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"Speaking of secrets, what was your amazing idea for Halloween this year?" Carter asked Holly.
"Ooh yes, tell us," Nessa leaned forward as if this was a huge secret to be kept.
"I think we should hold a street party. We could call in a few favours from family and friends to set up food vans, bring in a DJ or a band, and have a proper Halloween Street festival. I'm sure all the shops along the strip would be into it, and the pub is a no-brainer. But we will have to get onto this fast. Like ramp up every social media we have and get everyone we can think of involved. We have enough pliable cash in the business to load up on the consumables like masks and caps and hats and all that random stuff like fake blood. It could be huge if we worked it right," Holly gushed.
"The restaurants would love it! Is there anyone we know who could talk to the council about closing one lane of the road for the night to give us some space for all this stuff? But, of course, it's a main thoroughfare, so we would never get the whole thing closed but maybe a lane because it's outside of normal business hours?" Nessa suggested.
"We have to make sure that whatever we put into it we get back, like do we have to pay street vendors and entertainment to come, or will they just come and grab whatever profits they can on the night too? Do we consider it a community event because the council will have to come on board?" Carter nodded, doing the logistics in her head. She and Holly had started this business and were the co-owners despite having their two best friends run the shop with them.
"I say we do it!" Nicky grinned. "I love a great party, and this has the makings to be epic!"
"I agree, but ultimately you two have to deal with the bottom line. There is always the worry that we could throw a lot of cash at this thing, and the Government could call a Covid19 lockdown again now that this new wave is moving through town," Nessa said cautiously. "So maybe we can see who we can get on board over the next few days and then decide one way or another."
"If we can't get the other businesses on board, then we might be shit out of luck," Carter nodded. "We could take a minor hit, but if we did it all and got crushed by a lockdown, I'm not sure the business could survive that."
"But if we could pull it off, it would be epic right?" Holly said hopefully.
"I'm in," Nicky reiterated, "So I will let you talk and get another coffee to go so we can open the business we love. Anyone else wants a second?"
"Me!" Vanessa said quickly.
"I'll have breakfast juice if your offering," Holly smiled.
"I'll have a juice, too," Carter nodded and sat back, going through logistics in her head, knowing that when they got back to work, she and Holly would sit down and work out how much they could push their budget and how much they would need to make this happen. Luckily it was mid-week, and all the repairs and laundry had been done from the weekend before. There was nothing that Nicky and Nessa couldn't handle alone, so they could do the planning and look at their books and accounts.
*****
"Get up," Teddy rumbled and kicked at the end of the bed where Scott lay sleeping off the night before after taking on Nicky's challenge. Dean had warned him, so Teddy had no patience to wait for him to get his shit together.
"Fuck off, asshole," Scott grumbled.
"Suit yourself. I'll take Kris to check on Nicky and Holly," Teddy shrugged and kicked the bed one last time as he turned to leave the room.
"Fuck! Give me fifteen, and I'll be ready," Scott groaned, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and sat up, holding his head in his hands as he glared at his friend.
"Fifteen or I'm leaving without you," Teddy said tersely and clomped out. He wasn't about to miss this chance at rekindling the one warm, bright shining memory in his otherwise dark childhood memory. He shook his head to clear the image of Holly from his dream as he entered the kitchen and went to make coffee for Scott. If he knew anything about his friend, He knew that Scotty was never firing on all cylinders until he had coffee in the morning.
"Yo, whaddup?" Kris said from behind his computer screen. "Got your message. We should be able to track down everything we need within an hour or so this morning. You want me to start the installation right away?"
"Yeah, even if it's not as bad as we were led to believe, it won't hurt to have the extra security for her," Teddy said. "Me and Scotty are gonna go and clear up some inconsistencies in the story, and we can move on from there. Take Medusa with you, not Dean. It won't go well if he tells her we are planning on increasing the security around her before we've had a chance to talk her through it."
"You're saying she didn't ask for this level of security?" Kris frowned, not liking placing an unknowing woman under surveillance. "I'm not doing anything until she knows what's happening."
"Oh, I plan to tell her. I'm just not sure she'll like the idea," Teddy chuckled.
"Text me once you've told her. I'd rather do it with her permission than without. What's up with the girl anyway? You haven't even mentioned her name before yesterday, but to hear Dean and Scotty talk, you've known her for years," Kris asked and was met with a thoughtful look but utter silence.
"They grew up together, families were close, went to the same schools, you know, the usual thing for families in this district. Only she and one of her friends got sent away to boarding school right before the final big battle with the AFP kicked in. The AFP raids saw most of the major players end up in jail or the cemetery, including her father," Medusa said as she walked into the kitchen. She made her way to the bench that held the coffee machine and sorted through the large bowl of coffee pods before choosing one. She knew Teddy would never volunteer that information himself. Still, their team needed to understand that this was more than just another job for their fearless leader. "When are you guys going to invest in a better coffee machine?" she grumbled.
"Her Dad was a major player? I don't remember a Haywood ever being mentioned," Kris asked, his curiosity peaked.
"Finn O'Connell," Medusa answered and turned to eye Teddy as she prepared for more questions from Kris and Teddy to start shutting down the conversation after dropping that bomb. "Haywood was from her Nana, who ran that family despite how it looked. She sent Holly away and kept her out of harm's way until she finished school and then made her do a business course at a private college. Holly returned to deal with all the arrangements when her Nana died about eighteen months ago because no one else was left after the battles. Carter, her friend, came with her, Nicky got her best friend back, and Vanessa followed Nicky. The four became inseparable, and Holly and Carter bought a local business to run together. Happy days for all."
"So this woman has been back for eighteen months, and this is the first time I hear her name or any connection to Teddy, Scott, or Dean?" Kris pushed, truly curious now.
"It's a long story, but I think Dean is the only one who knew she was back for good, and he didn't tell anyone. As far as we knew, she left town again after organising her Nana's funeral and disposing of the estate, or what was left of her legacy anyway," Medusa summed up the situation. She made a face at Kris to silence any more questions until they were alone, as she could feel the agitation from where Teddy stood across the room from her.
Teddy said nothing, just raising an eyebrow at Medusa and nodding his agreement with what she said. She was amazing at tracking down anyone and anything at any time. So, it shouldn't have surprised him that she already had all the details about Holly and her friends after last night. He turned without saying anything and took the travel mug he made for Scott back to his bedroom to make sure he was moving his lazy ass. Also, before the ever-curious, Kris compared Holly's disappearance and the creation of his crew and why he had chosen that time to do it.
"Move your ass. You have five minutes left. Tick tock, brother," he taunted, entering the bedroom to find his friend freshly showered and half-dressed.
"Thanks, man," Scott grabbed the travel mug and took a sip. Then he dragged on a blue t-shirt and sat to put his boots on. "Why the rush? It's early, man," he grumbled.
"Security; it's what we do. Unless you're comfortable with someone stalking and threatening Holly and Nicky," Teddy rumbled.
"What the fuck? When did they tell you that?" Scott frowned and took a large gulp of his coffee, trying to make his brain work faster. He'd been with Teddy the whole time except when he had followed Holly home to her apartment before meeting them at the three monkeys. "Did you speak to Holly last night?"
"Not directly," he scowled. "Nicky told Dean when Medusa drove them to the bar. Medusa told me, but Dean was also worried enough to tell me, and you know he thinks Nicky is a badass who can look after herself. Especially after the Eric bullshit. But there was something about the messages that rattled her and thus rattled him," Teddy said thoughtfully, anxious that Holly and Nicky could be in danger.
"Okay, so," Scott stood up and stamped his feet on the ground to settle into his boots properly. "What's next? Do we go and offer to protect them like superheroes?"
"Do you think any of them would welcome that sort of macho bullshit?" Teddy asked and scowled at his friend. "We go and make soft inquiries about it and then offer our help, then it's up to them to take or leave it."
"But we are going to do it anyway, right?" Scott asked as they made their way out to the garage.
"Right. We'll take the Camaro if they think we are flying colours, they'll kick us out before we start.
"Nicky would have told them we're out," Scott shrugged.
"If you weren't living the dream, would you buy it?" Teddy stopped to look at him carefully as he posed the question.
"I dunno, but then I still don't understand the intricacies of the pact," Scott shrugged and climbed into the passenger's seat before speaking again. "Bit of a surprise she stayed after telling us she was leaving once she got her Nana's stuff sorted."
Teddy grunted and said nothing. He'd been shocked when he heard she had come back to sort out her grandmother's estate. The old woman had told him that Holly was dead years before that, and he'd had no reason not to believe her with all of the arrests and deaths that had happened at the time. She'd said that Holly had been kidnapped and murdered as retaliation right at the end of the war. Enraged and not getting any further answers from the old woman, he'd enlisted Medusa's help. She came from a rival outfit to his own but, like him, didn't give a shit despite coming from a rival family.
What they found, however, still turned his stomach when he thought about it. While the official line at the time was that Holly had been sent away to school. In reality, she had gone to a private hospital and rehab. The actual reason she'd disappeared from their lives was known only to the old woman and her family, including Carter, who had been sent to help care for Holly as they finished their schooling with private tutors. He'd gone to question the old woman again, full of rage and attitude that she hadn't let him help the woman he loved. She'd then said that Holly had been kidnapped by the son of the president of the Kallikanzaro MC, who had a crush on her and took advantage of the battle with her father to take her. She then told him that she hadn't survived her injuries. She then claimed to have sent to body back to Ireland for burial. It was then that Teddy formed his crew and, one by one, took out all of the Kallikantzaro until the remaining members either left the club or the state.
They were young and dumb and thought themselves invincible as they waged their own war and tried to convince the old woman to tell them where Holly had been laid to rest so they could pay their respects. In the end, Medusa realised that the old woman had changed Holly's surname to Hayward. They discovered her alive and well, living near a rehabilitation clinic and attending school online while still recovering from the severe injuries sustained when she had been held captive by the prick from the Kallikantzaro outfit. She'd gotten out, however, and away from her father's name and legacy after while recovered from those injuries and starting a new life. As if by an unspoken pact, Teddy and Medusa left her alone once they found her and let her live her life away from the darkness and depression that scored their city at that time.
When the dust finally settled, Teddy turned to his love of fast cars that fed his need for adrenalin-fuelled fun while working safer security for clubs and pubs around the strip. His friends likewise took up street racing, and their crew had grown to include Scott and Dean, who had been his childhood friends. Medusa had been with him since the beginning of his search for Holly, while the others had joined for their own reasons. Teddy wasn't interested in running a gang or a club in the traditional sense, but they were a tight crew who worked hard and raced harder, making their money where they could.
The car his foster sister was so proud of was one of the first cars his crew could afford, and as they moved onto bigger and meaner machines, he couldn't get rid of it or tear it up for parts which was how Grace had inherited it. His love of cars and hatred for the gangs of the underworld was also how he came to Beau's notice. Beau was the best mechanic and driver on the street racing circuit. Teddy and his crew were making a name for themselves to rival his, so it was inevitable that they would meet and race, except Teddy turned down the challenge twice before Beau went to see him personally. From the moment Beau barged into his life, it had been irrevocably altered, and he had changed from that vengeful heart-sick young guy into the man he was today.
Now, he had a second chance to win back the woman who had first claimed his heart and imprinted herself on it forever, and he would not fail her again. But, of course, he was a kid with a chip on his shoulder back then. He couldn't have done anything to protect her. He knew the old woman had done the right thing getting her out of town last time, but she wasn't here anymore, he was, and he would keep her safe from the threats this time.
Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the turnoff to the alley behind the row of shops facing the main thoroughfare through this area. There was parking just off the ally behind the hotel on the corner, and Teddy pulled into a space close to the small pathway between buildings that would bring them out onto the main street. They walked down to the shop and stepped inside to the ringing of the bells hanging over the door. The two men smiled as Nicky looked up from her place at the counter and gasped.
"Teddy? Scott? What the hell are you doing here?" Nicky asked breathlessly. "You can't be here! I work here!"
"Aww, come on, Nicky," Scott said with a grin. "You know we're in the secret squirrel business. We always need disguises. Your shop is just a little further away than we're used to looking, but hey, we're here now. So whaddya say? Wanna show me around?"
"No, I told you last night that Holly and Carter wouldn't like you hanging around here. She barely puts up with Dean, and he doesn't come by often for that reason," Nicky said testily as Teddy slowly made his way toward the back of the shop.
"Teddy, if you value your life, you won't go back there!" Nicky called out loud enough for anyone else in the shop to hear her.
"Is that so?" he rumbled a moment before Holly appeared at the doorway to the back room with two other women behind her.
"Is there something I can help you with?" Holly asked in a clipped voice blocking his pathway and not making eye contact as she spoke into his chest.
"There's an office back there?" he asked Nessa, who stood behind her.
"Yes, but..." she lifted her hands and looked at Holly.
"No! I don't want to talk to you. If I wanted to talk to you about anything from the past, I would have looked you up and given you a call, but I haven't. I'm not sure how much clearer I can make it other than ignoring your existence for the past decade," she said. "Now, if there's nothing else. You can leave."
"We need to talk. So, we can do it here where your friends can ensure you are safe and remain unharmed, or I can escort you home tonight. Then they can call you after I leave demanding to know what I want to see you about and why I want to start discussing wedding plans with you. Your choice, but we will talk," Teddy said in a monotone that told her he was not backing down from what he had come to say.
"Wait! What?" Scott's voice rose over the gasps of shock from the women who looked at him.
"Seriously?" Holly sighed dramatically. "My parents aren't here to enforce it, are yours? No? Then let's pretend it never happened, shall we?"
Teddy said nothing else, just taking her glare and sending it back to her. Then, unable to win the glaring contest she had unwittingly entered, she turned and stomped back to the rear door and out to her car, snatching the keys from a hook near the door as she passed them.
"That open and unlocked back door is gonna have to change," Teddy rumbled.
"Don't get me started. Get in the car, and we'll talk," she snapped at him.
"I drive," his giant steps got him to the driver's side door ahead of her.
"We're not going anywhere. Besides, I have the keys," she dangled them in front of him, and he snatched them with lightning-fast reflexes. But, unfortunately, there was little room to manoeuvre in the tight parking space behind the shop, and she growled as he gave her little choice.
"Fine," she marched around the car and squeezed into the small gap between the door and the fence to slip into the passenger's seat.
"You said you weren't staying in town after you sold your Nan's house," Teddy accused her as she stopped him from pulling down the windscreen heat shield, which blocked her friend's view of the two of them. "I assumed you went back into hiding and pretended to be dead again. So, imagine my surprise to find out you had decided to stay."
"I never pretended to be dead. Not unless a dead girl sent you all those letters that you sent back unopened," she huffed. "Bet you had a good laugh about how long it took me to give up on you, but I did. I heard you loud and clear. You never wanted the arrangement between our families, and you had an easy escape clause, so you took it. I don't blame you, and I certainly have no intentions of holding you to something I don't plan to honour either."
"I never got any letters," he said incredulously. "Your Nana told me you died because the Kallikantzaros's blamed you for starting the war between the outfits when I went to give her my weekly letter to send to you even though you weren't writing back. I was pushing to find out what school you were in or even state so I could go and see you and make sure you knew how much I missed you when she told me you were dead."
"Seriously, you think my Nana tried to keep us apart? I didn't send my letters to her. I sent them to you, to your house," she sighed and rolled her eyes, willing herself to stay calm and not get emotional.
"The Slaugh fell pretty fast that year. My old man abandoned the house and went to the ground, and so did yours. Only your Nan refused to move. When the dust settled, the Kallikantzaro were decimated and gave up their cuts to history, with the remnants joining bigger clubs. The Sluagh, too, was gone, but your Nan rallied the folk she knew and reformed with a few smaller independent clubs into the Warrigals." Teddy explained.
