by A. R. Case
“I didn’t dump you, you dumped me, remember? And I forgive you for that.”
“Go to Hell.” He tried to move around her. Luckily, the parking lot was still half-deserted before residents came home from work.
She tried to grab for him and missed. He walked away from her as fast as he could. “You bastard!”
He heard the screech of metal on metal. He turned his head to see her scratching the paint of his Mercedes with a key. “What the fuck are you doing?”
She kept dragging the key down the finish.
He ran back and grabbed her hand to stop her. She screamed.
“Help! He’s hurting me.”
A passerby saw the commotion and put the phone they’d been staring at to work.
“Dammit, Vi.” He raised his voice. “Tell the cops she’s scratching my fucking paint!”
“He’s assaulting me! Help!” She was full-on crocodile-crying now, despite the fact that he’d dropped her hand.
Amazingly, within seconds, the familiar whoop-whoop of a siren sounded.
Chris rolled his eyes. He walked out to the police car, which had parked right behind Vi’s illegally parked car. The police car blocked the entrance to the lot. One of the residents stopped behind it and got out to see what was going on, and why they couldn’t get in. The commotion increased as Vi’s crying got louder.
The cop emerged, hand on weapon. He told the resident to return to his car and took in the situation with Chris and Vi. “Hands on your head!” he ordered. The weapon cleared the holster, and Chris put both hands, one still holding the briefcase, which knocked him in the face, on top of his head.
“Put the briefcase down, slowly.”
Chris complied. Vi ran to the cop and started spouting her story.
“She followed me home and scratched the paint on my car!”
“Everyone calm down.” The police officer motioned to Vi. “Go wait inside, ma’am.”
“I’m only twenty-eight, not a ma’am.” She flipped the left drape of her hair off her shoulder.
The cop glanced from Chris, who again had his hands on his head and hadn’t moved, to Vi. He cleared his throat. “Ma’am? Did you scratch the paint on his car?”
“Of course not! He assaulted me. Arrest him!”
Chris shook his head. It was going to be a long afternoon.
Chapter 19 — Dogs
If Alexis didn’t already love visiting Crank to take the dogs out for runs every weekend, sending a probationary member to pick her up would make her promise to visit every day. She was contemplating how much a car would set her back in order to do just that when a van pulled up in front of the door. She glanced at Dylan’s van, which hadn’t budged. There were at least two people inside the front of the van that had pulled up, so she hoped they’d control Dylan if he decided to be stupid. She grabbed her keys and went out the front, locking the door behind her.
A patched member of the Brigands opened the side door for her, and she stepped in.
“Hell, that was easy. Ghost, you got this?” The guy who’d opened the door called over to where Ghost was talking with Dylan.
Alexis realized her mistake.
Another car pulled into the parking lot. She hopped out of the van and started for the car.
The kid inside it almost hit her. He slammed on the brakes and the car rocked.
The other one, the patched member, grabbed her from behind and dragged her back into the van, knocking her on the back of the head with something solid. It hurt like hell and made her ears ring. She didn’t pass out but became more compliant so she wouldn’t be hurt worse. He searched her as he spoke, taking her bag and phone. “What are you doing here?” he said to the newcomer.
“Uh, I was told to be here.”
Ghost handed money to Dylan. “Get gone.” He directed his attention to the newcomer. “Who told you to be here?”
“Crank.”
“Motherfucker,” Ghost swore under his breath. “Get in the van.”
“But my car…”
“Get in the fucking van.”
Dylan drove off in the middle of the exchange. Alexis caught a glimpse of him watching her as he pulled onto the street.
The probate got into the van, sitting on the floor by Alexis. His eyes ping-ponged between Ghost and the other member. “Crank call you, too?”
“Yeah, Crank called.” Ghost smirked. The van rocked as they got in. “Blue, we’re going to take care of you, babysit, or some shit like that.” He laughed and started the van.
It was noisy in the back and there were no seat belts. Alexis felt like she was going to throw up. “You got a phone?” She whispered to the prospect.
He glanced at the front. “Yes.”
“Text Crank, let him know the change in plans.” She moved her eyes to indicate the front of the car.
He turned his back on the front of the van and dug out his phone. With one hand, he texted a short message. Alexis didn’t know if it was to Crank or not, but she hoped it was.
The kid did something else with the phone, then put it in his pocket. He crossed his legs in front of him and glared at Alexis.
~~~~~~~
Fifteen minutes later – Crank
“Boots, where the fuck is your brother?”
“He’s in jail, believe it or not.”
“What the fuck?” Crank groaned as he stood up. His last patch was wearing off, and everything hurt.
Tony rambled on about ex-girlfriends and scratched paint. “Who’s got him?”
“Ventnor City. His lawyer was called to get him out.”
Crank did some quick thinking. If it had been north of there, he had someone who could speed up booking. “Fuck.” He hung up on Tony, who was still talking.
He grabbed his coat. The two dogs he couldn’t part with, Fritz and Snick, perked their ears up. Bark and Bite were in their new home, guarding a car dealership. “Yeah, you’re coming.” He hoped his truck still started. Between the pain and the medicine that made him loopy, it had been almost a week since it had been driven. The dogs jumped into the seat next to him. Fritz moved to the small space that doubled as tool storage and a supposed seat and laid down. Snick parked her doggie ass in the middle, near him.
“Can’t work the shifter with you sitting there. Move over.” He shoved her over and a new pain twinged in his ribcage. “Damn it.”
He patted his pockets, pulled out a crumpled business card. “Fuck my life.” He pulled out his phone and dialed the number.
“Hello?”
“Mills, this is your fucking lucky day. Can you meet me at the gas station on Black Horse Pike just west of Fifty? Yesterday, not two fucking hours from now.”
There was a slight pause before he said, “I’m thirty minutes from there.”
It was twenty-nine minutes. Snick decided his driving warranted the back after he nearly went off the road turning from his driveway. The wait for Mills left time to move to the passenger side and for his hands to stop shaking.
Mills walked up. He was wearing a plain leather coat, and jeans. Good boots, too. Crank motioned to the agent to get in the driver’s side. “You’re driving.”
“Where to?”
“Shut up and take direction, dog. Or this isn’t going to work.”
Mills started the truck.
“Turn right, west.”
They drove twenty minutes and Mills parked the truck in a dusty lot. The gate was guarded by Brigands. Crank talked them through without issue. “He’s my driver,” Crank said.
Once stopped, Crank pulled a gun out of a case at his feet.
“How many felonies is that?”
Crank gave him a glare. “None. You have my file. This is registered to me.”
Mills indicated the building. “Okay, inside, then.”
Crank
sighed. “At least one. Felony kidnapping.”
“You want me to arrest someone?”
“Hell no. You want in as an undercover, right?”
There was a second of hesitation. “What’s the catch?”
“Get the girl out.”
“Girl?”
“Chris’s girl, Alexis Canens.”
Mills checked the holster he had strapped to his ankle. “Will they search?”
“Probably.”
He detached it. Then he checked the gun in his shoulder rig but left that one in place. Crank looked at his choice of T-shirt.
“Ain’t no way you listen to Killswitch.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Whatever. Don’t talk. Snick, Fritz.” He got out, leaning heavily on his cane. The dogs jumped out of the truck. To Mills, he ordered, “Close that door, Dog.” He walked away to the door of the building.
It wasn’t a clubhouse, and it wasn’t a member’s home. This was one of the properties Ghost had taken over. Because all the money went through Crank, he knew about it. It had been a guess, picking the closest location to Atlantic City, but seeing as the probate sent him directions that included the nearest highway, it was more deduction than a guess. Crank glared at the guy at the door. “That asshole have my girl in there?”
“The blue-haired one? Yes.”
Crank opened the door wide and whistled hard, then short. The dogs bounded inside. “What you waiting for, Dog?” He narrowed his eyes at Mills and walked in. Mills moved as quickly as he could, and still save face in front of the guy at the door. He made it inside about the same time as Crank did. Fritz was barking at everyone, Snick had settled in, head down. A low growl was coming from her.
“Call your dogs off, Old Man. We haven’t hurt her.” Ghost glared at Fritz. The probate Crank sent was beaten and passed out at Ghost’s feet. Shards of a cell phone were scattered around him.
Alexis was chained. The other end of the chain attached a door hasp which had been hastily nailed to the floor. One nail was cocked haywire and bent, another was hammered flat across its hole. The other end attached to a choke collar looped around her neck. It was locked tight with a cheap padlock. The chain wasn’t long enough so she could stand up. Her shirt was ripped. She was holding it closed with one hand, the other was on Snick’s back.
“You chained her?” Crank straightened up. “You son of a bitch.” His voice dripped hatred. “History means nothing to you, does it? Otherwise, you’d know what kind of fucking bullshit you just dropped on our heads.”
“You are getting scared in your dying year.”
To that statement, Crank pulled out his gun and pointed it at Ghost. Both dogs began to bark, Snick alternating between barks and growls.
“Princess, truck.”
Alexis moved to the end of the chain and lifted her chin to show Crank the lock.
His eyes narrowed and he moved the gun aim to between Ghost’s eyes.
Instead of shooting Ghost, Crank turned. “Hold Snick, Princess.” He shot the floor where the hasp attached. Wood chips went flying. The hasp was still attached. “Get that thing loose, Dog,” he said to Mills. Crank’s gun went back to train on Ghost. “I came for mine. I’m leaving with all of mine. You done fucked up, again.”
“You are the one fucking up, bringing DeSantos back in.”
“That’s legit business. Something I’m not surprised to find out you can’t understand.”
“So, what, we’re fucking going straight?” Ghost laughed. A couple of men joined in, but their laughter died quickly.
“Again, no fucking sense of history, or future. Tell me how long we’ll be able to outwit the cops, the feds? You think you’ll just be able to run around breaking laws forever? Hell, in twenty years, you won’t be able to show your face to the sun without the government knowing whether you took a shit in the morning or not.”
“That’s truth,” Mills commented under his breath. The hasp pulled free of the last splinters of board, leaving two nasty nail points poking out of a jagged block of wood he’d broken free.
“Shut up, Dog, and get her to the car.”
Mills snagged a coat from a nearby table.
“That’s mine,” Ghost said.
Mills glanced down at it. “Looked like hers.” He set it down and picked up a ratty packing blanket, instead.
“Crank, you are the one who fails to see the future,” Ghost began. “You may not get this but going global insures the future of the club.”
“Going global gets you in debt with the fucking Russians, or worse. Get your head out of your ass.”
“Seriously, it’s only a couple hundred grand. It’s nothing. You can spare it.”
“Spare, yes. Lose? No. How’d you get out of the last snafu?”
“Doesn’t matter, it’s all settled.”
“No fucking sense. You’re done. Out. Anyone catches you with Brigand colors on your back, you’re dead.” Crank let his gun hand lower.
Fritz stood between Crank and Ghost, and Snick hadn’t left Alexis’s side. Ghost had his hands up, but he’d been slowly walking toward Crank. There was a scuffle, and the gun went off. The bullet went into a wall. Both men hit the floor. Ghost got up first, Fritz going for his leg and biting through the heavy jeans. He went down again, kicking at the dog. Snick’s barks turned evil.
Crank got up. “Fritz, to me.” The dog broke off, but not quickly enough. Ghost got a kick in which connected with the dog’s head. Crank shot at him then. He missed, but the bullet splintered the floor and sent wood into the air. “Move again and you’re dead. Any of you other numb-nuts move and he’s dead.” He motioned to Mills to get moving, but he addressed the group. “You stay with this guy, and you are all fucking dead to the Brigands.”
The dogs bundled into the back of the truck. Alexis twisted around to check on Fritz. “Did he get hurt?” She was petting him, and then alternated to Snick. “Good girl, Snick.”
Crank got in and slammed the door. “Drive, Mills.”
The agent spun tires and got out of the lot. “Where to?”
“Hospital,” Crank said.
“I’m fine,” Alexis said.
“You sure?” Mills glanced from the road to her, then back to the road. “Your shirt.”
“They tore it when I tried to get away. I’m fine. No hospital. Please?”
Crank groaned from the passenger side. “I ain’t. Fucker knifed me.”
Chapter 20 — Magnets
Chris went directly from the police station to Atlanticare. His brother, who’d driven, parked in the nurses’ parking lot. For once, Chris didn’t give him a hard time about breaking rules.
They entered through the employee entrance. The guard recognized Tony but stopped Chris.
“He’s with me,” Tony said.
“He needs a visitor pass.” The guard wrote down the number and handed off the pass.
They met up with Tony’s wife in Emergency. “He’s in surgery, and Mills and the girl are in the nurses’ lounge.” She eyed Chris, then addressed her husband. “She really has blue hair. I thought you were kidding.”
Tony kissed her. “Nope. Thanks, baby.”
“They can’t stay in there. Shift change is in an hour. Maybe move them to the chapel? I’ll find you when he is out of surgery.”
“You are the best.” He led Chris through the warren of hallways. Mills was practically sitting on Alexis as they walked in.
“Hold still. I think I’ve got it.”
“What the fuck are you doing?” Chris pulled Mills off Alexis. She was wearing a blue hospital gown that was tied in the back. A chain hung down from her neck. “And what the fuck is that?”
“Hi, Chris. There’s this new sex club that Mills is going to take me to. They specialize in bondage so I thought it would be fun to sub. Wann
a watch?”
He looked at her, the chain, the padlock, Mills, who had a bobby pin in his hand, and around the room. His brother was trying not to laugh and turning red. “Fuck you.” He said to Tony. Then his eyes lit on the refrigerator. He snagged two high-power magnets from the surface, then he moved in on Alexis. He took the same spot in front of her that Mills had been in. The seat of the stool was still warm. He took a second to scowl at the agent.
Then he leaned in, touching his forehead to Alexis’s. “You okay?”
She buried her face into the nook of his neck. She was shaking.
He shifted the magnets to one hand and held onto her. “I heard your voicemail. Crank’s, too. You okay?”
“I’m okay. The chain is a little tight though, and the nurses suggested a saw. But they didn’t have anything that would fit between the chain and my neck to stop the sparks. I think someone is looking for a hacksaw.”
He kissed her. “Lean back a bit so I can see the lock.” He rubbed the magnet on the top edge of the case. While he did that, he moved in as close as he could to touch Alexis with his legs, his cheek, anything he could. “Got worried.”
“Mills said you were arrested.”
“Vi.”
“Oh.” She was quiet. “That bitch.”
“Yeah.” Chris stopped moving the magnet, then rolled the two magnets until they were twisted around. He looked at Alexis. “This might be loud.” He didn’t wait for her answer and slammed the ends against the side of the case. The lock popped open.
Susan came in just as he did that. “Wow.”
Tony laughed. “Been a long time since you did that one, bro.”
Mills craned his head to look as the chain fell away. “Neat trick.”
“He used to be able to get into anything locked,” Tony said.
“How long ago was that?” Mills asked.
“Longer than the statute of limitations on anything I would not have done.” He glared at his brother as he tossed the chain to the side and pulled Alexis close. She hid her face and wrapped around him, leaving no space between them. His brother took the magnets Chris passed back to him.