Strictly Business

The rest of the week went by without a hitch and by Tuesday, Celeste was begging Scarlett to show her around. She finally consented though there really wasn't that much to Sterling, save for the combination hair and nails salon, the grocery store, and a few restaurants. There were one or two boutique stores on Main Street but other than that, it wasn't really the type of town where two women in their twenties could find a lot of entertainment.

Scarlett took a quick shower before pulling on an old pair of cutoff jean shorts and a loose pink tee shirt. She pulled her dark hair up into a knot on top of her head before sliding her feet into her flip flops and giving herself a onceover in the mirror. The bruises on her neck, wrists, and hips were still very noticeable, but they were at least starting to fade from the ugly dark purple to a yellowish green. She had been tending to the bite mark with antibiotic ointment and it was healing nicely, though it still stood out in stark contrast from her porcelain skin.

When she was going down to work, she would take special care to apply makeup to all the marks to hide them, but since she was just going out with Celeste, she considered it unnecessary. She didn't even bother putting makeup on her face either. She picked up her car keys and a pair of sunglasses before heading downstairs to find Celeste, who had left the room while she was showering. She was sitting with Linda at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in a pair of black leggings and a baggy black cardigan.

"You do know it's like ninety degrees outside today," she said as she descended the stairs toward the two. They both turned their heads to look at her before getting up to let her pass. Celeste just shrugged her shoulders and removed the sweater from her body, leaving her in a plain beige tank top. It was actually comical how sloppily and beyond unsexy they all dressed when they weren't working.

"Linda's coming with us. You have room, right?"

"My back seat is kind of small, but I don't mind if you don't."

Celeste and Linda exchanged looks before the older woman grinned evilly and yelled "Shotgun!" Celeste looked offended for about half a second before she shrugged again, accepting her fate. It was only fair that she sat in the back anyway; she was the smallest of all three of them, not even weighing a full hundred pounds, and she was at least six inches shorter.

The first place they went once they were all three piled into Scarlett's silver mazda was to the small cafe in town to have lunch. Celeste thought the little town was so adorable, but Linda and Scarlett just rolled their eyes at her. Scarlett had gotten used to living in Sterling, but she still missed living in Vegas and all that it had to offer her. She didn't however mind the fact that she only had two or three customers per week as opposed to the scores of customers she'd had with Trish.

After lunch, Linda decided she needed some new dresses so Scarlett drove them to the boutique on the corner of Main Street and Fifth Street. The three of them were the only people in the store, except for the middle-aged woman behind the counter who must have owned it. Then again, it was noon on a Tuesday. Despite the limited selection, the three somehow found themselves spending over an hour trying on and eventually buying things.

They deposited their bags into the truck of the car and loaded in, Scarlett climbing into the driver's seat after letting Celeste crawl into the back. She slid the key into the ignition and turned it but instead of starting, the engine only sputtered a few times. She tried again with the same result and Celeste groaned. "It's so hot in here, Scar!"

"Well, it won't start so I don't know what you want me to do about it," she snapped. "I guess we're gonna have to call a repair shop because I know zero about cars."

They all climbed back out of the car and Scarlett walked into the first store she came to, which was a little place that developed photos. There was a large older man behind the counter and he smiled as they all filed in, giving the three of them a look that made Scarlett cringe. He reminded her of the typical customers she encountered, especially back in Las Vegas-- very creepy and very sleazy.

"Can I help you ladies?"

"Could you tell us if there's a garage in town? My car's outside and it won't start."

"Sorry, girls. Not here, but there's one over in Charming. Hang on a sec, I'll get a number." The man disappeared into the back room, returning a few seconds later with a thick yellow phone book and he flipped back to the T's, running his finger down each column until he found what he wanted. "Here we go. Teller-Morrow." He set the phone book on the counter in front of them, turning it upside down so that they could read it, and then setting the heavy phone next to it.

Celeste thanked him while Scarlett picked up the receiver and dialed the number, waiting three rings before a gruff voice finally answered. She spoke with the obviously irritated gentleman briefly, giving him her location before hanging up with the promise that a tow truck would be there within the hour. She handed the phone and the phone book back to the man, giving him a polite smile. "Do you mind if we hang out in here until the truck arrives? It's just so hot out today."

"Course not," he grinned, but the look in his eyes made her want to cringe. "You're welcome to have a seat over there while you wait."

She gave a short nod as she wrapped her fingers around Celeste's wrist and tugged her away from the counter quickly, Linda following right behind them, not looking bothered at all. Celeste pulled her iPod out of her bag once they sat down in the stiff black plastic chairs by the door and put one of the headphones into her ear before offering Scarlett the other one. She shook her head and turned to watch out the large front window for a tow truck, hoping that their wait would be on the short side.

Exactly nineteen minutes and thirty-three seconds later, a white and tan truck pulled up in front of the building and she hopped up from her seat first, Linda and Celeste right behind her. She threw a quick thanks over her shoulder to the creepy man as they walked out of the store and they were met by two men, one tall and broad with a thick beard and the other one younger, shorter, and much more lanky.

"You the ones who called?" the bearded one asked. Scarlett nodded her head and pointed back to her car where it was parked two spaces behind the tow truck and he looked over at the younger guy, who immediately jumped into action getting things ready while the apparent leader of the two turned back to them, looking directly at Scarlett. "It's your car?"

"Yeah."

"You should come by the garage sometime today and get the paperwork done, but no guarantees on how long it'll be to get the car fixed. We have to find out what's wrong with it first."

"Okay. Do you have a card or something with an address?"

He patted the front pocket of his gray work shirt before turning back to the younger man. "Sack, you got a card for the garage?"

Sack? Scarlett wondered what the hell that poor bastard had done to earn a nickname like that, but he quickly produced a small business card from the pocket of his jeans and handed it to the other man, whom she gathered was named Opie based on the navy blue cursive sewn onto the right chest of his shirt. Opie handed the card to her and she stuck it into the back pocket of her shorts as she thanked him.

"You girls got a way home?"

Scarlett glanced over at Linda and Celeste for suggestions, but they were both looking at her. After all, she was the one who had been living in Sterling the longest. They'd only been in town for a week. She sighed, glancing back at the store they'd just come out of. "Yeah, I can call someone to pick us up."

"Alright," he nodded. "Well your paperwork will be waitin' at the garage whenever you come down."

He walked away from her then to help Sack with hooking her car up to the truck and she groaned as she turned to walk back into the store. The creepy man seemed very pleased to see her again as she walked up to the counter. "Mind if I use your phone one more time?"

"Be my guest," he smirked.

Scarlett quickly dialed the number to the house and Angel just happened to answer. She told her what happened and where they were and Angel automatically agreed to come and pick them up before she hung up. The three of them sank back down into the stiff chairs again to wait for Angel, hoping she wouldn't take long. Scarlett could feel the man behind the counter leering at them.

It was less than ten minutes before Angel's white honda pulled up in front of the store and they quickly jumped up to leave. Scarlett slid into the back seat with Celeste, letting Linda have the front seat and they went back to the house. Celeste spent the ride talking about how hot the two guys in the tow truck were while Angel pouted for not getting to see them.

Scarlett didn't wait long to ask Angel to take her to the garage in Charming, mostly because it was already after two and she had to be back at the house in time to get ready and be downstairs for work at five. She had never been all the way into Charming, just to the bar right inside the town limits, but luckily Angel had and she somewhat knew her way around. When Scarlett told her the address on the card, she automatically knew which way to turn off of Main Street.

They pulled onto the lot and Scarlett's attention was immediately drawn to the bright yellow sign, which told her she was in the right place. Angel parked the car and Scarlett unbuckled her seatbelt, opening her door as she glanced back at the blonde. "I'll be right back," she said before sliding out of the passenger door. Angel called after her to wait and when she turned back, the young blonde was climbing out of her side.

"Celeste said those guys were hot! I want to see for myself."

Scarlett rolled her eyes as Angel walked around to her and the girls walked side by side to one of the open bays of the garage. An older man with deep facial scars spotted them first and he stood up straight from where he had been leaning over the hood of a car, wiping his greasy hands on a faded red shop towel. "Can I help ya?"

An accent? That triggered her memory and, along with the distinctive scars, she was able to remember that she had seen this man before. He had been the other person with Juan that day at the restaurant, the one arguing with the owner. She instinctively glanced behind her and she noticed a large mural on the outside wall of the building across the parking lot that she hadn't seen when they pulled in. The black grim reaper painted on the wall was the last piece of the puzzle and she felt her heart leap into her throat as she turned back to the man. "Um, yeah. My car was brought in earlier."

"The silver mazda?"

"Yeah, that's it."

He held his finger up before he disappeared through a door which she assumed was an adjoining office or something. While they waited for the man to come back, Scarlett turned her back to the office to look around the lot some more. Her eyes kept going back to the large reaper and the big black S.O.A. painted on the outside wall. Angel pinched her arm and she hissed in pain, giving the younger girl a glare, but Angel was looking right past her with a surprised expression.

Scarlett turned just in time to see Juice walking toward them with a huge grin as he slid his hands into the pockets of his leather cut. "Scarlett?"

"Ah shit, I was hoping you weren't gonna be here," she sighed, sliding her sunglasses up on top of her head.

"What are you doing here?"

"My car had to be towed and some guy recommended this place. I only just noticed the reaper over there," she told him, pointing toward the mural with a slight chuckle. "Sorry. I know I'm kind of fucking up your whole anonymity thing."

"I don't give a shit if they know," he shrugged, a smile playing on his lips. "Now why is it you hoped I wouldn't be here?"

"Because you're a customer! You're supposed to see me the way I am at the house, not lookin' like this. I'm wearing the most comfortable tee shirt I own, I didn't wash my hair this morning hence this ridiculous knot on top of my head, and I don't have on a stitch of makeup." She smiled, leaning in a bit closer as she whispered, "You're not supposed to know I'm not perfect."

He laughed out loud and shook his head. "You're not? Really? I still don't see anything wrong with you."

"Well, that's very sweet. Dishonest, but sweet."

The older man returned to them then, clapping his fellow Son on the back. "Juicey boy, you know this one?"

Juicey boy? What kind of hateful people are they to give each other such terrible nicknames? she thought as she watched the younger man nod his head. "Kind of. Scarlett, this is Chibs. Chibs, Scarlett."

Chibs? Seriously? She smiled, taking the man's outstretched hand and shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Chibs. This is Angel. I don't think you've met her," she added, looking at Juice.

He only seemed to realize that he had seen her around the house as well. "Oh! Right yeah." Scarlett smirked at him, giving a slight shake of the head while Angel just giggled softly from beside her.

Chibs gave her copies of the paperwork and she signed some papers for him before he disappeared to the office again, leaving them alone. Angel meandered off when she saw one of the guys from the tow truck, who was now wearing a Prospect cut over his work shirt. Of course she should have known he was in the Club too. Scarlett shook her head as she watched Angel flirt with him from a distance. "Always trying to drum up new business," she said with a laugh.

Juice took a step to the side so that he was standing next to her instead of in front of her. "That's probably not a good idea. Sack'll run out of money goin' to see her," he replied, chuckling as well.

"Angel's a newbie. She charges way less than I do. Unfortunately for you."

"Mm, I don't mind."

He looked over at her with a smirk and she shook her head but didn't look away from his eyes until the loud sounds of multiple motorcycles caught her attention. There were four of them, all pulling onto the lot and parking in the already established row of bikes that must have belonged to other Club members, including Juice.

She watched them as they all climbed off their bikes and took their helmets off and she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her when she recognized one of them. His ice blue eyes were covered by a pair of sunglasses, but his shaggy black hair and mustache were unmistakable, burned into her memory after the excruciating night she'd experienced with him.

Her fingers wrapped tightly around Juice's bicep as she slid closer to his side and she bit down hard on her bottom lip as she watched the figure across the lot. It wasn't often that she was legitimately scared, but seeing him just struck a chord in her. She had absolutely no desire to be in his presence ever again and she just prayed that he would stay where he was and that he wouldn't look over and see her standing there.

Juice looked down at his arm where her gray nails were digging into his tan skin before looking up at her face in concern. He immediately caught the worry, discomfort, and slight surprise and he followed her line of sight out to the group of men standing by the row of bikes. "What's wrong? Scarlett?"

She swallowed hard and shook her head, blinking a few times before she turned her head to look over at him. "Nothing. Um, I just-....Nothing."

"Are you sure? Cause it feels like you're trying to draw blood."

Her eyes dropped to her hand wrapped tightly around his bicep and she automatically let go of him, apologizing as her eyes darted back to the group of men. They were all laughing at something and a few of them had started to turn in the direction of the building behind her, which meant that he'd be walking right by her. She moved around to stand in front of Juice, her back to the others, as she subconsciously reached up to run her fingers over the still noticeable yellowish green bruises on her neck.

"Um, do you know when my car will be ready?"

"Tomorrow sometime. You can come by around 4. Is that too late?"

"No, that should be fine. I'll just come by before work."

He cracked a smile. "I'll make sure I'm here then."

Scarlett nodded, only smiling half-heartedly before she waved Angel over to her and the blonde frowned as she said goodbye to the Prospect and trudged back over to her. "See you tomorrow," she said over her shoulder as she walked away from him, throwing Chibs a wave from where he stood in the garage, before pulling her sunglasses back onto her face and dragging a reluctant Angel back across the lot, careful to avoid the group of men who luckily didn't even notice the two girls.

Chibs walked over to Juice, both of them keeping their eyes trained on the two girls as they walked away. "How exactly do ya know her?"

Juice smirked. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"She's a hooker I've been, uh, visiting over in Sterling."

Chibs laughed loudly, glancing from the younger man to the woman walking beside the blonde. "Her? No way."

"You don't believe me?"

"That lass right there?" His eyes took in her attire-- the shorts that were well past mid thigh, the loose fitting tee shirt that was reminiscent of cotton candy, the flip flops on her feet-- before focusing on her face which was completely bare of any makeup whatsoever and her hair pulled up tightly. "Nope. She seems way too.....wholesome."

Juice grinned and shook his head as he turned his attention back to her where she was sliding into the passenger seat of Angel's car.. "Don't let that deceive you, brother. You should see her when she's working."