Snitch

Chapter 4

4

The moment Shea walked in the back door of Iron Goddess, her ears were assaulted with the sounds of a forties-style crooner singing so loud her vision blurred. With her hands over her ears, she rushed over to Lakota, who was installing a lowering kit on a BMW K1300. “What the hell is that?”

“What?” Lakota slipped off her ear protection.

“The f*****g music.”

Lakota smirked and gestured toward Switch, working on the wiring of another bike ten feet away, her bushy hair looking more out-of-control than usual. “She’s taken a sudden liking to Perry Como.”

Shea buried her face in her palm. “My ears are bleeding.”

“She had a rough night last night,” Lakota explained. “I was at her place until three calming her down.”

A bad night for Switch was something Shea didn’t want to imagine. When Switch was a kid, the Department of Child Safety had found her n***d and chained to a pipe in her s******c parents’ laundry room. Shea had a soft spot in her heart for the young woman, but she also had a shop to run. “At least turn the volume down!”

Lakota hurried over to the sound system and dropped the volume to a more reasonable level.

“Thank you!” Shea c****d her jaw to equalize the pressure in her ears. “And if you can do it without triggering Switch, change it to something from this century. That crooner s**t makes me want to strangle someone.”

Lakota nodded with a shrug. “You’re the boss.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.” Shea rubbed her temples, warding off a headache that was forming.

Kyle approached and c****d his head at an angle. “Dude, we gotta talk.”

“What’s up, Kyle?”

“Look, I know I’m new here. And I’m really grateful for this job. But, dude . . .” He frowned; an embarrassed look darkened his face. “I got to talk to you about Switch.”

“Come on back.” Shea led him down a short hallway to the shop’s office.

Terrance Douglas, her business partner and the shop’s operations manager, was sitting behind his desk talking on the phone. His trim, full beard and tidy afro gave the burly man a warm, fatherly look.

Shea took a seat behind her own desk and gestured for Kyle to grab one of the chairs in front. “So what’s up?”

He hopped onto the chair and flipped open a pocket-size notebook. “In the past week, Switch has called me midget, squirt, half-pint, hobbit, Keebler, and man-baby. I may be an ex-con, but I shouldn’t have to put up with that crap.”

Shea rubbed her throbbing temples. “Agreed.”

“People act like Switch can do whatever she wants.”

“Well, when she gets upset, things tend to get broken.”

“All due respect, boss, but that’s bullshit. I shouldn’t have to be insulted just because she’s batshit crazy.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks, dude. I appreciate it.” Kyle hopped down from the chair and ambled back to the workshop. Terrance hung up the phone.

“Trouble in the ranks?” Terrance asked.

“Switch being Switch. How was your date last night?”

Terrance broke into a goofy grin. “It was good. Jake’s coming over for dinner tomorrow night.”

“Wow, two nights in a row. Sounds serious.”

“I’m hoping.”

“He know you’re trans?”

“Yes, I told him before he first asked me out. It’s a nonissue.”

“Glad to hear it. ’Bout time you found someone. What’s your son think of him?”

“They only met briefly when Jake picked me up. But I think Elon likes him. I figure if he hated him, he would have let me know.” Terrance picked up a folder from the side of his desk. “I see the Wexler bike is finished. Nice job. How late were you here?”

“Too late.” Shea poured herself a cup of coffee and settled behind her own desk, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “But it was due this morning.”

“Oh. Ms. Wexler called yesterday and said she can’t pick it up for another week or so. I thought I told you.”

“Apparently not.”

Terrance gave an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

“Oh well, now we can show it off at the Women’s Bike Night event on Thursday.”

“Good idea. Kokopelli Café agreed to do the catering. One of the DJs from HausMusik will be providing the music.” Terrance handed Shea a piece of paper from his desk. “Oh, and before I forget, we may have another order for a custom bike.”

“Another one? I was hoping to build a show bike for the Tucson Bike Expo.” Shea’s expression darkened as she examined the quote sheet.

“The expo’s a gamble. This custom job is money in the bank. This bike should be our first priority.”

Shea rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She looked name on the sheet. “When is this Chlöe Stansbury supposed to be here?”

“Early afternoon.”

“Great.” Shea noticed a pink message note on her desk. “What’s this?”

“A woman came in asking for you. She was wearing an Athena Sisterhood cut,” he said referring to the leather vest that members of biker clubs wore. “After I informed her we don’t allow g**g colors here, she left her name and number. Didn’t say what it was about.”

The name on the note read ‘Debbie Raymond’. Shea didn’t need Terrance to tell her what her ex-girlfriend wanted. It was another invitation to join the Athena Sisterhood. But Shea had no desire to spend another minute with Debbie, much less become a prospect.

Shea tossed the message in the trash, and stood up. “Until Ms. Chlöe Stansbury gets here, I’m going to be welding together a f*****g motorcycle frame.”