Chapter Forty One

"So this is it?" Sophia asked, feeling much less excited than she had when they had first started out this morning.

"This is it for you," Damon said, his eyes narrowed as he watched the man sitting on a bench in the park, watching women jog past.

Sophia studied the man, scowling as he grinned as another jogger ran past him. "I can do more than this. This is boring. I can find out where he lives right now and we won't be stuck following him around all afternoon."

"Like what?" Piper said, popping her head up from between the seats.

"I could go flirt with him or something," she muttered. "He knows you so it isn't like you could do it. Besides, you look like you're thirteen."

Piper snorted. "You're an ass. But seriously, that's not a half bad idea."

"What? Are you fuckin' crazy," Damon hissed. "You ain't talkin' to that piece of shit."

Sophia ignored him. "What should I say to him?"

Piper shrugged. "I don't know. Just wing it. Act interested. Get him to talking and then just go from there."

"You aint' goin' over there!" Damon barked.

"Okay. And then I'll try to get him to give me his address, try to figure out as much details about his place as possible?"

Piper nodded. "Exactly. And while where at it, roll up your window and climb back here for a second."

"Do you guys even hear me? Am I some kind of ghost?" Damon grumbled.

"What for?" Sophia asked Piper.

"We can swap shirts. You look like you're going to go play golf. Trust me, it isn't sexy at all."

Sophia looked down at her blue and white striped t-shirt. "I do not."

"Just get the fuck back here, jeeze!" Piper snapped.

Despite Damon's avid protests Sophia climbed over the seat, kicking him in the head on accident. Piper was wearing a black tank top that showed just a few inches of mid drift. Sophia was a lot taller than her so she would be showing more skin. Without missing a beat Piper pulled the shirt off and handed it to Sophia. Sophia glanced at the front seat but Damon was probably not willing to risk looking at his cousin topless just to get a peak at her. She whipped her own shirt over her head and hurriedly put Pipers on.

"I can't wear this!" She hissed, looking down. The shirt was much too small on her.

"Shut up and put this on too," Piper said as she unbuckled the black studded belt she was wearing.

Sophia did as she said and then straightened her hair a little before she got out of the car. They were parked behind some heavy brush on the other side of the park so Dave probably wouldn't see them. She tugged on the front of the shirt but it just popped right back into place. She felt uncomfortable.

Damon got out, his eyes flashing angrily until he really took her in. He finally looked up at her face and she flushed. He shook his head and tugged her closer by the belt. "If he fuckin' touches you then you get your ass back over here and tell me."

Sophia nodded and then jumped when piper popped her head out the back window. She laughed. "You look like a total slut!"

Sophia scowled. "Because you made me!" She walked away then, making her way towards the man that could very well get Daryl sent to prison. She learned that he was a twenty four year old wanna be. He was a cling on that would sometimes do favors for the MC. In return they let him show up to parties every now and then. He was a leach, just like Ed was. They also learned that their MC wasn't the only one he was involved with.

She almost faltered when he looked up as she approached. He smiled and she had to force one of her own. His eyes lingered on her chest but she forced herself to remain calm. This was her idea and Damon wasn't far away. If this guy tried to get handsy with her then he would be there in a second. "Mind if I sit?" She asked, clearing the nervousness from her throat.

"Of course not, beautiful. Free country." He grinned. "I'm Da... Er... Ben."

Internally she rolled her eyes. How insanely lame. "Thank you. It's hot out today."

"Actually, it just got a little bit hotter. What's your name sweetheart?"

Did this guy actually think this worked on women? "Sierra," she held out her hand and managed to shake his without wiping it off on the grass. That was actually the name of Damon's pet tarantula.

"You mind if I ask you how old you are?" Dave asked, like she had already agreed to go on some date with him.

"Eighteen. I just moved here a few weeks ago from Atlanta. Starting college in the fall. So far I haven't really met anyone."

"Oh now, I find that hard to believe. Pretty thing like you should have the boys knocking down the doors for a date."

She actually flushed at all his gushing. This guy was so completely clueless that she almost felt sorry for him. "So, let me guess," she flashed him a smile. "You've lived here your entire life, have a ton of friends and never have to talk to complete strangers in a park just for a little socialization?"

He shook his head. "Afraid not. I've been here for a month or so. Got myself into a little trouble back home and had to relocate."

She scooted a little closer, widening her eyes. "That sounds dangerous. You aren't some fugitive hiding from the law are you?"

He laughed, seeming quite proud of himself for being able to reel her in with his story. "Actually, the law is who put me here in the first place. See, there was this biker gang back in my hometown. A real nasty bunch of men. Well, I found out that they were doin' some real low down illegal stuff and I confronted them about it. I got in a fight and really messed up one of them. I got arrested for it actually. After that the whole lot of them were after me. I was getting death threats. They even threatened my old grandma down in Savannah. I wanted to take them all, you know? But the cops wouldn't let me. Said it'd be too dangerous. So here I am. New state, new town."

Sophia had never wanted to spit so bad in her life. Every little thing this man just told her was a damn lie! She knew exactly what happened and it wasn't what he just said. "That has to be the bravest thing I've ever heard in my life," she breathed.

He nodded. "Yeah well, sometimes when a man sees wrong in the world, he has no choice but to act, you know?"

Sophia nodded. "Of course, but it would take so much to do something like that. And now those men, what will they do to you if they ever find you?"

He shrugged but there was no mistaken the flash of fear in his eyes as he glanced around. "Oh I'm sure they would take me out."

"Oh my God, that's so scary." Maybe she needed to tone it down just a little bit.

"I guess I'm just that used to the danger, darlin'." Okay, maybe not.

They sat there in silence until she thought enough time had passed. She turned her body towards his. "Look Ben, I know this may seem forward since we just met and all but can I ask you a question?"

His syrupy smile never wavered as he leaned his arm over the back of the bench and actually moved some of her hair from her shoulder. She forced herself not to flinch, or throw up. "Ask away."

"It's been so rough here, not knowing anyone and all. Would you mind if I stopped by your place later? Maybe have a few drinks? Listen to some music? I'll understand if you aren't interested. I know how this makes me look. I've just been so lonely since moving here."

He lost some of his cool then, turning into the bumbling idiot that she knew he was deep down. "My place? You wanna come over to my place?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

"Well, hell yeah! But are you sure you're eighteen?"

She laughed. "Would it help if I showed you some ID?"

He actually nodded. "Yeah. I knew this guy that got involved with this girl one time, didn't know how old she was and ended up getting thrown in jail. That makes a man jumpy."

She stood up then, took a deep breath and then turned, angling herself so he had a view of her butt. She felt gross doing it but she was to the point where she would do almost anything to help Daryl at this point. Even let a man ogle her backside. She made a show of checking her back pockets but, of course, came up empty handed. "Now what did I do with my wallet?" She mumbled to herself. She reached into the small purse and double checked it. When her eyes came up to meet his she noticed he was sweating. The butt thing must have really worked. What a sicko. "I can't believe this. I must have left my wallet at the motel. Can I just bring it with me when I come?"

He nodded eagerly. "Hell yeah. Will you remember the address?"

She reached into the purse and pulled out a pen, handing it to him. "Can you write it down for me? I would die if I forgot it."

He took the pen and then she sat down again, closer than before and offered the palm of her hand. He grinned and quickly scribbled his address down.

"Your number to, if you don't mind."

"Right. Yeah. My number," he muttered, adding it to her hand.

She stood up, smiling coyly. Or trying to smile coyly anyway. She didn't know what the hell she was doing. "It was so nice meeting you... Ben."

"You too, gorgeous." He winked. "I'm lookin' forward to hanging out."

"Oh me too. You have no idea." She smiled, waved and then turned. As soon as her back was to him her smile slid from her face and she grimaced. She could feel his eyes on her so she forced herself not to take off towards the car at a sprint. Once she was back at the car and knew he couldn't see her she opened the door and slid in.

"What did he say?" Piper said as Damon left the park.

"He's so gross," Sophia hissed.

Damon turned his head sharply. "What'd he do?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. He's just a total creep. I got his address though, if that helps."

Piper whooped. "Are you serious!"

Sophia nodded. "Yeah. I'm suppose to go to his place tonight to hang out." She cringed.

"Then you have to go to his place tonight and hang out," Piper said quickly.

"What!" Sophia and Damon said in unison.

"Well, you can't just make plans with the guy and then not show. He'll get suspicious. If he gets suspicious then he might leave again or talk to the cops about it, you know? Then he'll get moved again and it took us more than a fucking month to find him. And you both know that we only have a month left to shut this guy up."

"She can't go in there by herself. This guy's dangerous," Damon argued.

"The guy is an idiot but he didn't seem dangerous," Sophia argued, even though she didn't want to go to his house.

"We'll just get our asses back to Georgia and talk to Buck. He can handle it quick," Damon said, turning onto the interstate.

"Do you really think that Buck talking to him is going to get him to change his mind about testifying?"

Damon glanced into the rear view mirror then, meeting Piper's eyes. "I'm sure Buck can be pretty persuasive."

Sophia sighed and looked out the window, missing the guilty look shared between Piper and Damon.

I'm happy to say that the next chapter has some feel good Caryl moments. I feel your pain. Hell, I wrote the damn story and I still hate how much time they've spent apart. Anyway, thanks again for reading. I'll update again later on =)