by Kiki Leach
Tracker looked up first, arching a brow and staring at me as I stood in the doorway.
Riggs then lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. He shoved his brows together and muttered, "What?"
I darted my eyes between them and swallowed hard, then eased my way inside the room and balled my fists. It took everything I had not to competely lose my shit, but I knew if I did, it would get me nowhere good fast.
"I just got a call from Perla," I said, "letting me know that Colette never showed up to her house like she was supposed to with Checkers tonight."
"Maybe she's running late and forgot to call," said Tracker, shrugging it off and turning his eyes back down to the papers on the table. I clinched my teeth and glared at him. "I know it's your first time being married to one, but chicks do that sometimes, brother."
"I just called her up myself and the shit went straight to voicemail," I snapped.
"Then maybe she's just avoiding your ass."
I peered and knit my brows. "This isn't some kind of game, motherfucker!" I spat. He leaned back in his chair and stared up at me again, arching his brows and locking his jaw up tight. "This is my WIFE we're talking about here, alright?!" My eyes went wild and wide to the point of nearly shaking around inside my goddamn head. "She's not some random pussy I just found right off the goddamn street!"
"Nobody told your stupid ass to get hitched to her out there when you were supposed to be handling business as it was," he said. Then he pointed. "Matter of fact, your girl is part of the reason we're in this mess to begin with."
My face twitched. "WHAT?!"
"You heard what I said," he replied in a low voice as if to challenge me on something I had no clue about. He pressed his hands down on top of the table like a motherfucker and stood up from his chair. I stepped even further into the room and tightened my fists so hard, they turned red. "The shit that we're dealing with right now?" He threw out his hand and flicked the papers in front of him. "It could've all been avoided had you not been so caught up in her pussy for all these years and especially within the last few months when she was starting to come around here more with Jeremiah."
I grimaced and rattled my head. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" I hollered out.
"You," he emphasized, "and the simple motherfuckin' fact that you were too busy wondering as of late when you'd finally get your spin with her to the point that you didn't even see what your brother had been pulling with Lorenzo the entire damn time!"
"That is a stretch if there ever was one!" I shot back. "Even for you. None of what happened is no more on Colette than it is on ME for wanting to be with her!"
"Your eyes were so focused on this chick that you couldn't pull them away for five seconds to prevent any of this shit from even happening--!"
"Jesus CHRIST!" I tossed hand out toward him and looked to Prez. "Do you believe what he's telling me?! This shit he's spewing as Colette might've been taken off to God knows where by Lorenzo or one of his people?!"
Tracker shrugged. "Maybe that shit's for the best."
I didn't even give myself a chance to think before barreling past Prez and decking Tracker just above the bridge of his nose. Blood spewed from his nostrils and the whites of his eyes turned bright red as he tumbled straight back and fell to the floor. Riggs wrapped a hand around my arm and jerked me back before I could reach for him again.
"ALRIGHT!" he hollered out, his face coloring as he shoved me back across the room. "Fuckin' Christ." He pointed at me as I glared at him, then turned to Tracker as he grabbed onto the edge of the table and pulled himself up to his feet, laughing like some kind of maniac. Blood continued pouring from his nose and down the front and corners of his mouth. He wiped his hand back and forth across it, and smeared it across the front of his shirt and cut.
"That was a damn good shot." He snorted and coughed up blood, then turned his head and spat to the floor. "Too bad it doesn't make what I said any less true."
I lunged for him again, but Prez threw his hands into my chest and shoved me back. "ALRIGHT!" he said again. "This shit is enough outta the both of you!" He looked over at Tracker as he brought his hands up to his waist and sniffed back more blood. "What's happening with the club is all on me, I take the fall for that shit, alright? I fucked up and as I've said, I own it. But if what Rome is saying is true and his girl is truly missing because of this prick, then we need to come together as brothers -- as a goddamn family. Decking each other and spewing bullshit to get the other one riled up just 'cause you're looking for an excuse to fight is not gonna get us where we need to be with all this shit." He turned back to me as I folded my arms and gulped, realizing just how much time we had wasted so far. "When is the last time you spoke to your girl?" he asked me.
"This afternoon when she called to tell me about spending time with the girls for Vetta's birthday."
"And you didn't have any more contact with her after that?"
I shook my head. "When they got back to the house, Checkers left me a voicemail while I was working on one of the cars to let me know everything was good. I called him back right after and asked to talk to Colette but she was screaming about needing to get ready. She said she'd call me back before they headed out and I hadn't heard anything since."
"Did you try calling Checkers again?"
"Right after Colette, but his shit did the same thing."
He looked over at Tracker again, who for the first time, started to look concerned.
When my phone started buzzing again, I yanked it out of my pocket even faster than before and stared down at the number. "It's Atom," I said before answering. "Yeah."
"Brother." He paused. "I'm at your house right now and Checkers was gunned down in the bedroom."
I dropped my head back and swallowed hard. "Jesus Christ. Where?"
"Right in the center of his head like an animal or some shit. Single shot is all it took," he said. Then he sighed. "But that's not all."
"What else?"
I heard him swallow and he paused another second before speaking again. "When I was searching around for anything to give me a clue about where your girl might've been taken or who might've done it, I came across her cell stuffed between the cushions of one of the couches out here in the living room. Apparently before taking off, she got that thing turned on to record, and brother... Jeremiah's the one that snatched her up."
It felt like I had just been punched in the chest with a steel fist.
"Jeremiah?!" I said. "What the fuck did he take her for?! Where the hell did they go?!"
"Vegas. Now, I wasn't able to get exactly where they were headed after that, but it seems as if he had promised her to some other assholes out there as a form of down payment to get more money from them for himself in return."
I combed my fingers through my hair and latched onto my scalp, breathing in deep and shutting my eyes to keep from exploding. "Son of a bitch must not even have two pennies to rub together anymore," I muttered. "Fuck."
"What should I do out here?" he asked me.
I stopped for a few seconds to think. "Load up Checkers and we'll take care of him later. Then I think you should call up Chute, Smack and the others and let them know that we're riding out to Vegas to meet up with Lorenzo." I glanced at Riggs from the corner of my eye and he nodded.
"Will he know we're coming?" asked Atom.
"Yeah." I grinded my teeth until my jaw went stiff and tightly gripped the phone. "He's gonna fuckin' know about it."
"Alright."
After hanging up, I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and looked to Riggs and Tracker. "Checkers is dead," I told them. Tracker's shoulders sagged and he looked to the floor. This one had to hit him a bit, considering he had been one of his latest prospects and after only a few months, had shown more potential than even some of the brothers when they were first patched in. Shit, even some of them now. He cleared his throat and wiped his hand back and forth across his mouth again, removing more blood, then he gulped. "Jeremiah must've t
aken him out before snatching up Colette and dragging her out to Vegas someplace," I continued. "He's gonna try and pimp her out to some assholes that promised him money in return for having her."
"Goddamn," said Riggs. "This son of a bitch fell all the way down the hole and isn't even trying to crawl his way out of it anymore now, is he?"
I shook my head and stared down at the table, trying to keep focused. "No."
"What the hell happened to the 500k that bastard stole from Lorenzo that our asses are now on the line for paying back to him in his place?" asked Tracker. "If he's using your girl to get more money for himself--?"
"I don't know." I leveled my eyes with his and snarled. "But what I do know is that we've gotta head out to Vegas and get some info on this shit from Lorenzo."
"You really think he might know something and if he does, that he's gonna bother giving it up to us at this point?" he questioned. "How do we know he's not the one who got Jeremiah to take out my prospect and snatch up your girl to take her back to Vegas in the first place? Given how his mind operates, this could all be some kinda set up or trap for us to fall right into."
"Then that's just a chance I've gotta take," I said. "Whether you and the rest wanna take it with me or not, I don't care anymore. 'Cause this is my wife we're talking about here, alright, brother? My wife. It's not just about the club anymore; it's about her and me and what we've got together outside of all this shit. And I'm not gonna lose all that by just sitting out here and letting some asshole play grab ass with her all because my prick brother needs to get his hands on more green."
Tracker stared me in the face and shifted his jaw. Then slowly bobbed his head in understanding.
"We're riding with you, brother," said Riggs. "When I say that we're a family, it's not just words I'm throwing out there to keep the peace between us... that's what the brotherhood has always been about and the shit won't start changing up now for any reason whatsoever. No matter what goes down between us in house, this is where it starts and ends; always will."
Tracker cut his eyes between us and bobbed his head. "Yeah," he muttered. "I still think all this shit could've been avoided and I don't think your girl is all that innocent in it either. And if you ever attack me again, I'm shoving my foot up your ass and my fist down your goddamn throat -- Brawler or not." He paused. "But Prez is right, we're family, through thick and thin and all that other bull. So let's get our shit together and dial up this fucker, then head out there and put an end to his reign of terror over this club" -- he looked to me and jerked his chin -- "and your girl, once and for all."
I nodded at him in thanks.
We broke from chapel to make the necessary phone calls and readied ourselves with armor. Once the rest of the boys showed up, we discussed what needed to take place just in case shit went down, then hopped onto our bikes and hit the road straight back to Vegas.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Colette
"I thought her tits would be a lot bigger than that in person. Not exactly the size of her head, but maybe like a couple of melons in each cup or something."
A thick, scratchy voice followed up by a sharp grunt and the hard crunch into what sounded like a ripe, juicy apple forced my eyes to snap open from a nap I hadn't even realized I was taking. My head was pounding as if I had just been beaten in the back of it with a sledgehammer, and a set of fluorescent lights blaring above me were practically blinding.
I rolled over on my back and swallowed, which was difficult as hell to do since my throat was as dry as the damn desert. Then I closed my eyes before opening them again and staring up at the ceiling. I was in a bright white room with nothing but a box sized television set seated across from the kitchen, small rocking chair in the corner, a bathroom, lamp, nightstand and bed, which is what I soon realized I had been laying on top of despite it feeling like a giant rock.
I shifted my legs and slightly lifted them. Then when I felt a cool breeze fly up my skirt, I remembered that I wasn't wearing any underwear and quickly placed them back down.
"She's starting to wake up." Another voice spoke then, this one a bit lighter and much more familiar to me. "Listen, when she's ready, I'll bring her down there for you to test out before taking her on a full drive. I've just gotta get her cleaned up a little."
"Give her something to calm her ass down too. If she doesn't and you've gotta pop her again, then so be it."
Pop me? Shit. No wonder my head felt like it did.
When I heard the door easing shut, I brushed my hand over my hair and tried sitting up. From the corner of my eye, I could see Jeremiah making his way over to me. This time, he didn't have his precious gun in hand. I had the urge to kick, bite and scratch him with the hope of escaping right after, but I couldn't seem to find the strength in making any of it happen.
"How's your head?" he asked me. As if he cared.
I swung my legs around the side of the bed and placed my feet down flat on the floor. Then I leaned over and rested my hands at the edge as he stood over me, hovering. "Did you hit me?" I asked. "Hard enough to knock me out?"
"You started going off on me downstairs in the lobby as soon as they took my gun. It was just a smack across the face, you'll be alright."
I pressed the palm of my hand just above my right eye and that's when I felt a knot beginning to form. Just a slap? I thought. Not even close.
"Where the hell are we?" I asked him. "I don't remember much before getting down here."
He grunted and dropped down to a squat in front of me, then stared up into my face and said, "The DoubleShot on the Strip. It's a hotel owned by the Falucchi brothers, same ones that I promised you to for the night." He snickered. "Figured you might like that shit, seeing as how that's your thing now." He jumped up to his feet and moved across the room.
I followed him with my eyes and watched as he grabbed a glass from the drain near the sink in the kitchen and filled it with water. Then he pulled what looked like a small white pill from his front pocket and placed it in the center of his hand. I slightly wagged my head and gulped.
"How much are you getting in return for handing me over to these people?"
"It depends on how good you are; could be a few grand to six figures. They plan on taking turns for most of the night, so one might like you more than the other and in turn offer me more cash. If they like you equally then I just might be set for life."
"The other person I heard you talking to, was that one of them?" He walked back over to me and nodded, then handed me the glass of water and small pill from inside his hand. I frowned. "What the hell is that?"
"Something to help you relax," he said.
I looked up into his eyes as he stared down into mine with nothing but an appetite for greed and pussy. There was no care for me whatsoever as a person, as a woman or even someone he once claimed to love. Any part of him that ever gave a damn about me was not only long gone but after this, would never come back from this place of calamity ever again.
I took the glass and pill with caution, then lowered my hands down to my lap. "Are you going to use any of the money that you get from these men to pay back Lorenzo?"
"Christ, Colette, we've already been over this shit!" he snapped, throwing his hands up and spinning away from me in frustration. "I've got other people I need to worry about right now -- the club is going to be good for paying back Lorenzo the cash I owe him."
"They shouldn't have to be put on the line for something that YOU did! Your brother shouldn't be nearly screwed out of his livelihood just because you couldn't--"
"Fuck him, alright?! And you know what, fuck you too. I just need your pussy, tits and mouth wrapped around a Falucchi cock soon. Your opinion on this shit or anything else no longer matters. Just hurry up and take the damn pill or I'll be forced to make you swallow it back myself."
I wondered for a split second what would happen if I didn't. If instead I tossed the pill aside, threw the water in his face and tried leaving. Then I figured nothing good, given wh
o he was now and what he had already done to me before and after coming here.
I pretended to toss the pill into my mouth while keeping it tight inside the creases of my palm. It was small enough to stay in place and not slip while also not being shown. I then drank back some of the water, which tasted like pure piss and quickly swallowed.
Jeremiah walked back over to me and grabbed my jaw. He pushed my head back and said, "Open up." I placed my hand down on top of the bed, trying to make it look flat though it wasn't, and opened my mouth wide enough for him to look inside. After he was satisfied enough, he snatched the glass from my hand, placed it on the nightstand and grabbed my arm to lift me up from the bed. Then he looked directly into my eyes again and without even a pinch of remorse muttered, "I'm going to take you down there and when they're ready to take you for themselves, they will, alright? No protest, no funny shit. Don't ask questions of things you know that you shouldn't. If you pull something like it with me or these assholes, this will end much worse for you tonight than initially planned, got it?" I nodded. "Then let's go."
As soon as he turned his head and started dragging me alongside him, I dropped the pill to the floor and stepped on it with the toe of my shoe. Then I prayed to God as Jeremiah shoved me out the door and hustled me toward the nearest elevator that something would strike them all dead before they had the chance to reel me in even further than they had already.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Roman
We showed up in Vegas within just a few hours and parked our bikes along the back of Lorenzo's packed casino in a single file line. After Riggs cut the engine on his bike and stood up from it, we all followed suit and gathered around him.
He stared each of us in the face, preparing himself to speak. "Remember what I said before taking off from the club," he said. "We don't start any shit with him and instead keep it cool and calm while listening to what the hell he's gotta say first. If shit starts going south, then we dive in. Anything before that, we let it ride out, alright?" He made a point to stare directly into my eyes while saying that last part. I tightened my jaw and gulped, and nodded at him. "Alright. Let's start making our way in."