The beautiful brunette was quite busy and looked to be both surprised and excited to see us. The second she laid eyes on the two of us, I think we may have caught her off guard a little bit. When I thought about it, I kind of felt like a jerk for showing up unannounced since people like Cathy were probably under the impression that Bridget and I were a couple. I bet it looked mighty awkward for me to be walking in with Ashlee at my side.

“Follow me!” Bridget cheerfully commanded as she led Ashlee and I toward the booth I had been sitting at when I first met the amazing brunette. Upon being seated, I glanced around and realized we had taken one of the last available tables. I felt bad that my incredible friend had to be on her toes so much after barely getting any sleep.

Ashlee picked up the menu that was sitting in front of her and started to peruse it as she inquired, “Do you know what’s good here?”

“Cathy makes a mean burger with fried onions and pepper jack cheese on it,” I responded while watching Bridget run to a few other tables to make sure her customers were satisfied. I then placed my eyes on Ashlee and realized just how adorable she looked in the clothes she had selected to wear from our mutual friend’s closet. I wondered how a guy like me could get so lucky and end up with two women who truly wanted to see me happy.

Ashlee and I engaged in a little small talk after she decided on trying the burger. We were then interrupted when Bridget finally made her way toward us and delivered a couple glasses of ice water to us. Mine had a few lemon wedges around the rim.

“Sorry for the craziness, you two! It’s that time of day, though! I’ll come take your orders as soon as I can!”

“No worries,” I told my brunette friend. As hungry as I was, I knew I could wait a little longer since I didn’t want Bridget pushing herself too hard. I did, however, want to see Ashlee get some food in her, so I hoped it wouldn’t be too long.

The gothic beauty and I started talking about the future and what we hoped it would bring. We discussed her band briefly and how she knew they’d get along fine without her. We had been talking for no more than five minutes when she finally looked up from where she sat on her side of the booth and pointed out, “Holy shit, Marcus! You should see the creeper sitting on the other side of the joint by the back window! He looks like a first-class lurker!”

Since I was sitting on the side of the booth facing the front of the diner, I edged over a bit and glanced over my left shoulder at the man Ashlee had taken notice of…and instantly recognized my “friend” in the hooded cloak. He had the full ensemble on and was doing his best to keep his attention focused on his immediate surroundings. He looked just as peculiar as he had back in the strip club when I had seen him the first time.

I instantly turned back to face Ashlee and hoped that he hadn’t taken note of me. I was convinced that he had become aware of my presence when I had first entered the diner with my ravishing partner, but since he hadn’t attempted to flee the scene, I knew I had a chance to keep an eye on him. “Ashlee,” I spoke in a low voice even though the din of the establishment easily drowned my volume out, “I need you to do me a huge favor right now.”

“Of course,” the dark-eyed babe said. “Anything.”

The sweet woman was so genuine, which was just one of the many reasons why I would do anything to protect her and Bridget from the sycophant sitting only twenty feet away from me. “That man you just noticed: Would you keep an eye on him for me? If he so much as moves a muscle, could you tell me?”

The raven-tressed female sat perfectly still as her brown eyes glanced over at the man and then back at me. “I can do that. Why? Do you think you know him?”

“I saw him next door at the Treasure Chest the other night when I went to see Bridget,” I told her. “Something about him sticks in my craw. I don’t know if it’s the way he dresses to conceal his face or if it’s his very aura, but something about the guy isn’t right.”

“That goes without saying!” Ashlee matter-of-factly stated while glancing in the enigmatic man’s direction one more time. “I’ve seen my share of creepers from being on stage, but that guy really takes the cake!” She paused and took a drink of her water before adding, “Then again, maybe it’s because this is such a small town and I’m used to larger cities. He kind of sticks out like a sore thumb here amongst the locals. In one of the bigger cities I tend to play in, you see dozens like him before breakfast…if you’re up that early, mind you!”

I adored Ashlee’s carefree attitude. She was truly a woman after my own heart.

Bridget suddenly appeared and had her small notepad and pen at the ready. “Sorry about the wait, you two! So good to see you both, by the way! Thanks for stopping in to visit! It’s certainly made my day better!” She winked at me while speaking her last sentence.

“It’s great to see you too, Bridget,” I told the beautiful brunette. I had a lot more I wanted to tell her, but I knew that her place of employment wasn’t the best place to do so. I quickly ordered for both Ashlee and myself before asking the cutest waitress in the world, “Bridget, have you been waiting on that man at the table by the back window?”

The brunette started to look in the direction I had given her, but when she did so, I instantly regained her attention while lowering my voice and telling her to not draw attention to herself. Her face showed a bit of concern since I was coming off a little cuckoo. “What is it, Marcus? Do you know him?”

“Have you ever seen him around here before?” I whispered. I was glad that no one at any of the nearby tables seemed to be paying any attention to us.

Bridget did her best to look without looking again. She then answered, “I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“What about at the Treasure Chest?” I asked. “Has he ever come in to watch you dance before?”

“Not that I’ve noticed. Why?”

“He was the man I saw the other night when I came to see you,” I informed her. “He was the one I was trying to talk to before, well…he was the one I was trying to have a conversation with before knocking out poor Rutger.”

Bridget glanced back at the mysterious man once more before quickly turning away again. After receiving a better glimpse of him, she told me, “Martha’s been waiting on him, but if you’d like, I could walk over and see if he needs a refill or something. If there’s anything you want me to ask him…”

“Don’t go near him!” I hastily cut her short. “I don’t want you anywhere near that guy!”

By this time, Ashlee was starting to get a little spooked as well. “Marcus, I have to say you’re kind of scaring me. I know that guy looks out of place, but maybe he’s just some poor slob who’s down on his luck. Maybe he keeps that cloak wrapped about himself because he’s some destitute bum who has some nasty scars or nowhere to go.”

“Yeah,” Bridget agreed. “Maybe he’s cold or something…”

“This late in summer?” I asked the sweating brunette. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but I don’t think he’s wearing that cloak because he’s cold.”

Bridget was quiet for a moment before asking, “If he’s as dangerous as you think he is, should I maybe fetch the law? I could place a call…”

“Don’t do anything just yet,” I told the beautiful brunette as her voice trailed off. “Ashlee and I will have our breakfasts and keep an eye on him in the meantime. If he does anything suspicious, I’ll be right here to make sure he doesn’t hurt either of you.”

“What about the others?” Ashlee asked since the diner was full. “What if he’s some psychopath with a few firearms hidden under that cloak and decides to mow everyone in here down?”

“Or what if he has a collection of knives and has unbelievably accurate aim?” Bridget threw in a less likely scenario.

“You two are my only concern, but if he really is dangerous, I’ll do my best to put a stop to him before he can pull anything.”

“How?” The benevolent waitress then asked with a single word as her voice quivered.

“I have my methods,” I told the bountiful brunette. “Don’t be scared, okay? I might be overreacting about the whole thing.”

Bridget looked unsure, but nodded since she trusted me.

“I still say the guy is probably just some grub off the streets,” Ashlee gave her input. “Maybe some kind soul threw him a few coins and he decided to come in and have breakfast instead of eating out of the refuse bin from whatever alley he crawled out of.”

“Even if that was the case,” I spoke up, “Bridget would’ve seen him before. In a town this size, everybody knows everybody.”

Trying to think of anything but the suspicious man on the other side of the establishment, the wonderful waitress went back to what had been said about the first meal of the day and asked, “Are you guys sure you want burgers for breakfast? I mean, I know Cathy cooks them up pretty well, but wouldn’t you rather have an omelette or a cinnamon roll or something?”

I chuckled as I responded, “Nah. Like you said, Cathy makes a mean burger and I’d like to enjoy another one!”

“Okay!” Bridget said as she regained a bit of her perkiness. “I’ll go tell her to put two more burgers on! I’ll be back with you guys as soon as I can, all right?”

I thanked Bridget again before glancing back at Ashlee. I was about to ask her something relating to her band and about picking up her belongings, but she quickly cut me off and pointed to the other side of the diner.

“Oh, shit!”

I quickly spun around when I realized that Bridget had gone against my wishes…and had decided to encounter the cloaked man by asking if he needed his glass refilled. She was only trying to do me a favor by seeing if she could gain any possible information about him…and it almost ended in the worst way imaginable.

Everything happened so quickly that I can hardly recall the details. As I remember it, the brunette energetically approached the man and pointed at his glass, but before she could even finish her query, he lunged forward and reached for her. Everyone seated in the immediate vicinity heard her yelp as she fell back into a table and the rest of the establishment became aware of the commotion. By this time, I had already made my way to where everything was transpiring so I could aid her. Since everything was a blur, all I recalled seeing was that the beautiful brunette whom I loved so much was being attacked…and it made everything around me go red. I was in a rage, and as Ashlee ran over to check on Bridget, I grabbed the cloaked man and tried to decide how I would end him.

That’s when I was hit by something unexpected.

If I had to guess, I would say that the bastard caught me off guard due to my surprise when he ignited an actual fireball in my face. It happened rather quickly, and by the time I was dropped to the floor near Bridget, he was already halfway to the front door. I had charged in like a rookie, and I deserved to fall on my ass for such obtuse recklessness.

As the frantic customers in the diner started yelling and screaming, I was doing my best to make sure my eyes still functioned since the flash had been so bright. I could smell burnt hair because the flame had come so close to me, and since Ashlee had seen firsthand what had befallen me, she was quickly at my side and shouting.

“I’m fine,” I grumbled as I rubbed at my orbs and could see things coming back into focus. “How’s Bridget? Is Bridget okay?”

The brunette could clearly hear the desperation in my voice as she placed a hand on me. “I’m fine. Just a bruised elbow. My god, Marcus…he threw fire at you! Are you all right?”

I could hear the diner’s patrons and the workers who had come out from behind the counter as they all discussed what they had just witnessed. I even heard a few of them speak of sorcerers and wizards like they were commonplace. They were shocked by what had gone down.

“Marcus!” Ashlee called out as she knelt beside me. “Don’t get up yet! Take a minute to rest…”

“I can’t let him get away, Ashlee! He’s dangerous! He attacked Bridget and…”

“But he threw fire at you!” The brunette called out again in alarm. “How did he manage to conjure…”

“Nitrocellulose combustion,” I answered my brown-haired friend. “He used flash paper and a concealed lighter, and when releasing the strip of paper, it became lighter than air and floated upward in order to graze me since I was the closest thing to it. There wasn’t anything supernatural or mystic about it.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to go running off after that psycho,” Ashlee gave her opinion as she clasped onto my right arm. “Everyone else is all right and he’s gone…and I say good riddance.”

“But he’s still out there,” I told my two friends as the rest of the people who had been watching gave us a wide berth. “I can’t take the chance that he won’t come back and finish the job. He tried attacking Bridget in front of witnesses, so what’s to stop him from…”

“My necklace!” The frazzled brunette called out when she suddenly realized what had happened. “That man stole my necklace!”

The amethyst stone I had never seen leave Bridget’s chest was in fact gone. It was in that moment when I realized that the bastard had more than likely been scouting the bountiful brunette and had his sights on her necklace the whole time. I wasn’t sure what the significance of the piece of jewelry was, but it had more than likely been one of the family heirlooms that had been handed down to my brown-haired compeer…and I could tell it meant a lot to her. “I’m going to get it back,” I sternly told her.

Both women gripped my arms and held me in place. “No!”

“I can’t let that guy…”

“I don’t care about the necklace!” Bridget lied. “Just let it go, Marcus! It’s not worth risking your life!”

“My life means nothing next to yours,” I told the beautiful brunette. In my heart, I figured the mysterious individual was done with Bridget since he had what he had more than likely been after the entire time, but I couldn’t take that chance. “If that bastard comes back for you…”

“But what if he has other tricks up his sleeves you’re not prepared for?” Ashlee brought up a good point. “If he’s carrying around that kind of crap to produce fire, maybe he has something in his arsenal to throw lightning your way as well! Or maybe clouds of poison, or sharpened icicles…”

“I think we played too many games together as teenagers, Ashlee,” I told the raven-tressed beauty as I smiled at her. My eyes were already starting to feel better.

One of the people who had gathered around us suddenly stepped forward. It was an older woman well into her seventies, and when she saw that she had our attention, she asked, “Would you like us to call someone, sonny? Do you need someone to take a look at those eyes or burns?”

“I’m fine,” I answered the elderly woman as I placed a hand on my forehead to check my skin. I hadn’t even thought of the burns that may have scarred me, but both Ashlee and Bridget assured me that the flesh was just a little red. I had apparently been lucky.

Another man suddenly burst through the front door. He looked to be in his early twenties and was attired in the typical clothing that a man who spent his days tending to a vast stretch of farmland would wear. He looked visibly shaken by something, and upon stepping foot in the diner, he also appeared to be out of breath. “Holy Hannah! Buck and I were just out fueling the tractor and saw a curious feller tearing past the defunct train station! He was a crazy son of a gun who looked to be up to no good!”

I stepped forward and asked, “Where did he take off to?”

“He was running south along the train tracks out of town! He was going towards the woods!”

It made me feel a little better that the mysterious man was leaving the same way I came in through. It made me feel like he didn’t plan on coming back.

But even though I felt better, that wasn’t going to bring Bridget’s property back.

What was so special about the necklace, though? Was it valuable? Had the loon who pilfered it been hired by someone to nick it? That seemed farfetched since Bridget’s home was so far off the beaten path. In order for some rich collector to find out about her necklace, he or she would’ve had to have visited the village at some point in the past and seen her wearing it…but that seemed highly unlikely. It felt like this insignificant hamlet wouldn’t have been on anyone’s radar as a place to visit, and the citizens themselves acted like they didn’t see outsiders very often.

“Marcus! Stop! Where are you going?”

The two women were still gripping me as the other patrons of the diner stared at the two of them. I think some of them were beginning to wonder what the connection was between the three of us.

“Listen,” I said in a low tone so only the two women at my sides could hear me. “There’s a lot more to this guy than meets the eye. I don’t know if he came here of his own volition or if he was hired, but the last thing I’m going to do is let him get very far. Not only do I want to get Bridget’s necklace back for her, but I want to make sure he doesn’t come back…no matter what it takes.”

Ashlee had a hint of fear in her dark eyes. She had always known me to be the gentlest of souls, and in all honesty, I always tried to live that way. I didn’t enjoy seeing people hurt, and I avoided confrontations whenever I could not because I was timid, but because I didn’t want to physically harm anyone. Nevertheless, when people I cared for were endangered, I had methods of fighting back.

“Marcus,” Bridget’s sweet voice then broke into my thoughts as she glanced at all the people a few feet away from us whom she had known her entire life. “Marcus, I don’t care about the necklace, all right? Just let the guy go!”

I knew full well that the cloaked man could possibly be the notorious Nick I had been after. It made the most sense after seeing what he had been capable of. I’m sure many people would think me dense for not seeing it sooner, but those people weren’t in my shoes. Before this confrontation, I had only seen the man on one other occasion, and while he was suspicious, I couldn’t just throw all my eggs in one basket without first gathering more information. His recent behavior, though…well, it didn’t matter if he was Nick or not. I had to bring this guy down.

And the thing was, I could do it.

I was just thankful that Bridget wasn’t hurt when the cloaked man snagged her necklace. I was pissed that he had laid his slimy hands on her, but the fact that she was okay was all that truly mattered.

Ashlee and Bridget followed me as I made my way out to the street. I glanced in the direction of the woods and saw where the cobblestone road became gravel as it disappeared into the trees beyond. My quarry had gone south…

“Where are you going?” Bridget asked as she watched me start to cross the street. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going after him,” I replied as if the answer was obvious. I was about ten feet away from my pickup when I realized I was being followed. Both of the beautiful women who had given me the night of my life were directly behind me. “What are you…?”

“We’re going with you,” Ashlee replied in a voice that made her answer sound even more obvious than mine. “If you think we’re letting you out of our sight…”

“Ashlee, do you realize how dangerous this guy is?”

“I was there, Marcus. I saw what he did.”

“So how can you even consider…”

“You heard the woman, Marcus,” Bridget cut me off. “If you fully intend to go after this nutjob, you better not think for one second that we’re going to let you go alone.”

I should’ve known better…and at the same time, I could see why I loved both women so much. I had known Ashlee for more than half my lifetime, and I had known Bridget for less than a week. Still, I cared for both women in such an intense way and would do anything for either one of them. I had to admit that it felt damn good to know that they felt the same way about me.

Ashlee placed her hands on her hips and simply stared at me. “Well…?”

I reached into my left pocket and fished a couple things out. I then motioned for both women to put a hand out, and when they did, I handed each of them an earring.

As the two females gazed at the flint-colored trinkets, they exchanged bewildered glances before Ashlee was the first to gaze in my direction and ask, “What is this?”

“A gift from a loved one,” I responded. “Whatever happens in those woods, I need the two of you to keep them on you at all times. Is that understood?”

Unable to understand why I would make such a request, the vivacious duo decided to cooperate since they had concluded that I was conceding to their demands and allowing them to tag along.

“My pickup’s not the biggest,” I then spoke up, “So we’ll all have to squeeze together.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem!” Bridget exclaimed as she ran around the back end and toward the passenger’s door. “I get the middle!”

“Hey!” Ashlee called out. “How’s that fair? Aren’t you supposed to be working anyway?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle since both women were acting like schoolgirls fighting over their crush. I hoped they would take things seriously because I had a bad feeling that things would get ugly if we located our man. I had to be ready for a fight in order to protect my two lovely ladies.

                    *

I think I said it earlier, but sometimes life is funny in ways we’d least expect it.

After I fired my pickup up and backed onto the road, the three of us drove into the woods and had been driving next to the train tracks for no more than ten minutes when we saw something on the gravel up ahead. It was the last thing I would’ve expected to lay eyes upon, but it was there nonetheless.

My right foot pressed down on the brake as I parked my vehicle right in the middle of the road. I would’ve shut it off, but I wanted it running in case I was being lured into a trap. After opening my door and climbing out, I glanced at the two women to my right and told them, “You two wait here. If this is a setup, I want you to peel out of here and head back to town for help, okay?”

“Fuck that,” Ashlee said as she opened her door and also climbed out of the vehicle. “If you think for one second that I’m losing you after finding you…”

“I agree with Ashlee,” Bridget also defied me as she scooched her buns across the seat and climbed out right behind the goth chick. “Besides, we’ll have strength in numbers if we go together!”

I wanted to argue and tell the brave females to get back in the truck where it was safe since we hadn’t come equipped for battle, but the stench of charred flesh suddenly hit me like a wave. I could see that the girls had been affected by it as well.

“Oh, shit!” Ashlee called out as she placed a hand over her lower face in order to cover both her mouth and nose. “What the hell is that awful smell?”

The boughs of the trees above the gravel road were thick, but there was still plenty of light for us to work with. As I slowly crept forward, I surveyed the area and glanced through the wooded region beyond to make sure there wasn’t some kind of ambush awaiting us.

I think I failed to mention this before, but I actually kept a weapon in the bed of my vehicle. It was immensely powerful in ways I can’t even begin to describe, and if I thought for one second that I needed it, I would’ve pushed back the tonneau cover and had it in my grasp within seconds.

I held a hand back toward my two companions in order to gesture to them to stay back. Of course, they were their own women and weren’t about to listen to me.

I had been tracking Nick for quite some time. As I mentioned at the beginning of my tale, I hardly knew anything about him other than the fact that he was dangerous and didn’t seem to care about anyone other than himself. Once Bridget and Ashlee had become involved in my quest to hunt him down, I knew I had to be far more cautious about how I approached him if I eventually succeeded in finding him.

So imagine my surprise when I found what may have been Nick as nothing more than a pile of charred flesh and a burnt cloak.

Again, I motioned for the two women less than five feet behind me to stay back…and this time, they decided to listen. The closer we slunk toward the remains of the man who had stolen Bridget’s necklace, the stronger the pungent odor became. It was obvious that we were dealing with something beyond our understanding.

“Is that…is that I what I think it is?” Ashlee asked when I was within three feet of the remains.

I took two more steps and then started to squat down in order to have a closer look. I did my best to keep my nose covered as I looked the pile of black goo over. Fortunately, there was a stick lying not far from me on the gravel, so I reached for it and used it to move the cloak around a bit. All I found was more of the black goop. The thief had quite literally been reduced to a mound of darkened slime. By what, I couldn’t be sure, but I was glad I had given the earrings to the women behind me. I had my reasons for that.

Bridget was suddenly sick to her stomach. She ran to some nearby bushes to vomit.

I continued to poke at the runny remains as I tried to find the brunette’s necklace. I knew that even if I did recover it, we’d have to sanitize it for hours. As it was, I don’t think she’d ever want to wear it again if I actually uncovered it from the black slime.

“What…what the hell could have happened to him?” Ashlee queried as she tried to understand how such a fate could have befallen the man who had been in complete control of the situation only twenty minutes earlier. “He…he didn’t somehow manage to incinerate himself, did he?”

I knew that wasn’t the case. The man was a professional. He wouldn’t have screwed up in such an idiotic manner. No, someone had done this to him. Someone even more dangerous than he had been…

I stood up and looked around again. I then stepped back and grabbed one of Ashlee’s hands as I pulled her along and jogged toward Bridget. I was beginning to regret not grabbing my weapon.

“What’s going on, Marcus?” The gothic beauty asked me as I pulled both women in close. “Did you see something?”

I continued to scan the area and listen for sounds that weren’t forest creatures. I realized how quiet it had become…and I didn’t like it. “We’re heading back to the pickup…now!” I tightly gripped a hand of each woman as I started scurrying with them toward my black truck. We weren’t sticking around in that area any longer.

Bridget was downright terrified. I don’t know if it was because she never traveled much beyond the boundary of her small home or if it was because she knew that something terrifying was so close to her village. Either way, she didn’t put up a fight.

Ashlee’s head darted around as she tried to perceive what I knew to be lurking in that vast forest. I think she was scared, but she did her best to hide her fear.

When we reached my pickup, I made sure that both girls were in it and the door was shut behind them. I then bolted around the hood and hopped in behind the driver’s seat. Since I had left the vehicle running, I placed my hand back on the connected seat behind us and glanced backward out of habit as I started backing up. I was trying to be cautious since I wasn’t sure if anyone would drive up behind us, but I quickly remembered where we were and that the chances of seeing another automobile traveling through the area were slim to none. I swung the trusty black truck around on the gravel and turned it around so we could floor it back to Bridget’s home.

Knowing that it was okay to show her fear, Ashlee decided to finally speak up and ask, “Marcus, what the fuck was that all about? What did we just find?!”

I shook my head while running a hand across my sweaty forehead.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t exactly sure what the hell we had stumbled upon.

                    *

The three of us reconvened in Bridget’s living room after returning to town. We had discussed the possibility of heading over to the diner to set things straight with the brunette’s co-workers, but after what we had just witnessed, we weren’t ready to talk to anyone else just yet.

Bridget sat next to me on the couch as Ashlee paced back and forth in front of us. “What the fuck?” The goth chick asked since she was still confused about what we had seen. “I know that was the same guy because the cloak was the same, but what could’ve possibly happened to reduce him to a pile of muck?”

Bridget had a hand on her forehead and was looking at the floor. I’m pretty sure she wanted to completely erase the last hour from her mind. If I had to guess, she had probably never seen anything so terrifying in her entire life.

I leaned forward and cleared my throat as I explained, “For the last few years, I’ve been tracking down dangerous felons and other maniacs who pose a threat to society. I generally keep my distance and gather as much info as I can on said individuals so I can report my findings back to the law and set them on the right path in apprehending these lunatics.”

“Shouldn’t they be doing that themselves?” Ashlee asked out of anger since she didn’t want to see me put my neck on the line.

“Yeah,” Bridget quickly agreed. “Why would they send a civilian in to do their dirty work? You’re just a journalist!”

I scratched the back of my head as I came clean by telling the beautiful brunette, “Well, I’m a little more than just a ‘journalist,’ Bridget.”

My infuriated hostess sat up and crossed her arms over her ample chest. Her amber eyes pierced me as she angrily queried, “You lied to me?”

“I didn’t lie!” I told my friend. I was about to say more, but Ashlee quickly came to my defense.

“He’s not lying, Bridget. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about Marcus: The man’s incapable of lying.”

It’s not that I couldn’t lie if I had to…I just never wanted to. I had lied once to my father when I was younger, and he saw right through it. I learned my lesson from that incident and decided that it was far better to admit my shortcomings and endure the eventual consequences.

“Well, if that’s the case, then what is your occupation?” Bridget asked.

I cleared my throat as my eyes went back and forth between each woman. I finally told the beautiful brunette, “I guess the easiest way to explain it is that I’m something of an investigative journalist…something akin to a detective. I’m what’s called a ‘Ranger.’”

Even though the situation was undeniably serious, Ashlee couldn’t help but smile as she cooed, “Oooh! A private dick!”

I tried to keep our conversation professional as I told the lovely ladies, “I wouldn’t call myself a straight-up detective, but I have a similar skill set and do a lot of the same things…”

“Sooo…you’re a detective,” Bridget hung on her first word before flatly uttering the rest of her comment. She obviously didn’t think I was making a good argument against it. Flustered, the pretty brunette shook her head as she mumbled, “Damn it, Marcus! Why didn’t you say something sooner? Why the hell are you working in such a dangerous occupation? And what’s the whole ‘Ranger’ thing about?”

I know I had tried to get Ashlee to be serious just seconds before, but I ignored Bridget’s last question and tried my best to jest, “Well, to be perfectly honest, I’ve seen how the guys act at the Treasure Chest, Bridget. I think your job may be a little more dangerous than mine!”

She playfully hit my left arm. “Come on! I’m trying to be serious!”

“I’m sorry!” I chuckled as I slid away from her to retreat from her “attack.”

Ashlee decided to walk over and joined us by pushing me back toward Bridget and sitting on my right side. “I had no idea you had chosen such a dangerous occupation, Marcus. I have to say that I’m in agreement with Bridget on this one. Why did you choose such a frightening profession to go into…especially knowing how many people there are out there who love and care about you?”

“I didn’t really choose it. It kind of fell into my lap.”

Bridget didn’t seem to care much for my frivolity. “After seeing that man out there in the woods, I don’t think this is something you should stick with, Marcus.”

“What did you see that made you drag us back to the truck?” Ashlee cut in since she wanted an answer. “There was something out there that spooked you, Marcus. I could actually see it in your eyes…and it terrified me!”

I lowered my head while shaking it as I answered, “Honestly, Ashlee…I don’t know. You know how the hair on the back of your neck stands on end or the way you get goosebumps when you feel a presence or something you can’t explain?”

Ashlee remained silent while nodding.

“Well, there was something out in those woods watching us. Something we couldn’t see in broad daylight…and something I sure as hell couldn’t begin to explain. As menacing as I believed Nick to be, whatever was lurking out in those woods was ten times worse.”

“So Nick was the hooded guy?” Ashlee asked.

“I can’t be sure, but I think so. And if it wasn’t, maybe it was someone working for him and what I felt in the woods was the actual Nick.” I let out a sigh and glanced down at my feet. “I just don’t know.”

“Why do you think he wanted my necklace?” Bridget threw in a question of her own.

“I couldn’t tell you that either,” I answered as I glanced at the beautiful brunette. “Actually, I was really hoping you could tell me that.”

“I have no idea!” My gracious hostess replied. “Like most of the stuff in my house, it was something that’s been handed down throughout the generations in my family. I never heard any kind of story behind it that made it special…I just always thought it was pretty!”

“We never did find it on that cloaked nutjob’s body,” Ashlee chimed in. “Do you suppose we just didn’t look hard enough, or…”

I ran a hand through my hair as I ambivalently muttered, “I think whoever – or whatever – was in the woods took it.” I hoped my assessment wouldn’t upset Bridget too much.

The bountiful brunette remained strong and tried not to care too much about the eloquent piece of jewelry as she caught something else I had said and inquired, “If it wasn’t a person who had left that man in such a mess, what could it have possibly been?”

“I’m not sure," I croaked, "But it wasn’t something I would care to meet head-on.”

“Hell no, you wouldn’t!” Ashlee called out. “Just look at what it did to that hooded asshole!”

Upon hearing what the goth babe had called her attacker, Bridget shivered as she ran her hands over her opposite arms as if to warm them. When she thought about the enigmatic individual, she mumbled, “When he lunged at me to steal the necklace, the hood obscured most of his face…but I could see his eyes. There was so much hate behind them.” She paused for a minute before gazing directly into mine. “They were the complete opposite of yours, Marcus. When I look into yours, I see sensitivity and unlimited compassion.”

I placed an arm around the wonderful woman and pulled her in close. I gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before doing the same with Ashlee. I could see that they both enjoyed the gesture.

The gothic beauty was the first to speak when she finally inquired, “So now what? What do we do now?”

In all honesty, I had no idea what to do next. “Well, for starters, I suppose we should head back to the inn and collect your belongings…”

“I’m not talking about that, Marcus!” Ashlee inadvertently cut me off since she was so worked up over the recent events. “I’m talking about what we found out in that huge forest! Should we report it to the authorities here in town…or should you maybe bring in any of these other Rangers on this?”

I swallowed a lump in my throat since what I was about to say scared me to death. Ignoring Ashlee’s question since it led to something more important, I sternly told my ravishing companions, “Girls, I know what you’re both going to say, but after what went down out there, I have to hit the road again. I have to find out what did this, and I have to be sure that the remains we discovered did in fact belong to Nick. I have to know that what I saw…”

“We’re going with you, then,” Bridget cut me off immediately.

Ashlee quickly nodded in agreement. “I’m dropping everything for you, Marcus Veovin…so you can bet that sweet ass of yours that I’ll be tagging along as well!”

“Maybe you can make us secret agents like you or something!” Bridget added with a giggle. She tried to retain a sense of humor as she shrugged, “How hard can it really be to be a Ranger, anyway?”

I wanted the two women to be serious since I knew the road ahead would be fraught with peril. As much as I enjoyed their carefree attitudes, this was certainly not a time for wisecracks. I faced my brown-haired friend first as I told her, “In order to do what I have to do, I’m going to be doing some traveling; and by traveling, I mean I’m going to be going pretty damn far. Bridget, you have such a nice house here…”

“It’s paid for and will be here waiting for me when we come back,” the beautiful brunette informed me.

I raised an eyebrow as I pointed out, “When we first met, you told me you worked two jobs because you needed the money…”

“Everybody needs money, Marcus.”

I guess I had assumed she needed the coin in order to pay for her house. Perhaps Bridget had other things she needed the money for, and if that was the case, it wasn’t my place to pry. Still, I also thought about the brunette’s occupations as I reminded her, “And you have your jobs…”

“First of all,” the brown-haired babe cut me off, “If you plan on leaving any time soon, I’m going with you. If I have to leave my jobs…so be it. Besides, this may be an opportunity for me to get out and see a bit of the world!” Bridget paused for only a moment before her voice became somewhat meek and she pointed out, “And I’m not about to lose you, Marcus.”

“Me neither,” Ashlee chimed in since she wanted to remind me that she was there. “I’ve already told you that I’d leave everything to be with you…and I meant it. I don’t care how fucking dangerous you claim the road in front of you is because the three of us will meet it together. If we need to, I’m sure Bridget and I can pay our own ways, but regardless, we’re going with you.” The gothic chick smiled and reminded me, “Don’t forget: I was in a band of women who played nude onstage in front of grabby fans, so I know how to defend myself from grubby pervs! So, what do you say?”

I think both women thought I was going to make up some kind of excuse in order to convince them to remain behind. God knows I wanted to, but I felt the same way both of them did…and that was that I couldn’t go on without them. I had been on the road by myself long enough. I wanted someone to share those adventures with. I wanted special partners to watch my back the same way I would watch theirs. I wanted two companions whom I trusted more than anyone else in the world.

I had two pairs of eyes on me that were awaiting answers.

Placing my right hand on Ashlee’s left knee, I glanced over at Bridget and finally said, “I wouldn’t ask you to pack up your life and everything you have here to come with me, but if you would, I sure as hell would do everything in my power to protect you from all evil and make sure that your first time out in the world went without a hitch.”

Bridget’s smile became larger than I had ever seen it before.

I then faced Ashlee as I told her, “And if you’d still like to follow me into the unknown, I want you to know that I definitely wouldn’t turn you away. I’ll do everything I can to shield you from all the wickedness out there as well…although after the way you handled yourself back in the club last night, there’s a very real possibility that you might end up protecting me!” I smiled when thinking about the look on the man’s face who had been kicked right in the balls.

Ashlee threw her arms around me as she gave me one of the biggest and warmest hugs I had ever received. It didn’t take long for Bridget to join in from the other side. I savored the moment for all it was worth since I knew things weren’t going to be easy for us once we hit the road. No matter how prepared we were, there were bound to be formidable challenges standing before us.

Even though I knew we faced many ups and downs in the days, weeks, and months ahead, I’m happy to say that for the time being, I can finally end one of my tales on a happy note. In conclusion, I actually ended up with the girl for a nice change of pace…in fact, two of them! I certainly wanted to enjoy the moment while it lasted because, from past experiences, I knew that things had a way of going south in a hurry when I was involved. That’s a pessimistic attitude to have for sure, but we all know that history has a way of repeating itself.

However, I was ready to face any challenge head-on. I now had two wonderful cohorts to share in my adventures, and after I was sure that they were rested up and ready to hit the dusty trail, I knew there was nothing I wouldn’t do or stoop to in order to see to their safety. As long as I was alive and kicking, they would be too.

And there wasn’t a soul out there who wanted to fuck with Marcus Veovin when his ladies were involved.

END OF BRIDGET’S TALE