Mute

        “Sweet baby Jesus would you look at that!” The grocery store clerk exclaimed as they were looking out the front window of the store. Sam looked up from placing the items on the conveyor belt. She looked out the window to where the clerk pointed out across the town square.         There was a bunch of motorcycles gathering up in the vacant parking lot near the park. That was the drug head bunch, it was never good to have them around. The clerk finished checking her items out and she paid as quickly as she could so she could leave.         “Samantha,” the clerk’s pleading stopped her, “Honey go straight home. Don’t stop for none of them.” Sam nodded as she stepped through the door.         Sam was putting the groceries into the truck seat when all she could hear was the roar of tail pipes pulling in alongside her. She dropped the sack of oranges and put her hands over her ears, the roar was too intense. She pried her eyes open when the roar silenced itself suddenly.         “You dropped these miss.”         She was frozen staring up at the mountain of a man in front of her. He had leaned his metal steed on its side and knelt to gather the oranges littering the pavement. He was holding the sack now full again out to her.         He was huge! He stood tall enough to hang his chin on top of her head. He looked every inch of a sinfully bad man. Top to bottom he wore black well, the only color was the flaming red hair of his soul patch and wind blown hair held back with a rolled bandana. He lifted the aviator sunglasses to sit atop his head, revealing emerald green eyes.         “Samantha!” The clerk came hustling out to her, “oh Honey. Are you all right?” The clerk glanced at the big burly man still holding the bag of oranges out to Sam still frozen in shock.         “Something wrong?” The biker asked.         “You scared the poor thing. She can’t talk at all, shame on you! Shoo, go on.” The woman snatched the bag from him and shuffled the girl away from him. He shook his head as he turned and made his way across the town square towards the other bikers.         “Are you all right Honey?” The clerk put the oranges in the truck seat and turned Sam to her to look her over. “You look okay, did he scare you? Did he hurt you at all?”         Sam shook her head no, the clerk sighed. “Well you just get going, with these hooligans around it isn’t safe for you in town.” Sam nodded again and jumped in the truck. As she pulled through the square near the group of bikers the one that had pulled in next to her looked up and locked eyes with her as she passed by. She shivered, those eyes were boring into her soul.         She pulled through the intersection, and as quickly as she could she pressed the gas petal down. The bikers faded from the rear view and she relaxed and finally slowed to a normal speed. For some reason she just didn’t think that would be the last time she saw that mountain of a man.         “Hey Carrot-top, mind keeping your mind on business over here.” Deacon called out after he whistled to get his attention.         “Yeah, yeah, keep your panties on.” Jace growled, who the hell was that girl? Keep your mind on your work and why you are here, he scolded himself. “Let’s do this.”