The Night Feeds

by Lauren Hunt

  “Agent Swift,” I said, my voice calm and monotone.

  “It's Malarkey. The local sheriff thinks he has something for us.”

  I sprung out of bed, my eyes alight with excitement. “Where are you?” I asked.

  “San Giovanni's restaurant. Do you need the address?” Malarkey was excited too.

  I had followed Dark Steel members to that Italian restaurant before. “No, I'll be there in ten minutes.”

  I ran to the closet and pulled out a black suit that was an exact copy of the other four suits hanging. I didn't care much for fashion and wearing the same thing every day made getting ready in the morning that much quicker. I didn't even bother with my makeup or hair as I rode the elevator down to the parking garage.

  I made it to San Giovanni's with one minute to spare. The entire police department was parked outside the place with their lights flashing. Yellow caution tape had been set up as a perimeter. A crowd was growing and cops guarded the area. I strolled up to one of the officers. His uniform barely fit and his eyes scanned the crowd nervously—obviously a rookie. He was about to turn me away when I flashed him my FBI badge. His demeanor changed instantly, rolling his shoulders back and straightening his back. The Bureau had that effect on people sometimes. He raised the yellow tape for me and I ducked under.

  I spotted Malarkey and caught up with him. “What do we have here?”

  Malarkey pointed to a portly man trying to look important. “Agent Swift, this is Sheriff Gillory.”

  The sheriff was chowing down on a burrito and he wiped his disgusting hand on his pants before shaking mine. “Not every day I get the FBI in our town,” he said with his mouth full. I'd be completely grossed out if I wasn't so distracted by the crime scene.

  “What do we have here,” I repeated, skipping the small talk.

  The sheriff pointed to the restaurant. “We got a call around 11:30 of shots fired. We arrived on the scene to find two bodies and two witnesses.”

  I put on white latex gloves and surveyed the scene. Two pairs of skid marks on the street indicated that two cars were involved. The front window of the restaurant was completely destroyed and a body lay outside.

  I looked over at the closest intersection, searching for any traffic cameras. Next door was a small clothing boutique with a camera pointed toward the restaurant. Bingo.

  “Sheriff, can I get the footage from that camera?” I asked pointing up.

  He finished the burrito and threw the wrapper on the ground. I don't know what irked me worse: the contamination of the crime scene or littering. It was equally both. “I'll get one of my guys on it right away,” he answered.

  I got a closer look at the body—male in his early thirty's, Mexican, and very dead. I pulled down a red bandanna that covered half his face. A small black mustache hid under his nose. I pulled up his shirt sleeve and a tattoo of a red devil and pitchfork covered his arm—Los Diablos MC. Blood stains on his chest and leg marked where the bullets entered his body.

  I stepped into the restaurant through the broken window and shattered glass crunched beneath my feet. A table had been overturned and a waiter lay a few feet from it. Large amounts of blood and brain matter stained the floor. I looked back at the overturned table and noticed a bunch of food on the ground.

  People were eating here when the gunfight started.

  I turned towards the sheriff who was watching me closely. I pointed to the open back door. “Did one of your men open that?”

  The sheriff shook his head. “My officers didn't touch a thing.” He didn't seem very competent nor trustworthy. I couldn't know for sure who opened the back door.

  “Can I speak to the witnesses?”

  “You can...but good luck with the chef, he doesn't speak a lick of English. And the other won't talk until he sees a lawyer.”

  I went up to the nicely dressed man being looked at by an E.M.T. “Hi sir, I'm Agent Swift.” I flashed my badge at him and he didn't care to check it. “I'd like to ask you a few questions.”

  He tried to fix his disheveled hair but it was no use. “I already told the cops, I'm not going to talk to anyone until I see my lawyer.”

  I nodded. “I can understand that. I'd do the exact same thing in your position. But I know your not to blame for this. We already know who did the shooting. It was the Los Diablos Motorcycle Club. There's Mexican blood all over the streets. You don't want to talk to us because you're trying to protect someone. What time does your restaurant close?”

  “We normally close at ten.” The man realized that he had spoken and quickly shut his mouth. Start off with an easy question and a witness will find it hard not to respond.

  I hid a smile and continued. “So you close at ten and the cops get a call an hour and half later that there was a shooting. What were you doing open so late?”

  The witness turned his head. He wasn't going to speak anymore but I didn't need him to. I could tell everything from his eyes.

  “How about I tell you what happened. You stayed open late to let a special customer eat alone and then the Los Diablos shot the place to shit. The Los Diablos are about to lose their only drug supplier: the Dark Steel MC.” The witness's eyes darted away when I mentioned Dark Steel. I continued my story, “Los Diablos killed the waiter and the Dark Steel member took out a Mexican before running out the back door. Does all that seem about right?”

  The witness shifted his feet. He avoided eye contact but I could tell by his slouched posture that he confirmed my story.

  “What do we do now, Swift?” Malarkey asked me, placing a bullet with tweezers into a bag.

  I waved the sheriff to take the maitre d' away and turned my attention to Malarkey. “We know that this was revenge on Dark Steel and that they're supposed to have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with Los Diablos. Reach out to your contact and find out if they're still planning a meet. Otherwise contact the sheriff and let him know that there will a lot more blood in the streets.”

  Malarkey chuckled. “You got a funny look in your eye. What is it?”

  “I know how we can finally get Dark Steel.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Winter

  What just fucking happened?

  Axe and I were having a nice dinner. Not just a nice dinner, an amazing dinner. We were getting know each other and flirting when all of the sudden, all hell breaks loose. My ears were still ringing from the gunfire as we rode into the night on Axe's Harley. My hands shook slightly and tears were streaming down my cheeks. I hugged his waist tightly as he zoomed down the streets. My heart was pounding but I felt safe.

  Axe had protected me. He saved my life.

  I didn't know where he was taking me and didn't care. I just needed to get away from that restaurant. I wouldn't be able to think about Italian food in the same way ever again. A flashback crossed my mind of the waiter getting blown away and falling dead right in front me. That was the first corpse I'd ever seen. Please, let it be the last.

  Axe pulled into the parking lot of a shitty motel called: Rest Inn. The lights in the sign were going out and only a few of the letters were actually lit. Axe stopped the bike and helped me off.

  “Are you sure you're all right?” he asked me.

  I rolled my eyes. “For the millionth time, Axe, yes I'm fine.” What was it with this guy and always needing to know that I was okay? I'm a big girl, I can handle difficult situations. But this situation was way beyond difficult. No one should ever be shot at.

  Axe calmed down and hugged me tightly. “I'm so sorry, I put you in harm's way.” His musty scent penetrated my nostrils and left me with a sense of longing.

  “Why did they try to kill us?” I asked, confused and curious.

  Axe put his hands on my shoulders. “I want to make myself clear. They were only targeting me. You have nothing to do with this.”

  “Then why were they trying to kill you?” I shouldn't be prying so much but I had to know. I had to know why I almost died.

  Axe looked to the ground. �
��I can't tell you, Winter. It's club business.”

  This man kept a code of honor and he wouldn't break it for anybody—including me.

  Axe fished out some cash from his wallet and handed it to me. “We need to stay here until the heat wears off. Can you go inside and get us a room while I try to figure things out with Hammer.”

  I nodded and made my way to the front office. I looked back to see Axe kicking the tires of his bike before pulling out his phone and dialing.

  I entered the front office that reminded me of the Bates Motel. The place was cramped and wasn't very well kept. If we didn't die at the restaurant, we'd definitely be murdered here. I rang the little bell on the desk and a tall scrawny man came out from the back. His face was stretched and gave him the appearance of an alien.

  “What can I do for you, miss?” he asked in a very deep tone.

  Was I supposed to get two rooms? Axe didn't make it exactly clear. He said get a room but did he expect us to sleep in the same bed? The thought of sleeping alone in an unfamiliar place crossed my mind.

  “Can I get one room for one night?”

  The owner took the cash and handed me a key. “You're room is on the second floor and down on the end.”

  He left to go into the back room before I could even say thank you. I went back outside and Axe was screaming into the phone.

  “We need to hit them back, Hammer. They almost killed me and my girl!”

  His girl. We barely went on one date and he already thought I was his. That was a little presumptuous. But deep down I really did want to be his.

  Axe continued, “If they want to play dirty then we need to play dirty back.” Axe shook his head. “No she's fine and a bullet only grazed my shoulder.”

  I noticed that there was a trail of blood running down his arm. My man was hurt! He needed to go to the hospital but I already knew he wouldn't. I quickly ran back into the front office and rang the bell.

  The owner came back out and almost turned right back around when he saw me. “Isn't everything satisfactory in your room?”

  “I just needed a first-aid kit.” I slammed my fist against the desk.

  Mr. Skin and Bones disappeared beneath the desk and produced a white rectangular box with a red cross on it. He blew off a fine layer of dust before handing it to me. “Make sure, you return this to me before you leave.”

  I nodded and left back outside. Axe was still on the phone talking. His conversations about club business were fascinating. It was a whole new world that I knew nothing about.

  Axe kicked his motorcycle tire hard. “Fine, just let me know what time the meeting with them is tomorrow.” He shoved his phone in his pocket and turned towards me. “Did we get a room?”

  I smiled and jangled the key. “Is everything all right in the club?” He furrowed his brow at me and I knew to stop my line of questioning. Maybe with time, he'd open up about the club?

  The motel room was the size of a tiny box that contained: a stained bed, wooden dresser, and dirty bathroom. I had walk-in closets that were bigger than this place. I turned on the light that flickered on and off repeatedly. “Why don't you sit down so I can dress your wound.”

  “Are you going to be my nurse?” he asked, grinning.

  “More like an Angel of Death if you don't sit down and keep quiet.”

  Axe zipped his lips shut and threw away the key. I sat next to him on the bed and helped take off his leather vest. Axe winced from the pain as he stretched his arm out. I set the old first-aid kit on the dresser and made an inventory of what we had. Gauze, band-aids, antiseptic, and not much else.

  Axe pulled his white t-shirt off and got stuck halfway. I laughed and helped him, tugging the shirt off his head. My laughter came to halt when I got a look at his scarred physique. His chest was carved perfectly and dark tattoos of all types littered his skin. Deep scars ran across his shoulders and back. A huge tattoo that said: Dark Steel was written across his pecs. My cheeks flushed and I wanted to look away out of embarrassment but his body was captivating. A strong desire was taking root in the pit of my stomach.

  I spotted the wound on the right shoulder and it looked pretty bad. “Maybe you should go to the hospital?” I asked hesitantly.

  Axe glanced at his arm. “It's just a flesh wound. Trust me, I've had worse.” I ran the tips of my fingers over his scars—I could believe him.

  I pulled out a gauze pad and poured some alcohol on it. “This is probably going to hurt.”

  “I can take it,” he murmured.

  I dabbed the wound and Axe howled from the sudden pain. I wiped away the dried blood while Axe focused his eyes on me, panting. The bullet took out a chunk of his arm but it didn't look so bad now once it was cleaned. Our heads were close together and it took all the willpower in the universe to keep myself from kissing him. I taped a square patch to his arm. “Good as new.”

  Axe stared at me, his face inching closer to mine. Oh my! I closed my eyes and embraced his lips. He tasted like dirty cigarettes and booze—exactly what I thought a man like him would taste like. His hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me even closer to him, drinking in my kiss. My mind was all over the place. I couldn't focus my thoughts anymore. His tongue invaded my mouth and my heartbeat spiked.

  Axe broke away. “I've been wanting to do that to you ever since I first saw you.”

  “Then don't stop,” I whispered, my eyes half open.

  Axe returned to my mouth, discovering it with his tongue. His fingers ran through my hair and I moaned against his lips. He bent my head to the side, revealing my bare neck. His kisses sent shivers down my spine as he ran his lips across my skin. He lowered the strap of my dress down and kissed my shoulder. I never wanted him to stop.

  He dropped the other strap until my dress had nothing to hang onto. My breasts were revealed in a black bra. My chest heaved up and down from my heart trying to burst through. Axe trailed his fingers over my mountains and lightly kissed the peaks. His hands disappeared around my back and deftly unhooked my bra. My bountiful breasts were released and Axe licked his lips. I swung my hair behind my back to give him an unobstructed view.

  “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked.

  My whole body flushed crimson and I shook my head, staring at the floor.

  Axe placed his fingers under my chin and lifted my head. “You're the most gorgeous woman I've ever met.” His words warmed me all over. A slippery wetness grew between my thighs. I wanted him so badly. But I had to tell him. He'd find out sooner or later.

  “There's something I have to tell you...”

  Axe backed away, full of concern. “What is it?”

  “I don't know how to say it. It's really embarrassing.”

  Axe took my hand, running his thumb over my knuckles. How could the lightest touch make me feel so good.

  A surge of liquid courage flowed through my veins. “Axe...I'm a virgin.”

  Axe's jaw dropped and he burst out laughing, doubling over and holding his stomach. That was not the reaction I expected. All the confidence I had before evaporated into nothingness. Tears welled up in my eyes. I wanted to run for the door and never look back.

  Axe stopped laughing. “Wait a second, you're serious? I thought you were trying to pull my leg. How could a stripper be a virgin?”

  I gathered myself. “The right guy has never come along.”

  Axe became serious. “Winter, I don't think I'm the right guy for you. Maybe we shouldn't do this until you're ready.”

  No! This conversation wasn't going the way I wanted it to.

  I tried to find the right words. “That's the thing, Axe. I've been waiting for this knight in shining armor to show up and whisk me off my feet. I realized that doesn't happen in real life—until I met you.” I grabbed his hand and held it tightly. “You might not be wearing armor, but you saved my life tonight.”

  You're my knight.

  “But I put you in that situation. I put you in harm's way. I would never forgive myself
if something happened to you.” He faced away from me, looking out the motel window, his eyes taking in the night. “We shouldn't do this.”

  Fear seized my body. I didn't want this to end. My stupid virginity couldn't hold me back any longer.

  “Axe dammit, stop thinking about everything so much and just take me!”

  He turned back to me with wide eyes. Where did that powerful woman come from? An amazon warrior inhabited my body for a moment to help me get my way.

  Axe inched his way back to me. Our faces were millimeters apart, our noses touching. “I don't want to hurt you, Winter.”