Caught in the Devil's Sheets (6 page)

“Looking for someone to cover a run to Chicago. Thought you two might be interested in the payout, since you’re splitting it,” he adds, speaking more toward me then Odin. The music is loud and no one can hear us talking. Felix is waiting on me for an answer. I look at Odin who is also waiting on my response.

“Yeah, I’m interested,” I say and Odin nods his head in agreement. “When?”

“Leave early Sunday, be there late on Monday.” That’s a lot of ground to cover in a short time.

“What about our business this weekend?” Odin asks Felix and of course I have no idea what business they’re talking about.

“We got it handled here,” Felix tells Odin.

“We’ll take Chicago then,” Odin says looking at me to confirm.

I nod.

“You want to run this by your old man before you agree?” Felix asks me.

“I will, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” I say confidently. Jaime has put us on the list for extra runs since we are splitting the payday with Odin now.

“Well, let me know soon if there is going to be any problem. Otherwise I’m putting you on the books for it,” Felix says and Odin and I both shake our head yes.

Nicky comes back around the bar, pours Felix a drink before he excuses himself. Odin slides over and takes his seat so we are sitting shoulder to shoulder facing the bar.

“Ever been to Chicago?” he asks, then takes a swig of his beer.

“Nope,” I say and begin on my freshly refilled margarita.

Cole and Keila finish up their game and come back to sit at the bar.

“Wanna play?” Odin asks gesturing toward the pool table.

“If you don’t mind that I suck!” I say before agreeing.

“Eh,” He shrugs as he puts his beer down on the bar and starts walking toward the table.

“Wanna break?” Odin asks racking all the balls into the triangle.

“No thanks.” I wait for him as he brings the cue ball around the table. Odin breaks. One striped ball and one solid ball fall into two different pockets.

“Your call,” he says, allowing me to choose what side I want.

“I’ll take solids.”

He nods and takes his next shot making in another striped ball. With his next turn he misses, leaving the table to me. It’s no surprise that he beats me by far, but he’s nice about it. We take our seats back at the bar and I realize my stomach is growling.

I talk Jaime into finishing up and we get a bite to eat. I tell him about the Chicago run this Sunday and he agrees I should go. Jaime doesn’t eat much, but I devour my food.

Erica and the kids are in the living room watching TV. Jaime heads into the bedroom, but I lag in the living room with Erica for a while. I tell her all about our meeting with James Devine today. When I go to bed Jaime is already asleep. I crawl in next to him and lay awake for at least an hour before I finally fall asleep, too.

Chapter 5
Breakfast with the Enemy

Friday night we have a big BBQ. Jaime and Cody are outside grilling. Cody and Jaime didn’t used to be close. Since him and Kelli started dating, and her and I are best friends, Jamie and Cody have become better friends.

Kelli and I are in the kitchen cutting up fruit and veggies for a platter and making a pasta salad. First Noah and Hailey show up, which is surprising ’cause the Harting boys don’t usually come to our BBQ’s. Not that they aren’t invited, but Jaime and the Harting boys just aren’t that close. Seeing Noah makes me wonder if Odin will come later.

Soon people start showing up, and piling food in the kitchen. The boys crowd outside drinking beers and laughing and having a good time. I start playing music in the house. Later Odin shows up. We smile and greet each other, but don’t get much of a chance to talk. Erica takes the kids to her Grandma’s house.

As night starts to fall, the party starts to break free. I notice Jeff going around with a small container of coke, offering people lines. Jaime, of course, takes a couple. Eventually he makes his way to me and asks if I want some, but I politely say no. I can tell a lot of the girls are starting to get shit-faced because the sound of their high pitch screaming is getting louder than the music. I notice Erica and a couple other girls leaning over the coffee table snorting coke with Jaime.
Great!
I roll my eyes.

“Hey,” Odin says distracting me from the coke binge in the living room.

“Hey,” I smile.

“You getting high tonight?” he asks.

Oh brother, not him, too. “No.” I shake my head politely.

“Me either. I don’t like getting all fucked up at other people’s house parties.”

“I think you’re the only one who feels that way.” I laugh over the music.

“Join me for a beer out front?” His blue eyes are inviting, and I’m happy to get out of the loud hustle and bustle of what’s become a raging party in my living room. We step outside and a couple girls smoking on the porch walk past us at the door. I take a seat on the porch step and Odin stands, leaning against the railing. It’s quiet with just the two of us, except for the noise of music and everyone yelling that’s leaking out my windows.

“Getting crazy in there,” he says crossing one foot over the other.

“For sure,” I say, trying to hide my slight irritation for how out of hand it’s getting, as I hear something glass hit the floor and then people start yelling.

“You don’t seem like the party type,” he says noticing my grimace.

“I like to have a good time, but don’t like my house getting destroyed.” Sometimes I feel guilty that I just don’t like to party as hard as everyone else, but it looks like Odin doesn’t seem to be that into it either. “What about you?”

“It’s fun to get a little crazy sometimes. Although, I prefer to get drunk and fight in a ring, like men. Not drunkenly squabble like children.”

Jaime is somewhat of an overgrown child. I look at Odin and smile, and he smiles back at me. It’s not often I’ve seen Odin smile like this, from ear to ear. Then Kelli walks out the front door.

“There you are!” she says looking at me. “Oh my God, dude, Cody is getting so ridiculous in there.” She is clearly exasperated.

Kelli and I have this in common. Our men like to get way to shitty and be assholes, or do really stupid shit. After every party we used to call each other and just bitch about how shitty Jaime and Cody got.

“Yeah, Jaime’s not far behind him,” I shake my head and she rolls her eyes like I have no idea, but I think I’m just more used to it than her.

Odin walks through us to go back into the house and Kelli tells me how tired she is and that she wants to leave but Cody is way too shitty and wants to stay. I offer her my room, but she decides to just leave Cody here and go home mad.

“Can I come with you?” I plead jokingly.

“No, you gotta stay here and make sure they don’t burn your house to the ground.” She’s kidding but not in a nice way, and as she says this, I hear another loud crash inside the house. “See ya,” she says leaving me to go back into the chaos.

When I walk back in the door I see that the kitchen table has been pushed into the entrance of the living room, and a dining room chair is broken. Jaime and Jeff are standing on two shop stools on wheels in the dining room and look to be having some sort of chicken fight or wrestling war while balancing on the stools. They both come crashing down to the ground with a loud bang and everyone who’s spectating, cheers.
Fucking seriously?

“Jaime! You guys need to chill out! Someone is going to get hurt and you’re breaking stuff!” I yell at him, once I’ve made my way into the dining room.

He’s not listening to me, as he props his shop stool back up to stand on.

“Jaime!” I say grabbing his arm. This is ridiculous he’s going to break his neck, and from where I am standing I can see they have already put a small hole in the wall that faces the kitchen. “Jaime, please. Stop!” I plead, pulling on his arm so he can’t get back up on the stool.

“Fuck off of me, you fat bitch!” he yells shoving me so hard that I stumble back and fall onto the kitchen floor.

I hear someone gasp. I don’t know whether to scream, or cry. I’m so embarrassed. I can feel my face redden. Part of me wants to get back up and shove him back, like I would if no one was watching, but I don’t want to cause any more of a scene in front of our friends then he already has. My heart races, as everyone stares at me.

“What in the fuck is your problem, bro!” Odin’s deep growling voice startles me. He helps me up off the floor, and gets in Jaime’s face.

“Fuck off!” Jaime yells at him, paying him no mind, as he turns to get back on the bar stool.

Odin grabs him by the shoulder, swinging him back around so they’re facing each other again. “You can turn your back on her, but you can’t turn you back on me, pussy!”

It’s like a train wreck. Odin stands almost a foot taller than Jaime, dogging him. I don’t want to watch but I can’t look away either. The music is still playing, but suddenly the room feels silent as everyone anticipates a fight.

“What did you just call me?” Jaime’s eyes glow green, and he has that ‘I’m-going-to-snap’ look on his face that I know all too well.

“I said you’re a pussy who hits his wife in front of his friends trying to look cool. No one’s impressed. Now, why don’t you tell her you’re sorry and have some respect?” Odin’s voice is calm, but he’s right up in Jaime’s face.

Jaime has to know he doesn’t stand a chance against Odin, who is nearly twice his size. But then I’m sure fueled by liquid courage and cocaine strength, it could be a fair fight. Jaime casts me a quick glance, and I feel myself blush. I am so embarrassed, I just want to crawl into a hole and hide right now.

“Why don’t you get out of my face, man,” Jaime glares up at Odin, and I watch astonished.

“What’s the matter, Jaime? Don’t wanna pick a fight with someone your own size?”

Jaime spits, right in Odin’s face, and I gasp. Without so much as flinching, Odin throws a powerful punch, hitting Jaime right in the face. Odin’s fist sends Jaime flying into the wall. Jaime tires to gain his footing and turns back to fight Odin, his face dripping with blood. But Jeff and Cody grab him and hold his arms back and Odin puts his hands up, a gesture that says he has no desire to beat up his drunk friend. Then, Odin turns to leave.

“I’m sorry, Lila,” Odin says, but I can’t even respond, I’m speechless.

I stare wide-eyed at his back as he makes his way through the crowd and out the back door.

Everyone quickly returns to their partying, but I am frozen. My mind races trying to decide what I should do next. Jaime is behind me cursing, talking all kinds of shit. I know I shouldn’t, but impulse sends me running out the front door, after Odin.

“Wait!” I call at his back.

Odin is already a ways down the street, heading for his bike. He immediately turns back to face me and I jog to catch up to him.

“You didn’t have to do that,” I stand in front of him, not knowing what else to say.

“He’s a fucking asshole. How do you put up with that shit?” Odin demands, angry and baffled.

I shrug. “Sometimes, I ask myself that same question,” I admit, clearly out of my wits here.

“Yeah, I bet you do.”

“It’s not like any of the other guys in there are much better.” It’s a sad argument, in my defense.

“You don’t deserve that shit, Lila, no one does,” he says, and his eyes are wide and still filled with rage. I don’t know what to say to him.

“Thank you,” I manage in a small, unsure voice I hardly recognize as my own.

Odin’s gaze turns into wonder.

What is he thinking?
I break our stare, looking anywhere but at his eyes, afraid I might fall apart.

“See you Sunday?” he asks cheerfully, much to my surprise.

“Yeah.” As I agree, I realize I have no idea how this fight will affect Jaime’s decision for me to run with Odin. Not that we have much choice, but what if he tries to set me up with someone else?
No.
I won’t let him do that.

“Are you sure you wanna go back in there?” Odin gestures with his head back toward the house.

“No.” I roll my eyes and as I say the word, I turn my back and head for the house. I hear Odin’s bike start up behind me and he heads down the street.

I make my way back into the house and I’m glad to see that everyone is piled around Jaime still and no one seems to have noticed I left. I have had all I can take for one night and at this point don’t care if the house does burn down. I put myself to bed and lock my bedroom door behind me. Putting my headphones on, I try to drown out the loud noise of the house guests with some soothing country music.

In the morning when I make my way out of my room, there are people passed out everywhere, and a few people alive in the kitchen still messing around. There are broken beer bottles, and trash strewed about. My bookshelf in the living room has been tipped over and all the books are sprawled out on the floor. The coffee table is tipped upside down, and all its contents spilled on the floor.
What a mess!

I make my way through the dining room and kitchen, they’re not in much better shape. There are two small holes in the dining room wall, piles of dishes, some broken, in and around the sink. I have no desire to clean this mess, though it kills me to see my house this way. I cringe at what my Grandma would think if she saw this disaster. I pack my purse and decide to go out to breakfast. When I grab my phone from the end table there is a message.

{How’d you do last night?}-Odin.

Part of me smiles just because he cares and another part of me has no idea why the other half is smiling.

{Turned in early. My house is a disaster. I’m headed out for breakfast.}-Lila.

My phone goes off in my purse as I make my way toward the front door. As soon as I open it, I’m staring down at a huge puddle of barf that I almost step right in.
Gross!
Jaime and Jeff are both passed out in patio chairs on the front porch. And there is seriously some girl in a bra and panties laying in the front yard. I am surprised my neighbors haven’t called the cops.

I pile into my driver seat and pull my phone from my purse.

{Breakfast sounds good.}-Odin.

{Headed to Palermo Bakery on Main St. Care to join?}-Lila.

{I’ll be there.}-Odin.

Having breakfast with Odin is kind of strange, especially after what happened last night. I pull out of my driveway and try to remember the details of Jaime and Odin’s confrontation. I wonder what Jaime would think if he knew I was meeting Odin for breakfast right now, and my inner teenager has a Cheshire grin on her face. She’s always looking for trouble. Will Jaime even remember what happened last night when he wakes up? He can be such an ass. I realize I’m going to have to apologize to Odin and embarrassment seeds in my mind.

I see Odin sitting in his truck parked in the lot when I pull into the back of Palermo’s.

“What’s up?” he asks, smiling as I close my door. He reaches out an arm to hug me. Apparently we are on hugging terms now.

“Nothing.” I shrug in his quick embrace, and we walk toward the front door.

“How’d everything go last night?” he asks as we’re walking.

Why is he so interested in my problems?

“I don’t know. I went to bed after you left. Woke up to a warzone this morning!” I say, completely unsurprised.

“Yeah, as you’ll notice I don’t invite most those guys to my house parties, for similar reasons. They don’t respect shit!” he says.

“I didn’t even know you had house parties,” I say feeling a small sting of rejection for never having been invited.

“Exactly!”

He holds the door open for me. Odin has a huge, teasing, yet incredibly handsome smile pasted on his face. I glare sarcastically up at him, and strut past him into the seating area of Palermo. I take a booth and he sits across from me. He waits for the waitress to lay out our waters and take our drink order before he continues our conversation.

“I’m sorry if I caused more problems for you last night,” Odin says bluntly, and I’m totally taken aback. Here I had come to apologize.

“No, it’s fine. Jaime gets ridiculously outta hand sometimes,” I say shaking my head.

“You don’t say?” he says sarcastically, and we both laugh a little. But then the mood changes and with a much more serious face he says “I have a big problem with men who mistreat women.”

Wow, that’s deep.
“Really? I thought you were all into that BDSM shit?” I say low enough that only he can hear me. I have a hard time believing Mr. Whips and Chains has a problem with men who abuse women.

“That’s completely different! The women I hit beg me for it.”

I would be lying if I said it wasn’t kind of hot when Odin talks about his sex life so openly. The thought of him naked, taking out some sexual aggression, makes my mouth water. But I just can’t see happily letting someone hit me. I hate it when mine and Jaime’s fights get to that point. I shudder just thinking about the times it’s gotten that out of control.