Bourbon Blaze Page 3

  Sean had been with the department for eight years. At the age of thirty-four, Sean was happy, content with his job. It was his personal life that sucked. He hadn’t had a serious relationship in the last nine years. After his own stint with the Marines, he’d come home to his fiancé. Everything had been sunshine and roses, fine and dandy until Sean told Hannah he was going to become a police officer. Hannah had issued an ultimatum. It was her or the police academy. Their relationship didn’t last long after that.

  Now, it was Sean and Kilo. He hadn’t been celibate for the last nine years. He’d had relationships, but nothing longer than a few months. If he hooked up with anyone, it was with the understanding it was either going to be casual or only a one night stand. Years ago, he’d hooked up with Susan Phillips. She was a great woman however, she’d been in the casual relationship category, it never really went anywhere. She had a great son named Connor. Sean tried not to feel sorry for him because of a birth defect. Something to do with his hip, Sean wasn’t exactly sure of the exact details.

  He had a pronounced limp because of his hip, Connor was determined to be a Navy SEAL. Curt Bannerman, one of Sean’s friends, had been a SEAL. Sean had never seen Connor smile and laugh so much in his life when Curt and his friends had come to his birthday party to mock play SEAL vs tango with him. Sean had even brought Kilo over to show Connor and his friends how a K-9 dog takes down a fugitive.

  Sean slowed his truck to pull into a driveway. “We’re here.” Sean told Kilo and smiled as the dog stretched, yawned, then farted, causing Sean to gag. Laughing, Sean exited his SUV and hurried around to the door. Opening it, he clipped Kilo’s leash on him, holding it as Kilo jumped down. Sean knew where they were, and Kilo must have remembered too because he led Sean toward the woods.

  Sean looked at the clock on the dash of his SUV. It was close to midnight on a Saturday night, and he was exhausted. Three hours of sleep the night before, then training exercises earlier that day. What should have been an eight-hour session had turned into twelve hours. He and several other instructors had gone out for dinner afterward. He was halfway home and needed a restroom. Fortunately, he had chosen to travel home via the interstate instead of the back roads, Sean soon spotted the sign for a rest stop. Five miles down the road, he pulled in and parked. He noticed a motorcycle pulling a small trailer behind, parked in one of the larger parking spaces. When Kilo started to whine, Sean made a quick decision. He looked at the dog and talked to him like he was a child.

  “To the woods and back, you hear me, Kilo? No running off, I want you outside the men’s room when I get out. If you can’t do that, you’ll have to wait until I get back.” Sean continued to study the dog until the canine nodded.

  Sean jogged around to let Kilo out, together, they ran toward the men’s room at the pavilion. Kilo kept going, and Sean rounded the corner. He rushed to the urinal, sighing in relief as he relieved his bladder. He thought he would never stop going. Once he was done, he washed his hands and face. Glanced at his watch, he noted it would be at least an hour before he arrived home.

  After drying his face, he stepped back, looked at himself in the mirror, and nodded, liking what he saw. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. Who the hell was going to see him at midnight, in the dark, at a roadside rest stop? Exiting the restroom he scowled when he didn’t see Kilo. He started toward the parking lot, freezing in his tracks when he heard a blood-curdling scream.

  Pulling his gun, hurrying toward the parking lot, his SUV and the motorcycle were still the only vehicles there. Sean noticed the area behind the building was free of any trees or bushes. No one was there, he made his way over to the other side of the pavilion. Looking around the corner, Sean saw Kilo sitting before a figure. From his position, he saw it was a woman. She stood as stiff as a board, her hands were down at her sides, clenched into fists. He slowly approached, noting that she was shaking.

  “Hello.” Sean tried not to spook the woman. He noted her face was pale, her eyes were huge, and she continued to shake.

  “Stop, don’t attack me.” The woman’s voice shook, she held her clenched fists out toward Kilo, as if to ward him off.

  “Hello. I’m Sheriff Deputy Kilduff, are you hurt?” Kilo took that time to move forward and sniff the person. He whined as he approached. The wrong move on Kilo’s part. Sean winced as she let out another spine-chilling scream.

  “Don’t attack me.”

  Sean grabbed Kilo by the collar and hurried him out to the SUV. He unlocked it, and put the dog in the back to shut him inside. Relocking his truck, he hurried back to the woman.

  “Ma’am, it’s all right, the dog is locked in my truck, you’re safe.” Sean held his hands out toward her. Trying to calm her.

  “Are you sure?” She continued to stare at the spot Kilo had been.

  “I’m sure. You’re safe. I’m a police officer, Kilo is my K-9. He won’t hurt you. Not unless I give the command. He’s locked in the truck.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. Why don’t you look around?”

  The woman did, she turned her head toward him, and Sean sucked in his breath at her looks. She had bright blue eyes, her skin was creamy white, and her hair was jet black. She wore a black leather jacket, a black sweatshirt, and black jeans with black chaps. Besides the black, the only color on her was the small amount of her creamy skin and blue eyes.

  “You are a cop.” The woman said when she spotted his uniform.

  Sean held out his hand. “Deputy Sheriff Sean Kilduff.”

  “Sophia Swanson.” They shook hands. At the initial contact, a shock passed through them, they subtly tightened their hands with one another. Sophia said, “I’m sorry about freaking out.”

  “Can I ask what happened?”

  “I came out of the ladies’ room, and saw the dog, it approached, and I panicked. I’m sorry.” Sophia waved her hand in the air like it wasn’t a big deal. Sean could tell she was trying to downplay what had happened.

  “No need to be sorry. Are you okay? Did Kilo hurt you?”

  “No.” Sophia would look him directly in the eye. “Like I said, I panicked.” She sighed, and rubbed her forehead. “In case you couldn’t tell, dogs scare me. When I saw it, my first thought was it was feral and was going to attack me. When it came up to me, I freaked.”

  “I’m so sorry. I’m usually with Kilo when he does his business, but my back teeth were floating. I told him to go to the woods and meet me outside the men’s room. He must have thought this was the men’s room.”

  “Well, it’s not.” Sophia snarked. She stepped back from him and kept walking backward. “I’ve got to go.” She turned and strode away. Sean was stunned by her sudden departure. It took several moments before he went after her. When he reached the parking lot, the motorcycle was already driving away.

  Walking over to his SUV, he unlocked it, got in the driver’s seat, and looked at his dog. “Well, that was different.” After starting his SUV, Sean had to wait because several cars and tractor-trailers pulled in, preventing him from leaving right away. He had intended to follow the motorcycle and see if he could either get a plate number or see where she was going. Sean was concerned she might not be steady enough to drive. He mentally kicked himself in the ass for allowing her to drive off when she had been so upset. Luckily they were going in the same direction. Sean hoped he didn’t see her crashed alongside the road.

  2

  Several miles back, Sophia had seen the sign, Welcome to Stormville, Iowa. As she sat on her idling Harley at the red light, she could see her destination just beyond the intersection. She watched several pick-up trucks turn into the parking lot as she waited. The light turned green, Sophia dropped her Harley in gear, eased through the traffic light, and into the parking lot. Sophia waited for the trucks to park before she parked her Harley and camper. She shut the bike down, dismounted, and removed her helmet, and gloves. She looked up and saw nine men staring at her. Sophia smiled broadly as they stared at he
r bike and camper, not her. She stepped back, letting them look their fill.

  “Sweet ride,” someone called out.

  “Thanks.”

  “Holy shit.” A different man shook his head as he studied the bike. He reached out to touch it, but dropped his hand before making contact. “Sorry, who did this work?”

  “I did.” Sophia looked at the man and knew he was the one she needed to see. He looked like her old boss, Chris. Sophia recalled pictures on the walls at HALO-Daytona. She knew she was looking at Chris’s brother, Curt.

  “You did this?” Curt said. “Do you have a job? We sure could use another detailer around here. By the way, I own this place.” He moved his arm to indicate, HALO Customs. She stood back as everyone approached to check out her motorcycle painted with flames and skulls. Her camper had the same design and color motif.

  As the men walked around, Sophia observed. With each positive comment, Sophia’s grin grew. All the men made comments on what they saw in the paint. Curt looked up at her.

  “How much is it going to cost me to get you to come work for me?” Sophia flinched reflectively at his loud voice. She tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear to try and cover up her jerky movement.

  “Sorry. I already have a job.”

  “I’ll pay you more.” The woman’s reaction to his loud comment hadn’t been lost on Curt. Sophia flinched at his loud voice. She stuck her hands in the jacket pockets and hunched her shoulders. He’d noted she jerked when he spoke, taking a step back away from him. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Outside of my own, I haven’t seen work this intricate before. It’s beautiful.”

  “Thank you. I can’t come to work for you because I already do. If you want to give me a raise before I even start, I won’t turn it down.” Sophia watched the emotions cross Curt’s face. The first one was confusion with his furrowed brow. When the words sunk in, joy came over his face. His face lit up, and his eyes shone. He looked delighted when he held out his hand, “Curt Bannerman.”

  “Sophia Swanson.”

  “Chris didn’t tell me you were coming, well, he did, only not today.”

  “I left Florida five days ago.” Sophia sighed. She removed her jacket, and her chaps. She bent over to rub her thighs vigorously, trying to warm them up. She looked up, noticed several people stared at her hands. Sophia pulled the long sleeves of her shirt down. She hooked the single slit in the sleeve over her thumbs. Another one over her middle finger. Covering the scars on the back of her hands. In time she would reveal the scars on her hands. She turned her full attention to her new boss.

  “I told Chris I’d call him when I arrived. I stopped off at a truck stop for a few hours. I didn’t want to wake Susan and Connor. I would have gotten to their house around the time Susan left for work, so I decided to come straight here instead.”

  “Come in. If you were at the truck stop for hours, I’m sure you don’t want any coffee.” Curt laughed.

  “Please, no. I drank enough to sink a ship. Water would be good.” Sophia joined the others as they headed toward the back of the shop, but Curt called everyone to meet in the breakroom. After making a pot of coffee, Curt turned to the men.

  “Please welcome Sophia Swanson. She’s the transfer from the Daytona shop I told you about. She was hired by my brother, Chris, to replace me in Daytona before I opened here. I hope you all welcome her. She’s the new bike detailer, in a pinch, she can help with the repairs. Her primary job will be a detailer.”

  “I prefer the title painter slash designer, I’m sure I can get used to being called a detailer.” Sophia nodded at everyone. Counting ten people, she being the only woman. After the introductions were made, Curt told Scott, the shop manager, to give Sophia a tour. At first, Sophia was hesitant, until she saw Scott wore a wedding ring. Sighing, she stood and followed him. She hoped no one noticed her hesitancy.

  “I’m Scott Taylor. This hallway leads back to the shop. Your office will be here, someplace. I’m not sure where Curt’s going to set you up. Let’s go in the back. I’ll show you around.” Scott indicated for Sophia to go ahead of him. Once out in the other part of the building, Sophia paused, stopped, and stared.

  “I like the setup.”

  “Thanks. It was Randy’s idea.” Scott called out for a man who turned to come over to join them.

  “Hi, I’m Randy Fry.” He stuck out his hand to shake. Sophia shook his hand and was surprised she didn’t get a tingle like she had with that cop earlier. “Scott said this set-up was my idea, but it was really all of ours. Each of us have our own station.” He pointed to where several other men worked on different motorcycles. “When we first opened, it was a hodgepodge mess. This allows us more room to work.”

  “It’s a nice set-up.” Sophia turned to catch everything. “What’s with the empty space over there?” She pointed to the area she assumed was the back of the building.

  “Oh.” Randy chuckled at Scott. “Come on.” He started to walk in that direction. Sophia hesitated, unsure if she should follow him. “That’s the paint booth. The empty space on either side is for you or Curt.”

  “I don’t understand. Could you explain it to me please?”

  “Do you have someone tear the bike down if you’re doing a complete paint job?”

  “No, I do it myself. I’d ask for some help lifting the motor. Otherwise, I tear it all down myself.”

  “Good to know.” Randy nodded. He pointed to the left of the paint booth. “Curt’s current job. The owner wanted the tank and fenders painted.” The two of them walked closer, and Sophia nodded. She saw a bike had those items removed. The bike was on its kickstand. There was a workbench set up like the others. As she looked to the left, she saw another workbench, but this one was empty.

  “Ah, I understand. This is Curt’s work station?”

  “Yes, the other side is yours. We set up the shop for two detailers. We didn’t know when one would get here. We kept the area open for whenever it happened.” They went over to the left side of the paint booth. Randy pointed to the bench. “This will be your work area. Do you need me to go over the equipment with you?”

  “No, I understand what’s what. The only question I have right now is, where are all the paint supplies? Chris told me Curt was busy. If he’s so busy, where are the supplies?”

  Randy directed her behind the paint booth.

  “Holy shit! That’s a lot of paint.”

  “Yeah, these two bikes are Curt’s next projects. He likes to line them up, so he’s not waiting around. We have enough room to hold ten bikes.”

  “Good to know. Can you get into the paint booth from both sides?”

  “Yes, Curt prefers to enter from back here. He said it keeps the mess contained. If we need Curt, we use the other side.” Randy opened a door. “Everything should be dry.”

  “Thanks. I thought Scott was supposed to give me the tour.”

  “He’s got a pain in his ass rewiring job. He’s been on it for two days now.”

  “What’s the problem?”

  Randy laughed. Sophia relaxed. “His hands are too big.”

  She laughed with him as they entered the paint booth. The first room she came to was small. It was part of the paint booth, but you had to enter this room first. Several pieces of safety equipment hung on one side. Goggles, boxes of rubber gloves, and white coveralls to cover their street clothes. On the other side, were the paint guns, along with the airbrushes.

  “Do you paint anything besides motorcycles?”

  “No, we don’t do custom builds either. At least not yet, Curt said he’d wait to see if there was a demand for it. So far, we repair and paint bikes. I think in the three years we’ve been open, maybe two people asked if we did custom builds.”

  “Ah, not enough to worry about it.”

  “Correct.” Randy stood back and watched Sophia look at everything before they went inside the booth. She studied the painted pieces hanging. On the other side of the booth, they entered another small a
rea. Sophia noted this area had several large garbage bins. She saw they were labeled for the paint cans or the booties and gloves. She glanced in and saw they held what the label indicated. She liked that Curt was recycling. Once through the next door, it brought them back out into the shop area.

  “I like it.” Sophia glanced over at Randy. “What now?”

  “Want to see a grown man cry?” Randy pointed to where Scott hunched over a motorcycle on his workbench. The two approached, and exchanged grins when they heard Scott swear under his breath.

  “What’s wrong?” Sophia asked.

  “Mother fucker is the worst piece of shit I’ve ever seen!” Scott said. Sophia smirked when his face turned beet red. “Sorry.”

  “For?”

  “Swearing.”

  “Don’t be, I’ll warn you now, when I get pissed, I swear worse than a sailor and trucker combined. Why is this the worst piece of shit you’ve ever seen?” Sophia approached, bent to look at what Scott pointed to where the problem was.

  “Do you mind?” Sophia asked.

  “Go for it.” Scott bent down and watched Sophia thread the wires through the hole. A few minutes later, he looked up and saw everyone except for Curt gathered around to watch her. Scott shrugged and started asking questions. As Sophia worked, several of the men asked her questions, getting to know each other. Sophia felt right at home and answered all their questions easily. Sometime later, Sophia was helping Warren, another mechanic, with his bike, when she heard someone call her name.

  “Sophia.” Curt called out. “Come with me.” He turned on his heel and walked away.

  Sophia grabbed a grease rag, wiped her hands, and hurried after her boss. “What’s up?” She caught up with him in the hall on the way to the breakroom.

  Curt waited for her to join him. He pointed to the closed door he stood before. “When Chris called and told me about you, I didn’t know when you’d arrive. I’d planned on giving you this office. However, in the last few months, it’s become a catch-all. I spent the morning cleaning it out. Your boxes arrived ten minutes ago. This is your office. I can get your name on it later. Or if you prefer, you can paint it on yourself. It’s up to you.”