RANGER Read online

  “You’re finally looking, aren’t you?” she asked.

  “I may have let the idea sway me a little,” she admitted. “But I can’t bring myself to even type the words.”

  Sarah threw down her bag and crossed the room purposefully before she reached over gently and pushed the lid of the laptop shut.

  “You don’t need a search engine,” she said confidently. “I know a place, we just need to find our way there.”

  Nicole raised her eyebrows. “How do you know a place?” she asked with a half laugh. “You hire one for yourself?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “No, silly.” Sarah sighed. “It’s just something I’ve heard about from back in my hometown. It’s a strip joint on the edge of the highway and apparently they hire out their workers.”

  “I hate to tell you this, but that doesn’t sound like a strip joint, Sarah, it sounds like a brothel.” Nicole looked at her sternly.

  Sarah threw her head back and laughed.

  “Just trust me,” she said. “I know a lot of stories about these guys and the kind of places they run. They’re not your average businessmen, but I know they like new opportunities and the chance to earn good money…” she trailed off and Nicole felt the anxiety raging in her again. How had she got herself here? How had she let Sarah coax her into even considering this crazy idea?

  But, the business… The idea of her finally being able to realize her dreams…wouldn’t it all be worth it in the end?

  She chewed the inside of her mouth. Even though her heart was hammering away and she was scared to death, there was a part of her that new she wanted to give it a try. She wanted to know what would happen if she had the opportunity to succeed.

  “Okay.” She cringed as she closed her eyes and lowered her head. “I’m intrigued, and maybe you’re right. This could be worth a shot. I mean, what the hell.”

  Sarah fist bumped the air and shrieked a little with excitement.

  “Honestly, you’re going to love this,” she said. “Wait until I take you home to Slate Springs and I take you to this place. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”

  The anxiety inside Nicole was beginning to be replaced by a little bit of excitement, but she still wasn’t wholly convinced.

  “I’ll go,” she said. “But I don’t promise to stay, and I don’t want you to embarrass me. Let’s just go and scope it out, and see what’s what.”

  Sarah grinned and nodded her head enthusiastically.

  “So, tell me more about this place,” Nicole said.

  Sarah looked over at her ominously and gave her a wry smile. “I think you’ve just got to see it to believe it,” she said, grinning. “Now come on, let’s get ready. We may as well head over there tonight.”

  Nicole wanted the ground to open and swallow her whole, but she was in too deep now. She had her heart set on something and Sarah was like a dog with a bone. She was never going to let it go. Plus, what other options did she have? She was going to fail and there was no way she could retake her entire degree. Another three years of law school was enough to make her quake. If she didn’t get that money, she was destined to a life of always bowing down to her parents and never being able to do what she truly wanted.

  Sarah beamed. “Now, let’s look through your closet, I think we might need some black leather.”

  Nicole’s eyes popped open wider and she rubbed her temples.

  “Oh jeez,” she sighed. “And there we have it… regret.”

  Several hours later, the girls were in Sarah’s car driving through the desert. The sun was setting over the horizon and the college campus was a distant memory fading behind them. It had been so long since they had gotten away from the campus and the city felt liberating already, and they weren’t even halfway close to Sarah’s hometown of Slate Springs.

  The music blared around them, and Nicole looked down at her nails. Sarah had convinced her to paint them a rich ruby and wear her makeup dark. She felt like a completely different version of herself, but also kind of liked it. She had no real idea where the hell she was being taken, and the heavy make-up and vampy nails were kind of like a disguise.

  “I’ve always wanted to bring you back home,” Sarah laughed. “I can tell you’re going to think it’s crazy out here.”

  Nicole looked out of the side window and at the desert as it flashed by. It was so dry and barren, it made it hard to imagine anything living out there, or them ever coming across another town again.

  “I think it’s going to be a hell of a lot different to where I grew up,” Nicole admitted. “The city suburbs don’t have this kind of view, that’s for sure.”

  She looked out at the rolling mountains and the valleys between them. The colors that flitted all around the ground and up into the sky were so majestic and enchanting it was hard not to be seduced into a trance. It reminded her of a movie set, something with two girls hitting the open road and heading to places unknown. It reminded her of how good it was to be alive.

  Sarah cranked up the stereo and began to tap her fingers along the wheel while Nicole hummed along to the tune.

  “Do I still not get any clues as to where it is we’re heading?” Nicole asked, unable to contain her curiosity anymore.

  “Well,” Sarah began, “I’ve never been inside this place before but I’ve heard a ton of stories.”

  Nicole turned so she could face Sarah and watch her speak.

  “My town is small, you’ve got to understand that,” she continued. “It’s nothing like the city and the privileged upbringing that you’ve had. It’s quaint and it’s insular, but it’s got a good moral fiber running through it and it has a few quirks that make it the kind of place that binds you. It will always be home, even if you leave. You know what I mean?”

  Nicole wasn’t sure that she did, but she nodded anyway.

  “For generations, and I mean decades and decades, the town has been run by a few select families that adapted into something more. I mean, this is way before my time. This goes back almost a hundred years. But they adapted and changed, and the head men of those particular families began something. Something big.”

  Nicole felt a tingle of excitement roll over her.

  “This sounds ominous, like I’m about to be let in to some epic secret, right?” she asked.

  Sarah nodded and laughed.

  “Well you’re not exactly wrong,” she said. “A lot of the trade in Slate Springs comes from, how can I put it… questionable sources.” she left it at that and Nicole felt the excitement level dip and her anxiety return.

  “I’m not sure I like the sound of this, Sarah,” Nicole gave a nervous laugh. “You’re telling me this town is the home of something big, that the trade comes from questionable sources, and now we are on our way to a glorified brothel! What the hell, woman!” She shook her head and had to rap her forehead with her knuckles.

  “Calm down.” Sarah laughed as she gripped the wheel and tried to stop herself from manically laughing. “I know it all sounds bad, but trust me, it’s not. These guys, they’re family men, they’re good souls, they just happen to live life on the edge and make a living by doing some things that may not always be above board.”

  “Like selling themselves to lonely women?” Nicole joked.

  “As far as I know they don’t even do that, but I’m sure they won’t be averse to it.”

  Nicole felt her jaw sag so far it almost hit the floor.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? What do you mean they don’t do that? Then why the hell are we heading there?”

  Sarah chuckled as she drove on towards the mountains.

  “I just have the feeling they’ll like the sound of this,” she said with a wry smile. “My brother…” she looked across at Nicole and shrugged. “He’s one of them and, I don’t know, I just think they’ll be the right guys to help you out.”

  Nicole buried her head in her hands.

  “Sarah, I could kill you. I really could. I mean, I was nervous e
nough as it was thinking this was something these guys did as a matter of career. Now you’re telling me your brother is involved and none of them have ever done anything like this before?”

  Sarah slowed the car and pulled off onto the side of the highway, kicking up a spray of dust and dirt as she screeched to a halt. She turned the ignition off and moved her body so that her and Nicole were looking at each other properly.

  “Nic,” she took hold of her shoulders and stared at her straight in the eye. “You’re my best friend and I love you dearly, but you need to get a grip. Do you really think I would lead you down some path of destruction? All I want is to help you out. If anything, it just goes to show that this isn’t going to be anywhere near as scary as you thought it could be. My brother is friends with all these guys. He works with them, rides with them; it’s like a brotherhood, okay? And I know for a fact they’ll help you out. Don’t you think that’s better than you just messaging some random gigolo?”

  Nicole listened and could see sense in all her points but that didn’t change the fact that it was Sarah who had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

  “I was never going to message a random gigolo,” she said with an eye-roll. “But, I guess you’re right. Maybe this is a good way to go about things. At least you can vouch for them and their integrity.”

  “Exactly.” Sarah smiled smugly. “Not only that, but trust me, they’re pretty easy on the eyes, too.”

  Nicole’s heart skipped a little beat. Here she was heading across the desert to a small town to proposition some lawless sex god, and she had Sarah to thank for it all. It was so insane it felt like it couldn’t possibly be true.

  “Even if this plan works,” Nicole said, “I’m still never going to forgive you for this.” A wry smile spread out over her lips and Sarah started to laugh too.

  “I know,” Sarah grinned. “But at least we’ll know if this dream of yours has legs, won’t we?”

  Nicole reached out and hugged her. For all she was crazy and always getting them into incredible situations, Sarah’s heart was always in the right place. And this time was no exception.

  “Thank you.” Nicole smiled. “For being a true friend and for always believing in me.”

  “You don’t need to thank me,” Sarah said as she turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared back to life. “This is what friends are for.”

  She checked her mirrors, put her foot on the gas and pulled back out onto the highway. Even though they had only been stopped for a matter of minutes, the light had already dipped even more and the sun was almost fully set.

  “How much further?” Nicole asked as she pulled down the sun visor and looked into the little vanity mirror.

  “I reckon maybe half an hour,” Sarah said as she glanced down at the dashboard. “We’ll be there by eight, for sure.”

  Nicole nodded and chewed her lip nervously.

  She was really doing this.

  It felt scary and it felt wild, but it also felt right. She knew she had to take a risk or she would end up living a life she hated, and Sarah seemed to have plenty of confidence in her and in the plan to trick her parents into signing over her trust.

  “It’s just one step at a time,” she whispered to herself as she looked back out of the window at the desert flashing by.

  They were on their way to Slate Springs.

  And now, much like Sarah, Nicole also couldn’t wait to arrive.

  3.

  The neon shone out like a beacon right across the desert, and as Sarah slowed the car down to a crawl, Nicole found herself leaning forward and staring up at the sign flashing ahead of them.

  Tanners.

  She swallowed and hugged her knees up to her chest as she rested back against the seat and she took a deep breath.

  “So, this is home?” she asked Sarah with a little smile.

  “This is Slate Springs,” Sarah said, nodding. “A little slice of heaven, if you ask me.”

  “More like heaven for horny truckers by the looks of things,” Nicole joked as she nodded in the direction of the parking lot. The entire space seemed to be taken over by trucks and the men that were locking them up before heading inside.

  “Yeah, there is a lot of that,” Sarah nodded. “It’s a town on the main highway, what do you expect? We get a lot of people passing through. Hence the motel.”

  Sarah looked in the opposite direction toward an old looking building that was at the side of the highway and opposite a diner.

  “This really is a small town,” Nicole said. “It’s like I almost didn’t believe it could exist.”

  “Wait until you see Main Street,” Sarah joked as she turned off the engine and reached for her purse.

  She pulled out a lipstick and smoothed it over her lips and dabbed them together. Nicole followed suit and did the same. She looked into the little vanity mirror and ran a finger underneath her eyes to remove any smudged mascara.

  “Are you ready?” Sarah asked with a little grin.

  “Not in the slightest,” Nicole answered as she reached for the door handle.

  “Good.” Sarah laughed.

  Both girls climbed out of the car and looked up at the club in front of them. The desert air was still warm, but Nicole couldn’t help but rub her shoulders and shiver slightly. She decided that it must be nerves.

  The music was loud and was already drifting out to meet them. Nicole looked back over her shoulder towards the car and debated making a run for it, but Sarah powered on forward, motioning with her hand for her to follow.

  “Okay,” Nicole whispered to herself. “It’s now or never.”

  The girls walked towards the front door, and Nicole couldn’t help but notice it wasn’t just trucks that were littering the parking lot, the whole place right by the doorway was awash with motorcycles. And not just any kind of motorcycles; seriously huge, metal beasts that looked like they meant business.

  She found herself swallowing nervously.

  “Bikes?” she looked at Sarah.

  Sarah nodded her head.

  “Did I not mention that my brother is a biker?” she said it half-jokingly.

  “No, you did not,” Nicole felt her shoulders tighten with tension.

  “Oops,” Sarah shrugged. “I thought it must have been obvious. I mean, I did mention the brotherhood, right?”

  “Something along those lines,” Nicole rubbed her temples. “But for some reason, it didn’t click.” Now she really was nervous. Not only were these men completely lawless, they were also dangerous, and no doubt violent.

  She didn’t know a whole lot about bikers or the gangs they thrived in, but she was pretty sure none of them were going to be the kind of guys she could take home to mom and dad.

  “Oh, Sarah… what have you got me into here?” she asked with a whine. “Look, this isn’t going to work. Can we leave?”

  Sarah sighed and turned to stare at her friend.

  “We’re here for one reason only, so come on. This is all for you.” Nicole found herself look longingly back at the car over her shoulder and then back towards the front door of Tanners.

  She had come a long way and even to be persuaded to this point felt like a huge achievement. Would it really be so bad to take it a little bit further and see what was happening on the other side of the door?

  “Okay,” she said. “But don’t throw me in at the deep end. I’m still having trouble processing all of this.”

  “Sure,” Sarah said as she pushed open the door and the thunder of music blared out towards them. “One step at a time.”

  They walked into the club and the first thing Nicole noticed was the heavy smoke that hung in the air. It was dark and hot inside and men lined up at a long bar, drinking and smoking and watching women remove their clothes on the stage.

  It was a Saturday night, and for that reason it was full to bursting. It was intimidating walking into a place like that, but at the same time Nicole was glad there were so many other bodies blockin
g the way. It was almost like she could become invisible as she slipped through the crowd.

  Sarah moved towards the main bar and appeared to be looking around for someone while Nicole lowered her head and tried not to catch anyone’s eye.

  She had never seen anywhere like it, and Sarah had been right when she said that Slate Springs was nothing like the kind of place that she had grown up in. From what Nicole had seen already, this place was completely wild and feral.

  Everyone appeared to be on heat and the men in the room looked with lust to the big-breasted and beautiful strippers who were dancing and grinding up on the stage.

  It was nerve-wracking, but she couldn’t help but watch. The girls seemed so confident in their own skin and looked as if they could have taken on anything. It was endearing, and it also made her a little jealous as she watched them shaking their stuff… and at the way all of the truckers in the room were practically salivating.

  “He’s over there,” Sarah called into Nicole’s ear as she nodded towards the back of the room.

  “Who is?” Nicole asked instinctively, her eyes trying to follow in line with Sarah’s.

  “My brother,” she said as she took hold of Nicole’s hand and led her towards the shadows in the corner, away from the rest of the crowd.

  Nicole looked down at the floor and tried not to let her eyes travel back up. The last thing she wanted to do was to make eye contact with some of the scary people in there. Her heart was still pounding away in her chest with nerves.

  Only when Sarah slowed and was aware of her greeting her brother, did Nicole look up.

  “So, this is the roommate?” he asked as he looked down at her with a combination of dark eyes, an air of superiority, and what could only be called a bad attitude.

  He was tall and muscular, and also striking to look at. It took Nicole off guard. He had dark and handsome features, but was rugged and dangerous looking at the same time. He ran a hand through his hair before he held it out to shake Nicole’s but all she found herself doing was looking down at it with her mouth gaping slightly open.