Chapter 13
Thirteen
Luna
To say I'm nervous would be an understatement.
Brick warned me several times that I should just stay at the clubhouse, and I can see from the other guys' faces that they don't want me here, but I'm not going to sit back and wait. I've been in bad situations because of my sister before. This is just another day in my family.
By the time we get there, Brick is still trying to get me to sit it out, but as we're walking toward a group of men who all look like they're willing to shoot us down in a heartbeat, he changes his tune.
"We're just here to talk. They may get a bit upset, but it shouldn't be anything more than talking." Brick whispers in my ear and pulls me closer to his side.
I nod but keep my head on a swivel. I check the corners and the small alleyway, looking to see if my sister is here, but that hope quickly dies when I don't see her.
"Wow, you brought all the old-timers out of retirement for this meeting? It must be important," the man in the center of all the others speaks. That must be Dutch.
"Old-timers?" Light looks around. "Who the hell..." he starts, but Brick puts his hand on his chest to stop him. Just like that, Light closes his mouth.
Now that type of power is exactly what I'd call sexy. I know I should be focusing on what's going on in front of me, but now I'm looking at Brick. The man sure is yummy.
"It is important, and it's something we don't need to discuss with your entire crew," Brick calls out.
"You think I'm going anywhere on my own with the lot of you? You're out of your mind, biker."
"I just brought them here to watch my back the same as you did your people. I'll leave my guys outside if you leave your guys." Brick calls back. I quickly yank on his arm to let him know that I'm not staying outside. He better add me into the equation real quick.
He sighs, annoyed, but doesn't say anything else.
"Alright, have it your way. Let's have a private conversation. Just you and me."
"She's coming too. That's not a problem, is it? Unless you think a little girl can get the drop on you?" Brick tilts his head to the side, and instantly I know what he's doing. I hate being a pawn in this little game, but I'm willing to play along too. As best I can, I put on a sweet, shy-girl persona. It doesn't fit, but I'll handle it for a few minutes if it means I'll get into this meeting.
"Nah, little mama can come too. It'll be good to have something nice and tight to look at while I have to deal with your ugly ass." Dutch chuckles before he snaps his fingers and walks away from his group of people.
Brick tugs me along as we follow behind him. We walk into a small Chinese restaurant, which I think is strange, but the minute Dutch walks in, all the workers walk out. Within seconds, we are alone with Dutch. The air in the stuffy restaurant gets heavier somehow.
"So what's this about? I've got shit to do, money to get." Dutch leans back in his seat, completely unbothered by Brick.
I can't tell if it's just posturing or if he really doesn't fear Brick. Either way, it's a bad stance to have.
"I came here to tell you, you've got some snakes in your grass, and now it's fucking with me and mine."
"Who, this one? I don't remember you being one of my girls. What happened, one of the boys got too rough with you?" Dutch blows a kiss in my direction, and I instantly recoil. He's disgusting. I can't believe my sister had anything to do with them.
"Your boys don't know what to do with an actual woman," I hiss back at him, and Brick slams his hand down on the table. The metal bracelet he wears clangs hard on the surface.
"No, she's not one of your girls, but her sister might be, which is why she's here and the only reason I'm letting her stay." Brick turns in my direction with the last bit of his statement before turning back to Dutch.
"It seems like some of your old members either have her sister or know where she is. My girl's house was broken into, and we were able to figure out it was Daly."
Dutch's face drops to a frown, and his eyebrows knit together. "That's bullshit. Let's just say Daly isn't with us anymore."
"Oh, are you sure? Did he die in the last forty-eight hours?"
"No, months ago."
"You're wrong." Brick pulls out his phone and pulls up the CCTV camera footage from outside my apartment building. Right there, clear as day, is Daly, the man Dutch seems to think is dead.
"What the fuck," he whispers under his breath before he slides the phone back to Brick. "Fine, maybe I got some of my information wrong, but what's that got to do with me? You already know Daly doesn't run with us anymore. He's on his own out there. At least until I fucking catch him again."
"That's all well and good, but Daly isn't the only one you need to be worried about. Did you send someone to look for some lost footage? Do you know her sister or where she is?" Brick finally starts asking the questions I care about.
"I know a lot of people. Who's to say if I know her sister or not?"
No way. I'm not going to play this denial game. I reach into my pocket, going slow when I see both of them react, and pull out my phone. I quickly pull up two photos of Wendy: one from when she was sober and one from not so long ago.
I show it to Dutch but make sure to pay attention to his reaction. I want to be able to figure out if he's lying or not.
"Oh, this little piece. Yeah, she used to be one of my best customers, but I haven't seen her around in a while. Last I heard, she was off getting clean." Dutch shrugs his shoulders.
"She is clean," I snap out before closing my mouth again.
"She's clean but missing, and we have reason to believe some of your men are keeping her against her will. We want her back." Brick leans back in his seat now, both of them snatching the power from the other.
"Why would we go after one junkie? Chances are she'll come back to us anyway. You both know that."
"Because Wendy had some information we think you all would rather not have been in anyone else's hands." Brick searches through his phone and opens up the video he downloaded from the thumb drive before he hands his phone back over to Dutch.
I never thought I would physically see someone shitting metaphorical bricks, but the instant Dutch sees what was on that video, he does.
"Where the fuck did you get this? Who was fucking taping us?" Dutch asks, agitated.
"I don't know the who's and the what's. All I know is Wendy had a copy for insurance, and now she's missing. If you look further into the video, you'll see some of your people griping about your leadership abilities as well as plans to come take the Brutal Chains out. Now, I may not know much about anything else, but I promise you my people don't take kindly to threats. You all may think you are about this life, but I guarantee that all my men are. We've got the records to prove it and the graves to make sure it doesn't happen again."
Yum.
Dutch just stares at him, and I can tell that smug look he had from before is gone. So much for the Brutal Chains just being another group of old guys.
"So what are you saying? You think having this is supposed to put the fear of God in me or something? It's not going to happen." Dutch shakes his head.
"No, we just want you to get a handle on your men. Figure out what the fuck is going on and either fix the shit or get the fuck out. We'll deal with them if we have to."
Dutch's jaw clicks; he's clenching so hard. "Yeah, and what's stopping me from just putting a bullet in the two of you? From putting a bullet in your whole group?"
"You could do that, but then that little video is on its way to every authority in the country. There's nowhere you can hide. I know you, Dutch. You play gangster, but you've never been to prison. Never had to hold your own when all of gen pop is ready to beat your ass. There's no seven-oh-sevens to watch your back inside. Take it from me, you're not going to make it."
Dutch stares at Brick for a second, and I swear I can see them mentally battling each other. I'm not sure I've ever witnessed a dick-measuring contest like this before, but I'm impressed.
"Fine, I hear you, Brick. So, I say we keep this between us right now. Can I trust you not to let this fall into anyone's hands?" Dutch slides the phone back to Brick. It's the smartest thing he's done all day.
"Yeah, it's under lock and key and encrypted, so no one is getting it. I'm going to need her sister, though." Brick gestures in my direction, but Dutch simply shakes his head.
"Sorry, my man. I can't help you."
"Bullshit!" I bark louder than I should. "You have to know something. She's mixed up with your people. You have to know where she is." Even I can hear the desperation leaking from my voice, but I can't hide it. I am desperate to find Wendy.
Dutch stands and shakes his head again, "Sorry, love..."
"Watch yourself," Brick snarls at Dutch. I roll my eyes at his reaction to another man calling me a pet name.
Dutch raises his hands with a smirk on his face, "No disrespect, but honestly, I've got no clue where she is." Dutch steps away from the table, and just like that, all my hopes of coming here for answers to find my sister vanish. This can't be the end.
Brick must feel my body deflate because he drapes one of his arms around me to keep me from completely crumbling.
"You know what," Dutch speaks, and both of us turn to where he's standing by the door. "I surely didn't know that Daly was still alive. I'm going to handle that, but if your sister was mixed up with him, there's a small railroad car that he used to sleep in when shit got rough. I haven't been there in months since there was no need, but if he's got his hands on your sister, you might want to check there. I hope it helps."
"Good looking out, Dutch. Let me know when you finish cleaning house. I'd rather not have to keep looking over my fucking shoulder." Brick nods in his direction, and Dutch leaves the small shop.
Another rollercoaster of emotions. One second I think all hope is lost, only to be nearly blinded by possibility in the next.
We're going to find her.
We're going to bring my sister home.