The Dealers

Chapter 4 - Noah

Sneaking back into my hotel room just before dawn was futile. Having adjacent rooms with my two brothers, they were almost instantly in my room as I opened the front door. Despite having rehearsed my explanation that didn't exactly include every detail of where I was and what I did, I knew it was pointless. My brothers would be able to read me like a book.
"Where you been, Noah?" My brother Finn asked with a giant smirk on his face. "You were supposed to be back hours ago."
In order to hang back and keep an eye on Lena, I told my brothers that I would meet them back at the swanky hotel. They assumed that I was using that time to hook up with a random townie from the club and it wouldn't hurt to let them continue to think that. Sleeping with random chicks on the road wasn't exactly a new one for me so they shouldn't question the alibi.
"I don't kiss and tell." I tried to play off as I stared a hot shower in the bathroom.
I left my brothers taking turns throwing insults at me while I locked myself away and let myself drown into the hot water. They were buying into my lies and I didn't want to push it. Hopefully by the time I was done in the bathroom, they would have moved on completely.
Unfortunately, when I did emerge from the steam, my brothers had their own theories about which chick from the bar was the lucky lady.
"That cocktail waitress was cute." Finn offered as I cracked open a beer from the mini fridge and settled onto my bed in sweatpants and no shirt.
My brothers fought over a spot on the nearby couch as I tried my best to shut them out and enjoy my beer before bed. Finn was so sure that I'd been with the waitress this whole time but Eli didn't agree.
The cocktail waitress was easy on the eyes but also clearly easy in general. There was no sport in that. She practically threw herself at the tree of us the entire time we sat in the club. Any of us could have easily brought her back to the hotel.
While I would usually partake in this debauchery with my brothers, something had changed between when we entered the club for the first time and now. Lena happened. She was all I could think about and she was all that I wanted. Every other female around failed to compare to her in any way.
Eli added his theory into the mix as he eliminated possible candidates. It was when he mentioned the bartender that my demeanor completed changed.
"That's it, isn't it?" Eli probed further, running with it. "You banged the bartender!"
The way he referred to her as the bartender annoyed me and the way he talked about her pissed me off. She wasn't a random girl I wanted to hook up with—she was so much more than that. I didn't like the way he lumped her together with those other women.
"Nice!" Finn chimed in as a look of approval swept across his smug face. "She was mighty fine. I didn't think you had it in you. She didn't seem like the easy type but I guess I was wrong."
"Fuck off!" I snapped, getting up off the bed and pointing my beer at him.
I pulled myself back and chugged the last of the liquid from the bottle. I couldn't overreact now. It would give me away for sure.
Finn was both surprised and amused by my reaction. He studied me for a moment and then swatted Eli on the shoulder, "do you think he actually got some or is he messing with us?"
Eli leaned back on the couch and rubbed his chin, "I can't tell..."
I struggled to bite my tongue and not say something that I would regret.
Finn kept pushing it and my patience wore thin as he pushed the final button, "well, if you did score, you wouldn't mind if I gave her a try tonight? We could make an exception and stick around, huh?"
That was all it took for me to lunge across the hotel room for Finn's throat. Both being experts in combat, we traded and evaded each other's advances. Eventually, Eli pried us apart.
A part of me knew that Finn was just being his usual asshole-self but I couldn't contain my rage at the thought of Finn and Lena together. That would never happen—ever.
"Cut it out!" Eli snapped at the both of us as I took one last swing at Finn before backing off and trying to calm myself down.
"What the fuck was that about?" Eli asked me but I was too busy trying to steady my breathing and not launch my fist at Finn again.
"Isn't it obvious?" Finn interjected with a bloody grin on his face from where I caught him with my knuckles just slightly. "He's sweet on the bartender. Didn't you notice how fixated he was on her earlier?"
Eli thought it over and I knew immediately that I was exposed. They knew about Lena and this all just got more complicated.
The last thing I wanted was my brothers, especially Finn, snooping around her. He was bad news—and so was I but there was something about her that made me want to be different. There was something about her that made me want to be better.
"But, I don't think anything happened." Finn went on, using my silence as a stage to plead his case. "I think you stuck around to get some and she turned you down!"
I clenched my fists, feeling the light tickle of blood dripping down from where my nails dug into my skin. Trying to focus on the self-inflicted pain instead of the urge to pummel Finn, Eli finally spoke again.
"That's enough!" Eli snapped, shutting Finn up momentarily. Eli turned to me and thought of his words carefully before he continued, "what really happened?"
The last thing I planned on telling them was the truth and yet, I no longer had a choice.
"It's none of your business." I said bluntly, hoping they'd catch a hint.
"None of our business?" Finn scoffed at me, but he kept his distance after seeing just how easily set off I was. "Are you forgetting who you are? Where you're from? We're in this together, brother—by blood. You can't just turn your back on us for a piece of ass."
The sun would be up shortly and I needed to sleep. My head was fuzzy and my mind a giant blur. It had been over twenty four hours since I last got some rest.
"You wouldn't understand." I shrugged as I decided against making him pay for that comment about Lena. "And I'm not up to explaining it, okay? Goodnight."
Eli and Finn looked at each other as if they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Sure, I was the last one to get into a mess like this. I was reliable and I was immovable. I was solid—until we came to this stupid town.
I could tell that they weren't sure what to do now. The sun was set to rise soon and I bet they hadn't gotten any sleep, either. They weren't sure what to say or what to do just then as they stood there staring awkwardly at me. I pretended to close my eyes and fall asleep but this wouldn't be the end of it.
This was only the beginning.
Eventually, after I ignored them long enough, Eli and Finn left my room. A part of me hoped they would go back to their own rooms and to bed. But, I knew they probably stayed up talking about me. As the youngest, they always teamed up against me and I was sick of it.
Finally alone in the dark hotel room, I found it impossible to fall asleep. My body was exhausted but my mind wouldn't settle down. I kept replaying the night over and over in my head until I couldn't stand it anymore.
Thinking about that guy Owen made me want to punch a wall. I tried to forget his stupid voice taunting Lena before I stepped in and almost broke his arm. Thinking about Jacob made me want to punch another wall. The way he clearly felt about Lena would only get in my way. Even if Lena only had friendship in her heart for him, they were obviously really close. That pissed me off even more.
The only sliver of peace I found was when I thought about Lena. The way she commanded the room and didn't even know how beautiful she was. She couldn't fathom, couldn't comprehend just how tempting she was to others. That humility was another thing I loved about her.
Thinking back to seeing her for the first time, watching her from a distance when she still had no idea who I was, I began to settle and calm down enough to slip in and out of sleep. I thought about Lena's beautiful brown eyes and tanned skin. I thought about her soft hair and the way she smelled like peaches. It was Lena's face that saw me off to sleep and I drifted away slowly.
It wasn't until I jolted awake hours later than I realized I hadn't set an alarm like I usually did. The sun was bright against the hotel room walls and I frantically searched for my phone to check the time.
It was already after four in the afternoon. I really zonked out.
Panic crept over me like a tidal wave as I tried to make sense of how I was able to sleep in this long. My brothers should have been in here hours ago to drag me out of bed. We should also be getting ready to skip town by now.
Not knowing what they were doing or where they were made me uneasy and I immediately thought about Lena.
They wouldn't hurt an innocent person but they were quite the pair of assholes, especially together. They always teamed up to make my life harder but in the end, we were all stuck in the same sick game, forced to do the bidding of others.
If they suspected that I was lying and sneaking around to see Lena, they'd probably do anything that they could to sabotage things between her and I. Sticking around a small town for a girl couldn't happen. I had to move on with them and complete our next job.
On the defense, I got ready in a hurry and went to find Eli and Finn. Neither of them answered the door when I knocked and that's when I really started to panic. They could be at the club right now, sitting at the bar with Lena, making me look like a crazy person—or worse.
Eli and Finn would do anything to ensure that nothing kept me in Cedar Falls. The only thing that would, was Lena. It made sense. They would be doing everything they could to scare her away from me.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't take much of the truth for that. My past—and my present for that matter—were less than ideal. That was yet another reason that I needed to leave this place on my own accord. Even if I did stay and put myself on the line for the first time ever, once Lena learned the truth about me, she'd bail.
I took my cell phone out and texted both my brothers but neither replied—further fueling my paranoia. Either they were messing with Lena or just messing with me. Regardless, I had to find them as soon as possible.
Using every skill that I learned over my years of training, I attempted to locate either brother. I tapped into their phones GPS but as I expected, they turned it off. They knew I would be looking for them and they clearly, didn't want to be found.
"Fuck!" I yelled as I nearly launched my iPhone against the hotel wall.
Dialing and redialing Eli and Finn, neither answered still.. After less than an hour of pacing back and forth in my room, I decided that I had to get out of here. I jumped into my Mustang and left a trail of burnt smoke as I peeled out of the hotel parking lot and headed towards downtown Cedar Falls.
Being such a small blip on the map, Cedar Falls wasn't much to look at. It consisted of Main Street and a few offshoots that encompasses what was originally the only part of the town. Having since expanded, Main Street housed some restaurants, a few shops and a local grocery store.
Sliding into an open parking spot along Main, I slammed my car into park and jumped out. There were a few spots around here that my brothers and I visited when we first got into town. We'd eaten at the diner a few blocks down and had a strategy session at the small coffee shop near where I parked.
Rushing to both locations, I didn't see any traces of Eli or Finn. I showed the barista at the coffee shop and the waitress at the diner pictures of my brothers in the hopes they'd been in recently but neither recognized them. My brothers were good looking guys, especially around the small towns like this—these ladies would have certainly remembered them.
Eli and Finn hasn't been to town today so that only left one place they could be: the club.
With Lena!
Jumping back in my car, I sped off towards the club a few streets over. It was a Sunday evening so there was no traffic and the parking lot of the club was particularly empty. I did, however, immediately spot Lena's truck sitting there. I was glad that she parked closer to the entrance this time.
Scanning the asphalt, I didn't see Eli's black Hummer and it was damn near impossible to miss especially around here.
Panic turned to worry and I began to wonder if something bad happened to them.
Last night, I went to bed and they were still up doing God-knows-what. I had assumed they went to bed eventually as well but I had no proof of that. They could have left the hotel after they left my room. Anything could have happened while I was passed out.
Doing what we do and working with the types of people that we do, it's not hard to think of bad things that could have befallen my brothers. We were constantly on alert and prepared for anything. That's why sticking together was so important.
Looking down at my watch, I noted that it was nearing six o'clock. I promised to meet Lena at eight for a drink. As much as I wanted to see her and get some alone time, just the two of us, I had to find my brothers first.
It truly was the difference between life and death.
Not seeing Eli's car at the club, I decided against double checking that they weren't actually inside. Eli loved that car more than anything else in the world and he wouldn't park it just anywhere, even if they were trying to evade me. Also, it was best if I didn't go in because Lena was there and I might never leave.
I gave Finn another call but it went straight to voicemail as if his phone were off. By now, the three of us should be heading to Andover for our next gig. If they weren't still in Cedar Falls, did they leave without me?
Heading back to the posh hotel that stuck out like a sore thumb in the thoroughbred town of Cedar Falls, I pulled in front of the office and jumped out, my car still running. Inside, the same girl that checked us in—the petite blonde my brother Eli was interested in—stood at the front desk. Looking up at me, she smiled widely and looked around for whom I assumed was my brother.
"Hi!" She smiled at me although disappointment was evident on her face. "What can I do for you?"
Normally, a million dirty things would pop into my head and I might even entertain a few to see how convincing I could be but things were different now. Here I had an attractive woman standing in front of me, clearly interested in me and I didn't give a single damn about her. I would have kept her in my back pocket for later when I was lonely or bored and needed some company. But now, Lena was all I wanted and I didn't even want to flirt with anyone else.
"Do you remember the two guys I was with when we checked in?" I asked her but I already knew she remembered us.
The blonde whose name tag read Linda smirked at me and bit her lip flirtatiously, " I sure do. Eli, right? And something with an F..."
It was clear whom she preferred.
"Right..." I said slowly. "Have they checked out yet today?"
Clicking her fake fingernails on the computer keyboard, Linda searched the hotel database but shook her head, "they didn't check out but they did extend all three rooms for another week."
"Another week?" I blurted out.
What were they playing at? We needed to be in Andover soon and not hanging around Cedar Falls for another week. As much as I was torn between staying and actually having to leave Lena, this was beyond suspicious.
"Can you tell me when they extended the rooms?" I asked, using her flirtatious attitude to my advantage in case she thought to recite the hotel's privacy policy.
Tapping the keyboard again, Linda searched through data on the screen, "just before five this morning."
Five o'clock this morning? I'd barely kicked them out of my room by then and so they must have gone straight to the front desk once they left. But why?
Both Eli and Finn had given me so much shit about Lena and about my responsibilities—as if I could ever forget them. They wouldn't just extend our stay here, especially after Finn and I got into a fist flight.
Where the hell were they?
"Thanks." I said to Linda as I ran back out to my running Mustang and proceeded to park it properly.
Back in my hotel room, I realized that I was running out of time to meet Lena for that drink. At nearly a half past seven, I decided that I might as well show up to the club after all. I didn't know where my brothers were or what they were doing and unless they wanted me to, I wouldn't figure it out. If that were the case, I could at least keep my date with Lean in the meantime.
I was less worried that something bad happened to them and I found myself able to calm down slightly as I jumped in the shower to get ready.
As I was about to finish washing the shampoo from my hair, my phone chimed from the counter beside the tub. I washed the residue from my head and peaked out of the curtain. Picking up my phone with damp hands, I scrolled through my notifications.
I cringed as I slid out of the tub, viciously scrubbed my dripping wet hair and then tied the towel around my waist. Back to my phone, I reread the alert. Finn's phone pinged in Andover.
Andover.
That was where our next job was. They really did leave without me—those assholes. But then, why would they extend our hotel rooms for a week?
I was confused and that made me mad. The two of them were always fucking with me and now was no different. What were they planning? What was their end game?
"Shit." I stammered as I struggled to get my dark denim jeans on.
Exiting the bathroom shirtless, I searched for a clean black t-shirt and found one still in my suitcase. I never bothered to unpack in hotels. What was the point? I'd be checking out before I could get everything out of my bag.
After I finished getting ready, and tamed my shoulder-length hair, I checked the clock. I would deal with Eli and Finn later. They were clearly not including me and downright evading me so I'd talk to them when they wanted to talk to me. Until then, searching for them would be futile.
Glad to get some time with Lena, I still found myself worried that Eli and Finn could show up at any time. Just over an hour away, Andover could be reached in a short time. For all I knew, they were on their way back to Cedar Falls already.
Having a drink with Lena would be risky. For one, I had better defensive skills sober but I felt less uptight after a few glasses of whiskey. If I had to be on guard for my brothers return—or whatever else they had cooked up—I had to be sharp.
Not to mention, I already made a lot of enemies at the club. Owen, I didn't give much thought to because if he was remotely smart, he'd heed my warning. I could be much more convincing than that if it were warranted.
Then, there was Jacob. He wasn't necessarily a threat but he definitely didn't like me. The feeling was mutual because Lena liked him—a lot. I still maintained the belief that she only saw him as a friend but it was clear as day that he wanted to be more than that.
Either way, I was in Cedar Falls for however long and I would make the most out of however much time that was.
Leaving the hotel, I half-expected to see my brothers walking out of their rooms but they were still nowhere around. Forcing myself to push them from my mind, I headed to my car and set off for the club. I wouldn't be late but I wouldn't be freakishly early, either—a habit that would die hard to break because aside from being on a job, I never rushed for anyone.
I drove down the road of this town that had somehow becomes so familiar to me in a short time—like Lena had. I hadn't know her long and I surely didn't know her well but I still had to figure out what the connection was brewing between us. I knew she felt it, too. It was undeniable.
Dread filled the pit of my stomach as I pulled into the Chateau Club's parking lot—that was now crowded with people as the sun had already set—and I saw my brother's Hummer parked front and center.
Fuck.
It was going to be a sickeningly bad night.