17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Sweet
With the victims transported to the hospital and the bar cleared out once everyone’s statements were taken, I went in search of Jemma. I hoped she’d calmed down, that Flame had made her understand how things were, and she’d be waiting in the back to make sure I was okay.
“She’s gone,” Flame said the instant he stepped through the door. “She took the kid and left before the cops even got close. She’s scared, Sweet. I tried to explain why you shot, but she wasn’t really in the mood to listen. Maybe, the words will sink in later, after she’s washed off the blood and hugged her son.”
“What did she say? Did she mention me at all?” I asked.
Flame hung her head but admitted, “She said this was your life but not hers or the kid’s. She said she doesn’t want any part of this. She’ll get over it. I think she may love you, Sweet. She did good for a first timer. She kept her head long enough to help EZ, then she lost it. She’s tough, but this was even almost too much for me. You can’t blame her for freaking out.”
“No, I can’t. She was already unhappy about what I am. Just the sight of my tats set her off in the beginning. She wanted to get Jackson another mentor back then. I should have let her. Instead, I played like I was normal. I watched over her, taught her to fight, soothed her cuts, and took her on a damn date. She’ll see tonight as a betrayal. She’ll say I’ve lied about everything. And she’ll mostly be right. I lied to myself thinking I could make this work.”
“You didn’t lie, big guy. I know you. I know your heart. You’re a softy until someone you care about is threatened, then you become hell’s fury. That’s what happened here. I’ll bet you were afraid one of those bullets would reach Jemma. That’s why you took the shot. But you didn’t aim for the kill, and that says something too. She needs to know that,” Flame replied.
“It won’t matter. She saw the real me tonight. She hates me now. She’ll keep Jackson from me, too. At least my loyalties won’t be divided any more. I’ll go let Prime know,” I said.
I slipped out into the dark hallway. I wasn’t about to let Flame see the tears pooling in my eyes. I’d screwed up the only good thing I’d ever had in my life. Now it was gone. I knew that men like me were only given one shot at love, and I’d ground mine into the dirt with bloody hands.
The MC was all I had left, and it was in trouble. My Prez needed me to be focused and ready for trouble at all times. I had to let my personal pain go and think about what needed to be done. I pushed away from the wall, steadied myself, denied that I gave a damn, and headed for Prime’s office.
“I’ve got a copy of the police report, courtesy of Carmichael. It calls your actions self-defense. Everyone in the bar gave witness to that. So, you’re off the hook for it all,” Prime announced when I entered.
“Fine,” was all I said.
Prime looked up from his paperwork and simply stared at my face for a moment. Whatever he saw had him changing tactics.
“Sweet, you did what was necessary. You kept things from getting far worse. It could have been a bloodbath. Suzy is being soothed by her friends, and she’ll probably go visit both of those assholes tomorrow because that’s who she is. The guy shot in the arm is already headed home. The bullet went all the way through. It lodged in the table. EZ is doing great. He’ll be out by tomorrow afternoon with stitches and pain meds. They had to dig out that bullet. Even the asshole you shot is gonna live. Don’t beat yourself up over it,” he told me.
“Jemma saw it all,” I stated.
“I know. Doc told me. He said she was taking care of EZ until he arrived. She’s got balls that’s for sure.”
“Not really. She’s just compassionate. She left with Jackson and told me to stay away from them. She doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore, so I’m back. No more divided loyalties,” I replied.
“What about protecting her? She’ll get scared and call you. She needs you, and she cares about you whether she thinks so at the moment or not,” Prime declared.
“I’ll check on her when I can, but as to watching over her every minute I don’t have the time, and she’d get pissed if she saw me. I can only pray that the threats were just meant to get Mitch to pay up, and they won’t really go after Jemma or Jackson. At least, they’ve learned how to fight a little bit. I’m thankful for that,” I admitted.
“I’ve spoken with Petrov. He’s not pleased with what I’ve asked of him, but he’s doing it. He says he has a man who can get inside the cartel and get information out. The guy can’t just straight out ask about Mitch, so it will take a few days to gather intel, but we’ll know something soon. I’m not quitting on this even though Jemma wants it that way,” Prime responded.
“I’m grateful. I know that the spy can get you information on what the cartel has planned for the club, and that’s your main objective, but thanks for including Mitch. I know you didn’t have to,” I answered.
“Jemma and Jackson are important to you, so they’re important to me as well. We watch over our own. If she’s yours then she’s ours, too.”
The next two days were the longest of my life. I broke down and called Jemma on the second day. She didn’t answer. I hadn’t expected her to, but I’d hoped a miracle would happen. I drove by her house, her work, Jackson’s school, and anywhere else I thought they might go just to make sure they were alive and well. I slept in a borrowed car across from their house once my shift at the bar was over until almost sunrise. I left before Jemma woke up and worried about the strange car parked at the curb.
I saw nothing suspicious while I spied. Everything was quiet and normal, which made me nervous for more than one reason. It meant that Jemma was doing just fine without me, most likely not even thinking about me or the night we’d spent in her bed. It also gave me a feeling of dread, as if everything was about to blow up in our faces. I hated it when I was right.
Prime called while I was eating runny eggs and burnt toast in an all-night diner that should have been shut down years ago due to its filthy state. I was too twisted up inside to care much about the germs I was consuming or the smell of vomit even the heavy scent of bleach couldn’t cover.
I answered the call with a curt, “What’s the problem?”
“Come to my office at the MC house immediately. I have some news about Jemma’s ex.”
“Can’t you just tell me what the news is over the phone? I’m trying to gag down the most disgusting meal ever cooked,” I replied.
“It’s probably better that you don’t eat. Leave it and get here asap. I’m not getting into this over the phone, and I have visitors you need to meet,” Prime explained.
“On my way,” I promised and dropped some cash on the table to cover the nasty mess this place was bold enough to call breakfast.
Since I’d returned the borrowed car in the early hours of the morning and decided to end my nightly spying on Jemma I whizzed past the cars on the main road on my bike, breaking the speed limit in order to obey Prime.
Several of my associates were in the kitchen of the house arguing over trivial matters, but Ditch, our VP, was waiting for me.
“You made good time. I’m here to warn you not to go in there with an attitude or any notion of dealing with matters on your own. Prime’s visitors won’t take kindly to that, and it could break the alliance that Prime has made. Listen, learn, and do as you’re told,” Ditch ordered.
I didn’t like the way the orders sounded or that I was being chastised before I’d even done anything wrong. However, I knew when to obey and when to challenge orders, and this was definitely the time to obey. Obviously the mafia head or his representatives were inside Prime’s office. Going in there with an attitude would destroy the alliance and possibly add a new enemy to those we already had.
I knocked on the closed door and heard Prime say, “Enter, Sweet.”
“Sir,” said the instant I opened the door. “What is it you require of me?”
My eyes darted around and saw two visitors, three if you counted the bodyguard stationed ramrod straight beside the door I’d entered.
The bodyguard didn’t even blink when I stepped in. The man sitting in the chair directly in front of Prime had to be the pakhan, the mafia boss known as Petrov. He had dark hair and dark eyes that cut through me like a laser beam. He had a patch of hair on his chin and shoulder’s that a linebacker would envy. At the moment he was looking me over. It felt as if he was reading my soul.
The blonde beauty sitting beside him was another matter. She had legs that went on forever, blonde hair that fell to her waist, and eyes that said she’s seen everything there was to see in this world. Her nails were tapping out a rhythm on the arm of her chair.
“Close the door and take a seat,” Prime replied to my question.
I obeyed though I hated sitting when the bodyguard was standing. It left me slower to react to trouble, giving Petrov’s man the advantage if things got ugly.
“Kirk, I’d like you to meet the bratva leader in our area. This is Drago Petrov who was kind enough to find the answers we required. The lovely lady beside him is his daughter, Zoe.”
I cringed when Prime used the name I was given at birth. That’s not who I was anymore. I supposed he used it in order to show we would hold back nothing from our new allies, but it still made me nauseous.
To the Russians Prime said, “This is Kirk, also known as Sweet, our enforcer. He’s the one who had concerns about Mitch’s involvement with the cartel. Would you mind filling him in on what your inside man has learned?”
“I was not happy about using my inside man for such trivial information. This man was not someone who mattered. He was just a punk that the cartel used for small sales. But by listening in on the conversations about this irritant we discovered not only your answers but several details we needed for ourselves. So, it was not as much a waste of time as we had concerned ourselves over,” Petrov stated. His disdain for what he considered a job below his station was made obvious to us all.
“What we learned for our own sake was that the foolish cartel leader, Aguilar, believes he can escort illegals into Texas and extort larger than agreed upon amounts of money from them without the bratva’s knowledge. Most cannot pay, so they are enslaved as whores or eliminated. This matter we will deal with on our own. For your information and for mine as well, they are poaching from both of our drug territories. Their drugs contain hazardous chemicals that send their buyers into the ER more often than not, but the blame will fall on your shoulders as most of those drugs are ending up in your territory. We have managed to remove them from ours, permanently,” he continued without showing any concern over killing those who thought to interfere with his livelihood.
I opened my mouth to ask about Mitch, but Prime held up a hand to stop me. He didn’t want me speaking. I assumed he was trying to appease Petrov’s dislike of dealing with those he considered as underlings. It burned my ass to be thought of as less than this man.
I fumed until Prime asked the question for me. “What was learned about Mitch? I ask so that I can release Sweet to do his duty while we discuss the issue of removing the cartel from our territory.”
Petrov nodded, clearly appeased for the break up of his speech by the fact that Prime was going to dismiss me so they could discuss business he didn’t believe I needed to hear. He didn’t understand that Prime wasn’t like him. The entire MC would learn of every word spoken in this room. Prime would make sure of it.
“My daughter will explain. I do not care for such trivial matters,” Petrov sneered.
Prime turned to the woman. His eyes showed an appreciation for her beauty. He looked at her in a way I’d never seen him do with any other female. I speculated on what was behind the look.
“There is not much to say about what the man you asked about was doing for the cartel. As you already suspected, he was employed by them to distribute drugs and make sure payment was made. He was charged with partaking of the drugs he was supposed to sell, and for shorting the cartel of payments. Eventually, he stopped paying at all. He was warned. It is known among the lower levels of the cartel that threats were made to a family that he no longer has,” Zoe told us.
“Thank you for confirming our suspicions. We would like to know if the threats will be acted on if that is possible for you to learn,” Prime replied.
“I cannot confirm or deny their plans for receiving payment. However, I do not see a reason for further action on their part. We have learned that the body of a male fitting the description of this Mitch fellow was discovered in Lake Conception by a fisherman just moments before we arrived at your door. There were signs that he’d been beaten, suffered burns on several sensitive parts of his body, and the skin removed from an area around his nipples before his throat was slit. I would assume the debt is paid,” Zoe explained without flinching at the description she gave.
I came out of my chair, ready to pound more information out of the woman, but Prime shouted, “HOLD!” He’d seen the bodyguard make a move for his weapon.
I ground my teeth together until my head throbbed and clenched my hands into white knuckled fists, but I managed to obey the order.
“How did you get the information so quickly? We’ve heard nothing from the police,” Prime answered.
“We have a man inside the police force. He was aware we had been asking questions about this man. The identity has yet to be confirmed, but my informant is certain it is him. I do not doubt that he is correct. I would not worry any longer over the woman. She is meaningless,” Petrov calmly replied.
My anger rose by several levels at his dismissive attitude. I’d seen the note the cartel left on Jemma’s doorstep. They wanted the money. I feared this wasn’t over. What they couldn’t get from Mitch they’d try to get from her, and they wouldn’t mind using Jackson to get it.
What would happen when she heard about Mitch’s death? She had no one to turn to, not even me. She said she hated him and wanted him out of her life, but I didn’t think she’d meant she preferred him dead. She’d suffer from guilt over her hatred because of her kind heart. And poor Jackson had lost his father. It wouldn’t matter that he was a loser of a father to him. He’d be devastated.
They both needed protection and a shoulder to cry on. The problem was that I wasn’t allowed to give them either of their needs. Jemma had closed that door.