SOLD: Jagged Souls MC

by Naomi West

Taking a deep breath, I walked out of my store, Carlos and his men close on my heels.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Creed

  Fucking bitch. I’m going to kill her. How dare she?

  I received the text from Carlos while sitting outside of his hideout, waiting for someone to emerge. So now, here I was, riding as fast as my bike would take me over to the supplied address. She had made a deal with Carlos, that bitch. She needed to learn her place.

  Fuming, I slid into the parking lot, leaping off the bike. I was ready for war. I would kill Carlos, kill anyone he had with him, and I would make Ivy pay for her disobedience. That idiot was going to ruin everything.

  It was silent outside of the shop, and I waited, my breath puffs of white smoke in the icy cold air. After a few moments of quiet, a door opened behind me. I whirled to find seven men and Ivy filing out of the little store. Among the men was that asshole Carlos.

  “Carlos!” I called, my voice harsh with the cold and my seething anger. “I’m going to fucking kill you!”

  Fuming, I watched as the leader of the Carrion Club turned, his eyes coming to rest on my Ivy. She frowned, then looked at me, her eyes pleading. “Creed, I think we need to talk.”

  “Talk?” I said, stepping towards them. “You want to talk now?” Rage burned along every inch of my veins until I thought I might combust from it. I took another step forward.

  A bullet buried itself in the gravel by my toes. I paused, looking down at the little hole in the road, disbelief overriding the rage in my system. “You shot at me!”

  “I shot near you,” Ivy said. Her fingers were still wrapped around the gun. I had no idea where she had gotten it or where she’d learned to shoot. Despite the fact that I didn’t want to, I found myself admiring the curly-haired idiot her spunk. “But the next one might be at you if you don’t listen!”

  “Alright, Ivy. You have my attention,” I held up both my hands. “Make it quick.”

  Sighing in relief, Ivy turned to Carlos. “Carlos, you know Creed. Creed, this is Carlos. You two have a lot in common. Including your desire to get rid of the cartel before it takes over the whole town. Things will get bad if you let them move in. You both know it.”

  I could feel pressure building in my chest. “So what?”

  “Do you know who Christine Alvarez is?” Carlos asked, folding his muscled arms over his chest. “Or did you think she is exactly who she said she is?”

  My eyes narrowed at him. “What do you mean?”

  He cleared his throat, nodding to one of his men. The guy, holding out his hands to let me know he wasn’t armed, stepped forward with some photos in his hands. I narrowed my eyes at them, unsure if I wanted to take them or not.

  But curiosity won out. I didn’t know where Christine came from. And I wanted to know. “I thought she was just some messenger for the cartel.”

  “She is now,” Carlos said as his man retreated. I glanced down at the photos in my hands, trying to make sense of the pictures I was seeing. Family portraits, Christine at the center, her smile and blonde hair completely unmistakable. But the people who surrounded her…

  “This is a portrait of the Rodgers family?” I whispered, my eyes locked on the photos. They had to be Photoshopped, right?

  But they weren’t. All of them were printed on that weird copyright paper that professional photographers used. They were high resolution originals. It had to be real.

  The Rodgers family was a rival gang from a nearby city, one that had a smaller population and less potential clients for the drugs we had here, even shared between the Edge and Carrion. He’d tried for our territory before Kelly’s rise to power. Carlos’ father had come together with our leader at the time to chase the Rodgers out of the city.

  “That’s right. They are trying to get the cartel to weaken the area so they can take control. Christine Alvarez is about as cartel as I am. And her real last name is Rodgers. She doesn’t have any official ties to the cartel at all; she’s acting as a middle man.”

  “You have to be fucking kidding me.” But he wasn’t. He really wasn’t. There was a seriousness to their faces, a worry that permeated everything Carlos said. “So it’s true. And Kelly is giving her the go to invade.”

  Carlos nodded, shifting his weight from foot to foot. “We want Kelly out. We have made invasion plans of our own for the Devil’s Edge, but we don’t want to have to implement them. The loss of even some of your people would weaken our position here, giving the Rodgers a footing in the territory, with or without the cartel.”

  I shook my head, staring down at the photos. “This is--” But I couldn’t seem to talk around the lump that was building in my throat. What we almost let happen, what Kelly was trying to do…

  “We are willing to declare a truce if and only if you kill Kelly.” Carlos’ eyes burned into mine, and I began to feel lightheaded.

  “How am I supposed to get away with that?” I asked, punching the wall next to me. This whole situation was bullshit. I was ready to murder Kelly. But it was against the rules to just walk up to him and shoot him. I had to challenge him or make him admit his guilt. But he would never accept a challenge at the moment, not with the cartel contracts on the table.

  I’ll have to corner him. Make him admit more than he means to. A tiny bit of an idea was forming in my mind. Carlos watched me carefully, his eyes studying whatever emotions came over my face as I pondered my predicament.

  It would be tricky, but it might just work.

  “If I succeed, I would like to reinstate the old terms we had between our gangs, Carlos. If I’m head of the Edge, I want this nonsense to end between us.”

  He nodded, a wicked smile on his face. “Of course. I agree completely. Get rid of Kelly and the cartel, and we will reinstate the old treaties again. Fail and we invade. Do we have a deal?”

  “What if the cartel comes anyway?” I asked, not really wanting to think about it.

  “We will fight them together and defend our soil.” He looked so sure of himself like that was a possible thing. Like it was obvious. I only hoped we had the manpower to drive them away.

  I felt like there was some kind of a catch I was missing, but I didn’t have time to think it through. I held out my right hand, the other hand held out away from my left side. I wanted it obvious that I wasn’t going for any weapons. Carlos tucked the wicked-looking blade he’d been holding back into its sheath and shook my hand without hesitation. “Thank you, Creed. I think you just save both of our people.”

  “I sure as shit hope so. If not, I’ve made a huge mistake.” I curled my hands into fists, thoughts of all of the violence I wanted to inflict on Christine filling up my mind. She would pay for her deceit. Kelly would pay, too, for falling for her disguise without trying to find out who she really was. Twice the fool.

  “As soon as the Edge is in my control, I’ll let you know. And you can call off your attack dogs,” I said. I watched as the seven of them all nodded, turned, and walked away. They all looked slightly relieved, or maybe that was my imagination. If they were smart, they will be relieved.

  Feeling oddly lighter, I watched as the Carrion Club walked away, their shoulders a little straighter than when we started. They rounded the corner, leaving me alone with Ivy.

  She turned around and locked the door of the store with a set of keys I’d never seen before. She stared at me, her chocolate eyes as hard as glass. Where had that weak, mousy woman I’d met only a couple of weeks ago disappear to? I almost didn’t recognize her.

  “I got my life back, and you will get your gang,” she said warily, her eyes tracing the outline of my face. She’d put the gun away and stood in the doorway of this little shop, no, her little shop, and looked like a totally different Ivy. “My store is mine again. I have everything I was always afraid to go out and get for myself.”

  I stared at her, trying to get a read on the thoughts spilling across her features. “And?”

  “Am I still your woman?”

&nb
sp; I narrowed my eyes, staring at her beautiful face through slitted eyes. “You will always be my woman. Whether you like it or not.”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Ivy

  “Give me one reason I shouldn’t backhand you right now in the middle of this parking lot.”

  I’d expected anger, but I wasn’t quite prepared to answer to violence. I swallowed around the sudden lump in throat, having to work to meet Creed’s eyes. “I did exactly what you told me to do,” I snapped at him, anger mixing with my fear. I felt kind of ill; it was probably the cocktail of my complete lack of sleep along with the dangerous blend of strong emotions, but I suddenly felt ill.

  I took a step forward, but there seemed to be no ground below me anymore. Then I was floating. I heard a voice. It was rough and masculine and really familiar, but I was having a hard time processing information. I was pretty sure the voice cursed, then said something like: “You have to sleep, or else there’s nothing left when the adrenaline is gone.” I wasn’t sure what all that meant, but I really, really didn’t care. All I cared about was the way the floating felt, and the creeping darkness that closed over me like a water.

  When I woke up, I felt awful. But I was laying down somewhere comfortable, and I was warm. Those two things were all that were important for a while. Slowly I began to drift out of my dreams and back into reality. “Where am I?” I croaked, hoping someone was around to answer.

  “Dad brought you here,” a familiar voice said. There was a tapping against the floor. Most likely Josh’s little, sneakered feet against the floor. “It’s another shitty motel; I hate this place. The bathroom smells weird. But we’re not staying here long.”

  I opened my eyes, trying to focus on what Josh was saying, My brain felt a little too big for my skull and it throbbed in time with my heartbeats. “Man, I don’t feel too good. Do you know what happened to me?” I couldn’t remember much, and the memories that were returning were jumbled and messy.

  “You apparently went against Dad’s orders and went to go take your store back with Carlos.” My eyes came into focus well enough that I could see Josh’s face all wrinkled up in disgust. “I don’t know why you had to call him.”

  I sat up, feeling bile rise in my throat. But I managed to keep it down. “Do we have some water?”

  He pointed next to me. “On that table thingy.”

  I glanced to my right; there certainly was a bottle of water on the nightstand. It was room temperature, but it tasted like icy mountain stream to my parched throat. After downing half the bottle, I felt much better. “Did I pass out?”

  “Yeah, I think you did,” Josh shrugged his shoulders, his eyes still glued to the TV. “Dad said some something about you not drinking water and not sleeping and you just passed out.” Josh leaned his elbows on the bed, turning to stare into my face. “That was pretty dumb; why didn’t you sleep?”

  “I was getting things done. It’s not smart to skip sleep, but sometimes you don’t have a choice.” I frowned. “Sometimes adults can be a stupid as little kids.”

  Josh chuckled. “Are you hungry? Dad left us some pizza and cookies.”

  “Do you know where your dad went? Did he take Carlos’ advice?” I asked, suddenly feeling a puddle of dread fill my stomach. My memories returned to me in a sudden downpour, and I kind of wished I was still passed out. “How long has he been gone? Do you know where he went?”

  Josh rolled his eyes. “Come on, Ivy. One question at a time, okay?”

  I took a deep breath and sat up a little more, glancing around the room. It was a pretty generic motel room; there was a single bed, a TV which was currently blasting cartoons at a completely unreasonable volume, and a small nightstand. There didn’t even appear to be a closet or a kitchenette. So Creed doesn’t expect us to stay here for long then. It must mean he’s doing something about Kelly. But what will he do?

  I wanted to know. I needed to know. It was me who brought about Creed’s decision. I felt like I needed to help somehow.

  Unfortunately, it took me almost ten minutes just to sit up straight. I guess the stress of the last few months had finally caught up with me. I felt like a punching bag that had lost all of its filling. Propping up some of the pillows behind me, I stared into the TV, trying to catch my breath. “How long was I asleep?” I asked finally.

  “A few hours. It hasn’t been too long.”

  “Did your dad go back to see Kelly?”

  Josh nodded, his face screwing up like he was forcing himself not to cry. “He said that they had some unfinished business. I asked if we could all just leave, the three of us, but he said he wanted to stay and fix it.”

  “Fix it,” I repeated, my lips forming around the words. He was going to fix it. Creed would fix the Edge. Did he mean to kill Kelly then? My stomach turned a little at the thought, but not as much as it turned at the thought of Kelly and Christine succeeding.

  Josh got up from the bed and grabbed a pizza box off of the floor. There was a box of cookies on top of it and another bottle of water. “Here. You should eat something. My dad said neither of us can leave this room until he gets back. Unless he’s not back in a day. Then we’re supposed to run.”

  “Where would we run to?” I asked, my voice filled with uncertainty. We don’t have any money, and we don’t know which way to go.”

  After a quick shrug, Josh pulled a small wad of cash out of his pocket. “We can go to the moon and back with this much money.”

  I didn’t quite agree. It would be horrible if I went through all of that trouble getting back my business only to have to abandon it to the incoming cartel. They would most likely kill anything associated with the Edge, which meant Josh and I would have to escape before they started looking for us. I wondered where Creed meant us to go with what looked like $300. Couldn’t be far.

  I ate a slice of pizza and drank the second bottle of water before I finally felt human again. My head still ached, but overall I didn’t feel too bad. I might even be able to stand.

  Throwing back the covers, I shifted my legs to the side, getting to my feet. I wobbled a little but remained standing without much effort. Already feeling better. Good news! I’d always been rather resilient when it came to getting over illnesses and things. I stretched carefully, waiting for a sign of light-headedness. But nothing came. I didn’t feel up to running a marathon, but I was pretty sure I could walk a bit without getting tired.

  “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked glancing around.

  Josh pointed behind himself, towards the back of the hotel room. There was a little tiny door, closed to the room. “Thanks.” Focusing on taking one steady step at a time, I surprised at how normal I felt. Weren’t you supposed to feel like shit after you fainted? Maybe not. I’d never fainted before.

  I used the restroom, took a quick shower in the very smelly bathroom, then got out, coming back into the room. Josh was still sitting in front of the TV, his eyes locked on whatever silly show he was watching now. I grabbed the remote and turned it down a few notches so the sound didn’t pound inside of my skull anymore.

  Now that I knew I could walk, I had to get back to Creed’s side. It was where I belonged. “Josh, we need to go see your dad. We need to make sure that he--”

  “My dad said we need to stay here,” Josh answered. “He said if you tried to leave, I should shoot you.” Pulling the gun out from under the bed, Josh set it down on the side table beside him. “I’m going to follow orders.”

  It was a test for me. A way out. Creed wanted me to stay with Josh, but if I chose I could walk out the door. Josh wouldn’t shoot me, and we all knew it. But that decision was the easiest one I’ve ever made. I would always pick to stay. No matter what. “But what if your dad--”

  “He said we couldn’t leave, okay?” Josh was furious and he beat his little fists on the bed. “You think I don’t want to so see if my dad is dead or not? I fucking do.”

  Tears touched the corners of his eyes as he yelled. The silence after his
outburst seemed to echo loudly between my aching ears. “I’m sorry, Josh. Let’s eat some more pizza and watch a movie, okay?”

  He wiped his chocolate eyes with the back of his sleeve, sniffling loudly. “Okay,” he whispered, his voice cracking a little from emotion. “But I get to pick it.”

  “No horror movies,” I said immediately. “I hate horror movies.”

  Josh pouted. “Come on, those are the best kind of movies.”

  I made a face, trying to distract him from his father. “No way! The best kind of movie is animated kid’s movies.”

  Josh rolled his eyes. “What are you, like twelve?”

  I snatched the TV remote. “Come on, let’s watch something funny.”

  “I wanna watch a zombie movie!”

  We managed to bicker for the next hour or so, distracting ourselves with movies and arguments about what the best kind of movie was. Then we argued over what to order for dinner. Then we argued over sleeping arrangements.