by Nicole James
“Me and Holly… we had an issue the other night.”
“An issue, that’s putting it mildly,” Blood spat.
“My old high school girlfriend showed up.” His eyes cut to Cat. “I didn’t invite her. Didn’t know she was comin’, I swear.”
“Sure. I pop open a bottle of wine when my ex shows up all the time,” Cat replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Look, Holly and I got shit to work out, but that doesn’t mean—”
“Land the fucking plane, Joker,” Undertaker snapped, his patience at an end.
Joker knew there was no use sugarcoating it, so he gave it to him straight. “I lost Holly.”
Undertaker’s brows shot up. “I know I didn’t hear you right.”
Joker nodded. “She took off. I can’t find her and she won’t return my calls.”
Undertaker’s eyes cut to Cat as he reached for his phone again and snapped, “You hear from her?”
“Um, well…”
Blood’s head jerked to his ol’ lady. “You know where she is?”
“Well, not exactly.”
“Not exactly? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Undertaker silenced their conversation as he barked into his phone, “Babe, where are you?” His gaze cut to Joker, and he growled, “Texas? What the fuck are you doin’ in Texas?”
Everyone stood stock still as he listened to her answer.
Joker felt relief slide through him, quickly followed by a burning rage. Texas was a Death Heads state and the last fucking place she needed to be.
“Stay right where you are. I’m sending Blood and Joker to get you.” Undertaker paused, then cut her off. “No, you will not drive back on your own. You hear me? You disobey me on this, you won’t like the consequences! Is that understood?”
He disconnected and glared at Joker, jabbing a finger at him. “She’s in Beaumont fucking Texas at St. Mary’s hospital, maternity ward. Find her and bring her ass back.” Then he jerked his head at Blood. “Go with him. Word is there’s a big meet goin’ down in Beaumont, so be fuckin’ careful.”
Blood nodded and pushed off the bar. “Gotta drop Cat off on the way.”
“Better take a cage—less conspicuous than the bikes. Don’t need to start any shit. You’re in, you’re out, quick and clean. Got it?”
Blood nodded.
“Wait,” Cat said. “I’m going with.”
Blood glared at her. “The hell you are. You heard the man. Place will be crawlin’ with Death Heads. No fucking way.”
“She’s my sister, Blood.”
Blood was ready to argue his point, but Undertaker cut him off. “Let her go. Holly may need her.” His eyes slid to Joker. “Something made her run off. Something she may only tell Cat.”
“Thank you,” Cat said, and Blood glared at her.
“You come, then you better be prepared to do what I say, Cat. I mean it. Your safety and hers could be on the line.”
“I will. I promise.”
Undertaker’s eyes cut to Joker. “This ain’t over. You get back, you and me gonna have a talk.”
Joker nodded.
“You bring her back, you hear me?”
“Got it. I’m sorry. I fucked up. This is on me. I feel like shit about this, Prez.”
Undertaker stopped, nose-to-nose with Joker, his anger and frustration burning in his eyes. “Well, I’d love to hold your hand and talk about your fucking feelings, but I don’t have time right now. I’ve got a Chinese restaurant to clean out of everything they’ve got!” He glanced at the clock behind the wall. “And you’ve got one fucking hour to make it to the state line or your ass is mine.”
“It’s a four hour drive, Prez. And that’s if we haul ass.”
“You arguin’ with me, son?”
Joker ran a hand down his face. “Nope.”
Undertaker pointed toward the door and thundered, “Then get the fuck outta here!”
Blood grabbed Joker by the neck and shoved him toward the door. “Stupid fuck. Move.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Heading west out of New Orleans, the setting sun raced them across a blue sky. It was a perfect evening for riding, but the car was necessary. Undertaker was right; they needed to fly under the radar this trip. Blood slouched against the passenger door.
“Wake me when we get there,” he said, and closed his eyes.
Joker propped his wrist on the top of the steering wheel, taking them up to speed on I10. He glanced in the rearview to see the skyline fading in the distance and Cat staring out the window.
The Impala ate up the miles over the next few hours.
It was dark when Joker lit his last cigarette. The scent of tobacco woke Blood. Joker glanced in the rearview. Cat had dozed off an hour ago and was still sleeping.
Blood glanced over the seat, seeing his ol’ lady and apparently felt safe to talk. “I know she’s Cat’s sister, but Holly’s a lot of fucking trouble.”
“Can’t argue with you there.”
Blood looked over at him, the headlights of approaching cars on I10 flashing across his face. “If you ain’t got it in you to give her what she needs, then you best unwrap your heart from her.”
“Can’t do that. I’m in it now.”
“Then you’re fucked.”
Joker glanced over and met his eyes. “She’s got me inside out—turned fucking inside out, bro.”
“How’d you let that happen?”
The silence stretched. Blood watched him with those unrelenting eyes, waiting for an answer he didn’t have and couldn’t give so he changed the subject.
“We’re almost to the Texas state line.”
“Keep your eyes open,” Blood advised as he straightened in his seat.
“Yup.” Joker knew exactly what his brother was worried about.
“For what?” Cat asked, rousing in the backseat. Joker met her eyes big in his review mirror.
“Death Heads patches,” Blood answered.
“We get close enough she sees their patches, we’re screwed,” Joker scoffed.
“Welcome to Texas, ladies and gentlemen. Please put your tray tables up and your seats in an upright position,” Blood teased as they passed over the Sabine River, and the welcome sign flashed in the beam from the headlights.
“What kind of numbers we lookin’ at? How big is their local chapter?” Joker asked.
“Last I heard, about three dozen, and they all show up for a fight.”
“And if the three of us run into them?” Joker eased the car around a semi.
Blood took his time answering, lighting a cigarette. “That depends,” he finally said.
When he said no more, Joker knew why; Blood didn’t want to scare his ol’ lady by admitting their chances weren’t good. Although Holly had pulled this stunt, running off without a word, Joker knew he was the cause of all of it. If this ended with them up to their ears in trouble, it’d be on him.
He couldn’t bring himself to look at Blood or to acknowledge the concern on Cat’s face in the rearview mirror.
“I need to pee,” Cat said.
They had passed a scant mile into Texas when Joker pulled off at the Texas Welcome Center. He parked near its line of flagpoles and giant abstract metal sculpture of the star of Texas.
“Welcome to the Lone Star State. I miss it, not,” Cat murmured as she climbed out.
“Hurry up, babe.” Blood’s eyes followed his wife’s ass as she walked off.
Joker and Blood got out, arching their backs and rolling their shoulders. Blood studied his surroundings and the traffic in both directions. Joker wondered if he ever turned it off or if he always expected trouble.
It wasn’t long before Cat returned and climbed in the back again.
“You drive,” Joker said as he rubbed the tension from his neck.
Blood reached out one hand and nabbed the keys Joker tossed through the air to him. “Let’s roll.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
&nbs
p; Holly drove to her mother’s trailer for the second time. This time she was back to hopefully collect the photograph of her and her father. Not having it had been bothering her since she’d met Joker’s mother. Getting it back was important to her; important enough to come here, the last place she ever thought she’d return.
She opened the car door and stood, glancing around. Hers was the only one parked at her mother’s lot. That was a good sign, right?
She’d be in, she’d be out. Easy, peasy.
Climbing the stairs to the wooden porch, she had to step over a bag of garbage and a line of empty vodka bottles. She thought she heard the evening news on the television, and she pressed her face to the small diamond shaped window in the metal door, cupping her hand to see. It was grimy, but she thought she saw her mother sitting on the couch by the television.
She rapped on the door.
A few moments later, the curtain was pushed aside and her mother peered out. She hadn’t changed much, just gotten older.
The door opened. “Holly? Is that really you?”
“It’s me, Mom.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Can I come in?”
“Well, I guess. It’s just me here.”
She opened the door, and Holly stepped in. The place smelled like onions and the rancid stench of grease and old garbage. Holly’s stomach turned. How could her mother stand to live like this?
The woman shuffled back to her spot near the television and picked up a glass. It looked like ice water, but Holly knew all too well that the clear liquid was vodka—her mother’s drink of choice. And there was her answer. She could stand to live like this because she was half drunk all day long.
Holly reminded herself of her purpose. She’d come for something; she’d have to butter her mother up until she relaxed enough that Holly had a chance to sneak to her room and search for the photo.
“I just wanted to stop and say hello. I was in town because Gabi had her baby. You remember her, don’t you?” Holly didn’t want to spend time chit-chatting with this woman who really meant little to her, but she knew she couldn’t just walk down the hall to her old room—not without her mother trying to stop her.
“She was always a tramp.”
“No, she wasn’t, Mother. She’s married now and happy. Her husband’s in the Navy.”
“If he was so great, why didn’t you go after him? Because you were too busy hitting on your mother’s boyfriends, that’s why. You and that sister of yours. Nothing but trouble. Why did you really come here?”
Holly stood. “Do you need a refill, mom? I’ll get you one.”
Her mother picked up her glass and jingled the ice. “Guess I could use one, if you’re bein’ nice.”
Holly poured her mother another drink, then sat with her while she watched Wheel of Fortune. It didn’t take long before her mother was dozing off. Holly was as quiet as she could be as she stood and crept down the hallway to her old room. She rummaged through clutter that now took up a lot of the space until she finally found the small frame shoved in a drawer. She brushed the dust off with her thumb and stared at the image of her and her father. A small smile curved her mouth as she thought about him.
The headlights of a vehicle flashed across the window, and a car door slammed. Shoving the frame in her cross-body bag, she dashed into the hall.
The slamming door must have awoken her mother, because she was calling from the living room. “Holly, where’d you get to? What are you doing back there? Getting into my stuff, is that it? Is that why you came? You here to steal from me?”
As if her mother had one damn thing in this filthy trailer that she would want besides the picture.
Holly was almost down the hall when the door flung open and a cold hard voice froze her on the spot.
“Who the fuck’s car is that?”
“Raymond,” her mother said. “I told her not to go back there, I swear.”
His head swiveled and his eyes locked on her, and her blood ran cold.
Oh shit.
“You!”
She started backing up, hoping she could make it to the back door before he was on her, but he was bigger and faster than she remembered. She’d barely fumbled with the chain and lock, getting them undone before he had her by the throat and dragged her back, his big forearm holding her in a headlock.
He whispered in her ear. “Been waitin’ a long time for another shot at you, little girl. And here you are, trying to steal from me. You know what I do to thieves? Huh?”
She clutched at his arm, trying to break free. “I wasn’t stealing. I swear it.”
“Like I’d believe a damn word that came out of your fucking mouth.”
He dragged her toward the kitchen and released her, shoving her toward the corner, herding her against the countertop. She was trapped as he came toward her with an evil grin.
She took a breath, knowing she’d need all her wits about her if she were going to survive this encounter.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Blood rolled into the parking lot of St. Mary’s Hospital. He and Joker decided it’d be best if they waited in the car while Cat went up to get Holly.
It wasn’t long before she came back, a worried expression on her face. She climbed in the car and slammed the door. “She’s not here. Gabi’s husband flew in this morning. He’s the only one up there. Gabi and the baby are being released right now.”
“Where the hell is she, then?” Joker twisted in the seat to look back at Cat. “Undertaker told her to stay put. Did she head back to New Orleans?”
Cat shook her head. “Gabi thinks Holly may have gone to our mom’s.”
“You’re shittin’ me, right?” Blood bit out. “Why would she go to that bitch?”
Joker frowned, wondering what piece of the puzzle he didn’t have. “Why? What’s the story with your mom?”
“She’s a piece of shit,” Blood filled him in.
Cat elaborated. “Her last boyfriend tried to sexually abuse Holly. When I found out, I took her and ran. That’s how we ended up in New Orleans several years ago.”
Joker stiffened. “Your mom still with this guy?”
“I have no idea. Like I said, it’s been years. But we need to get over there.”
The tires squealed as Blood peeled out of the parking lot, and Cat gave him directions across town. He rolled down 11th Street and slowed when Cat pointed out the rundown trailer park.
Joker’s gut churned as the car pulled onto the property. He hoped there’d be no sign of the Death Heads while they were in Beaumont. He didn’t know this town like the back of his hand the way he did New Orleans. He didn’t know where any of these roads went. 11th Street looked like the only fast way back to the Interstate and this trailer park had only one way out.
Under cover of darkness, Blood drove slowly through the trailer park. The neon sign from the office turned their faces colors as they rolled past. They spotted Cat’s car parked in front of the trailer Cat pointed out, but they couldn’t see inside the windows as they drove by.
“You know who owns the GMC pickup?” Blood asked Cat, nodding to the vehicle parked next to her car.
Cat shook her head. “Doesn’t look familiar, but I’ve been away a long time.”
“I’m gonna make one loop around, scope everything out before we go in,” Blood advised. He drove through, circling around and back. Joker knew he was checking for back exits as well as any bikes that might belong to a Death Head. This would be just the kind of place where they might find one living.
Blood pulled to the side, four trailers down. When Joker reached for the door handle, Blood grabbed his shoulder. “Wait up. Let’s talk to that old man.”
Joker’s eyes followed to where he’d jerked his chin. An old man in a wife beater and suspenders was watering some plants.
They both got out.
Blood bent and peered in at Cat, ordering, “Stay in the car, babe.”
They approached the old man.
“Evening,” Blood greeted him with a smile.
“Evening.” The man eyed them suspiciously.
“You know the people in the green trailer down yonder?” Blood asked.
“I keep to myself.”
Blood nodded back to the car where Cat sat in the backseat. “My wife’s mother used to live there. We weren’t sure she still did. Hate to disturb someone if she’s moved on.”
“Fifties? Faded blonde hair? Drinks a lot?”
“That’d be her. You know if she got anyone livin’ with her? My ol’ lady didn’t care too much for her stepfather.”
“Mean son-of-a-bitch lives with her. Always beatin’ on her. I’d be careful, if I were you. Way I hear tell from the Johnson teenager, he’s got an arsenal in there.”
“You know his name?”
“Raymond Ortiz.”
“What are the odds he’s there now?”
“He works odd hours, so no tellin’, but if there’s a gold GMC pickup down there, he’s home.”
Joker and Blood exchanged a look, and Blood nodded to the man. “Thank you.”
They turned to go, but the man stopped them.
“Son?”
Blood turned back. “Yes, sir?”
“You go up to the door, you be careful. He’s a big guy and strong as an ox. He’ll give you a run for your money.”
Blood glanced toward the trailer. “He usin’?”
“Meth, way I heard it, like half the dumbasses in this place. He’s friggin’ crazy. Boy said he’s got an AR15, too, but that might just be talk. I’d be careful, though. An AR15 is a gun that will kill you, son.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
They walked back to the car and paused beside it. Blood looked over at Joker. “This is not gonna be simple. You got a plan?”
Joker nodded. “I’ll go up and knock, try and talk my way in. I can’t, I’ll bust in. One way or another I’m gettin’ in that door.”
“There’s a good chance Ortiz is high and as crazy as that old man said. If we back a man like that into a corner, it’s gonna get ugly,” Blood warned.
Joker met his eyes. “Ugly is what we do, isn’t it?”