put the pistol in her hand.

“Are you sure?” Her eyes were wide as she turned back to him.

“I am. No matter what happens, I want you to wait in the truck, you got that?”

“I do.”

“I’m leaving you the keys. If you need to, slide over here, and take the truck back to the clubhouse.”

She nodded.

Without another word, Bubba got out of the truck, hitting the lock button on the door before closing it behind him. He’d only made it a few steps before the man got out of his car.

“I’m here to pick up Sissy. Dick sent me to pick her up,” Troy said as he approached Bubba and the truck.

“Celia isn’t going anywhere.”

“She’s mine. I’ll be taking her home where she belongs.” Troy looked Bubba up and down. “You think she’s going to stay with you? Dick ran you off once, he’ll do it again. You’re just a piece of trash from the wrong side of town. You’ll never be anything more.”

“I’ll admit I made the mistake of letting him run me off ten years ago. But you fucked up, boy. You hurt Celia until she called for help. She’s mine now and she’ll stay mine as long as she wants to be.” Bubba stopped a few steps from Troy. “What happens next is up to you. You can walk away now, leave, and never bother Celia again. Or you can continue to make an ass of yourself, and I’ll show you what happens to shit-head abusers around here.”

“Abusers? I don’t know what lies she’s been feeding you. But I’m going to take her home.” Troy went to move around Bubba to the truck where Celia sat.

Bubba stepped in front of Troy, blocking his way to Celia.

“Sissy is mine.”

“Celia is a grown woman who gets to choose who she’s with; if she’s with anyone. She’s not a prize to be taken, or given away by anyone, not even her father.” Bubba was running off at the mouth and he knew it. He was trying to get this fuckwad to throw the first punch. Bubba had spent more than a little time thinking about this moment. And so far, things were going just as he’d planned.

The third time Bubby stepped between Troy and where Celia still sat in the truck, Troy lost his temper and took a swing at Bubba. That’s all he’d been waiting for. Now that Troy had made the first move, Bubba was fully justified in defending himself.

A quick jab to Troy’s jaw sent the man reeling. It made Bubba’s hand throb, but he didn’t care. Bruised and bloodied knuckles were going to be the least damage from this. He advanced on Troy, raining blow after blow on the other man, taking a few but landing far more. Troy was used to women, not men who had been trained in hand to hand.

Bubba didn’t keep track of how long he and Troy went at it in the yard. He only stopped when two police cars pulled up and stopped in the street. Two officers got out, weapons drawn and approached as Troy fell to his knees. Bubba didn’t know if Troy was that hurt or was playing it up for the audience. He didn’t care.

“Hands up!” one of the officers called.

Bubba held his hands above his head and backed away from Troy.

“What’s going on here?” the other officer asked.

“This is my home,” Bubba spoke up. “This man is trespassing. He came to take my girl and I wouldn’t let him near her.”

“He’s holding my girlfriend prisoner. Her father sent me to get her.” Troy’s words were slurred by the swelling around his mouth. He hadn’t bothered to put his hands up, instead they hung limp at his sides.

“Talk to Celia, see what she says.” Bubba tilted his head toward the truck, not sure if she could hear him, he kept his hands above his head and turned so he could keep Troy visible on one side, but still see Celia in the truck.

“Her name is Sissy and she’s going to go back to Alabama with me.”

Bubba’s gaze shifted to the nearest police officer who approached, weapon still drawn but not aimed at anyone, yet, to see what he was making of Troy’s assertions.

“Talk to Celia.”

“Ma’am? Will you get out of the truck and talk to us?”

Celia didn’t move at first, then looked at Bubba. He nodded and she opened the passenger’s side door. He hoped she’d at least put the pistol down but couldn’t say anything now. She moved around the front of the truck so when she was visible, she was as far from Troy as she could be while still following directions.

“Yes, officer?”

“Can I get your name?” the officer who’d spoken to her, his name tag read Hernandez, said.

“My name is Cecilia Metcalf. I often go by Sissy and Cole calls me Celia.”

“Will you tell us what’s going on here?”

She took a deep breath, her gaze flicked to Bubba, then back to the officer. “Where do you want me to start?”

“Wherever you feel comfortable.”

“Cole and I arrived home to find that car sitting there, Troy in the driver’s seat. Cole told me to stay in the truck, he’d handle this, then he got out. He told Troy to leave. Troy refused. Tried to get to me in the truck, Cole wouldn’t let him near me, for which I’m thankful. Then Troy hit Cole and Cole fought back.”

Officer Hernandez’s gaze flicked back and forth between the men.

“You know them both?”

“I do,” Celia said, sounding resigned. “Up until last week I was dating Troy. When I broke it off, he did this.” Bubba watched as she motioned to her face where the eye he’d blackened still sported a good amount of purple along with the green and yellow it had faded to.

Troy sputtered, trying to deny that he’d done anything. Bubba kept his hands above his head as he spun and kicked Troy in the face to shut him up. No one wanted to hear his bullshit. Troy fell face first into the gravel of Bubba’s desert landscaping. He appeared to be unconscious. Good. At least he wouldn’t upset Celia more that way.

“Enough. On your knees,” the second officer moved closer to Bubba, pulling his weapon up until it was vaguely pointed in Bubba’s direction. Bubba knelt without argument, keeping both hands in the air. He didn’t want to cause more trouble. He knew as soon as the Souls found out what had happened they would do what it took to get him released, he just had to keep from pissing someone off and getting hurt in the meantime.

“It seems that guy believes you’re being held against your will?” Officer Hernandez watched Celia. “Is that true?”

“No.” She met the officer’s gaze and didn’t look to Bubba for permission to answer him, though her gaze kept flicking to Troy, then back to the officer. “Like I said. He’s my ex. Cole was telling the truth when he said Troy was trying to force me to go back to Alabama. I have no intention of going anywhere with him ever again.”

Pride swelled inside Bubba. She stood tall and didn’t let anyone cower her, especially not the piece of shit of the ground.

“I’ve called an ambulance for him, but we’ve got to take you both in.”

“Cole was just defending me.” Celia started to push past the officer and head in his direction. She looked like she was ready to swoop in and defend him.

Bubba shook his head and gave her a look he hoped she understood meant for her to stay put.

“If that’s true then he’ll be released soon enough. But with this man’s condition, we’ve got to take him in,” Officer Hernandez said.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll go. You hop back in the truck and go see Gizmo. He’ll make sure everything is taken care of. You stay at the clubhouse until I’m out again.” Bubba met her gaze, letting her know he wasn’t worried about this. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Tears pooled in her eyes as they flicked from him to that Troy-fucker, then back to hm again. Then she nodded, shaky at first, then steadier.

The officers remained on edge as they questioned both Celia and him, as if waiting for him to fight them as they cuffed his hands behind his back, then left him kneeling in the yard until the ambulance showed up. The EMT’s put Troy on a stretcher and got ready to put him in the ambulance. Bubba raised a fuss until they cuffed him to the stretcher before loading him up and hauling him off. And they did, but only after getting confirmation from Celia that the fucker had attacked first and that Cole was defending himself. It seemed like another hour of questions but was probably ten minutes before the cops let Celia go, loaded him in the back of Hernandez’s patrol car and hauled him in.