You married?
Girlfriend? Boyfriend?
Kids?
Mother? Father?
Siblings?
Uncles? Aunts?
How about any friends?
They asked some more questions about his boss but he didn’t give them anything. They told him they didn’t give a shit about him or his boss, they were homicide cops, and their only concern was apprehending the little girl’s killer.
“We want the killer of that little girl. We know he raped her before killing her. Then you come in behind him, take her, and dump the poor little girl’s body like trash.” Mitch pointed at Art. “You know what? I think we have the murderer here. What if this is the sicko who raped her? Can we test his DNA?”
Art glanced at him.
“Any mother would slowly rot on the inside, knowing her son was a child-murdering pedophile. She might have a heart attack right there on the spot, after we tell her.” Mitch glared at the man in the bed.
The part of Art’s face that Mitch could see turned red. He thought Art would pop a blood vessel.
Art sighed. “You better leave before I ask for a lawyer.”
Chapter Seventeen
Rejected
There was no talking to Lukas.
I have worked with him for over ten years, and he was about as open minded as a Klansman. He would not understand about the cops. He and his men were violent psychopaths, and would not listen to reason. Desperation turned people into idiots. If Lukas gave the job to his son, Stan might find the cops before I found White and made him call off the hit.
Lukas gave me no other choice. He and his men in this room had to die, because Norman White’s phone number was on the in Lukas’s cell phone. He wouldn’t hand it over if I simply asked for it. And I needed to find this man who put a hit out on my brother and Mitch.
Although Stan fidgeted, making me waste precise time, the blade sliced through his skin and cartilage with ease. Blood seeped out of the gash like sewage seeping out of a cracked drainage pipe.
Archie stared at the blood coming out of Stan’s neck.
Still in my hand, I threw the knife, but Archie knocked it away, and went for his pistol.
I went for mine, but had a problem getting it out of the shoulder holster. The holster was brand new, but the button stuck, making it hard to unsnap. Rookie mistake, potentially a fatal one. I just got the holster two days before, and should have worked on drawing my gun before using it.
Archie shot me before my pistol could be drawn.
The bullet hit me in the gut, but my Kevlar bullet-proof vest under my jacket stopped it. Pain exploded just above my belly button.
The impact spun me right. I didn’t have time to simmer in pain, because I needed to find shelter quickly or Archie’s next bullet would be in my head.
Even though it felt as if my guts were falling out and hurt worse to move even an inch, I ducked behind the pool table. I screwed up on how I wanted this to go down. Why did I begin with the fucking knife? So stupid!
More gunfire erupted.
A couple of bullets entered the wall behind me. Finally, I pulled out my Ruger P95. Again, I pushed the pain aside, then peeked under the pool table to see if they were approaching.
No shoes were coming my way.
“She’s hit!”
“What did you do, Rose?” Lukas asked.
At that moment, a foot soldier came rushing in through the door. Not the one I almost ran into coming in here, but both could have come out of the same pay-by-the-hour vagina. Where did he come from? He must’ve been in the kitchen.
The soldier, pistol in hand, stood only a few feet away. He didn’t see me lying on the floor. “What the fuck is going on?”
Any second Archie or Lukas would yell out my position. No choice, I aimed my pistol at the back of the thick-necked soldier’s head, and squeezed the trigger. The back of his head belched blood and bits of brain, and his body fell like a small redwood, landing in a thud.
“Shit!” Archie yelled.
“What the fuck is wrong with you Rose?” Lukas’s voice cracked.
I didn’t answer.
By now they were beyond confused by my actions, and I had to admit, I was too. To say I was winging it, was an understatement. I couldn’t tell them about the cop and me. They didn’t understand and would try to kill me.
They could be calling in reinforcements or Lukas could have a machine gun within arm’s reach.
“He is my son!” Lukas yelled. “You’re dead, Rose!”
Several seconds of uncomfortable silence drifted by.
“You hear me?” Lukas asked. “You’re dead!”
The pain in his voice, a father’s pain, was evident.
Each man had seen me kill, and knew what I was capable of. It wouldn’t be smart to rush me. I peeked under the pool table. No one.
Stan’s neck still gushed blood.
Technically he was still alive, dead people didn’t bleed. A few more seconds passed by, the bleeding and gurgling stopped.
“Why Rose? Who the fuck cares about two cops?” Lukas asked.
I sighed. “It is about the rule!”
“What?”
“The first rule! My first rule is: Stay out of prison! I don’t care what the payday is! And I sure don’t help fucking pedophiles!”
Either Archie or Lukas already called in the cavalry by now so I decided it was time to leave, and go find Norman White. I would deal with Lukas and Archie later. I stood up slowly, hunched over, knees bent and ran for the door.
BANG!
BANG!
A spot on the doorjamb, about eye level, detonated, sending matchwood into my face. Ducking, I turned, and returned fire, several shots. I stopped, and stood upright on the other side of the wall, a better spot.
Several shots hit the wall behind me. I turned, poking my pistol in the entrance, squeezing the trigger, emptying the mag. I reached inside my jacket, the inside pocket held a couple of extra magazines, and came out with a new one. I released the empty, and inserted a new one. I picked up the empty and stuffed it in a pocket.
I wondered if any surprises waited for me outside, but dismissed it. No other way, I had to leave this place, and that was the only unguarded exit. The back door was on the other side of Archie and Lukas.
“Why Rose, why?”
Moving towards the front door, I glanced back at Lukas. Because Henry Creed is my little brother.
Chapter Eighteen
Stung A Little
My belly still hurt as I entered the car.
I didn’t see anyone in the rear-view mirror, nevertheless, it didn’t mean Lukas wouldn’t have someone in the street wanting to put a bullet in my head.
No one rushed to their car to follow me.
Both sides of the street were unpredictable. Louie was nowhere to be seen, and I guessed Archie ordered him to go home. As I drove away, it was five or six blocks down Westheimer before I checked the rear-view mirror for any cars. None were visible, so I pulled out a burner, and touched the screen until it rang. After a couple of rings, someone answered.
“What?”
I loved my brother, and needed to make him aware of the contract that was out on his life. I coughed, making a right turn. Checked the rear-view mirror again. Nothing. “Hey!”
“What do you want?”
“Need to see you right now.”
“Uh, why? We haven’t seen you in weeks, thought you had forgotton about us.”
His words stung a little. We meant, not only him, but Julie, and the kids. Family was important to my brother, and he liked for me to visit. “Been occupied, Little Brother!”
Henry cleared his throat. ” What’s up? I’m kind of busy.”
I could feel an argument coming, but that would waste too much time. Saving his life was my number one priority.
“Where are you?”
“Why?”
The light was about to change. “Something happened.”
“Come on, just tell me, we're busy, Chloe.”
“Some shit just went down, Henry, and it’s serious goddamn it!”
He breathed into the phone.
I drove through a yellow light. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah, calm down.”
He told me his location. “I’ll see you shortly, Henry.”
Chapter Nineteen
Ruthless
Rose was as ruthless as Charles Manson was crazy.
Lukas didn’t understand why she did what she did. All she had to do was decline the fucking contract. It didn’t make any sense to him. Of course, none of them wanted to run kids and women up north, and who the hell wanted to kill a couple of cops? However, Lukas didn’t have a choice. Fat stacks of money were right in front of him, all within his reach.
Years ago, a guy, Armando Morales, a fat disgusting Mexican who called himself El Violador, raped the wrong woman. He ran a small crew, called Los Vatos Locos.
They did some smash and grabs, and sold prescription pills.
Morales got on the radar of one of the most infamous biker gangs in Texas. He raped Nick Davidson’s daughter, Rebecca Davidson, at a hotel in Beaumont, Texas.
Nick Davidson, aka Wrench, the head of the Road Warriors Motorcycle Club, tortured and killed two of Morales’ crew by pulling out all toenails, fingernails, and teeth.
Then he broke all the bones in their hands before chopping them off.
Wrench finally doused them with lighter fluid, and set them on fire.
Police later identified the two gang members by tattoos on their arms and legs that weren’t charred. Wrench couldn’t find the fat Mexican.
A couple of his guys put out some feelers and offered a lot of money, the only person that called back was Lukas. He too was unsuccessful at finding Morales. After two weeks, everyone thought Morales had ran to Mexico, and wanted to give up on the contract.
Then one evening a young woman came to Lukas and introduced herself as Rose. She told him she could find El Violador. Rose didn’t let Lukas down.
Not only did she find Morales in less than seventy-two hours, she found his sister, Alyssa Morales, Armando’s accomplice. Rose later told Lukas she had spoken to Rebecca and she told her what had happened that night. Rebecca met a young woman, Alyssa, at a bar. After several Long Island Ice Tea’s, Alyssa invited her to IHOP. Rebecca agreed, wanting some coffee to sober up.
They left the bar together. Alyssa told her she needed to stop off by her room to grab some more money. Also, she mentioned she needed to get a motel room, as her apartment had been sprayed and she didn’t want to and breathe the poison.
They stopped at the motel and Alyssa went in, said she would be only a minute. After waiting a long time, Rebecca got out of the car and went to check on her new friend. Alyssa, with a cell phone attached to her ear, opened the door. Rebecca entered the motel room, and then was hit on the head. She woke to find a fat sweaty man on top of her, raping her.
Rebecca stayed in the hospital for two weeks.
Lukas had gotten a call from Rose. She told him to meet her at a junkyard, she had something for him. Wrench, and one of his guys, arrived at the junkyard just before him. Rose led them through a maze of stacked cars. Finally, moving around a stack of teetering engines, there they were, Armando and Alyssa.
Rose gave Archie a video recorder.
Per the contract, if his death was recorded, payment would be doubled. Rose put on a mask, then motioned for Archie to turn it on, and he did.
Rose started with the sister by flaying Alyssa’s face.
The begging and screaming didn’t deter Rose from her task. Within ten minutes, Alyssa no longer appeared to be human. Strips of her skin hung like pieces of red tape. Blood dripped from the young woman’s exposed jaw bones like red paint dripped off a canvas.
Rose collected some of Alyssa’s blood and made Armando drink it. Then Wrench put on a mask and Rose handed him the bloody knife.
Wrench walked over to Alyssa and stabbed her in the eye, cutting it out and tossing it to the ground.
El Violador cried like a baby.
Wrench handed the knife back to Rose.
Armando yelled out apology after apology, admitted he had a sexual problem. He offered money and drugs.
Wrench declined.
Rose worked on the fat man for almost thirty minutes before the finale. Rose flayed Morales’ dick. She tried handing the knife to Wrench, so he could make the kill, but he didn’t want to do it that way.
Wrench poured lighter fluid on the rapist’s crotch, and set it on fire. After Armando died, Wrench borrowed Rose’s machete and hacked up Alyssa’s and Armando’s bodies, leaving hamburger meat for the junkyard dogs.
If someone could do that level of violence, why couldn’t they kill a couple of cops?
His business was in ruins, and his son was dead. Lukas could only think of one thing, Bloody revenge.
Chapter Twenty
My Little Brother
Both looked good in suits as I entered Ben Taub Hospital.
They stood like male models in front of the information desk on the first floor.
Walking up to Henry, I could smell his cologne. He always smelled good.
He inspected my face. “What’s up?”
Giving him a bear hug, I wasn’t worried if he hugged me back. “I haven’t seen you in a while!”
He made a guttural noise. “Let me go, Chloe! You’re choking me.”
I let go. “Sorry.”
He fingered his collar, pulling on it. “You been working out? Damn you’re strong.”
I loved my little brother. He was the only family I had in the whole world, besides his kids.
“What’s up?” Mitch asked.
Almost every police department in the world had corrupt cops. Cops were human. Investigator Mitchell Dean Mason wasn’t one of them. The opposite, but he had different investigative methods when trying to find the guilty. At times his methods were violent.
Both men knew what I did for a living.
Henry smiled at me, and my left knee went a little weak. I could still see a little boy in my brother’s face.
“I just turned down a contract, I had to.”
He looked around as if I had said it too loud and someone heard me. “You did? Why”
No time to pussyfoot around, I had to tell them. “Earlier this morning Lukas accepted a contract to kill both of you.”
Mitch’s forehead crinkled, hands out. “What do you mean, a contract on us?”
“Yes, a contract on your lives.”
Both men glared at each other and turned their attention to me.
“Lukas tried to give me the contract.”
Both men stared at me as if I had clubbed a baby seal.
Mitch frowned, shaking his head. “Wait, what?”
“Someone wants you two dead.”
Mitch’s facial expression didn’t change.
Henry shook his head, and stared at me. “So, you declined the contract, and then what?”
“I emphatically declined it.” I watched, as the nurse passed.
Mitch had a full head of salt and pepper hair. I found myself wondering how he would perform in bed.
I killed a man less than an hour ago, there was a hit out on this man and my brother, and all I could think about was wrapping my legs around Mitch’s hips, and calling him daddy until I had an orgasm. What was wrong with me?
“What do you mean?” Henry asked.
Mitch nodded in agreement. “Chloe, why would Lukas want me and your brother dead?”
“He doesn’t want you dead Mitch, he accepted the contract. It was business. Someone else put a hit out on you guys.”
“Who wants us dead?” Henry asked.
“His name is Norman White,” I responded. “And that’s not all, after the job is complete, Lukas is supposed to go into business with this Mr. White, and his assistant, a guy named Carter, in transporting children and young women up north as sex slave
s.”
Henry eyes narrowed, as if I had said something important.
Mitch’s eyes almost popped out of his head. “Are you serious? He wants to go into child trafficking?”
Nodding, I checked behind me for any oncoming nurses, and none were approaching. “Yes, as you both know, Lukas lost men and money last year, some of them got serious sentences at Huntsville. It’s put a serious dent in his operation and now he’s desperate for cash.”
Henry’s mouth twisted.
Wondering if he needed to go to the bathroom, I asked, “What is it, Henry?”
Giving me a blank stare, he pointed upwards. “A guy, named Art Murphy, came in here,” he continued, “Saturday night, early Sunday morning, hit by a drunk driver. Banged up pretty bad, but come to find out he’s got only a few weeks to live. He’s got a tumor or something. After talking to a priest, Art told his nurse, Julie, to call me. She called, and I came in to talk to him. He told me that before the drunk driver hit him, he had dumped a young girl’s body. He didn’t kill her, but his boss told him to pick the body up and get rid of it. And he did.” He pointed at Mitch. “We found the little girl’s body, and just got through speaking with him again.”
My stomach churned, hoping that hell existed.
Henry continued. “Art wanted the body to be found so the girl could have a proper burial. While talking to Art a guy came in, his name is Carter.”
“Whoa!” Mental gears turned inside my head. “What did he say?”
“They claimed to be cousins. Since Art wasn’t a criminal at the time, he was the one who called me, I let them talk a little before I kicked Carter out. I put a uniform on Art’s door, then grabbed Mitch to look for the little girl.”
Putting my hands on my hips, and contemplating. “Who killed the girl?”
“He says he went to a man’s house and removed the body,” Henry said. “Said he didn’t know the man or his name. He went, picked the body up, and left, I believe him. He’s dying, and has no reason to lie.”
Ungoverned: A Thriller and Suspense Novel (Ungoverned Series Book 1) Page 5