Out of Time (Nine Minutes #2) (33 page)

Chapter Fifty-Six

2000

Ginny shot sidelong
looks at her husband as he drove them to dinner.

“So how come I’ve never heard about or met this supposed ‘good friend’ of yours?” she finally asked, more than a little haughtily. She refused to let herself feel bad about the comment she made to Casey about Allen.

Without looking at her, Tommy mumbled, “He had HIV and it weakened his immune system. He died from pneumonia.”

She felt instant shame. She looked at her lap. “I—I’m sorry, Tommy. I didn’t know and you never mentioned him.” She looked at him now. “But why, Tommy? Why would you have never told me you had a dear friend who ended up dying? You had to be grieving. How could you have never once mentioned it?”

“I don’t know, Gin. I guess I didn’t want our time, our new life, to be about sadness and death and loss. I had enough of that for the first part of my life.” He shrugged. “I got through it.”

Her mind was still reeling from all his stories, which she realized went as far back as 1969. He seemed remarkably steady for someone who’d known so much for so long. She had her own reasons for being upset, but he’d had to be the one who lived it, day in and day out. He had known about Grizz’s real childhood. Known what Grizz had really done to Darryl and Willow. Even witnessed some of it. He’d eventually found out Grizz murdered his own mother, Candy. And—she couldn’t forget—he’d even played the part of a gay man just to be with her, then endured a beating that put him in the hospital for weeks because of that charade. And now he was telling her he’d lost a close and dear friend and she’d never known about it.

He was either the most caring and generous man in the world, she decided, or he was stone cold crazy.

She shuddered and looked out the window. He was right when he said she’d stuck her head in the sand for years. It was her coping mechanism. She had played the part of naïve wife to two men. She wasn’t stupid, and she was starting to get angry at herself for letting herself believe she was. She never saw it as avoiding truths. She really was a “glass half full” type of person, had tried for as long as she could remember to remain positive and upbeat regardless of what life tossed at her.

But with this new knowledge came a new realization that this was all she ever did: caught and dealt with whatever life threw at her.

She’d even allowed herself to be the victim of an abduction by making herself believe she was protecting Vince and Delia by not escaping. Sure, she could proudly pat herself on the back for making the best of whatever life tossed at her, but she secretly berated herself for not once thinking about tossing something back.

They didn’t speak as they made their way through traffic. She wondered what Tommy was thinking. Was he remembering his friend, Allen? Was he thinking about what he was going to have for dinner? Was he wondering if his marriage was over? That’s what she was wondering.

How much of Tommy’s personality was actually the same as Grizz’s? She blinked—her husband was her first husband’s
son
. It sounded weird any way you looked at it. But was there anything about him that even remotely hinted at it?

She let herself drift back to a time when she was married to Grizz but spending some hangout time with Grunt. They were driving somewhere, she couldn’t remember where, but she remembered what came next like it was yesterday.

“Grizz said he would meet us at Razor’s,” Grunt told her in the car.

“Razor’s?” She wrinkled her nose. “Can’t we meet him somewhere else? I hate to go to his bars. The women are all topless and it makes me uncomfortable. Not to mention the customers. They’re all criminals.”

“He has business there, Kit, and it’s just easier for him to meet up with us there. I don’t have time to drive you all the way home. Besides, it’s still early, so I don’t think there will be a lot of people there. Plus, I think Vanderline is working.”

Kit smiled. She liked Vanderline. She was one of the few women who worked for Grizz that Kit actually admired. She was about Kit’s age and only worked at the topless bar to pay her way through college. She was very up front with the customers that she wasn’t a working girl and she wouldn’t be serving up anything that wasn’t on the menu. She had a tough, no-nonsense attitude, and the customers loved her.

They pulled up to Razor’s, and Kit was glad to see there were only a few bikes in the parking lot. Grunt was right. It wasn’t busy. She didn’t see Grizz’s car or one of his bikes. Maybe he was parked around back. She wasn’t sure what he would be driving, but she hoped that he would get there soon. Hopefully, he had his car. She didn’t have her helmet with her.

After their eyes adjusted inside, they found a seat close to the jukebox. There were a few guys playing pool on the other side of the bar. Vanderline, full-bosomed and bare from the waist up, made her way over to them.

Kit and Grunt both stood as she approached.

“Hey, you two, long time, no see,” Vanderline said as she hugged them both. She smiled when she noticed Kit was blushing.

“Hey, Vee. We’re just waiting on Grizz,” Grunt told her. “He said he has business here and it was just easier for us to meet up so he can get Kit.”

“Yeah, he called a few minutes before you walked in. Said he would be late, but he had something back in the office he wanted you to take a look at. Are you two hungry? I know it’s a little early, but I’m pretty sure we can fix you up some lunch if you want.”

“I’m not hungry, but I’ll take an iced tea.” Grunt said, then turned to Kit and gestured toward the office. “I’ll be back in a few. Let me go see what it is he wants me to look at.”

Kit told Vanderline, “I’ll have an iced tea, too, and—”

“Lots of ice and lemon. I remember.” Vanderline smiled warmly at Kit before she turned around and headed for the bar.

Kit watched the waitress walk toward the bar and remembered when she’d first seen Vanderline. Grizz had brought Kit to Razor’s to pick something up. She sat in the corner and observed the waitresses in action. Vanderline caught her eye because she was the only black girl. She later asked Grizz about her. He told her Vanderline, who the regulars called Miss Vee, was about Kit’s age. She had exotic good looks and a body that the men couldn’t seem to take their eyes off of. With very large, full breasts and a rear end to match, she sported tattoos on both wrists and a small one just above her left breast. Vanderline was of mixed descent. When asked, she proudly declared that she had a black father and a Spanish mother. She had lost both parents when she was very young. Her mother died from cancer. And her father, who had never done drugs in his entire life, turned to them in his grief. He died of an overdose less than six months later. Vanderline had been passed from relative to relative until she finally struck out on her own at sixteen.

Kit had insisted on an introduction after Grizz told her Vanderline was working to put herself through college and refused to earn her money as a prostitute. They had hit it off, and Vanderline had impressed Kit so much that Kit began harassing Grizz about giving the girl a raise.

“She brings a lot of the regulars in. If I give her a raise, then she finishes school and is out of there,” Grizz told Kit after she mentioned it that first time.

Kit just stared at him. “You just asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I want Vanderline to make more money. A lot more money.”

“Kitten, you’re killing me.”

But Kit knew Vanderline had gotten her raise, and it wouldn’t be long before she would be able to retire from Razor’s.

Kit smiled at the memory as she dug around in her purse for some change. What had Grunt recently told her? That Vanderline would be graduating in a couple of months? Kit approached the jukebox and was studying the music selections when the door opened. She glanced behind her to see if it was Grizz. No, just two men. She went back to perusing the jukebox selections.
Hmmm, no Boston or ELO
. She would mention it to Grizz.

She heard the new customers settle themselves at a table near her. She put some change in and made her first selection. Nothing. Was it broken? She heard Vanderline set two drinks on the table behind her, then approach the men.

“What can I get you guys?” she asked.

“What have you got on tap?”

“Screw that,” the other guy said. “I’ll have me some brown sugar, sweetheart. I heard this bar is good for some snatch. Didn’t know they had a chocolate version.”

Kit could hear them, but wouldn’t turn around. She winced, but relaxed when she heard Vanderline’s reply.

“The only brown something you’re going to get is my fist down your throat if you don’t take your hand off my ass right now.”

“Whoa, whoa, didn’t mean anything by it! Sorry!”

“What can I bring you?” Vanderline had to handle jerks like this before. She wasn’t fazed by it at all.

“Whatever you have on tap is fine.”

Kit heard Vanderline walk away, and out of the corner of her eye saw her approach the bar.

“Well, well, well, what have we got here?” One of the guys asked. “Hey, sweet thing. Why you wearing a shirt? Too good to show us your tits?”

Kit stiffened. Were they referring to her? She turned around and met the one’s gaze. They looked like bikers. The larger one smiled at her. She realized he was missing his two front teeth. He was used to fighting. The smaller one had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. His hair was pulled back in a greasy ponytail, and his baseball cap was so dirty she couldn’t even make out the logo.

She ignored them and turned her attention back to the stubborn jukebox. She pressed K13. “Hush” by Deep Purple. Nothing.

“Whatsa matter, Princess?” the bigger one said to Kit. “You too good for us or something?”

Vanderline had just returned with their beers. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave her alone. She doesn’t work here,” Vanderline informed them as she placed their drinks in front of them. “Can I get you anything else?”

“How ‘bout something to gnaw on? Got any pretzels or something?” the bigger guy asked. Before Vanderline could answer, he added, “Hey, Princess, my friend was talking to you.”

“You two must not be from around here.” Vanderline raised her voice. “I’ll say it again. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut up. I told you she doesn’t work here. Both of you back the fuck off!”

“Whatsa matter, slut, jealous we’re moving on? You missed your chance, sweetheart. C’mon, girly, let us see some tit.”

Almost as if on cue, they both stood at the same time, their chairs scraping the rough floor. They began walking toward Kit. She turned and saw them approaching.
This isn’t happening!
What was she going to do?

She backed up against the jukebox and stared at Vanderline. But Vanderline’s eyes were glued to something over Kit’s shoulder, a surprised look on her face. Before Kit could blink, Grunt was on both of them.

She knew her jaw dropped when she saw how effortlessly he handled the two men. Somewhere between the office and the jukebox, Grunt had managed to grab a pool cue. He cracked it over the bigger one’s head before anyone saw it coming. Then he turned his attention to the smaller one.

“Go get in the car, Kit,” he yelled over his shoulder as the bigger one started coming at him. The pool cue had stunned him, but it didn’t knock him out like Grunt had hoped.

Vanderline grabbed Kit by the arm and started steering her toward the front door. “Do what he says, honey. I’ll call the police. Go.”

Later, Vanderline filled Kit in on the details. Somehow, she’d pushed aside the particulars, tucked them into a neat little place with all the other bad memories she didn’t want to remember.

But she remembered them now—and remembered the look on Vanderline’s face when she’d told it all.

Grunt had taken a couple of hits that day, but he gave as good as he got. A few minutes later, both men were on the floor. Grunt had headed for the bar and picked up the phone as Vanderline looked on.

“Eileen, it’s Michael. I need you to reschedule my meetings. Push them out about two hours.” He paused. “Yeah, I’ll see you then. Thank you.”

He hung up the phone and addressed Vanderline. “Tell Grizz I decided to drive Kit home. Call the police and see if they’ll clean this up before he gets here.”

“Will do,” Vanderline said as Grunt headed for the front door.

She walked to the larger guy and kicked him in his face. “That’s for the slut comment.” Then she walked to the smaller of the two, who was looking up at her and moaning. She stomped on his genitals hard. “And that is for saying nasty things to my girl, Kit.”

“What nasty things?” came a voice from the rear.

Vanderline turned to see Grizz standing there. He’d come in the back door right after Grunt went out the front. What was she going to tell him? Grunt had wanted her to call the police.

But she didn’t have to say anything. The smaller of the two men was curled up in a fetal position. He had puked on the floor and was still moaning from the kick to his groin. The bigger of the two had recovered from Vanderline’s kick to the face and was now trying to sit up. He gave Grizz the once-over, assuming he had an ally.

“Hey dude, maybe you can help a couple of fellow bikers out. That stupid fuck that just left and his frigid ice queen think they’re better than us. Wanna help us finish what we started? Could use some help from a big motherfucker like you.”