The Dealers

Chapter 2 - Noah

None of this was a part of the plan. My instructions were crystal clear yet here I was, not doing my job. There would be literal hell to pay for my insubordination and still, I couldn't stay away from her.
My two brothers, Finn and Eli had accompanied me to the middle of nowhere town of Cedar Falls, Maine for a job. We had clear instructions and a time frame in which to complete it. Once the job was done, we were supposed to skip town and never look back. I didn't think I would have a problem doing that after the many jobs we'd done over the years but something was different about this town, something was different about her.
Eli, the eldest and most responsible wanted to leave town as soon as we completed our task and looking back, I should have listened to him. Instead, I listened to my middle brother, Finn, who wanted a celebratory drink.
That drink brought us to the Chateau Club where I saw her for the first time. She was unlike any other female I'd seen before and that was saying something because I had my fair share of broads. I could take home any chick that I wanted and yet, they didn't compare at all to this one.
I spotted her long before she spotted me—long before I pushed my luck and sat at her bar. My brothers and I had been lurking in the club for a good hour, drinking in a dimly lit back booth away from prying eyes. I spotted her immediately and from that moment, I was fascinated by her.
She was perfect in an imperfect way. Her curls were tied up in a bun but her piercing, wide, brown eyes were undeniable. From the way she carried herself to the way she didn't give a damn about what anyone thought—it was all so captivating.
The other women in the club were too obvious—especially that cocktail waitress. They all flirted shamelessly. Caked on makeup and skirts that were way too short on purpose, those other girls were not my type. Sure, if I wanted to kill some time, I might have entertained them but for one reason only.
But this girl, she was different. She didn't have to try hard to be beautiful, she just was. She didn't have to work hard for male attention and she got it all anyway. I couldn't count the men in the club drooling over her as I watched.
This one, she had a purpose. She was focused and undeterred. It was new to me, to meet a woman like that and honestly, it drove me crazy. She was everything that I didn't know I wanted—and more.
And I did want her—badly. I couldn't help myself and that was a first for me, too. Usually, I was in control. I would hook up and move on. But this girl, she had me on the line. I couldn't shake it or her from my mind and she was all I could think about, even after I left the club.
I made the mistake of talking to her. My brothers warned against it and everything in me, my instincts and my better judgment, told me the same but I did it anyway. I walked up to the bar and sat down. I was so close to her that I could smell the glorious smell of peaches dancing on the lotion of her skin.
As she took down her hair and let it fall across her back, the sweet smell of her shampoo consumed me and it took every ounce of restraint not to jump over the bar and take her right there.
I shouldn't have spoken to her but once I did, her voice haunted me. It was sexy and smooth just like she was and I wanted so much to have a full conversation. But, I played it as cool as I could. I tried to seem mysterious and as if I was too good for this club when the truth was, she had me in the palm of her hand and didn't even know it.
I wanted desperately to stay at the bar and watch her for the rest of the night. I wanted to converse with her about anything and everything. I wanted to get to know her, know everything about her.
But, in the end, I allowed myself to be too vulnerable. In my line of work, I had to be sharp, on my toes at all times. I couldn't let myself be a sitting target at the bar, especially with my brothers having left the club entirely. I had to keep some sort of guard up so I paid for my drink and left her there.
The second that I walked out of the club and climbed into my jet black Mustang, I regretted leaving her and the way that I left so abruptly. She deserved to be treated better than I treated her and it killed me.
Maybe, that was the reason I found myself still at the club almost an hour later? I knew that I should've gone back to the hotel where my brothers were waiting for me. I knew that I should've driven away without looking back. Yet, I was still there waiting for her. Why? I wasn't sure.
I was glad that I did stick around after closing because I noticed that someone else had the same idea. I could smell the desperation on this kid from a mile away and once I saw the girl from the bar walk out the front doors, I could discern his intentions instantly.
Not much of a believer in fate, considering what I did for a living, I couldn't help but revel in how fortuitous it was that I was at the right place at the right time. If I hadn't been there...I refused to even think of that scenario at all.
This pretentious blonde kid deserved so much more than I had the time or energy to give him. That was a pity, too because I was capable of great things. Still, my priority was the girl and making sure that she was safe.
To say that I was not the relationship type would be an understatement. Never having a real relationship in my thirty years on earth, I failed to see the point of changing that now. I didn't live a typical lifestyle and it was easier this way. Feelings would complicate everything and with my particular job, that would get you killed.
Even so, I found it hard to ignore the intense attraction to her—I hated that I still didn't know her name. More than a physical attraction, I was drawn to her entirely. From that sassy personality I noticed exuding from her as I surveyed her earlier, to the way she interacted with others. I adored her little ticks and tells that I picked up while she thought no one was paying attention to her.
But how could I justify these strong, intense feelings for a complete stranger? My brothers would never let me live this down if they found out. I was never the weakest link—in any situation—and I wouldn't be the weakest link now. Our job was done and we had to move on. Failure to do that could get us in a lot of trouble. No, I would have to lie through my teeth about where I'd been all night when I got back to the hotel.
The temptation to speak to her, intoduce myself properly, was overwhelming. Having been this close to her, having blatantly interacted with her, I couldn't just up and leave like I did earlier.
After I had taken care of the abusive asshole, in perhaps another act of fate, we were interrupted by a random guy coming out of the club. I had yet another chance to leave and prove that what I felt for a complete stranger meant nothing. I needed to take the easy out and get the hell out of there before I did something I'd really regret.
"Lena, are you okay?" The tall, defensive guy asked the bartender as she struggled to process everything that was happening so quickly.
The girl from the bar—whose name I now knew—blinked blankly at me, then at him and then back at me.
Lena.
"I'm fine..." Lena struggled as she rubbed her bruised wrist with her opposite hand.
The anger returned to me, like a tickle in the pit of my stomach as I noticed just how rough the blonde guy had been with her.
Lena.
Her name calmed me. Her presence soothed a part of me that I didn't know could be reached by anyone—myself included. It was a humbling feeling and I knew then and there that leaving her entirely would be impossible.
"Did he do that to you?" The guy with shaggy brown hair accused me as he lifted Lena's bruised wrist to get a better look in the dim moonlight.
"—like hell I did that." I couldn't help but bark as my patience grew alarmingly thin.
Who the hell was this guy and how did he know Lena? They seemed close but not romantically and his presence here was beginning to piss me off, too. The fact that he thought I would hurt her in any way made me want to punch him. But for her sake, I didn't.
Lena's big, round brown eyes looked straight at me as she seemed almost shocked to hear my voice. To be fair, I hadn't said much to her until now and she must have been completely confused by me being there at all.
"Owen was here." Lena said softly, the defeat evident in her voice.
"Where did he go?" The brown headed boy snapped as he frantically scanned the parking lot in vein because I'd done a good job of scaring that asshole off. He shouldn't be bothering her again and something told me that I'd be around to make sure of that.
"He's gone." Lena cleared her throat, slowly building her protective wall back up. The sound of defiance crept back into her voice.
"Who the fuck are you?" The boy asked, turning to me again as if he'd actually think to challenge me.
Poor guy, he would be wise to back off or I'd have to show him exactly who I was.
"I'm Noah, who the fuck are you?" I spoke before I could think it through and immediately, I regretted my words.
No one there should know my name or know me at all. If I did things right, I'd be in and out of town like a shadow and without a trace. Now they both knew my name and I was already making a mess of things.
"You don't..." The guy from the club started but Lena interrupted him.
"Leave him alone, Jacob." Lena sighed, fire returning to her demeanor. "If he wasn't here...it's just good that he was, okay?"
I could tell that Lena was struggling to be the rough and tough girl she prided herself on being. That blonde asshole—Owen—had chipped away at her confidence when he practically attacked her. He had destroyed her sense of safety. She was trying to play it off as if she didn't need help and that she was unaffected by everything but I knew better. I played the same part with my own family—that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself and I didn't need anyone or anything. I could see her wall built up nice and strong because I, too, had the same wall up for similar reasons.
"You know him?" Jacob asked, his eyebrow raised in annoyance. He wasn't a fan of mine and I wasn't a fan of his, either.
It was then that I noticed what I should have seen all along. This Jacob guy was clearly in love with Lena. He didn't just work at the club, he was working on getting closer to her.
Unidentifiable anger swept over me then and I realized that I had never felt jealousy before that moment. Up until then, I had nothing to be jealous of—no one to be jealous of. It scared me slightly but more than anything it sent alarms off in my head. I was weak and vulnerable in this position and I had to get away desperately—even if it killed me to do so.
"Yeah, I know him." Lena lied which caught me off guard.
"How?" Jacob probed but Lena wasn't going to elaborate so he turned to me instead, "I don't know you and I know everyone around here. Cedar Falls is a small town."
He wasn't wrong. My brothers and I had been there for less than forty-eight hours and we'd seen the entire town, everything that it had to offer. A whole lot of nothing happened around here and I thought that it would be a simple job. I was wrong.
"I'm just passing through." I said nonchalantly, trying to reign in my newfound jealousy as I spoke to Jacob but never took my eyes off of Lena.
Holding eye contact with me, Lena studied me in the bad lighting. She was trying to figure me out but I couldn't let that happen.
"I'll drive you home." Jacob said, making me lose my focus on Lena. I eventually turned to stare him down.
"I can drive myself." Lena huffed as she also turned to face Jacob. "I'm fine, really."
"You're fine?" Jacob scoffed, fueling my anger more. "I don't think so. Look at your arm!"
Lena was not, by any means, stupid. She was fully aware of the close call she just had with that Owen prick. She was fully aware of what could have happened had I not been there to stop it. Lena was just trying to cling to what control she had left over the situation and that was taking herself home and away from here.
"I can drive myself." She repeated, this time with a clenched jaw. "It's late and I'm tired, okay?"
Her attitude was directed solely at Jacob—which, I appreciated, but I couldn't help agreeing with him. I was still very concerned about her wellbeing and more than that, I wanted to be the one there for her as she worked through this. I couldn't be, but I wanted to be.
Standing there in the parking lot, I hated the fact that Jacob could do what I couldn't—he could actually be around for her. He didn't have to leave town. In fact, he'd probably never leave this place. I, on the other hand, should be gone already.
It angered me that I couldn't compete with this kid. Lena and I clearly had a connection and even as I stood there in front of her without a full conversation between us, I could tell that we were linked somehow. I wanted to stick around and see her through this dark time. I wanted to be around to make sure that Owen didn't dare even look at her from then on. I wanted to get to know her and let her get to to know me the way it obviously was between her and Jacob. I wanted so many things that I knew I could never have. And that pissed me off the most.
"What about Owen?" Jacob asked as he sighed, clearly not in the position to win this argument with Lena. "If he comes back, I swear that I'll kill him!"
Jacob wasn't holding back how he felt about Lena. His anger towards Owen wasn't unlike my own. We were protective over Lena and anyone that threatened her in any way. I could relate to his sentiment and I'd kill Owen myself if he even dared come near her again.
"He won't." I said softly, not meaning for them to hear me but Lena turned sharply to look at me, still the look of surprise every time I spoke. "I made sure of it."
"Oh, you did, huh?" Jacob added, challenging me again. "Why are you even out here anyway? If Owen was creeping around, what were you doing? You just happened to be at the right place at the right time?"
As much as I disliked this guy, his skepticism wasn't misplaced. My own presence there in the dark parking lot was suspicious to say the least. Up until then, I couldn't believe that Lena hadn't asked me the same thing.     How would I explain that I was obsessed with Lena—in a non threatening way—and just wanted to see her again, even if it was from a distance? That would go over well with the both of them.
"I had a few drinks at the club." I defended myself nonchalantly. "The club closed and I came out to my car to leave. I was on my phone when I heard the commotion and came over. It was a good thing that I did, too."
Jacob clenched his fists at his sides and I could tell that thinking about Owen hurting Lena drove him insane. He was trying to bite back the anger in his throat that I, too, often felt myself.
"My club..." Jacob bit back, not satisfied with my answer. "—and thanks for that but you can go now."
This guy really didn't want to mess with me but I also couldn't blame him. If I were him and a stranger came around trying to get cozy with Lena, I wouldn't tolerate it, either. As much as I despised him, we were also similar in many ways.
"Jacob!" Lena swatted him gently on the arm.
Even her touching him set me off. I tried to reel in my emotions as I kept a calm demeanor.
"What?" He asked, never taking his eyes off of me.
"—you be nice!" She ordered him but he just stared me down as if trying to intimidate me into leaving.
Little did he know, I was the last person that he should be trying to intimidate. I wouldn't back down and if push came to shove, I wouldn't lose.
"I am nice." Jacob scowled.
"Look, I'm going home." She told us both, walking to her vehicle and shakily unlocking it with a key from her key ring.
"Noah..." she turned abruptly and turned to face me, catching me completely off guard. 
I froze. Luckily, she didn't wait for my response before continuing because I was at a sudden loss for words.
"—thanks again." She said, trying to smile and show me some sort of appreciation although it was clear that she was still shaken up. "Can I buy you a drink tomorrow?"
Instantly, my mind went blank. I shouldn't accept. Technically, I couldn't accept because I was due a few counties over by tomorrow evening. Another job came in and we had work to do.
"That's not necessary..." I started, the insencerity evident in my voice.
"Please?" She asked, her brow raising slightly as she hoped I'd reconsider. I was powerless to refuse her.
I bit my lip as I desperately tried to think of a lie that she would buy. Like I noted earlier, she was anything but stupid.
I hesitated, "what time?"
"I get off at eight." She told me, gesturing to the club behind us, the front door still partially open from where Jacob stormed out earlier.
I sighed, "eight it is."
I didn't have to look at Jacob to see like irritation on his face. I could feel it radiating off of him. However, he was the least of my concerns right now. I had just agreed to be in two places at once tomorrow. Even for me and my abilities, that was impossible. Not to mention what my brothers would say when they inevitably found out.
Unsure how to part ways after all that just happened, Lena started up her truck and slowly backed out of the lot, exiting onto the small, main road. She left Jacob and I standing awkwardly there, still apprehensive of one another.
"You probably don't want to show up for that." Jacob cleared his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. "If you're just passing through, then go ahead and pass through."
I admired his guts. I knew that I was physically intimidating—being well over six-foot and broad—but, I was also mentally intimidating. I learned to be. I was trained to be. Still, he was undeterred and I could gauge just how much Lena meant to him. He was willing to throw down in a fight he knew he couldn't win. He didn't care. She was worth it to him.
But, I wanted her more and whatever he thought could be with Lena, failed to compare to what was destined for the two of us.