by Cat Porter
“What is it?” Boner asked. “Is it Nina? Did the doctors say something new?”
“Tania,” I bit out.
“Tania? What the fuck? You all right?”
I sucked in more air, wheezing.
“Butler?” Boner’s voice hardened.
“Took her—took her from my place. Reich was here, and he took Tania.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’ll be at the club in five. Be there!” I tossed the phone on the table, my hand still trembling.
I pulled myself up and flicked open the carved small wooden box I always kept on my coffee table. It’d once held a quick, handy supply of coke over the years. Now, it held my medication. The medication I’d been forgetting to take lately.
I pushed a pill between my lips.
I staggered to the table where the glass of water Tania had poured for me earlier stood at attention. I drained it.
My lungs relaxed a few degrees. My head decompressed. I squeezed my eyes shut and then forced them open. The television static in my vision began to fade. Forms took shape once more.
But I could only see that desperation etched on Tania’s face as she had been dragged away, those beautiful dark eyes still on me, eyes full of fear.
“He just came in and took her?” asked Boner, his green eyes hard as stone.
“Yeah, wanted to know who’d set the bomb. I told him it must have been the Blades. Then, he accused me of stepping out on Nina and called Tania my whore. You know Tania; she started defending me, said something she shouldn’t have about Nina. And he fucking took her to prove a point.”
I wasn’t going to share why else Reich was coming after me; that was for another time.
A knock on the door.
“In!” shouted Kicker, a hand swiping through his sleek black hair.
Jill stepped inside, her eyes darting around the room. “I just got off the phone with Nina. She told me where her sister and Reich are staying. The Best Western in Deadwood.”
“He’s getting a little casino time in with his hospital visits,” muttered Dready.
“I told Nina to keep her sister at the hospital with her all afternoon and tonight, like you said,” Jill continued. “She immediately turned on the waterworks, and her sister bought it. Deanna even got on the phone and asked me to come by. She sounded overwhelmed. I’m going to go over there now and help Nina create a little more diversion, so I can get the hotel room key for you and make sure Deanna stays put and doesn’t go back to Deadwood.”
“Good work, Firefly,” Boner said. “We’ll see you at the hospital parking lot in an hour. Text me on your way down from the room.”
“Okay, baby. See you there.”
I doubted Reich would keep Tania at his hotel room, but it was a start. How this shit would finish, is what had me in agony.
THE BROWN BLINDS of the motel room were closed, holding back the heat, the sun, the world.
“I want to freak Butler out. He deserves it for fucking with me.” Reich swept his tongue across his teeth. He had just finished tying my hands to the spindles of the chair he’d pushed me into once we’d gotten to his room. The plastic ties bit into my wrists.
“He’s been fucking with you?” I asked.
“Butler? Hell yeah. He took something of mine.”
“Are we talking about Nina?”
“Yeah, her, too. The two of ’em thought they were smarter than me. Ain’t gonna happen the way they wanted it, I can tell you. I’m here to put an end to this shit.”
“You didn’t come here just to see Nina in the hospital?”
The ends of his mouth turned down. “Fuck, you talk too much, you know that?”
“So I’ve been told.”
“Don’t get any ideas. I got three guns, a couple of knives, and a—”
“Oh, I believe you.” My gaze roamed over the two suitcases in the room, an expensive facial moisturizer on one night table by the bed. “Won’t Deanna be back here soon?”
“You don’t want to be alone with me, babe?” He shot me a crooked grin. “Since you’re here, we could have a little fun, just the two of us. That there is one big comfy bed.”
“Hmm. No, thank you.”
He laughed loudly. “Deanna texted me earlier. Nina’s all emotional, so she’s gonna be spending the night with her. Works out perfect. It’s just you and me.” He cupped my chin with his meaty hand, his gaze traveling down my chest.
My stomach flipped.
“This was a last-minute decision on my part but a good one.” He let go of me, and he went to the mini bar fridge and grabbed a can of beer. “If Butler wants you back—and I’m sure he does—he’ll give me back what he took from me. Even exchange.” Snap, psst went the can top, and Reich guzzled the cold beer.
“Exchange me for Nina?”
Reich wiped a hand across his mouth, eyeing me. “It’s time for you to shut the fuck up now. Where’s your cell phone?”
“In my handbag.”
He opened my red canvas hobo bag and rifled though it. “Fuck, I hate women’s bags. Always so much shit. Gives me the creeps.”
He whipped out my cell phone and dropped my handbag, its contents spilling out onto the floor. Reich ripped out my phone battery, shoved it in his pocket, and flung the phone on the floor, mashing it with the heel of his boot. I flinched. I could imagine him mashing people dead the very same way. He picked up the pieces and shoved them into his jacket pocket.
He got on his phone. “Hey, it’s Reich. I’m in town, and I need a place to take care of a little business. Off the grid.” He glanced at me. “For the night.”
My stomach twisted.
“You got anything in South Dakota? Don’t want to have to cross state lines. Uh-huh. Good. Yeah. Later.”
“Are we going on a road trip?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, goody. Will there be snacks at least?”
“Snacks, huh? There’s an idea. What do you want?”
“Kit Kats, Whoppers, a machete.”
His body shook with laughter as he crushed his beer can and tossed it on the dresser top. “Yeah. Let’s go.” He cut the ties that bound me to the chair and pulled me up.
“Wait! Could I…” I gestured to my handbag and the mess on the floor.
“Make it quick.” He released me.
I squatted down and scooped everything back in—my collection of turquoise-blue, pink, and lilac gel ink pens, a lighter, hand sanitizer gel, the trial size of my perfume. My pulse spiked. I always kept a small glass vial with me to dab on my favorite fragrance when I wanted a pick-me-up or was off to meet someone. I’d started this habit in college when I’d be running around campus and Chicago all day and wouldn’t get back home until late at night. There was rarely time to freshen up and reinvent yourself for a night out. You had to be mobile, always prepared to step up your game.
I need to step up my game.
“Move it!” Reich snarled at me from the open door.
“All right already.” I stood up, gripping the handles of my bag in my fingers, and with a quick pound of my heel—Crack—I crushed the perfume vial into the rug.
Thank God I’d worn my old cowboy boots today and not bothered with my summer sandals.
Reich ushered me through the door and out to the parking lot. He pushed me into the back of a small windowless van and taped my mouth. His biker bro sat in the driver’s seat. We hit the road, and within fifteen minutes, the groan of a motorcycle surged beside us. An escort to our private destination?
An hour or so later, the van doors opened, and Reich’s biker grabbed me by the arms and hauled me out. A young red-haired biker stood before me, and I blinked at his colors. The red flames on his jacket made my heart stop. He was from my brother’s club. Finger’s club.
What the hell?
We were in a wooded area, the late afternoon sun glinting its last rays through the tall evergreens. The call of a bird curled in the sky, and the breeze quivered the long, knobby
tree branches. I clenched my jaw, my stomach somersaulting.
The redhead motioned us into a small box of a worn-out wood cabin whose door he unlocked.
“Good work,” said Reich.
“You bet,” said biker boy. “Anything else you need, give us a call.”
Jesus, is Red our concierge checking us into the Flames Four Seasons Hotel?
“Appreciate it,” said Reich. “I’ll be outta here by morning.”
“Sure.” The biker stalked out of the cabin without glancing at me.
Was that out of respect for his elder, or was kidnapping women such a common occurrence that it didn’t even register?
Reich pushed me further into the cabin, his bro remaining outside. The young biker took off, his engine squealing through the woods where we were hidden. Reich shoved the old wood door shut with a loud thud.
My heart sank lower and lower as the drone of young Red’s bike faded.
I SLID THE KEY CARD Jill had gotten us into its slot in the motel room door. The green light pinged on.
I pushed open the door with Boner at my side, gun ready.
Empty.
“Fuck.”
Not that we’d expected him to still be here with Tania.
Boner, Clip, and Dready moved through the room, going through the luggage, opening drawers, kicking open the bathroom door.
My eyes closed, the scent hitting me like a ten-foot wave.
Pepper and flowers and—
I followed it and crouched down in the carpet, spotting the shards of wet broken glass. Was there a struggle?
“Is that perfume?” Boner slanted his head. “Smells too expensive for some ten-minute whore he might have snuck in here while his old lady’s at the hospital.”
“It’s Tania’s perfume,” I said.
I’m coming for you, Scarlett. I’m coming.
“Now, where the fuck did he take her?” I muttered.
“Unless he’s got a safe house in our territory, he’ll be putting a call into his club here,” said Boner.
“That means Finger.” Dready raised his chin at me.
I dialed Finger’s number. I should have called him from the beginning, but I’d wanted to be the one to handle this, to get Tania safe.
Not him.
“Butler.”
It was Catch.
“Why am I talking to you? I’m looking for your prez.”
“Finger’s out of town with our VP,” Catch replied. “As one of his officers, I’m on call.”
Fuck, I have to play ball with this jerk now.
“Got a question,” I said.
“Let’s see if I wanna answer it.”
My vision blurred, and I pressed a hand around the back of my neck.
Calm down. He’s her brother. You need him.
I gripped my phone even tighter. “You been in touch with Reich, your national VP from Ohio lately?”
“Why should I tell you Flames’ business, man?”
“Catch, I think it’s safe to say, you fucking owe me. Now, tell me. Has Reich contacted you within the last twenty-four hours?”
Catch let out a heavy exhale. “Yes.”
“What did he want?”
“Butler—”
“What the hell did he want?” I yelled.
“He wanted access to a safe house for the night.”
“Did you give it to him?”
“Of course I gave it to him. He’s the national VP. I set it up and sent one of my bros to take him there. I would’ve gone myself, but I couldn’t get away, had shit to take care of here. He said he’d be there overnight.”
“Was anyone else with him?”
“Fuck if I know. Split’s not back yet.”
“Call him. Find out if he has a woman with him up there. Where is this place anyway?”
“You really just asked me that?”
“He’s got Tania, asshole!”
Silence.
“What do you mean, he’s got Tania? WHY THE HELL DOES THAT MOTHERFUCKER HAVE MY SISTER?”
The blood rushed through my veins. “You gonna give me the location of that safe house now?”
“I NEED TO PEE.”
I gestured at the small bathroom on the opposite end of the cabin from where my hands were tied to a hard plastic chair that was blackened with age and dirt.
Two twin beds were shoved against a corner, their thin stained mattresses not inspiring comfort. One large thick brown sofa along with a long plastic table that had seen better days and a dirty, encrusted plug-in hot plate, next to a barely-of-this-century sink, added to the spiffy factor of the cabin.
“Go ahead, hon.” He grinned. “I’ll watch, and then I’ll wipe that pussy myself.”
“Oh. Well, I need to…you know…” I slanted my head downward. “My stomach has been acting up with all the excitement. I don’t feel too good. Good thing you didn’t get me any snacks, huh?”
He scowled. “Ah, fuck. Fine. You stay in there. I got company coming, and I need you out of the way.”
“You don’t want me serving cocktails and hors d’oeuvres?”
Reich slashed at the ties attaching me to the chair, grabbed me by the upper arm, and shoved me toward the bathroom. “Keep that attitude up and that mouth running, and you just might service cock and serve your cunt.”
“Can I have my handbag with me in there?”
He went back for my handbag and tossed it at me. “Here.”
“Could you cut these off, just until I’m done?” I held out my tied wrists. “Please?”
His eyes darted up to the tiny wood-framed window in the bathroom.
“I really don’t think I’m going to fit through there, do you?” I said.
He muttered something unintelligible under his breath as he took his large hunting knife from his side and slashed the plastic tie around my wrists. “You stay in here. Don’t expect any pity or help from my bro.”
“Of course not.”
He shut the door of the bathroom. I exhaled and slumped back against the small stained counter, clutching my handbag. I waited five minutes and flushed the small toilet. I turned on the water faucet, and shut it off.
A blast of pipes flared in the distance and grew stronger. They cut out, and a hard knock came at the cabin door. The warped door jerked and creaked open, and my heart raced. A new, loud male voice greeted Reich. Pats on backs, chuckles.
I put my ear to the door, begging my breath to slow down, calm down.
“How you doing? Your girl all right? She better?”
“She’ll be fine,” came Reich’s voice. “Nina will be out of the hospital any day now and coming home with me. Something came up, and I’m here for a few hours.”
“Well, I’m glad you could meet up before I headed back to Kansas.”
I strained to decipher the muttering and small talk.
“What do you have for me?” asked Reich.
“You were right. The Blades are more fucked than when we first talked to them. Notch is desperate for a new lifeline, starving with nowhere to turn now that their hook-up with the Calderas Group is history and they got busted. Now they’re interested.”
“Thought so. Idiots blew you off months ago when you first contacted them, thought they knew better. And?”
“Pick was impressed with my offer this time around.”
The mattress made noises, and more muttering filled the room. Lighters clicked on and off. Cigarette smoke tinged the air. I plastered myself against the door. I didn’t want to miss a word.
“Pick is getting the ball rolling with Notch. Meanwhile, Notch is salivating to make a statement to Finger and the Jacks since all that shit went down. Fucking perfect timing, man.”
“Good,” said Reich.
“Finger’s gonna lose his shit. The Smoking Guns haven’t been in these parts for decades. Not since—”
“Exactly,” replied Reich.
Holy shit, Reich is bringing the Flames’ enemies into Nebraska to stab Finger in the back
and bolster them against the Jacks? Oh God, no, that meant—
“And Finger?”
“You let me worry about Finger. He’s just one man,” came Reich’s voice. A voice laced with glee. He was making a presentation and relishing his audience’s response.
“I’m counting on this to work out, Reich. We’ve been looking to stretch this way for a while now.”
Boom.
My bag stared at me from the floor.
Shit! I’d dropped it.
“What was that? You got a possum in there?”
The wood floorboards creaked and groaned. I froze.
The door unlocked and swung open.
Reich slanted his head at me. “Get out of there.”
“Gladly.” I scooped up my bag from the floor and brushed past him, heading for the side of the old plastic table.
Reich’s guest stepped forward in the shadowy afternoon glimmers of sun in the small cabin. The name Scrib was on a small patch. A grinning skeleton holding two smoking guns was stitched on his leather vest. My insides twisted at the sight.
Scrib stared at me like I was a free bag of his favorite fast food. He pointed a finger at me. “I’ve seen you before.”
“Me?”
“Saw you at the Flames,” he said.
“Excuse me?” I mumbled.
“I’ve been running surveillance on Finger’s club this past year. I saw you at his clubhouse. I have a thing for dark-haired women. Yeah, I liked what I saw.” His head slanted. “You had a kid with you.”
My fingertips dug into the sturdy cotton canvas of my handbag, my heart galloping in my chest. “You’re wrong.”
“No, I’m not.” Scrib’s eyes narrowed. “They let you in. They let you out. Seemed like a real friendly visit.”
My face heated under Reich and Scrib’s hideous inspection.
“Not yapping now, are you?” Reich let out a dry laugh.
“You one of those high class bitches that like it dirty once in a while?” asked the Smoking Gun.
My insides coiled. My mouth dried.
Reich grinned. Satisfaction, but it wasn’t from the beer. “Well, Lady Luck has certainly shined her fat white ass on me today.”
A smile swept the Smoking Gun’s lips. “You get off on Finger’s missing fingers?” He laughed loud and hard. “All those scars turn you on, huh? I like bitches like you.”