by Kiki Leach
"I don't know either, baby girl," he replied, "but you had better head on out before he loses his shit on one of us back in here as a result."
"But I don't--"
"Chey!" Snake called out to me in a tone so hard that it made every muscle in my body tighten like a rope full of knots.
Nix pointed behind me and knit his brows. "Head on out there. The shit becomes too much, call for one of us in here."
I nodded and blinked a few times to clear my eyes of any potential redness, then cautiously moved outside.
Chapter Four
Poker Faced Bargaining Chip
As soon as I stepped back onto the dirt at the base of the club, I noticed Rattlesnake leaning against the seat of his bike and dragging a cigarette from the inside pocket of his cut.
"What the hell is this all about?" I asked, hugging myself while approaching him. He ignored me while snatching a lighter from the front right pocket of his jeans to light up in silence. I loosened my arms and groaned. "Why did you want me out here and away from the other two members of your club, Jaxon?"
He wagged two fingers in my face while lowering his gaze back to mine. "You know that privilege will only go so far with your ass, Cheyenne."
"I understand that, which is why I used it in the way I did."
"My name?"
"Yes." I looked to the ground as my nerves sent my heart pumping like a freight train screaming down the tracks and stepped forward. "What the hell do you want from me out here?"
He readjusted himself against his bike and grinned in a way that let me know he was more amused than annoyed by my question, and exhaled. "I needed some open space 'cause the other two don't know what I do with regard to how you can possibly get the money to pay back the club," he said, "and they don't need to know shit about it for right now."
"What are you talking about? And -- Why?"
"'Cause they don't. When what needs to happen comes to pass, they'll be brought in, along with the rest of them later."
"How can I possibly get my hands on enough money to pay you back and why didn't you say anything about it before all of this?"
"'Cause I didn't know it could be possible 'til the shit from this morning."
"What you learned from Chino?" I asked. He nodded. "He told you about what happened with his son while also suggesting a way for me to get out of this mess with the club? That's convenient, I'd say. What is it?"
He took another drag from his cigarette, then gradually tipped his head back to blow out the smoke. "The shit might come at a steep price, Chey."
"Given who it's coming from, I'm sure. But it'll cost nothing to have me hear it out, I guess..."
He pointed at me again. "You're a smart one, you know that?"
"On some days, sure. Now how the hell can I get my hands on this money to pay back the club?"
He inhaled more of his cigarette and swallowed back the smoke this time. "Nikko," he replied.
"Chino's son? How?"
"The kid has gotta get married to somebody within the next eight weeks."
"And, what?"
"And that shit is the reason Chino was expecting for him to be outta Rikers within record time. Motherfucker has connections all over, but with his kid fuckin' up despite the reason being to save his own ass from getting shanked in retaliation, shit might be pushed back to keep from looking like he was set up to be bounced before what would've normally been allowed for somebody like him."
"What's 'somebody like him'?"
"You know why he got locked up in the first place?"
"Rox mentioned it to me."
"That's somebody like him."
"Oh. Well, this club doesn't exactly fuel itself with flowers grown from the gardens of Mother Teresa," I told him.
He leaned away from me and chuckled. "I'm not judging his shit, Chey -- I'm just letting you know what's up about it."
"And why is that?"
"It's beneficial to your ass 'cause he needs a wife for Chino's money."
"And I'm asking you why that is. And within the next eight weeks?"
"It's around the same time he'll be sent to prison for fraud and embezzlement, along with a host of other shit."
"Chino?!"
"Yeah. And everything around him needs to be locked down and secured for his kid before he's officially locked up for the next thirty-five years or so; maybe longer depending on this shit."
"Oh my God." My mouth hung open as my heart sped up to a nearly impossible rate. "How the hell did all of this manage to come about?"
He tightened two fingers around the center of his cigarette and brought it back up to his mouth, inhaling a few more times while kicking his right heel against the dirt. "That motherfucker on the inside seeking retaliation flipped on Chino to the Feds about a year after he was locked up; spilled the facts about him and a few other formers from within their crew stealing the identities of dead men from all over the country to keep his own hands clean and the green fresh, along with all those casinos being covers for running coke between the US and various parts of SA -- particularly Venezuela."
"If he had already flipped, what was the point in trying to take out Nikko as a form of retaliation against him now?"
"'Cause he was still pissed in Chino having yet to be locked up while he was stuck out there rotting away for life; the kid being close to him now was just enough." He paused. "But... that motherfucker was too goddamn smart for his own good, at least at the time; managing to dodge every bullet that came flying at him when the Feds would raid him out or have him and his people followed all over the city and beyond it; had him wiretapped to the goddamn high heavens and still couldn't catch shit."
"But they did eventually or else he wouldn't be going away for all of this now, right? So how the hell did it happen?"
"Lena."
I scoffed. "You're kidding."
"Nope."
"How?!"
He looked aside and arched a brow. "She and Chino used to hook up back in the day; they got together again and after one thing led to another--"
"Alright." I raised my hand to stop him from going further and rolled my eyes into my head while swallowing back the urge to vomit. "What the hell made her want to turn on him after the fact?"
"She went snooping around his place while he was knocked out on his own stash and found the stolen ID's and death certificates for those motherfuckers in a room upstairs that was normally locked to anyone but him."
"And yet she somehow managed to make her way inside? That's something."
"It shouldn't have been, but after she freaked in thinking he'd taken them out on his own, she dipped and went straight to the boys in blue."
"And said what exactly?"
"Nothing. Just gave 'em what they needed in the IDs and certificates, pointed the finger at him and took off. Once they dusted the shit for his prints, that was that."
"So Miss Thing did some classic snitching and ditching -- that's rich. And I'm guessing this is when she found Rox right after?"
"She got lucky in catching him just after he'd left here post-pussy, then loaded him up with enough coke to damn near kill an average motherfucker -- knowing he'd have to be on some shit to take from us outright."
"He didn't say anything about being coked out at the time this all happened."
"'Cause he didn't want you going in on that shit too, Chey -- none of us did."
"So you agreed to keep it quiet to spare me. Thank you."
"Don't be a goddamn brat about it," he snapped. "We did what the fuck we could but can't anymore with this shit."
"That's obvious. And yet the coke that was fed to him still can't save him?"
His shoulders lowered as a pinch between his brows tightened. "Chey--"
"Spare him like you tried to with me? Albeit poorly."
"Albeit nothing. I told you I can't let this shit ride like it's no goddamn thing. Coke or not, what he did is what he did and we're owed our goddamn due for it. It's not the first fuckin' time and
wouldn't be the goddamn last."
"I know that." I shifted my eyes along the edge of the compound and lowered my arms alongside myself. "How the hell did Lena even manage to know about the club having that kind of money to begin with? Did Rox spill it to her while he was high?"
"Your old man is steadily claiming that he didn't; says the shit of her knowing the exact amount we had locked away came from elsewhere."
"Do you believe him?" I questioned.
"Do you?" He inhaled more of his cigarette and peered.
"I don't know, much like I still don't know why Nikko needs to be married in order to get Chino's money."
"The dough needs to be dumped into a closed account with his wife's name being the only one attached to it; that way, the Feds won't touch it 'cause it'll look clean. Dirty money catches their eye -- shit that looks clean skates on by."
"Nice rhyme, but is Nikko aware of the fact that he needs to be married to someone for this reason?"
"He is, and he's good with that shit."
"Well, is he 'good' with the true reason as to the why behind it too?"
"He was good with what he knew at the time, which was some shit," he replied. "Chino planned to tell him the rest after he got out, but with him being unsure of when that might be now, he's letting him know about it today... maybe even right now."
"My dad didn't know about Lena and Chino hooking up, did he? I mean, he doesn't know that everything that's gone down has somehow managed to circle back to her."
"He knows she's somewhat of a link, but not the extent. What he doesn't know is about Chino being sent away in eight weeks -- not yet." He paused and took in a breath. "Motherfucker is lucky ol' boy didn't snap on his ass when he told him what was up in why he needed that cash from him to pay us back in the first goddamn place. But looking after Nikko was more important for him, that was his main concern."
"And what's your main concern with all of this now, Snake?" I stared up into his face and pushed my brows together.
He soured. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"In telling me all of this."
He made a face while showing me his hand. "The shit's not been made clear in what I'm saying?"
"Perfectly in the fact that you think I should give up part of my life to marry a criminal for you to get paid. But what the hell do you expect me to do now? Head back to Rikers and drop to my knee in front of this person with a ring from the inside of a Crackerjack box?"
"I didn't ask you for all of that shit--"
"You didn't have to because you're all but saying it in bringing me out here to ramble about this bullshit in private. And it isn't about not wanting the other brothers to know how I could get the money for your club so much as it's about you being terrified to let them know the facts behind it. Because you know that Nix will never sign off on this and Taz will lose his mind. Not to mention my father."
"The shit wouldn't last for any longer than a few months."
"You say that as if it's no time of my life being snatched away in favor of your club."
"It wouldn't be that much goddamn time," he said. "Not with you getting a portion of the cash as soon as the shit between you is made official."
"And how much would that be?"
"I don't know the details -- Chino didn't mention 'em straight out."
"Another thing that's managed to be convenient about him--"
"But he said that Nikko's wife would see enough to keep them grounded for six months flat out."
"Six months?!"
"They make it without issue until their first anniversary, and they get the rest."
"That could be anything -- And at any time. And you don't know when he's getting out, so then what? I'm stuck being married to someone behind bars that will probably never let me leave him because my name is on an account filled with the money that his father earned in blood. Why the hell can't he just hire someone to dump the funds into an offshore account under a dummy?! Give me what I need after a quick careless ceremony and let me disappear back into my life in California?"
"'Cause no one he hires would have a goddamn thing to lose as much as he does; and everything else is frozen offshore as it is," he replied, dropping his cigarette to the ground and smashing the lit tip along the edge of his steel-toed boot. "The Feds looked into all that shit, which is why the casinos have been shut down, and why what hasn't been snatched up already will need to go straight to Nikko's wife."
"I don't want anything to do with this shit," I snapped.
"You also don't have too much of a goddamn choice, Cheyenne."
"I have a choice in leaving."
"Cheyenne--"
"This man dropped three people right in front of me, Snake!" I threw a hand out beside him and angrily wagged my head. "Are you understanding what I'm saying here?"
"Yeah--"
"He snapped the neck of another man and put people to sleep forever. And you want me to marry him in order to sign my name to a pile of blood money that's likely to bring me more harm than good?"
"Your old man is responsible for bringing this shit to our front door." He pointed. "Don't you keep forgetting about it."
"I'm not."
"Fuckin' seems that way in how you keep running off at the goddamn mouth about it."
"What the hell else am I supposed to do?! Remain quiet about my life continuously getting flipped inside out because of him and this club?!"
"We're your goddamn family. You should be grateful as fuck--"
"For what?!"
His chin dropped as his eyes wiggled inside their sockets. "THE FACT THAT WE DIDN'T DROP THAT MOTHERFUCKER ON GODDAMN COMMAND!"
"Are you being for real?!" I crouched to my knees while throwing out my hands for the second time and rattling my head. "THE ONLY REASON YOU KEPT HIM ALIVE IS BECAUSE TAZ ASKED YOU TO!"
He deeply inhaled, then gradually released it while lowering his hand and swallowing back a gulp. "That ain't the only goddamn reason."
"Then what?"
His phone started buzzing before he could respond; his eyes closed in mild frustration as he grit his teeth and threw a hand inside his back pocket, yanked out his phone and flipped it open without ever bothering to look at the number scrolling across the screen. "Yeah." He barked the word while turning from me, then stepped around the corner of the club.
I latched onto my keys and rushed to my car with sudden tears spilling out from the corners of my eyes.
"Wait up, Cheyenne!" I stopped moving and quickly wiped my face when Nix called out to me, then cursed before turning back to him and raised a hand above my head to block out the rays of the sun.
"What is it?"
He rushed forward and jerked his chin, then pointed behind himself while studying my face. "Prez take off somewhere out here?"
I looked aside and pointed. "He moved around the back to take a phone call."
"You know who it was?"
"No."
He nodded while continuing to stare at me and wrapped his hands around his stomach. "What kinda shit was he wanting you out here for?"
"To talk about Rox and his place within the club, or lack thereof now."
"Yeah?"
"And the money... he's giving me somewhat of a reprieve on it."
"What kind?"
"Chey!" I glanced over Nix's shoulder as Rattlesnake made his way back around to us, tossing his phone back into his pocket. Nix lifted a brow and glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Your old man is wanting to see you back out there."
"For what?"
"Some shit he's claiming he needs to talk to you about in person."
"Was that him on the phone just now?" I asked. "Did he say why he needed to see me again so soon?"
"All I know is that you need to head back down there. Whatever the fuck it's about, you'll learn it soon enough." He turned on the ball of his foot and headed back toward the club.
"Hey!" He stopped and rested his hand along the edge of the door as I hollered out to hi
m. "What you said before about me getting that money..."
He whipped his head back around to me and crinkled his nose. "We'll talk more about that shit after you're back from Rikers." His gaze shifted to Nix, who eyed me with a scowl.
"You okay, baby girl?" Nix raised a hand to my arm and dipped his head forward with concern. "You need anything I can get?"
"I'm fine," I replied with an openly brazen smile, hoping like hell he couldn't see the pain building up behind my watery eyes. "Whatever this is with Rox again, I'm sure it's something asinine that could wait if he actually let it--"
"What the hell did Prez have you out here talking about, Cheyenne?" His head tilted as he arched his brows. "Some kinda shit that the rest of us would be better off knowing about too?"
"I..."
"Yo, SGT!" Rattlesnake snapped, his hard voice booming across the lot.
Nix sucked in the deepest breath he could gather, then gradually released it before turning on his heel to face him with a plastered smile. "Yeah, brother?"
"I need you in here for some shit to help get ready for church while I deal with ol' girl in the back." He dipped his head inside the club and twisted his face in fury. "Call up the rest of those assholes and tell 'em to get here within the next hour and all that."
"Alright, yeah--"
"Now, brother." His voice firmed as his eyes narrowed. "Let Chey head back to her old man and see what's up with him. If the shit's dire enough, she'll come back and let us know about it."
"Okay, yeah," he replied in a tone so dour that it rattled my bones; then he gently squeezed my arm before lowering his hand completely and balling a fist. "Any shit goes down out there that you don't wanna be part of, don't hesitate to hit up my cell."
"I think I'll be fine, but--"
"Doesn't matter. I can come down on my own or we'll send out the entire goddamn crew for you."
I nodded while smiling and mumbled, "Thank you."
"Always, baby girl -- always. You know we'll be here for you no matter what, 'specially me." The words hit hard enough to nearly knock me off my feet.