Bound by an Echo Read online

  “Well, I’ll be shit shocked,” he slammed his door closed and made his way to her car.

  She started walking towards him, deciding that she should announce herself, “Hi, my car broke down.” He didn’t flinch as she came up from behind him, she figured he was half expecting it.

  He turned around slowly, stopping halfway as he looked her up and down, “Look, I know I am not from around here, but my car broke down and I need a place to sleep t’night. If ya could help me with that, I’d be mighty grateful,” her accent made an ugly return as she lost focus on the use of all of her letters.

  “Ma’am, of course. Where ya headin’?” He stood up taller as she made her way towards him.

  “Crater City. I haven’t got a room booked, but I was hopin’ there would be a bed and breakfast still left on the mountain,” she made herself a local without admitting she was from there.

  A cocky grin played at the corner of his mouth as he introduced himself, “My name’s Dale and I would be happy to give you a lift up the mountain. I am heading for Crater, too.”

  She knew he was harmless just by the way he was flirting. If she could make it to a B&B in one piece, one thing would be going right for her today. “I would appreciate a ride. This piece of shit isn’t going anywhere any time soon, and I am pretty sure you are the only person on this road.” She kicked the car as she reached in to the back seat to gather her luggage. “Really, thank you.”

  He grabbed her suitcase from her hand, “What’s a pretty thing like you doing in these parts, anyways? Cause right now, I’m thinkin’ that you are one of those carnival rich bitches. Am I close?”

  She laughed as he struggled through the English language to form that sentence, “No, I am not a carnival rich bitch. I am here…” she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be disappointed tonight or wait till tomorrow to find out that Rory moved on just as she did, “I visited the area long ago, and I wanted to see if anything has changed.”

  She tried to keep it cryptic as he offered help, “I get it. There’s no need to hide anything from me. I will get you to Crater City. My friend would kill me if he knew I left a pretty little thing like you out here to be devoured by coyotes.” He shut her door for her and motioned to the truck, “Get in.” He helped her in to the cab of the truck and tucked her luggage in the bed. She waited for him to crawl in before introducing herself, “Thank you for your help, my name is Laurel.”

  “Well, it’s nothing. I’m Dale. Now, let’s find you a place to sleep.”

  Chapter Six

  Rory

  Three hours. Three fucking hours I have stood outside in the dark waiting on him. He couldn’t even call him, because his battery was almost dead. This was fucking bullshit. He was ready to punch something or someone. Just before Rory completely lost it, headlights came over the hill towards him. Dale’s truck came speeding down the road towards him, slamming on the breaks right before he hit him.

  Dale rolled down the window and yelled to him. “Let’s go, what the hell are you waiting for?”

  Rory walked right up to Dale’s window, pulled back and gave him a right hook across his jaw. “You left me waiting three fucking hours and then you pull up and ask me what the hell am I waiting for? What the fuck could possibly have taken you so long to get here?”

  “First off, fuck you, man. Second, that was a hell of a right hook,” Dale laughed as he rubbed his jaw. “Now get the fuck in the truck and I will tell you on the way back, then you can explain why the hell you are out here.”

  Rory was seriously considering punching him again and walking home. The thought of walking that far was enough for him to climb into Dale’s truck. He slammed the door and Dale drove off.

  “So, get to talking.” Rory needed a distraction and Dale’s excuse would work for a little while.

  “Man, I was on my way and this hot chick was standing on the side of the road just begging for me to stop and pick her up.” Even in the dark, he could see Dale grinning like that damn Cheshire cat.

  “You mean to tell me you left me standing at that god damn carnival for three fucking hours so you could bang some bitch?” Dale was like a brother to him, but he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants to save his life.

  “Fucking, seriously? Her car was broken down on the side of the road and I helped her. That’s it. If I didn’t have to come get your ass, I would have banged her.” Dale laughed at himself. “She was hot. Nothing like the girls from around here, and not one of those rich bitches here to gawk at the carnival lights and fuck a townie.”

  He figured it wasn’t too bad of an excuse, if that’s what really happened, “Where is she staying?”

  “Dropped her at the ole B&B. Now, where am I taking you, and what the hell happened tonight?” Dale glanced over at Rory as he quickly looked away.

  He couldn’t get the images of the carnival, and the thoughts of Laurel, out of his head. What had happened to her, what she looked like now, and if would he ever see her again. He couldn’t go home, if his truck was any indication of the way Yury thought, he could only imagine what his house looked like. “Take me to The Cliff. I have to open in a couple hours, and I have no truck to get there in the morning.”

  “Speaking of no truck, what happened to yours?” Dale turned down the radio to hear him better.

  “I don’t even know how I ended up there, it probably had something to do with the job we got today. Anyways, I headed up there and just checked things out. It got late before I even realized it, and when I tried to leave, my truck was trashed and I had a special message written on it. мальчик”

  “Damn, you really should have kept your mouth shut today. We need to figure this shit out. If not, who knows what Yury will do next?” Dale was right and he knew it.

  “I’m not doing it; I won’t go through that night again. We need to figure out how to get out of this, I just have no clue as to what it is yet.” He was telling the truth; he couldn’t think of a plan that kept them alive at the end of it.

  “You know I got your back, tell me what we need to do, and I will do it. Just keep me alive.” He laughed again, and Rory knew how lucky he was to have someone who sticks by him, no matter what.

  “So this chick tonight; what’s she look like?” He wanted Dale to keep talking so he could think.

  Dale started rambling on, starting from the beginning of the story. He listened to most of it but was desperate to figure out a plan that would get them out of this job. Maybe they could start with small things, this way no one could get hurt. He stared off into space, still half listening to the story. He was counting down the blocks left until they got to the bar, when something Dale said caught his attention.

  “Wait, what? What did you just say?” Rory asked.

  “Umm, she had a little foreign car?” Dale looked confused.

  “No, before that,” he said.

  “Oh, she was the real girl next door. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a killer body.” His description was exactly how he had imagined Laurel.

  “Well, you know me and blondes, man. She is all yours.” There was only one blonde that had plagued his dreams for the last twenty years. He didn’t mess with blondes until he could have the one he really wanted. “Are you going to see her tonight?’’

  “I don’t know. There is something special about her. I fixed her car up-” Rory interrupted before he could finish.

  “You left out that part. No wonder you took so long, why not fix it after you picked me up?” Rory was getting mad again.

  “No, I am pretty sure I told you that.” Dale kept talking before Rory could interrupt him again. “I wanted to make sure she could leave when she wanted, and if I am lucky, meet me at the bar. I’m hoping she asked Ole Lady Terri how she can find me again.”

  They rode in silence after that. Once again, he wouldn’t be sleeping. He could see the sun peeking out as they pulled into the parking lot.

  “You want me to stay here with you?” Dale yelled out the window. As so
on as they had come to a stop, Rory had jumped out of the car.

  “Naw, go home. Just make sure you are back by six tonight to help out. I’m going to try to sleep for a couple hours and get some shit done.” He was exhausted already.

  “Don’t forget, we need to come up with a plan.” Dale waved as he pulled out of the parking lot.

  Rory dug in his pockets to find his key. Before he had the door all of the way open, he could see the mess left for him. “Fuck this shit,” he told himself. “I’ll take care of this in a couple hours.” It had been a long night, his shower and bed were calling his name.

  Chapter Seven

  Laurel

  The Bed & Breakfast was exactly what she needed. Laurel made herself at home in the small bedroom. The sun was shining through the curtains as she pulled the blankets over her head, not ready to start her day. Dale was a gentleman when he dropped her off. She was half expecting him to bring her to his place and deposit her in a cage in his basement, but he knew someone that knew someone. She was thankful for that someone he knew, because they were willing to meet her with a key as soon as they crossed the Crater City border.

  She checked her phone for service and was shocked to find a single bar. She had an entire row of notifications to weed through as she tried to wake up. “Anibet, Anibet, Anibet, Anibet…Why even bother, woman? You aren’t going to show up here,” she laughed at herself as she talked to her phone. She sent a quick message letting her know she was okay, and she would try calling from a land line, later.

  Avoiding her agent, her designer, and all of the people she was supposed to be meeting in Milan, she deleted every message without reading them and decided on a shower. She was going to make her way to the Carnival today; she was going to relive the past, painfully.

  The water didn’t stay warm for long as she washed her hair in cool water and her face in cold. She jumped from the spray as soon as icicles threatened her lady parts. There was only so much ‘cold’ someone can tolerate, and she wasn’t in need of a cold shower quite yet.

  Dried and dressed, she pulled her hair into a side braid over her shoulder and emailed the rental company. She had a general idea of where the car was located, but needed to be sure. She found the living area of the B&B and the nice lady that checked her in last night.

  “Excuse me. You don’t by chance know where I may find Dale, would you? I mean, you seemed to have known him and I didn’t get a number or last name, even.” The woman looked at her skeptical as she asked the question. “I didn’t sleep with him, or anything!” Laurel knew she was jumping to conclusions after the older woman started laughing at her.

  “Of course you didn’t, honey. He told me all about you,” she snickered through her false teeth and sarcastic comments, “I don’t know what you did to that boy, but he has never gone out of his way to fix a girl’s car before. He’s gotten her dunk, but never actually helped.”

  Laurel felt the need to correct her, “Oh, ma’am, no. He didn’t fix my car, he just dropped me off because my car broke down on the other side of the mountain.”

  The old lady started laughing at her, making Laurel a little irritated, “Well then, girl. Can you explain the dark blue Kia, parked in my driveway? I know it ain’t mine.”

  “Wha…?” Laurel walked to the front windows, and sitting in the parking lot as the woman had stated, was her rental car. “But… How?” She turned back to the woman, who was standing there with her arm outstretched in Laurel’s direction.

  “I am not to tell ya anything you don’t need to know. What you need to know, is that if that boy wants to find you, he will find you,” she smiled and sat back down in her recliner, “Now, go on little lady, you must have some business to attend to while you are here.”

  Laurel stared at the lady, then back to the car. She continued the dizzying motions until she was absolutely sure that this wasn’t a dream. Running back upstairs, she grabbed her purse, keys, and phone, and hauled ass back to the car in hopes that it would start. She stopped before she reached the car, “He was in my room. That bastard was in my room while I slept,” her anger was going to be hard to hide. She was going to find him and thank him; then kick his ass for being a creepy, stalker fuck.

  Unlocking the doors and starting the car, as expected, she pulled out of the driveway with haste. She was on a mission to find someone that didn’t want to be found.

  She was too young to remember most of the streets around town, so she was lucky enough to still have the map she bought, in the car. Dale seemed like a nice guy. Laurel needed to find him and had no idea where to start, he was an enigma to her, and the woman at the B&B was of no help. She made a mental note to get her name when she made her way back. She now questioned her manners during the morning events. She was lacking in the polite department, here in a small town where is it almost expected.

  She made her way to Main street and took a left up the hill. There was more traffic on this street than she remembered. Of course, the last time she was here, she remembered mostly dirt roads. There were people coming and going from shops as she crawled at a snail’s pace through the traffic. Her car sounded better than it did when she picked it up from Sammy. She wanted to call the rental place and tell them to bring her a new one, but she wasn’t about to wait for the delivery of it. She would take her chances that Dale knew what he was doing.

  Stopped at one of the only stop lights in town, she waited for semi-trucks to pass on their way up the mountain. She certainly wasn’t ready to see the new carnival, and was thankful for the delay of the inevitable. She saw shops for everything; furniture, convenience store, gas station, clothing, book, and a hardware store. The diner had the most traffic by far, and she was regretting not eating breakfast earlier. She had forgone the diner in search of something else.

  Up ahead, there was a bar. She remembered her mother having to take her there to pick up her father during his binge drinking weekends. The drinking wasn’t always the problem; it was the week after, which was a nightmare. The hangover was so bad that he would just continue to drink instead of deal with the pain and agony of abandoning the alcohol. He was dependent on it to function, and dunk all of the time.

  She had to move on, he has been dead for twenty years, and she couldn’t be more thankful. Her stomach growled as she made her way to the edge of town. “The Cliff,” she whispered to herself, “I hope they serve food.”

  The parking lot had a few cars in it, but not as many as the diner. She parked between two massive pickup trucks. She needed to eat and find Dale. Maybe someone here will know where to find the mystery man that deserves to be slapped. When she got out of her car, she saw exactly why it was named The Cliff. The bar looked to be built into the mountain. There were guard rails protecting the drunks from driving right off of the cliff. It was beautiful, the trees below were in all shades of green. There was a river that was needle thin from this altitude. Laurel remembered swimming in one of the outlets as a child. Her memories were sparse, but coming back to her as she made her way through her childhood town.

  The inside of the bar was gorgeous. The walls were made of the same material as the mountain. Drift wood decorated the ceilings, and the bar counter was as long as the bar. Thankfully, there was a man at the end of the bar with a plate of food in front of him. She took a seat a few stools down from him.

  “Welcome, little lady. What can I get for you today?” The bartender was a middle aged woman with dark black hair wrapped in to a bun. Her smile was full of questions, but Laurel was sure they had nothing to do with the fact that she was a celebrity seated at her bar.

  “May I please have a menu? I need to eat somethin’.” No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t keep her accent in check. She wanted to correct herself, but that would just be stupid in a place like this. They all have the same accent that she hated.

  The bartender handed her a menu, “There ya go, hun. Just holla when you’re ready.”

  Laurel scanned until she found exactly what she w
anted, but shouldn’t eat, “I am ready.” Laurel made sure to annunciate every letter perfectly as the bar girl made her way back to her, “I would like a bacon cheeseburger, with fries and a coke, please.”

  “I’ll get that started for ya right away. You can call me Missy round these parts.” She sauntered back to, what Laurel could only imagine was the kitchen, to start her order. She took the time to glance around the rest of the bar. She saw a few guys in a booth in the back of the bar, and a guy a few seats away from her. She only saw seven people in the bar, but was sure there were more cars in the lot. She shook her head and tried to keep a low profile.

  When Missy returned with her coke, she started asking questions in hopes she would know. Assuming every bartender knows everything and everyone was her best chance, “You wouldn’t know where I might find Dale, would you?”

  Missy just stared at her as if she just grew four heads, “Tall, dark hair, green eyes, easy on the eyes – Dale?”

  Laurel couldn’t really agree or disagree; it was dark and she only saw him in the light briefly when he dropped her off and promised that he knew people, but she had to tell her something, “Yes, that sounds about right.”

  She started laughing at Laurel, “Honey, look around. It’s a small town, sometimes you end up at the doorstep of the one that got away.”

  Laurel thought about what she said and couldn’t contain it anymore, “Look, I didn’t sleep with him, nor do I plan on it. I needed to thank him for the work he did on my car, that’s it!” Her cheeks flushed with anger as she stared Missy down.

  “Look, I am sorry! Most of the girls that come in here are looking for one of two things. Bar Owner One, or Bar Owner Two. You have to give me a break, not many people come in here for Bar Owner Two.” Laurel nodded, knowing at last she found out that a Dale owned this bar.