A Savage Kinda Love

by Kiki Leach

  "He can," she replied. "And you can get as close to him as possible from the outside."

  "How the fuck long will he have to stay behind that thing?" asked Nikko.

  "The doctor will determine depending on how he reacts to the treatment. Excuse me."

  After she backed out of the room and closed the door, I released Nikko's hand and scurried to Rox's bed, stopping at his side before I could hit the 'bubble', which looked liable to pop at even the hint of a sneeze.

  He peeked at me after realizing I was near and arched his brow. "Took me nearly dying like a muthafucka for you to finally give a damn," he muttered.

  "I've never not given a damn about you," I said. "You've only ever made it easier to give less of one."

  His eyes closed as he exhaled. "Sorry about this shit happening the way it did; I see you still in your dress...?"

  "You shouldn't apologize unless you did it to yourself, which I don't think happened?"

  "It didn't." He frowned. "Are you and Nikko married, Cheyenne?"

  "No. I got word from Deborah about you before we could make it down the aisle."

  "Is she still here?"

  "As far as I know, she left after hearing that you hadn't died on the table." I soured. "Why the hell was my name replaced with hers as your emergency contact?"

  When his eyes reopened, he gulped. "Taz paid one of those muthafuckas to have that shit changed when he came to see me last night."

  "Taz?" I blurted. Nikko moved in next to me and grumbled while staring into Rox's face. "Why the hell did he come and see you? Does he know why this happened?"

  "He came to see me about some shit to do with the club -- my patches and whatnot. I don't know if he's got a clue as to why the fuck this shit happened to me."

  "He would have to know something in order to change your emergency contact from me to his mother the night before this happened -- something he sure as hell didn't want me finding out on my own. And I thought your patches were burned before you were put inside?" I paused as he fell silent. "Do you know who the hell did this to you and why?"

  "Some set up shit from the inside."

  "What does that mean?"

  "Elias..."

  I looked to Nikko as he scrunched his face.

  "That son of a bitch had this shit done to you?" he asked.

  Rox took in another deep breath. "He knows who did this shit to me... he knows why."

  "But he didn't tell you?" Rox shook his head. Nikko brought his hands to his waist and glowered. "Shit."

  "You don't have the faintest idea as to who could be involved?" I stated. "Chino -- Snake? Ronaldo?" Radio silence overtook him for a second time; he grit his teeth. "Dad."

  "Cheyenne, I don't fuckin' know," he replied. "But I'm telling you that Elias does."

  "What good does that do either one of us on the outside?!"

  "Baby." Nikko slinked his hand around my arm and walked me across the room.

  "What is it?"

  "I need to head out and see that motherfucker for myself."

  "What?!" My eyes nearly flew out of their sockets and into his face. "Why?!"

  "If he knows who the fuck is behind this and why the fuck it happened to your old man, it could be the kinda opening we're looking for in order to end what's left of this shit before it's taken further or we're both dead."

  "Nikko -- that man tried to have you killed already because of another one currently fuming that we didn't make his dreams of running off to Disneyworld with your money come true today! You don't think going back to Rikers in the wake of what happened to Rox, there's a chance he'll be expecting it and prepared to have you officially taken out this time?"

  "Me going to see him about this shit is a lot less dangerous than you seeking out Ronaldo, Cheyenne."

  "Says who -- Your ego?"

  His shoulders relaxed as he looked away from me and sighed. "Baby--"

  "I'm sorry. But I don't think that you going back there is the best idea -- especially right this second."

  He wrapped his hands around my face and lowered his eyes to meet my gaze. "You need to talk to Taz on this shit while I'm gone."

  "Nik--"

  "Find out what the fuck he knows with your old man and his mother... and Chino. Maybe Ronaldo if you can." I swallowed hard as he caressed my cheeks, as tears filled my eyes and I rattled my head. "I am going back to Rikers and I'm gonna get my own answers. We've gotta come out on the other side of this shit."

  "Coming out isn't my concern so much as the way it happens when we finally do."

  "I don't believe there's a chance we won't be there in one piece."

  "You keep saying that--"

  "'Cause it's the goddamn truth. Stay with your old man for now. I'll meet you back at home tonight."

  He kissed me with a passion so deep, I nearly fell away from him in a faint.

  Once I regained feeling in my mouth, arms and hands, he pulled back and hurried from the room. I tapped my fingers against my lips as they burned with the fire left behind from his own, then folded my arms and stared at the floor.

  "Do you know anything about the son that Deborah shares with Chino?" I asked.

  Rox shuffled against his mattress and gripped the arm of his bed. "I know it's possible..." He pushed one of the buttons near his headrest to call for a nurse. "I know it's possible that he just ran outta that goddamn door."

  "What?" My head whipped back around to him. I frowned and blinked almost too furiously to keep up with the thoughts of what he had just said suddenly racing through my mind like the feet of a horse in relay. "What the hell are you talking about?"

  "Nik..." He sank his head into the pillow and mumbled. "Muthafucka has been chasing a goddamn ghost all this time."

  "Who the hell told you this?!" I snapped. His eyes rolled back as his head fell to his shoulder; his hand slipped from the arm of his bed and into his lap. "Dad!"

  When a wild beeping sound followed by a sudden flatline filled the room, a pile of nurses rushed inside, one of whom walked me into a corner while the remainder rallied around Rox's bed, hollering names and phrases that flew above my head as they reached for equipment and lowered the plastic from his face to his waist.

  "What the hell is happening?!" I called out, my voice expanding with fear as tears quickly spilled from my eyes. "He was fine two seconds ago!"

  "Ms. Cunningham?" The nurse eased her hands around my arms and looked directly into my eyes. "It's possible that he's gone into cardiac arrest."

  "What--?!"

  "The doctor is on his way," she continued, "but in the meantime, we need you to wait outside." I felt somewhat ill after stepping out of his room and leaned against the wall to keep myself from falling directly to the floor. "Ms. Cunningham?!" I rattled my head. "Ms. Cunningham, do you need anything?"

  "A bottle of whiskey if you have it," I replied. "And access to the nearest phone."

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Desperado

  Nikko's POV

  Nikko closed his eyes as the smell of fresh blood soaking into the concrete of Rikers courtyard poured into his system like a high-level drug. With the taste of rusted steel painting his lungs, he parted his lips and sucked in a breath deep enough to collapse him where he stood, then exhaled and crossed his arms, folding his hands beneath to keep them in place.

  "YO! YOUNG BUCK!" He turned at Elias' gravelly voice and arched a brow at his full grey beard, wild green eyes and slick balding head.

  As the old man hobbled onto the courtyard with help from a guard, Nikko moved toward him and shrugged. "Was meeting out here some kinda symbolic shit for you?" he asked. "Blood and all?"

  "Nah, just more private. That other shit was from a fight that went down this morning between two pricks side fuckin' the same bitch." Elias opened his mouth to laugh aloud as the guard removed his handcuffs and slapped a hand against his back.

  "You know the drill," he muttered.

  "And the shit never stops paying, even for this." Elias slid a f
olded one-hundred-dollar bill inside the guard's other hand and stepped across the yard. "See you when I fuckin' see ya."

  The guard grunted after stuffing the bill into his pocket and looked to Nikko. "He's only getting 30 out here. Make good use of that time without any more bloodshed on your end."

  Nikko whirled away from him as he left the yard and closed the gate, then refocused on Elias, who lowered to a squat in front of the blood and brushed his fingers along the edge of each drop.

  "They'll be cleaning this shit up soon." He looked over his shoulder and lifted his chin. "You heard what the fuck happened to your girl's old man?" Nikko nodded. "And that's why the fuck you wanted to see me out here today?"

  "We didn't become official because of it. Rox says you know who the fuck it was and why he was the target."

  "I do?" He stood up and wiped his hand across his orange jumpsuit, then looked toward the family room and made a face. "Your old man still looking to be thrown in here soon? 'Cause I'm looking to have more time with that shit."

  "I just told you that me and Cheyenne didn't become official today. The old man isn't going away before that happens."

  "Is that the deal he made? Along with snatching up your money as soon as Cheyenne signs the papers to have it all handed over to you?" He chuckled. "You taking out those three motherfuckers wasn't something I thought could be possible -- even with Dog's help."

  "He's dead now," replied Nikko. "You know anything about what the fuck happened to him?"

  "That was your old man, which I know for a goddamn fact."

  "How?"

  "Dog knew once he was being put outta here that his time was gonna be up and Chino would be the reason behind that shit; I know you think I had some kinda part in what played out, but that motherfucker was getting too goddamn close in figuring out more of what your old man had planned for himself once you were locked down with pussy; he never expected you to actually fall in love with it."

  "What the fuck else was he planning for?"

  "Himself, and his girl." Elias folded his arms as Nikko's fell. "Rox told me about Chino and that Prez riding pussy from the Renegades sharing a kid together. Deborah, hm? The mother of the club's current VP?"

  "You know who she is?"

  "I'd seen her hanging around back in the day; she was on your old man's cock like a bitch in need of water anytime he came floating around; Snake didn't seem to like that shit too much -- broke it up whenever the fuck he could." He snickered. "They had some serious shit going on that made him and your mother look like Ozzie and fuckin' Harriet in comparison."

  "What the fuck do you know about their kid?"

  He looked across the yard and shrugged. "I know that he exists."

  Nikko swallowed hard and locked his jaw. "Did Dog know the truth about this shit? About the kid -- Who it was?"

  "I got the feeling he had learned something about it before long -- another reason your old man had to make sure he was put down; also why I tried getting him into a place I didn't think your old man could touch so goddamn soon after--"

  "You were fuckin' wrong," he blurted. "That old asshole killed Benny in the middle of his own goddamn office -- Dog meant shit to him in comparison."

  Elias nodded. "I heard about Benny from Ronaldo during one of his visits; asshole was shifty as hell, but that's one fuck of a way to go out."

  "Ronaldo's been out here lately?"

  "Every goddamn day for the last two weeks checking in."

  "On what?"

  "Progress."

  He sneered. "With what, old man?"

  "Whatever shit he's got cooking with Chino and the money he's still owed for helping you get the fuck outta here."

  Nikko rolled his eyes into his head and groaned. "Shit."

  "And if anybody was tryna smoke out Rox, it was the asshole still looking for the right answers and getting nothing but shit in return on what was supposed to be given to the club."

  "Do you know who the fuck he was looking to get information on from Rox? The shit about him possibly being spared if he gave the Gambiano's something about another motherfucker?"

  He thought for a moment and gradually rattled his head. "Maybe Taz -- maybe you from what I was told... not sure."

  Nikko frowned. "What the fuck about me?"

  "Not sure on that shit."

  His eyes narrowed. "Rox doesn't have the money that Ronaldo and his brother are looking for; Snake has the shit stashed somewhere for himself."

  "And you know that for a fuckin' fact -- You or your girl can prove it?" he asked. Nikko pinched his mouth, refusing to say another word. Elias wagged his finger and stepped back. "That's the problem with this shit -- A lotta fuckin' talking without proof to back up what the fuck is being said." He paused. "Rox ever let you know about the deal that went bad between him and the Gambiano's?"

  "The bones in the river shit; I don't know anything beyond that."

  "It was black market shit," he retorted. "Babies being sold to wealthy couples off record for cash."

  Nikko sighed. "Jesus Christ."

  "Rox was used as a transport in getting both them and that money to and from their destinations; the motherfucker pulling strings between 'em is the asshole that got clocked."

  "Who the fuck took him out and why?"

  "Ronaldo, after they found out he was keeping some of that earned cash for himself. Problem was when they tossed what was left of him, it wasn't certain the shit they were doing would drown with his ashes. Rox knew it and used that shit to get out before he could get snatched by the Gambiano's or his club; Ronaldo had to make sure that asshole wouldn't keep running his mouth about it more than he had already."

  Nikko pressed his hands together and anxiously tapped them against his forehead. "How much is Ronaldo paying to keep those bones from being found? 'Cause nobody has reported on shit since I was told."

  "A stacked combo of what he's still looking to get back from both Chino and the Renegades." He stopped as Nikko lowered his hands and exhaled. "You know one of those babies being transported to a 'childless couple' back then was Deborah's kid." Nikko frowned. "It was a rarity 'cause he was the first and only one for 'em born in the states -- down in New Orleans."

  "And you don't know shit about who the fuck it is?"

  "Me having an idea and knowing about it for a fact aren't one and the goddamn same."

  "Bullshit, old man. Telling me about it means you know the truth beyond the shadow of a motherfuckin' doubt."

  "Even if I did--"

  A bullet ripped through his spine, shattering the back of his throat before another word could be said.

  Nikko jumped back as blood spewed from his mouth onto his jumpsuit, as the old man wrapped his hand around his throat and sank to the ground, all but drowning in his own blood.

  "Shit!" Nikko quickly removed his tuxedo jacket and dropped to his knees, rolled Elias on his side and pressed the jacket against the back of his throat.

  While he gasped for air around the bullet, more blood gushed from his mouth. Nikko eyed the yard in search of where the shot had come from but was yanked to his feet by another guard and dragged near the fence before reaching a solid conclusion.

  "What the fuck happened out here?!" the guard spat as the sound of sirens filled the air. Nikko balled his fists while watching paramedics lift Elias onto a stretcher before rolling him out of the yard. "HEY, ASSHOLE!"

  He snarled while rolling his attention back to the guard and clinched his teeth. "They've got cameras out here to tell you that shit," he shot back. "Maybe one of your assholes on duty let his finger slip."

  "Yeah?" The guard wrapped his hand around Nikko's arm and leaned into his ear, snickering. "And maybe he fuckin' missed when it did. Let's go!"

  As the guard walked him from the yard, Nikko swallowed back the urge to retaliate or respond and poured all thoughts into what was meant to be the start of a new life with Cheyenne, certain at the moment he had now seen the end of his own.

  Chapter Fifty-Eight<
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  Million Dollar Question

  After finishing off an old blunt I had managed to find tucked between the pages of a book inside Nikko's library, I pinched the tip to cut the light and dumped what was left into an ashtray near some of the pictures he had sent to me before getting out of Rikers. I took a sip of whiskey straight from the bottle and scanned each one for a familiar face hovering in the background, then inadvertently dropped them to the floor as the doorbell rang.

  "Dammit." I picked them up with ease and slid them inside the back pocket of my jeans before racing from the kitchen and into the hallway. "Who is it?" I called out.

  "Deborah!" her voice shot back from the other side. I wrapped my hand around the knob and pulled back, then shuffled aside as she eyed me with a crinkle between her brows. "You called to tell me that Rox is dead?" she replied in a panic. "You wanted me to hear this shit from you in person?"

  "He's not dead," I told her. "His heart stopped beating for about a minute due to a sudden bout of excitement, but he was awake and talking before I left."

  She rolled her eyes until they shut and sighed with relief. "Thank God."

  "Yes," I told her, "thank God for many things, including you. Come in."

  As she moved inside, I slammed the door and guided her into the kitchen.

  She sniffed as a harsh aroma filled the air and gently plugged her nose. "What the hell is that smell, Cheyenne?"

  "Not sure if you mean the blunt or whiskey, but I've had both since being back home."

  "You also changed out of your wedding dress?"

  "It's not as if it was a nightgown." I stepped around the island and removed the pictures from my pocket; I tossed them onto the counter and stared into her eyes with a rising wave of suspicion filling my own. "I didn't call you out here for chit-chat or to Kumbaya about Rox still being alive."

  She pointed to the counter and blinked at the pictures until her eyelashes entwined. "What are these?" she questioned.

  I shrugged and lowered my attention to match her gaze. "Memories that you seemed to miss having of your son."

  She remained still for nearly a minute, the words washing over her like an ice storm, before lowering her hand to the edge of the counter and dragging the tip of her index along the bottom of a picture. "Rox told you?"