Taking The Heat (19 page)

I had breathed life into Sydney when I saved her from herself at the bank. In turn, she had breathed life into me in the hospital; the day she whispered in my ear. Both of us acted not for reward or recognition, but out of a natural desire to be kind. One we certainly always possessed, but rarely exhibited toward others.

“You know,” she said as she wiped the warm cloth over my hips and thighs, “If you have two broken cars, or two broken toys, you can take the two broken objects and make one working one? Like use the pieces from one to fix the other?”

She paused and held the washcloth in her hand as she waited on my response. Having no idea what point she was trying to make, I smiled and nodded my head.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“Well,” she paused and wiped the clean side of the washcloth along my sweats, “As individuals, we’re both broken. I think together, maybe we’ll make a complete, unbroken
us
.”

“Let’s just take a shower together,” I sighed as I painfully watched her attempt to clean up the mess I had made.

She carefully climbed off of me and stood on the floor beside the bed.

Knowing I had been broken beyond repair for almost a decade, I considered what she had said, and wondered if there was any validity to her statement. Quite possibly, I decided, jointly we could become a couple who was able to be together what we were incapable of being independently. Combined, it would stand to reason we would be at least twice what we were as individuals.

“It makes sense. You know, what you said a second ago,” I paused and raised my hand to my chin.

“Unbreak me, Sydney,” I said as I stood.

She stopped walking, turned, and looked over her shoulder. After an awkward pause, she smiled. 

“Let me,” she said over her shoulder.

As she held her pose and waited for me to respond, I admired her every feature. Slowly, I felt her fill what little void remained; completely.

“I am,” I said under my breath.

As simple as it sounded and as complex as it seemed, I knew she was slowly doing just that.

Unbreaking me
.

SYDNEY

Life has never provided me anything without taking something in return. If I ran in an effort to stay in shape, my joints became overworked and eventually turned weak and fragile. If I lay in the sun to obtain a glowing tan, my skin would eventually develop premature wrinkles, and appear worn beyond my years. If I worked excessively to earn money to purchase the finer things life offered, I would miss out on all of the life I could have lived while I was working. There are no free rides, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and with everything comes a price. Life, in my opinion, comes down to whether or not you’re willing to pay for what it is you wish to obtain.

Is the give worth the get?

I had spent my life convinced I had paid in advance for something I had yet to receive. As much as I gave in my early years, and as little as I collected in return, I believed one day life would simply provide me my reward.

I had no idea Cambio Todelli would be my reward.

The smell of fresh coffee woke us both, and after a few minutes of whispering and kissing, we opted to get out of bed. The voices in the other room acted as a reminder that I wasn’t the only one who was here to see Cambio. It appeared at some point in time through the night Otis had shown up as well. Reluctantly I rolled off of the bed, brushed my teeth, and considered brushing my hair and getting dressed. I settled for twisting my hair into a messy bun and wearing sweats.

“I like your hair like that,” he said as I walked out of the bathroom.

“Seriously? Do you know what this is called?’ I laughed as I raised my hand to the back of my hair.

He shook his head, “Nope.”

“It’s called a
messy bun
; because it’s a mess and a bun at the same time. It’s like a quick fix,” I said.

“Well, I like it; it shows your face and all of your jaw. I like it. You’ve got a good face.” he grinned.

“Thanks. You’ve got a good face too. I’ll make a personal note to wear my hair up as much as possible,” I said as I reached for the door and waited for his approval to open it.

He stood silently and gazed my direction. After a long moment, he grinned.

“You know, I want to take you to see my grandfather. Not
him
, you know,
his grave
. It’ll have to be after I get a little better, it’s a long ride.”

“Oh wow. I’d love that. Where is he buried?” I asked.

“Philadelphia,” he breathed.

“I though you went to see him all the time? You ride to Philly to see him?” I asked, shocked at the distance he was traveling to go to the gravesite.

“Yeah, it’s about 2,700 miles round trip. My folks live up there too. Maybe we’ll stop and see them. It’ll be a nice trip. I haven’t seen them in a bit, but maybe we’ll talk about that later,” he said as he slowly approached.

No differently than any other woman, I wanted definition to our relationship. In some respects feeling as if I had thrust myself into something I hadn’t prepared for, I wondered if he was as devoted as I was to what it was we were doing. His actions as well as his words were proving he was as invested in this as I was. I stood, holding the door handle, and simply grinned at the thought of going to Philadelphia with him.

“I’m ready if you are,” he sighed.

I turned toward the door and pulled against the handle. As soon as I pulled the door open, I immediately jumped back. Startled by the fact Otis stood directly in front of the door, I screeched.

“Oh my God!” I shouted.

“Holy shit! You scared me to death,” I said under my breath.

“Morning, Syd,” Otis grinned.

“What the fuck you doing, Brother Otis? Standing there with your ear against the door? Hell, we’re brothers, I’m not keeping secrets in here. You wanna know something, just ask,” Cambio chuckled as he ducked under my arm and walked past.

“You scared the shit out of me,” I said as I pushed against him with both hands.

Playfully, he stumbled rearward as if my pushing knocked him off balance. At probably close to 300 pounds of solid muscle, ten of me couldn’t budge Otis on a good day.

“Well, I guess it’s nice knowing there’s no secrets,” Otis said as he continued to stumble toward the kitchen, “I was just coming to tell you two lovebirds that breakfast is ready. Coffee too.”

“We smelled the coffee,” Cambio said as he walked toward the kitchen.

“Brought your phone, and the battery’s all charged up. Phone, watch, your ring, wallet, knife, boots, and that bracelet thing you wear; they’re all there in the kitchen. Sorry about that, but when they showed up, they just cut your clothes off and tossed the shit everywhere. Shit they cut your jeans in half. They’d have sliced your cut in two if we let them,” he paused and started laughing out loud.

“What about my cut?” Cambio grunted, “Where’s my fucking cut?”

“Slice has it in the shop, locked up. He said you can get it when you get home. Maybe he’s using it like an incentive,” Otis shrugged.

“Cocksucker. He expects me to ride home naked? Well, at least I can call him now,” Cambio hissed.

“You know, it’s a damned good thing there wasn’t a girl paramedic in that bunch. That big fucking paramedic fireman guy sliced off your pants and there you were, covered in blood and all commando and shit. Your poor shriveled half-dead cock was just flopping in the breeze,” Otis laughed.

“Yep. Good thing there wasn’t. Cock’s officially off limits,” he said flatly.

Otis shrugged his shoulders as he alternated glances between Cambio and me, “What the fuck’s that mean?”

“It’s hers now,” he said over his shoulder as he grabbed the coffee pot.

Mine?

Otis playfully nodded his head. As he tilted his head my direction, he grinned and gave me the
thumbs up
. I smiled in return and raised my thumb in the air.

“Appreciate it,” Cambio said as he set the two cups of coffee at the bar and glanced down at his belongings.

The house we were in belonged to Cambio’s Marine friend, A-Train. The main body of the house was very large, and tastefully decorated with furniture and miscellaneous large photographs of nature and landscape. The living room was open to the kitchen, only separated by a long island that served as a bar and eating area.

“How you feeling?” Otis asked as he sat down on the bar stool.

“Better, just sore. Lung feels, fuck I don’t know how to describe it,” he paused and shook his head, “Like it’s working overtime. I sure as fuck know it’s there.”

“Shoulder?” Otis asked.

“Feels like I got shot,” he responded flatly.

“Probably ought to be wearing a sling or something, huh?” Otis shrugged.

“Probably ought to get some business of your own, Brother Otis. I’ll be fine,” Cambio snapped.

Otis shook his head and picked up his cup of coffee, “You want to ride out of here before winter, you need to be wearing that fucking sling.”

“Cream? Sugar?” Cambio asked as he walked toward the stove.

“The invisible man speaks again. Guess no comment on the sling remark, huh?” Otis said.

I stared at Cambio. He returned the stare as if waiting on
my
response instead of commenting on what Otis had said about his failure to wear the sling. After a minor staring session, I decided he wasn’t going to respond to Otis.

I blinked my eyes, “Black’s fine.”

He turned toward the other counter and removed a spoon from the drawer.

“Where’s A-Train?” Cambio asked over his shoulder.

“He just left, went over at the boxer’s house to watch the kid. Boxer had to run to the gym, and his wife had a hair appointment or something. Said he watches that kid as much as they do,” Otis responded.

“A-Train said to make sure you ate something, so I made some scrambled eggs. Couldn’t find any bacon, so there’s some ham there,” Otis said as he tilted his head toward the stove.

“I’ll eat in a minute,” Cambio responded as he grabbed the cream.

“I didn’t cook that shit for
my
health, eat it now, before it gets cold,” Otis growled.

Seeing Cambio and Otis together was much different than seeing my brother and his biker friends before he went to prison. Although they all call each other
brother
, it’s rare to see any of them truly act like brothers would act. These two were the clear exception. Bickering like a couple of brothers, it was nice to see Otis truly cared about Cambio as much as he did. The little time we had spent together in the hospital proved he was as considerate and as kind as any person I had ever met, if not more. Although I would never tell him, he seemed to me to be like a big teddy bear.

Well, a big teddy bear with a scowl on his face most of the time.

“While you’re plating up the eggs for you and your girl, I’ve got a quick question,” Otis said as he sipped his coffee.

“Fine, I’ll eat now,” Cambio responded as he slid a cup of coffee across the bar, “Hungry?”

I nodded my head. Cambio walked to the stove and pulled the lid from the skillet and looked inside.

I pulled out a stool and sat down beside Otis. Otis glanced in my direction and winked as Cambio began to spoon eggs on two plates. I did my best to wink back.

“So, the day in the bank,” he paused and alternated glances between Cambio and me.

Cambio turned and looked over his shoulder, “Yeah, what about it.”

“Well, being we decided you aren’t keeping any secrets, Syd here was with the guy that robbed the bank, wasn’t she?” he asked.

I raised the coffee cup to my mouth and took a permanent drink as I waited for Cambio to respond.

“Sure was,” Cambio responded.

“I knew it. I fucking
knew
it,” Otis said as he slapped the countertop with his hand.

“All you had to do was ask,” Cambio sighed as he turned and carried the plates to the bar.

“Well, you know how I roll. It’s none of my fucking business. But being she’s the owner of your cock,” he paused, turned my direction, and winked.

“I figured she’s around for the long haul. So, I thought I’d ask. Now, second question; You a thief, Sydney?” Otis chuckled.

I lowered my coffee cup onto the bar and shook my head, “Not even close. I met the guy the night before, outside the bar where my car was parked. He thought I was coming out of the bar, but honestly I was getting ready to go to bed. He had a nice car, and was hitting on me, so I went with him. I basically used him for a shower, and to save you from wondering…”

“I didn’t do anything with him. The next morning he drove to the bank on his way to take me back to my car. I had no idea what he was doing. Seriously,” I explained.

“That’s all I need to know,” he said as he patted my shoulder.

“So, when’s the wedding?” Otis asked without an ounce of emotion.

“Fuck you, O,” Cambio chuckled.

Otis took a shallow breath, sighed, and glanced in my direction. After studying me for a moment, he turned to face Cambio.

  “Well, as far as I’m concerned, a man’s Ol’ Lady is an extension of the club. You know how I feel. And you know I’m only tight with a few of the fellas; you and Axe, to be truthful. Now Avery? There ain’t a better bitch on this earth than that girl. She’s solid as fuck, and I’ll leave it at that. This one?” he paused and tilted his head in my direction.

“I like this little bitch a lot. I really do. But if she was prone to robbing a motherfucker or stealin’ shit, I needed to know. You know, keep my shit under lock and key,” he chuckled.

“But if you’re finally layin’ claim to her, and she’s not a thief, I guess I’ll welcome her to the family,” he said as he reached over and patted my shoulder again.

“For what it’s worth, I never thought you were a thief,” Otis said as he took a sip of coffee.

“She’s solid,” Cambio said under his breath as he nodded his head my direction.

As I was filling with emotion, and feeling as if I was making quick progress toward being accepted by the men who mattered most, I smiled and nodded my head. I lifted my coffee cup and took a small sip, attempting to act like it was just another day in the life of Sydney. Truthfully, I was on cloud nine. Being referred to as
solid
by a biker was the highest form of affirmation I could ever receive.

“Axton says Avery said she sent you a text and you need to read it,” Cambio said as he looked up from his phone.

I looked down at my plate, and realized I hadn’t begun to eat.

“My phone’s in my purse. I’ll look as soon as I’m done eating,” I responded.

“Huh, that’s weird. Got a text from the vet. Wants me to call him. Can’t remember now if I paid that girl before I stomped out of that place,” he said as he continued to mess with his phone and eat ham at the same time.

He stopped eating, and raised the phone to his ear. As I began to eat my almost cold eggs, Cambio began pacing through living room and talking on his phone. I turned toward Otis and grinned.