Page 46 of Shadow's Surrender
Shadow glanced around the room to see if any of the members could read his pansy-ass thoughts, but no one looked his way, except for Smokey. Yeah … the dude knew Shadow had the hots for Scarlett in a bad way. He’d called him out on it several times but Shadow denied it, even though he knew Smokey didn’t believe his BS for one second.
The truth was that Shadow had tried to put her out of his mind. He’d gone out of his way not to see her, but the attraction was too great, and it was something he’d never experience with any other chick before. He was drawn to Scarlett, mesmerized and captivated by her, and he had no damn idea how to get her out of his system … even if he’d wanted to.
“You gonna stick around?” Bones asked as the gavel hit the wood block.
“Is church over?” Shadow asked.
“Yeah, where have you been?” Bones replied.
Before he could answer, Smokey moved in closer. “I’m guessing buried in that cute Mansfield chick’s pussy.”
“Who’s in who’s pussy?” Rags asked as he sidled up to Shadow.
Shadow threw Smokey a dirty look. “He’s just moving his lips.”
“You gonna go fuck someone now?” Rags scratched his head.
“He’s been doing it for the last half hour in his head.” Smokey chuckled.
Shadow gave him the finger then fell in behind the other members as they filed out of the meeting room. He heard Rags still trying to figure out who Shadow was going to bang when he walked into the hallway.
The main room was bustling with activity as the prospects tried to keep up with serving the members their drinks. Shadow leaned against the bar and avoided looking at Smokey when he sauntered over to the counter. Shadow wanted to drink a few cold ones and then hit the road on his bike. The temperatures had dipped down a few degrees, and he longed for a ride around the mountain roads.
The phone vibrated in his back pocket just as he finished his beer. Glancing at the screen, he frowned when he didn’t recognize the number.
“Yeah?”
“Hello, Shadow. Uh, this is Flo Karas. Remember me?”
The voice from his past startled him, hurling him to another time and place.
“Hello. Is this Shadow?” she asked, her voice sounding like she swallowed a handful of dirt.
He heard light crumpling noises, then a long inhale followed by an exhale. Her actions jarred loose an avalanche of memory: Flo sitting cross-legged on the faded couch in their trailer, firing up a cigarette with a lighter from her purse, and his mother smiling as she watched her friend.
“Shadow?”
The noise around him suddenly became deafening, and he cupped his hand over his other ear.
“Hang on a sec,” he said as he crossed the room.
Once outside, he crouched down on his haunches and picked up a handful of dry pine needles. Spreading his fingers, they slipped through them and fell back down to the ground. Down past the trees, the Colorado River flowed like a stream of glass, glinting under the sunlight. Larkspur, fireweed, and columbine flowers lined the water’s edge; the air was heavy with a honeyed scent, and the low-sounding hum of bees filled the hanging branches of pine trees.
“Did I lose you?” Flo coughed, a raspy, raw sound.
“I’m here. It’s just been a fuckin’ long time.”
“I didn’t even know you were in town. I thought you’d left years ago.”
Shadow stood up and walked closer to the river, then, he bent down and picked up a flat, smooth stone, leaned forward, and skimmed it across the water. The rock bounced on top of the water in two or three spots, causing little splashes before it sank.
“Why’re you calling after all this time?” He picked up a handful of pebbles then tossed them into the river, one by one.
“I meant to call you after everything calmed down, but I thought you’d left. No one knew where you went.”
Shadow narrowed his eyes. “Who the hell isno one?”
Flo coughed again. “The cops.”
