Wild Crows - 2. Revelation : english version Read online

  — "I started to work for your dad, two years ago. I had just lost my job, and I was alone with my son, Jonas. I needed cash and as quickly as possible. We were about to become homeless …"

  I froze. She was confiding in me, even though we hardly knew each other. I didn’t know if I should feel flattered or surprised. Nevertheless, her story was very different from what I had imagined. I felt terrible about being so prejudiced against her and the other girls. I didn’t know them at all, and despite my efforts to keep an open mind, I had been narrow-minded and judgmental.

  — "Couldn’t you find another job? Something a bit more conventional? " I said awkwardly.

  — "Like? I didn’t have a choice…we were about to lose our home, " she said bluntly.

  I swallowed hard.

  — "So you work here because of your son …"

  — "Yeah. In exchange, I get an income from the club, and Jonas and I are protected. "

  They could almost be mistaken for heroes in this horrible situation.

  — "But you…"

  I kept silent for a few seconds, trying to find out the best way to ask her the question that was burning my lips. I didn’t want to be rude. I just wanted to understand.

  — "Does your job involve prostitution? "

  She laughed heartily, as she raised her hand.

  — "No. I am only here for them, and I never go out with customers. I just get paid for hanging around. Nothing else. "

  — "It changes everything, I said thoughtfully. And do you think you’re going to stay here forever or do you have other plans? "

  — "I’m saving money. If something comes up, I’ll take it. I love the club. Really! But sometimes I wish my life was different. "

  In her situation, it was perfectly understandable.

  — "So you don’t want to become a regular? "

  — "Not really. I admit I want to be financially secure, but I am not for sale. I think I deserve a chance to find true love. "

  I frowned. Her words seemed to contradict her actions.

  — "Unless a new member shows up and Cupid decides to play one of his tricks on me, I won’t become a regular, Joe. I can’t commit to a man I don’t love. "

  — "Wow. "

  I was speechless. This girl was so full of contradictions, but she seemed so sincere. Something about her touched me. We were different, but her words had allowed me to understand better the type of woman she was, behind the heavy make-up and her dress that was too short for this cold weather. She gave me an amused smile.

  — "I know I’m difficult to understand. "

  Suddenly, I felt better myself.

  — "How are you doing, girls? "

  I recognized Ash’s grave voice immediately. The tall black-haired guy had come to see us with Lazar.

  — "Fine, " said my new friend with a perfect smile.

  — "Can we taste your potion? " Asked the grey-haired biker.

  — With or without rum? She asked, opening both pots, which were kept warm by hotplates.

  Lazar smelled them and seemed satisfied.

  — "With, of course! "

  Ash approached on my left and put his head just over the pots.

  — "What is this thing? "

  — "Eggnog, " I said shrugging.

  His surprised face left me wondering if he knew what I was talking about.

  — "What? "

  — "Eggnog. Don’t tell me you’ve never tried it…"

  — "Actually, no, " he replied, still looking puzzled. "And why did they gave it that strange name? "

  I burst out laughing. Lazar and Jenna as well. I grabbed a plastic cup and filled it with the burning hot liquid.

  — "A touch of rum, I guess? "

  Ash grunted, as he smelled the mixture.

  — "Good guess. "

  He blew on his drink, as we were observing him with an amused look on our faces.

  — "Where do you come from, Trevor? " I asked him in a motherly tone.

  He didn’t reply and tasted his drink. Then he took another sip.

  — "Hey, not bad at all! You can eat and drink all at the same time! "

  — "A real-time saver! " Lazar joked.

  — "I have also tested it, and Joe’s is a real treat, " said Jenna.

  Ash drank the whole cup and looked at me funnily.

  — "Did you do that, Mini Doc? "

  — "Does it surprise you? "

  — "Yeah. "

  He held out his cup, and I filled it once more, before taking care of Lazar’s.

  — "This is the last one. If you keep drinking, I’ll have none left for the customers. "

  They cheered to that, laughing. Tempted to enjoy the beverage myself, I prepared two cups and gave one to Jenna. At that moment, an old woman came to us. Jenna offered her a cookie and some eggnog. The lady smiled. I thought she would walk away, but she stopped right in front of Ash and looked at him with starry eyes. I wasn’t sure if she was fascinated or afraid. Maybe a little bit of both. Then, she turned to Lazar.

  — "We are fortunate to have guys around. "

  I didn’t get it right away, but she explained what she meant, as she laid her trembling hand on the black-haired giant.

  — "Thanks to you, thugs don’t come to our pretty little town. I think they are afraid of you. "

  — "Thanks, Ma’am, " replied Lazar smiling.

  Ash kept quiet, but he smiled too. Then the eighty years old woman left waving her hand to us, and I turned to watch Ash, who was following her with his eyes. He seemed amused.

  — "We are fucking heroes! " Lazar joked.

  Jenna and Ash laughed. The next customer soon crushed their jolliness. I had never seen the man before. Dressed in a perfectly cut suit and an expensive shirt, he must have been in his late fifties. A fake smile appeared on his face, but something in his eyes told me it was not a friendly visit. He handed out his hand to Lazar, but the handshake seemed cold. Did the same with Ash, who took a few seconds before he grabbed the man’s hand. Who was he? For some reason, he seemed to put the guys on edge.

  — "Gentlemen, " he said in a pompous tone.

  He exposed his bleached teeth.

  — "Ladies, I’d like to get a cup of that beverage, please. "

  Jenna served him, while I was observing him. He paid for his drink and turned to Lazar.

  — "I thought I would find Jerry …"

  — "I think he’s somewhere around here, " answered Ash.

  His tone was sharp. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t figure out why our visitor was so unwelcome by the Wild Crows. Finally, he walked to my friend and looked at him with a meaningful smile.

  — "Maybe you could call him, Trevor? I need to talk to him about an important project concerning our town. "

  Ash winced.

  — "I can’t. He’s celebrating Christmas with his family. I imagine it will have to wait until the day after Boxing Day. "

  Tension rose, and his face hardened.

  — "Trevor, are you always so friendly? "

  The only answer he got from the tall black-haired guy was silence. The stranger just looked at him with a cynic smile on his lips.

  — "Jerry isn’t here. " Lazar said sharply walking toward the two roosters, who acted like they were about to get into a cockfight. "Maybe you should walk around and see if you meet him by chance? " He suggested in a mean tone.

  I was frozen. On my right, Jenna didn’t dare to speak either. Then our customer seemed to relax a bit and he let out a quick laugh.

  — "Fine. We’ll see each other around…and it will be sooner than you think. Gentlemen …"

  Ash rose an eyebrow.

  — "Ladies…"

  He nodded politely, and without adding a word, he disappeared into the crowd. I took a deep breath. The men exchanged a meaningful look, and Lazar immediately took out his phone from his jacket to send a text. He was probably reporting the incident to my father.

  — "What was that about? " I asked Ash.


  — " “That” was our dear mayor, Mitchell Bowman. "

  I couldn’t believe it. I had just met the elected mayor of Monty Valley, and I was now sure of one thing: His relationship with Jerry’s men was stormy.

  — "He seems to have a problem with you. "

  — "He has a problem with us all, " he corrected me.

  — "Oh. "

  I was surprised by the tension I could read on his face. He seemed to keep something to himself. I could see he was trying to contain his anger and calm down. But deep inside, I could feel he was boiling. I would have bet my life that these two were holding an old grudge against each other.

  A kid’s scream startled me. A tiny black-haired tornado with rosy cheeks was running toward our stand, and he was smiling happily. I was surprised when he stopped in front of Ash, before embracing his legs.

  — "Uncle Trevor! "

  He seemed surprised, too, but then his expression softened immediately. He took the little boy in his arms and lifted him as high as he could, which made him laugh out loud. It lifted our spirits, too, and we felt relieved after the unpleasant exchange.

  — "And here comes the little devil of Monty Valley! " Ash said.

  I had never seen him like that, and his mimics made me laugh.

  — "Tommy put your hat on! " Screamed a woman’s voice.

  Before I could turn around, a couple had reached the stand. The woman’s black hair was tied in a bun, and her eyes were blue. She was with the sheriff’s deputy. She put the hat back on the little boy’s head and then kissed Ash on the cheek.

  — "Hi, " he said, keeping his eyes on the little devil, who was fighting him, still laughing out loud.

  — "Hello, " she said, smiling at us.

  I replied politely, followed by Lazar and Jenna. None of us were comfortable being around the man, who had pulled me over, a few days after I had moved to town, because I was speeding..or was it something else?

  — "And who do we have here? " said Evan softly.

  I couldn’t hide. I felt stupid and nodded to greet him. My cover was blown, so no need to be rude. His wife shot him a glance. Then she turned to me.

  — "Do you know each other? "

  — "You can say that," said her husband jokingly.

  At that moment, I felt ashamed. The deputy gave me a wide smile, which left me no choice but to let him tell her the story. I was not going to enjoy that!

  — "This young lady was speeding, a few weeks ago. I pulled her over to give her a ticket, but your dear brother intervened, so I let her go. "

  With her mouth half-open, Ash’s sister was looking at me. Then she turned to her brother, looking half-amused and half-shocked.

  — "Again? "

  — "What do you mean by again? " I asked.

  His only attempt to defend himself was to raise his hands in the air with a defeated expression on his face. He looked so guilty!

  — "Trevor has a bad habit. He likes to get in my husband’s way, while he is doing his job, " she said, keeping her eyes fixed on her brother.

  I didn’t engage in the conversation. I didn’t want to find myself in the heart of a family dispute. I had enough on my plate. Instead, I decided to serve a cup of eggnog without alcohol to the cute boy. I noticed he was grateful in his deep blue eyes that looked a lot like his uncle’s.

  — "Joe had just arrived from California, " said, Ash. "She wasn’t familiar with our rules around here. "

  — "You never give up, " joked his brother in law.

  — "Are you new around here? " Said his wife.

  — "I lived in Oregon three months ago. " I repied.

  — "And what brought you to Monty Valley? " Asked the deputy in a tone that was a bit too formal for my taste.

  — "I came to meet my father. "

  Everyone fell silent.

  — "Joe is Jerry’s daughter, " Ash explained.

  It was another blow. Lizbeth gave me fake but respectful smile, which told me she was feeling uneasy.

  — "I’ve never tasted a better one! " Tommy said, after swallowing a big gulp from the cup I had given him.

  It made me happy. His round and rosy cheeks made him look younger, and his mischievous eyes reminded me of someone I knew well. Moved, I gave him a cookie, and he grabbed it swiftly.

  — "Yeah, " said Ash, "it seems Joe is the queen of eggnog. "

  The little boy’s eyes widened, and I laughed. Ash managed to remain serious, but I could see he was struggling. Suddenly, his nephew had an idea. He looked at me and seemed thoughtful for a moment. His smile widened, and he told me what he had on his mind.

  — "Hey, Joe. Would you like to come and watch me on stage tonight? I will tell all my friends you are the world champion of eggnog and that you came just to see me. I am playing the dragonfly, you know! "

  Everybody laughed. I didn’t have the heart to turned him down.

  — "His school has its traditional Christmas play scheduled tonight at six. It’ll take place at the far end of the park, " Lizbeth explained.

  I nodded, feeling kind of excited. Christmas magic was undeniably all around us.

  — "Amazing! A dragonfly! I would be honored, young man! "

  We all laughed again, and the atmosphere got lighter.

  — "Come on! We still have many stands to visit before the park closes, " declared the deputed in a friendlier tone.

  His wife gave me a kind smile, and I smiled back. Ash put his nephew back on the ground, and he ran to his parents on the other side of the counter.

  — "See you tonight! " Shouted the adorable kid.

  Jenna winked at him, and then he left with his father.

  — "We are counting on you too, " said Lizbeth to her brother. "Don’t forget! He will be so happy to spend time with his uncle. "

  — "I promise, " Ash whispered.

  Smiling, she left and caught up with her family. We remained silent for a while, moved by this simple moment of pure joy, which had been given to us by a little boy on Christmas day.

  CHAPITRE 13

  Joe

  Many customers showed up during the afternoon. Jenna and I broke the sales record from the previous years, if I believed the figures Mona had given me in the morning. Lazar told us our "pretty faces" had boosted sales. The crowd was fighting to get a slice of our homemade pies and a cup of my now-famous beverage. I had even been proclaimed the queen of eggnog! That was something! I couldn’t help but to laugh, when I thought about it. Ash and Lazar were still hanging around with us at the stand, and they were arguing about an outing they went on, the previous week; I was only half listening because my attention was drawn to my phone. Still no message from Adam.

  Suddenly, Jerry appeared.

  — "Hey, you guys, I am not paying you to drink all day. "

  I almost laughed when I saw Ash and Lazar straighten up.

  — "I’ve just served them two cups," I reassured him.

  The president pretended to be upset, and then burst out laughing.

  — "I’m joking. " He whispered to me, leaning over the counter. "How’s a business? "

  — "Rather good, " Jenna replied.

  Ash got closer to my dad, and he lowered his voice.

  — "Have you seen Bowman? "

  — "I have. "

  — "And? "

  — "And I asked him to meet me later. I don’t talk about business on Christmas day. "

  — "That’s precisely what we told him. " Lazar said, laughing.

  The guys noticed that the pot containing alcohol was almost empty. Jerry and Lazar went to the van to get a new one. We were well prepared.

  There were only three of us left. Ash walked to me, smiling.

  — "What? "

  — "You didn’t have to say “yes.” "

  — "On the contrary, " I replied. "He’s very persuasive. There’s no way I could have resisted him. He’s too cute."

  — "And he knows it! "

  — "I bet. By the way, I came with Mon
a. You’ll have to drive me back home. "

  — "I can do that. "