Kobe, Bad Blood (Blood Roses Book 1)

by Danielle Norman

  After another minute of neither Miguel or I talking to him or each other, the kid turned to the door, and Miguel called out a quick, “Have a nice day.”

  As soon as the door clicked shut, Miguel let out an annoyed huff. “I thought he would never leave.” Then the shears clattered onto the counter and he crossed the barber shop to lock the front door. “He’s a good boy,” Miguel said, and his voice still held some of the heat of Cuba. “But he tends to overstay his welcome.”

  “He’s young.” I turned back to the mirror and examined Miguel’s progress. I needed a shave too but doubted I would have the time.

  “Let’s talk.”

  “Fine,” I said and sat perfectly still as he resumed trimming my hair, the waves drifting to the floor.

  “How’s everything going with Dante?” Miguel asked, his tone conversational.

  “Things are going okay,” I said. “Tense as usual.”

  Miguel grabbed the hair clippers, and the low buzz filled my ears as he began to clean up the back of my neck.

  “All the Coyotes have been on alert since the party. No one trusts anyone, and I feel like I’m being watched more than usual,” I said as I wiped a stray hair from my nose. “I see people talking but when they see me they shut up.”

  “Listen, I know this is your first undercover operation, but it won’t be your last.”

  Miguel said that but I wasn’t sure if there would be others, not because I thought that I was going to die but…I hadn’t planned for anything more than bringing Jared’s killer to his knees. When I started my journey to be a DEA agent it was with one goal and only one goal— destroy the DT Coyotes. Even at Quantico when my instructors talked to me about different areas of the job, my focus had been on drugs since that was what the Coyotes dealt in.

  Miguel hadn’t realized that my mind had wandered. “There are certain signs you will learn to watch for, things that tell you it is all getting ready to blow up. The number one thing is paranoia. If Dante is getting paranoid and jumping to conclusions, then his house of cards is getting ready to fall.”

  I wondered if Dante’s paranoia would leak over to Kobe, she was the newest person hanging around.

  “You need to be careful, stay alert. There’s always a lot at stake,” Miguel reminded me unnecessarily. “I hope that I’m more than just your handler, we’ve become friends, right?” He unsnapped the cape and shook it before leaning to the side and grabbing a broom.

  I nodded.

  “I know that you are worried about that girl, you friend’s sister. Just remember that there is more at stake. Think of all the people you will save in the long run when you bring this gang down. Think of all the criminals yet to be caught. Do your job, don’t get sidetracked.”

  I sat in silence as the sound from the leaky faucet dripped.

  “What’s going on, why do you think Dante is paranoid?”

  “He put the green light on Thane. Thane has been a member of the gang longer than I have.”

  Miguel paused, broom in hand, and looked back at me. “A kill order on Thane? Hmm, was a timeline given?”

  “No. He gave Crow the order. I’m trying to figure out how to save Kobe, bring Dante down, and now save Thane.”

  “Your job is to bring Dante down, don’t get sidetracked.”

  “But they want to kill Thane because of Kobe.”

  Miguel lowered the volume on the stereo.

  “They think Thane might be an informant.” I twisted my hands in front of me and tried not to think about Thane, he was innocent this time but there was a world of other crimes the man had committed. Hell, dealing drugs to young girls for sex was just one of the many things I had spied.

  Miguel dusted the hair from my neck and the back of my T-shirt. “Let Thane go, he’s not your job. I’ll add that you’re worried that he’s going to be killed.”

  “Not just worried, it is going to happen.”

  “I’ll let your task agent know but there is nothing you can do without blowing your cover. Big picture, remember?”

  I nodded. “What about you? Do you have anything for me?” I asked and pushed myself from the chair. It squeaked under the pressure. “Have you heard anything?”

  “There is a load of heroin coming in.”

  “Where?”

  “Christmas cards,” Miguel stated.

  “What do you mean Christmas cards, it’s almost September not December.”

  “Exactly, stores are ordering that shit now since it all goes up before Halloween anymore. The cards are laced with heroin.

  “So, you think this may be why Dante is nervous?”

  “This shipment would take him into the big time.”

  “But, where would he sell them?”

  “Think about it, lots of possibilities. Teenagers, who would think anything strange of kid carrying a greeting card? Or, more probable, where is it almost impossible to smuggle drugs into?”

  “Jails, prisons…”

  “Bingo. But no one checks cards, it is the easiest way to get something to a convict.”

  “I haven’t heard anything about this.”

  “We’re just assuming it is Dante, not one hundred percent positive. But can you think of anyone else in the area who could handle this kind of traffic? He’s got people on the inside. They can get the word around.” Miguel rested on the handle of the broom for a minute. “He’s got places to hide the inventory.”

  “Sasha’s?”

  Miguel shrugged.

  “Thanks, Miguel, I’ll see you around.” I unlocked the door and then strode out into the sunlight as the glass door closed behind me with a soft thud and the soft sound of Miguel locking the door seemed a distant echo.

  Dante lived nearby, so it would only take a couple of minutes to get to him. Pulling onto the street, I sped down the empty roads as worn down houses passed me. I never understood how people could willingly live like this. How did you choose to live in an area where it wasn’t safe to walk down the road or where you couldn’t roll down your windows more than an inch for fear of being carjacked?

  The crimson red Honda sat by the curb, untouched by the neighborhood kids. That was one of the good things about being a DT Coyote—no one touched your shit. Perhaps it was the only good thing about this undercover assignment.

  I pulled up in front of his house, disgusted by the trash covered lawn and peeling paint. The dead grass crunched under the weight of my boots as I was filled with the familiar since of foreboding.

  Rap music boomed from the house, shaking the windows. It was the only sound on the otherwise dead street.

  For four years I had been coming here, as little as I possibly could, and in all that time I wasn’t sure why I was always repulsed by the sight of Dante’s home. It didn’t change except to get worse.

  “Fuck yeah,” someone cheered from Dante’s home as I approached the front door.

  I knocked hard as Kanye West’s latest hits and loud laughter continued. Raising my hand once more, I knocked hard enough to leave my knuckles sore, and I scowled at the stained door. It swung open, and Spider stared, his dark eyes red rimmed.

  What do you want?” he asked, his voice hoarse as he blocked the entrance.

  “Dante,” I said, my eyes on the room behind him. It wasn’t much better than the front yard, and the smell of weed and cigarettes flooded through the entryway.

  “Does he know you’re comin’?” Spider asked, being a typical pain in the ass.

  I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists with an audible crack of my knuckles that had Spider smirking as he stepped aside and allowed me into the suffocating living room.

  “I’m just fucking with you, man,” he said with a stretch of his skinny arms, the putrid scent of body odor competed with the alcohol on his breath.

  I strode across the living room and ignored the sleeping naked woman on the couch. “Where’s Dante?”

  “I’ll get him,” Spider said as he stepped on top of food filled paper plates left haphazardly
on the floor.

  “There’s no need,” Dante called down the hall as his heavy footsteps approached us. “Hey, Easy. You’re just the man I’ve been waiting for.” His dark eyes scouring my face in a way that had my pulse racing.

  “What do you need, Dante?” I asked, my voice level.

  “I need to have a chat with you.” Dante waved me over, and I followed him into the kitchen.

  If I thought the living room was bad, the kitchen was worse. Apparently, they never cleaned anything, and rotten food was spread across the counters and moldy dishes overflowed the sink. “Do you want a beer?” he asked as he opened the refrigerator door with a quick jerk that shook the old appliance.

  “Sure,” I said, although I was afraid to consume anything here. “What’s going on with the place? I’ve never seen it quite this bad?”

  “Bitches,” Dante muttered. “Sasha’s got the bitches all working and there’s no one to clean this place.”

  I wanted to tell him that he and his lackeys could clean it but I held my tongue.

  “I save the good stuff for the best of us.” Dante pulled out two Heinekens and handed me one before he popped open the bottle and drank deeply. “I want you to help me with something.”

  “Anything,” I said as I sipped my own beer and lifted my boot from a sticky plate of ketchup and fries.

  “Good, that’s what I like to hear.” He closed the refrigerator and leaned against it, lowering his voice. “I have a shipment coming in tonight, and I want you to go with me. Only Spider and Crow know, I want this to be kept quiet. There’s a mole in here somewhere,” he said, and I followed his gaze to the living room, relieved to be on the other side of his gaze.

  “Absolutely,” I said. “Where should I meet you?”

  Kobe

  I pushed my hair back behind my ears as I tried to stay quiet in the parking lot out on old highway 441. Following Dante here from Sasha’s after my shift ended maybe wasn’t the brightest thing for me to do but I was at a breaking point, I wanted this all over and now.

  My legs were cramping, the thighs were burning, but I held still in the squat between two cars, waiting for something to happen.

  Dante whistled an eerie tune as a soft breeze blew in from somewhere and tossed my hair in front of my eyes, tickling my nose, and I fought back a sneeze.

  “Any time today,” Dante said, and I wondered who he was speaking to because he looked to be standing alone on the sidewalk.

  A low rumble grew louder then Easton pulled into the parking lot.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” Easton said as he parked close to where Dante was waiting and dismounted his bike.

  “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting, and I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

  Easton’s voice was muffled as he stepped closer to Dante, his boots crunching against the dead leaves. I needed to get closer. There was another set of vehicles that was parked near them. If I could crawl there, then maybe I could get something on this stupid bracelet camera. It was risky, but if I wanted to nail the bastard, I needed to get a clear audio recording of everything Dante did.

  Legs shaking, I crept through the lot, the sparse pieces of gravel crunching lightly under the weight of my converse.

  “Heroin.” Easton’s words were low but discernible.

  I snuck between a black pickup truck and a Toyota, my foot catching on a small pile rocks, sending one skidding across the pavement and under a neighboring car.

  Dante’s head jerked over to the side. I froze, my heart pounding so hard that I was afraid he would hear it. Quickly, I pressed my back firmly against the car and watched Dante’s reflection in the window, my breath hung in the air as I waited to see if he was going to move toward me or not.

  Dante stepped toward the row of cars where I hid, and I crouched lower until his face was no longer visible.

  “What is it?” Easton walked closer to me and my body went cold. God, if Easton found me here, he was sure to freak and blow my cover as well as his.

  “I heard something, didn’t you?” Dante asked, but his footsteps stilled.

  “I hear the sound of other trucks, of air compressors on their old buildings.” Easton kept talking, rattling off things that were making noises and I prayed to God that Dante would let it go.

  “Mmm,” Dante mumbled.

  I rose a little higher to watch the reflection of his face. He frowned, then turned back to Easton. At least they stayed within in ear shot. “You would say that, wouldn’t you?”

  “What are you talking about?” Easton asked seeming puzzled.

  A tickle started in the back of my throat before I could cough a hand clamped down around my mouth, crushing my lips against my teeth as a scream ripped through my body, and I bit down hard.

  “Augh, fucking bitch,” Spider’s voice roared.

  I kicked against the cement and shoved myself back into him, knocking us onto the ground. I wiggled around and straddled the man, ready to kick his ass, when another strong arm wrapped around my chest and held me in place.

  “Mmm, look what I caught,” Crow sneered in my ear as he pressed something cold and hard against my temple. “If you want to end this quicker, scream.” Crow’s words were as cold as the end of the metal pistol touching my forehead.

  Spider rolled over and now had me on the ground, one hand covering my mouth while Crow stood over me pointing the gun at my face.

  I relaxed my body weight and gave up my resistance, think Kobe, think. You are a trained martial artist. At the same time, I was giving myself a pep talk, another voice seeped into my head, the voice of my trainer telling me to choose my moves wisely, don’t react but plan my moves. Fine, I would plan this out.

  “Dante was right,” Crow explained. “He said not to trust the new bartender. It was only a matter of time until you fucked up.”

  A slow clapping sound grew louder, and my heart sank. Dante stood near us, the shadow off the large building behind him covered his face.

  “Guess who was caught eavesdropping?” Spider said, and Dante laughed in obvious delight.

  “Well, this night just gets better and better,” Dante said and then snapped his finger twice.

  Spider dropped his hand from my mouth and yank me upright as he stood. I tripped on my own fucking feet and fell to my knees in front of Dante.

  “What is this?” Easton asked as he stepped closer and stood beside Dante, his eyes hard on mine.

  “I found her sneaking around between the cars, Easy,” Spider hissed and Crow pressed the gun to the side of my head.

  “Oh, Allie.” Dante used air quotes around my cover name. “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for this.”

  A hand slammed across my left cheek, and I fell backward to the ground, pain blossoming at the site of impact.

  I let out a whimper.

  Dante crouched beside me, fisting his hands in my hair, and pressed my face harder into the gravel.

  “You’re familiar with the term set up aren’t you, baby doll?” He taunted, his breath stank of cigarette smoke and unbrushed teeth.

  “What?” I gasped and fought against the hand that held me down, desperate for a view of Easton. He wouldn’t let anything happen to me, would he?

  A quick high whistle came from above as Dante jerked his head and released me. He moved in time for me to watch Easton’s eyes go wide before he was pistol whipped. His body fell to the pavement with a sickening thud.

  A scream ripped through me. “No,” I cried and whimpered as a boot came down hard on my hand as I reached for Easton.

  “Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out, Easy?” Dante sneered at Easton. Easton jerked up his eyes dazed.

  “What are you talking about?” Easton asked and stared at the boot that slowly dug my knuckles into the hard asphalt.

  “Oh don’t play dumb with me, boy. We’ve known each other for years. I mean, you remember, don’t you? Or did you forget your own best friend?” Dante cackled, mad with glee. “And you.” Dante smirke
d down at me. “I mean, you couldn’t have forgotten your brother right? You cried alone at his funeral. Even then, you were so pretty. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

  Dante let out a heavy sigh, his eyes distant as my blood ran cold.

  “What?” I gasped as his boot released my hand, and I pulled it back to my chest.

  “Business,” he said, his tone casual. “It wasn’t personal at the time, but now it is. “Jared and Easton ruined my first big deal.” Dante turned to Easton. “Don’t your remember? You called the cops on me. I was trying to pick up my package and you thought I was breaking into a truck. It was your lucky day that a cop was close enough to save you that day.”

  “The cop getting gas?” Easton asked softly.

  “Yeah. Who would have thought that a drug deal would happen in bright daylight close to a cop? No one, that’s who. It was perfect until the two of you decided to be good Samaritans.” Dante leaned forward and spat on Easton. “You both were supposed to be shot that day. Then when you were arrested, I was sure that my boys would take care of you in jail. But they fucking dropped the charges on you. But, oh, when I figure out who you were, it was like fucking Christmas morning. I could take care of what should have been handled years ago.

  My head reeled at the realization that Dante knew who we were, that Jared had been killed for being a good person. I reeled at the fact that Easton was supposed to die as well. All of this information was too much, I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think straight. It was as if the years of suppressed anger and pain had boiled to the top and was primed for an explosion.

  “You piece of shit,” I muttered in disgust.

  “Which brings me to you, pretty Allie—or Kobe, I should say. The day I saw you in Sasha’s bar, I knew immediately who you were. You haven’t changed at all. That’s when I put all of the pieces together.”

  My pulse roared in my ears as I raised my foot and kicked hard. Dante’s knee made a popping sound as he bellowed and fell forward.