Shallow Creek

She stared past him at the two unconscious men, and the one still writhing, gripping his face.  Brendan tapped her on the arm and repeated the question.  This time she looked up at him.

“Uh, yeah,” she stammered.  She rubbed her arm where the thug had grabbed her.

“You sure?”

“I’ll live.” Her eyes fell back on the unmoving bodies.  “Are they dead?”

Brendan followed her gaze over his shoulder.  “I don’t think so, but it’ll take more than Advil to cure those headaches.”

“You think this is funny?” She stared at him now the same way people did when he told some of his old war stories.  In the past he’d tried to explain to them that he wasn’t insane, but civilians couldn’t understand that.  All they saw was a guy who glorified violence, even when that violence was all that separated them from the realities of the real world.  People just had no idea what life was like outside the soft, cushy boundaries of their bubblegum existences.

“No,” he responded evenly.  “It’s not funny.”

She brushed past him and approached the three downed men cautiously.  The one still conscious slowly got to his feet and started weaving his way past the crates strewn behind the bar.  Every muscle in Brendan’s body wanted to chase him down and maul him unmercifully, to confirm the threat was contained, but one glance at Michelle’s face told him that was a bad idea.  He let the guy go.  Michelle didn’t seem to notice the man at all as she stared at the other two.

“Do you recognize them?” she asked.

“Just the one with the Mohawk,” he replied, standing next to her now.  “You know him?”

“I’ve seen him around.”  She crossed her arms tightly.  “Kind of hard not to notice someone like him around here.  I don’t know his name, but he hung around my cousin.”

“Good enough for me.”

Brendan ushered Michelle quietly back through the bar and out the front towards her truck.  When she moved towards the driver’s side door, he gently redirected her to the passenger side.

“You look like you’re in shock,” he said.  “Why don’t I drive you home?”

She nodded as he opened her door and helped her up.  He walked back around the truck and got in behind the wheel.  As soon as he turned the key in the ignition, the chair automatically started shifting forward to Michelle’s preferred position.  With his knees jammed up against the dashboard, Brendan managed to reach over and shift the seat all the way back again.  Feeling more comfortable now, Brendan backed the truck out and headed down the road.

Cruising silently towards Michelle’s house, the fight behind the bar replayed repeatedly through Brendan’s head.  A couple of things didn’t really make sense, like how did they know he’d be there?  Maybe they’d been spying on him and saw the two of them head into the bar.  Hell, they could’ve had a guy inside the bar watching them and he’d never have known; he didn’t recognize most of these thugs at all from his previous life in Shallow Creek.

One other thing bugged him as he pulled into Michelle’s neighborhood, and it wasn’t just the close proximity of her neighborhood to Taryn’s.

“Did that guy call you Jasper?” he asked, not taking his eyes off the road.

Michelle turned away from the window.

“What?”

Now Brendan glanced her way as he navigated towards the houses.

“Sounded like the guy called you Jasper as he was pulling on you.”

“Must’ve heard wrong.”

“I know what I heard,” he said.

“And I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.  Are you implying this is my fault?”

“No,” he said.  “Damn, chill out.  It was just weird.”

“Weird that maybe the other guy’s name was Jasper?” she said, obviously pissed.  “After what you did to those other guys, you don’t think they both just wanted to get away?”

He tried to steer the subject elsewhere.  “Why mess with you anyway?”  She glared at him, not offering any explanations.  “Think about it, what could you do?  All five should’ve attacked me, but instead they went for you.”

She popped her purse open and revealed a snub-nosed .38.  When Brendan didn’t respond, she smiled, but not kindly.

“Guess I’m not a helpless damsel in distress.”

“Why didn’t you pull it then?” Brendan stopped the truck in the street.  He had no idea which house was hers.

“Shut up, Brendan.”  Alcohol and anger was a volatile mixture.  She thrashed at the door handle, trying to get out.  Eventually she took a deep breath and composed herself before successfully unlocking the door and exiting.  Brendan got out and met her in front of the truck to give her the keys.

She snatched them from his hand and stormed off down the street.

“You want me to come in and make sure it’s all clear?” he yelled.

“Keep the hell away from me.”

He waited in the street until she walked up to a double wide on the left and let herself in.  He’d just saved her life, maybe, and that didn’t even warrant a wave as she disappeared from view.

Realizing that Michelle had picked him up from his parents’ house earlier, Brendan sighed dejectedly and started the long walk home.

Chapter 17