Chapter Ten
James
Every minute that goes by is another small rock hanging on my eyelids, weighing them down.
After Sadie’s announcement, there was quite a bit of arguing, until Theo and June arrived, which just made everything worse.
June argued with Sadie so much that it turned into an all-out fight, ending with Sadie storming from the house and June disappearing into Theo’s room.
My brother gave me a look full of desperation, then said, “We have to deal with the Fivers.”
“I know, T,” was all I had to offer him. He followed his ol' lady into his room, and I haven’t seen him since.
I click on my phone, groaning at the time. Four-twelve in the morning. The temptation to take one of my old, prescribed sleeping pills is growing stronger by the second. But if I take it now, I’ll sleep the day away.
Annoyance at Sadie fucking Oliver builds under my skin.
This is my fourth sleepless night since she showed up at the house two weeks ago and I agreed to let her help with this fight against the South Five.
I envision several more of these nights in the future, especially with her inane new plan to date Bowie.
I plan to keep track of every minute of lost sleep that woman causes me and eventually make her pay for it.
Before June and Sadie entered our lives, my insomnia had been in remission. The first few years after losing Shiloh and Scottie were made up of long stretches with no sleep. When I couldn’t go on rides because of the sleep deprivation, I finally went to the doctor.
That was all supposed to be behind me. But Theo just had to force a serial killer to live with us and fuck up my circadian rhythm all over again.
I flip to my side and squeeze my eyes shut, begging the universe for just a minute of rest. But I should be careful what I wish for, because I start slipping into unconsciousness, only for memories I haven’t revisited in a while to crawl back into my mind.
A soft face, light brown skin, and voice full of pointless promises haunt the dream.
“This is what you need. Don’t you want to be here with me? I’ll make it good for you, I promise.”
The memory of my own agreement sends me shooting up in bed, chest heaving and sweat coating my temple. First the insomnia, now those goddamn memories? I can’t do this. I check the clock and see it’s nearly five.
“Fuck it,” I mutter, climbing out of bed.
Within forty minutes, I’m parking my bike outside the gym.
As soon as I wrap my hands, time disappears and I’m lost to the fight.
Even without an opponent, my body and mind zero in on every punch and kick, relishing in the sweat dripping down my spine and the sting in my cracked skin.
The punching bag starts looking more like Bowie, but it’s definitely due to this war brewing between the South Five and the Saints and not at all because he’s about to get handsy with Sadie.
Finally, I step back, heaving in deep breaths, and notice the blood peppering the bag. I look down at my hands, frowning at how red my wrappings have become.
Marcus will be pissed if I hurt my hands, so I guess my workout is over. Unfortunately, my brain is far from calm, so I take a ride in the hopes of clearing it enough to just think. There’s got to be a way out of this.
For all of us.
~
“Who was that chick who hacked into the police database for us?” I ask Luna, striding into the apartment above the clubhouse garage that she shares with Bella.
“Good morning to you too,” she grumbles from the kitchen, where she’s leaning on the counter next to her coffee pot. It’s as if she plans to pour the burning liquid straight down her throat when it’s done brewing.
I slide a Red Bull down the counter, and it nudges her elbow, causing her to shriek with joy. She cracks the top and downs half the can before she faces me.
“You always were my favorite.”
“I know.” I cross my arms. “So, the hacker chick?”
“Why don’t you ask June or Sadie? She’s their friend.”
My teeth grind together. “I’m trying not to get them more involved.”
“I think they’re both pretty hell-bent on being involved.”
That’s the problem. I keep my lips pressed together, waiting for her to speak. Most people can’t stand silence and jump at the opportunity to fill it, Luna most of all. She makes the Energizer Bunny look like a sloth.
“I don’t know much about her. Never met her. But her name is Maple, and she’s Rose’s sister. You know Rose? Killer’s other friend. Sexy little thing and flexible as hell but, unfortunately, taken.”
I ignore the comment in favor of the actual helpful information. “How can I get in touch with Maple?”
“Didn’t I just say I’ve never met her?”
“Aren’t you besties with those girls now?”
“Killer and Sadie, sure. I’ve only hung out with Rose twice. Never even met the fourth one.”
“But you could get Maple’s contact information, right? I tried finding it online, but she’s basically a ghost.”
“Too scared to steal June’s phone?” Luna teases.
“Even if I could steal it without dying in the process, she changes her password every week. Theo barely keeps up with it. And, like I said, I don’t—”
“Want them involved,” she finishes. “You know, I find it odd that you’re suddenly all against involving them, when a couple of days ago, you were working with Sadie behind the boss’s back.
” She tosses her empty Red Bull can into the trash, chuckling at my expression.
“Don’t act so surprised. I pay attention.
” She turns and reaches into the cupboard for two mugs, her giant sleep shirt rising midway up her thighs.
She pours coffee into both, handing me the bigger mug that leaves no room for cream and setting the other on the counter behind her.
“That was before she went rogue and decided to jump straight into the enemy's bed.”
She lifts a brow, her smirk remaining glued to her lips. “Jealous?”
“Worried. She has no idea how ruthless the Fivers are. Especially Bowie.”
That reminder finally makes her smile fall, which doesn’t make me feel any better.
She sighs, a sure sign that she’s given in.
“The girls keep trying to convince me to go to one of Rose’s yoga classes.
There’s one later today. Maybe I can get Maple’s number from Rose’s phone.
She’ll be way less on guard than the other two. ”
“Thank you, Lu.”
“What do you want from her anyway?”
“She’s a brilliant hacker, and we need information. Who better to help us get it?”
“You don’t want to get a serial killer and her best friend involved, but you’re okay with roping in a twenty-four-year-old?”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“Mhmm, sure.” Luna kicks away from the counter, then turns so she’s standing directly in front of me. “Look, I know Sadie isn’t like June, but that doesn't mean she’s defenseless. In fact, she probably has a much better sense of self-preservation than our killer. She’ll be okay.”
I don’t bother replying. Instead, I ask, “Where’s Bella?”
“With her family. Her brother is in town from New York, so she’s staying with them all week.”
“You mean you have the house to yourself and there’s not a girl waiting in your bed?”
She lifts both brows and winks. “Who said there’s no girl in my bed?
” Then she retrieves the second cup of coffee and heads to her bedroom, saying, “Now get out of my apartment. I’ll let you know when I get the hacker’s number.
” She opens the bedroom door, and I hear her mutter, “Good morning, baby,” before it shuts behind her.
Several hours pass, during which I go over receipts and inventory at the Iron Cage. Luna finally calls me and bypasses any greeting to say, “You are fucking lucky that I love you. Hot yoga is far less sexy when you’re participating rather than watching.”
“You get the number?”
“Of course I got the number. But I had to ask Rose for it. I’m pretty sure she thinks I’m about to ask her sister out, even though I told her it was strictly for business reasons. Also, how funny is it that a super religious couple adopts two kids who both turn out to be queer?”
“Hilarious.”
“Anyway, Rose showed me a picture of her sister, and now I’m thinking maybe I should ask her out. She’s hot as hell. But she lives in Phoenix, and Rose said she doesn’t really date. Not that I plan on dating her as much as blowing her fucking mind, but—”
“Lu,” I interrupt, rubbing the bridge of my nose.
“Right. I got her number, but you should call from my phone. Apparently, Maple has some screening thing that blocks unknown numbers. Rose said she’d text her my number, so she’ll hopefully allow my call to go through.”
“This chick sounds paranoid.”
Luna remains uncharacteristically quiet, and I start to wonder if I said something wrong. Then she says, “I’m pretty sure she has reasons to be cautious. That doesn’t matter now, though. Where are you? Want me to come by so you can call?”
“Yeah. I’m at the Cage but about to head home.”
“Cool. Be there in twenty.”
She hangs up, and I take the time to call Ace, our go-to custodian who cleans up our more illegal messes, like those involving corpses.
He answers with, “Actaeon’s Custodians.”
“Hey, Ace. Do you have time for a meeting this week?”
“This about your difficulties with a certain group down south? Because T already called last week. I haven’t taken any jobs with them.
” As far as I know, the South Five never hires Ace.
As a larger gang, they have lower level members who do their grunt work.
Even if they did try to hire him, I don’t think he’d accept the job.
The dude may be a loner, but he’s loyal to Theo.
“Kind of. I wanted to talk about your more legitimate jobs.” His company doubles as crime scene cleaners for the local police, meaning he has better insight into what the cops are investigating than most people.
“More questions about old murders? You guys pick up a side business as cold case detectives?”