Taboo (Merle Dixon x OFC)

Chapter 5

I glanced at Merle's bike while climbing in Daryl's old truck. It was parked right next to us. I was glad it was here at the tavern. At least I wouldn't have to worry about him getting to my house.

I shook my head and slammed the door. I don't know why I was even worrying about it. Someone would just bring him if his bike wasn't here.

"Ya alright?" Daryl asked, turning the key to start the truck. "Ya ain't said nothin'."

"Yeah, just thinkin'." I nodded.

"'Bout what? What I told ya 'bout Merle?" he wanted to know.

He backed up from his parking spot, drove to the main road, and took off toward my house. There was no traffic, which I found to be unusual for a Saturday night. I looked at the clock on the dashboard. 1:18 in the morning. Ugh. No wonder the roads were dead. The only people out were drunks.

"Just...yeah. That's part of it. It's just...everythin'. All of it. Everythin' that happened t'night." I began to wonder out loud. "Who was that asshole that followed me? Who was that dude that looked like he b'longed in Atlanta? Does this have somethin' ta do with my Daddy?"

Daryl sighed, but it wasn't out of annoyance. He sounded wistful. "Yeah, this had somethin' ta do with Jake. I can't tell ya a lot, but I can tell ya that Jake's gonna be avenged real soon. You'll have ta wait fer Merle. He ain't gonna tell ya much, just what he thinks ya should know."

"Daddy's bein' avenged?" I asked hopefully. I had been waiting for this. I needed the closure, and so did my Mama.

"Oh, yeah. That asshole that followed ya..." Daryl was hesitant. He brought his thumb to his lips and began to chew on the nail. He always did that when he was nervous or uncomfortable. "He works fer folks that are enemies of the man ya saw t'night. Ya know...the dude from Atlanta. Merle recognized the name on that asshole's license, but it was the tag number that really gave 'im away. Merle sent me the tag number on the Volvo when ya got to the tavern. I sent it to..." He strummed his wispy chin hair. "...a friend. They checked it out. That car..." He paused, glancing at me. "Let's just put it this way. It don't b'long in these parts. From that asshole's reaction when Merle first outed 'im, I thought he was just a stalker. Ya know, just there takin' pics o' the girl in the lingerie magazines. I never seen that asshole b'fore in my life, and I seen some shady fuckin' pricks b'fore; real shady. But then Merle looked at 'is license, and I got that message. He wasn't there fer just pics. He planned on either rapin' ya, kindappin' ya, or maybe even both, but yer attentive mind caught on b'fore he had a chance ta do anythin'. Ya might be dead right now if ya weren't as smart as ya are."

"Jesus," I muttered, shivering and wrapping my arms around myself.

"Hmph. Yeah." Daryl grunted. "There's a bit of a war goin' on b'tween the Italians right now. It's all over drugs. That's part o' why Jake was killed. Only he was innocent, but ya know that already. The gangster dude in the tavern was pretty pissed off when Jake was killed. Said it went against the code of honor or some shit like that. I'm gonna quote Goodfellas here, but it's real greaseball shit. They considered Jake one o' the Goodfellas. Understand?"

I nodded, and Daryl went on.

"He swore he would find who gave the order ta kill Jake and avenge 'im. He's been workin' with Merle ta figure shit out since Merle sorta took over after Jake died. We been sittin' 'round on our asses, just waitin' fer someone ta fuck up. Well, this asshole from t'night definitely fucked up. I think he might'a snitched when Merle was torturin' 'im t'night, and we got some answers we been lookin' fer. I'm a bit in the dark 'til Merle fills me in, but the fact that asshole was killed tells me somethin'."

"Why come after me?" I asked curiously, taking in what he had said. "I ain't got nothin' ta do with any o' this shit."

"Dunno yet. It don't make sense ta come after ya. Maybe someone's tryin' ta piss off Merle," he pondered, gnawing at his thumbnail. "Hmph, yeah. That's a real good way ta piss 'im off, goin' after the girl he cares fer. Ya know how Merle is. He just shoots off at the fuckin' mouth 'bout everythin' ta everyone and don't give a fuck. Maybe he mortified one o' the Italians somehow. Ya know how he likes ta fuck with folks. 'Specially when he's high. It's 'is favorite past time."