5. Zane
ZANE
I was leading point on this mission and Loki had assigned Bo Tatum, and his twin brother Butch. They were ex-military and I felt a hell of a lot more confident with them by my side. Part of me was hoping we wouldn’t have to do too much killing. The thought of a shootout had me on edge.
But I’d do what I needed to.
My bike’s engine roared beneath my body as I navigated through an area of New Orleans called the Treme.
It was a predominantly black neighborhood but the Koreans had set up a spot right in a rundown building inside of a shopping center.
Bo and Butch followed closely behind me on their Harleys and we parked discretely out of the way.
Even from where we were, there were people outside milling around laughing loudly. There was a liquor store across the street and people were stumbling around asking for money.
Music thumped calmly from the direction of the casino.
“We go in, and try not to make too much noise,” Bo suggested as he pulled out a shiny gold Desert Eagle.
His twin followed suit and pulled out a silver one.
“Don’t cause no shit if we don’t have to,” I grinned and pulled out my own Glock.
The green Trigicon sights glowed on the gun and then I tucked it back where I’d had it on my person.
The three of us approached the casino and a prostitute who looked like she hadn’t eaten in days walked up to us. She smelled bad like desperation and White Diamonds perfume floating on night air. Music from the building and chatter was growing louder as I tried to focus.
“Y’all looking for a date?” She asked.
Butch growled at her and told her off. “Get the fuck out of my face. You stink.”
Her face turned up into a sneer before she scurried off. “Y’all probably don’t have no money anyway.”
We finally made it to the door and saw you had to be buzzed in.
“Keep your cool,” I kept my head down, sure they wanted to catch our faces on camera.
Once we made it through the double doors and into the casino, we entered a room where people were sitting at computers playing virtual slots. Every few seconds someone would hit and let out a scream of glee.
Others were crowded around large black tables with joysticks as a virtual dragon or a crab gave them power ups.
“Fish tables,” I heard Butch mutter.
“Our mama loves going to the one by our house,” Bo replied.
I was too busy scanning the room and taking in faces when I finally landed on the woman that had to be Britney Lee.
She was leaning against a wall at the back and she had a dangerous glint in her eye. She was dressed in all black and her hair pulled into a sleek pony. She spoke to a few people passing by and the bold deep red on her lips glimmered against her rich dark complexion. A few men who had some height on them and weight on them were surrounding her.
“Miss Untouchable at 12 o’clock,” I whispered.
Bo and Butch nodded, and we began to move towards her.
Her eyes zeroed in on us immediately, as if sensing us. Her gaze sent a shiver down my spine.
Killer, I thought.
“Whoa, whoa?” One of her guards stepped out and stopped us. “Can we help you?”
“Need to speak to her,” I shrugged.
He jammed a finger into my chest. “I don't think so. Take your ass out of here.”
Bo and Butch had already moved into a defensive position in a blur.
The guns were out and drawn immediately on both sides.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I whispered, holding up my hands.
“Why are you in my place of business,” Britney Lee sneered, never moving.
“We just want to talk,” I assured her. “Everybody just be cool.”
Amusement danced into her eyes. “I think you boys are lost. I’ve never seen you three before and therefore I wouldn’t have a fucking thing to talk about with you.”
I stepped forward, “We need to talk about Avery Stone. We know you got him stashed somewhere.”
Britney Lee’s laughter echoed just as someone behind us screamed about hitting a jackpot. Tension began to ripple through the room.
“You got some huge fucking balls on you, but until its set right. Avery belongs to me. All his little body parts.”
“Fuck,” I shook my head biting at my lip.
My thoughts moved swiftly because she’d kept him stashed somewhere and I didn’t know too much about her.
“You can’t hold him in here forever,” Bo cleared his throat. “It’s best to hand him over to us now.”
She tapped at her lip playfully. “I don’t think I will. And if you know what’s good for you, you’ll head out now while you’re still breathing.”
The air in the room was becoming thicker than a bowl of gumbo.
“We’re leaving,” I muttered. “But we’ll be back.”
Britney Lee cackled. “I’ll be right here, baby! I’ll be right fucking here.”
When we were outside, I started looking around.
“What the fuck?” Bo questioned me.
“He’s not here,” I said.
“How do you know?” Butch asked pulling out a cigarette, his voice thick with caution
“It’s too out in the open,” I continued to stare at the cigs until he handed me one. “Thanks. And my gut is saying otherwise.”
Bo sighed. “Well, she definitely hasn’t killed him yet.”
“She knows we’re on to her though,” I lit the cigarette up and pulled the smoke into my lungs as we began to walk back to our bikes. The prostitute was on the corner leaning into a red car with a John. I watched her get in and they sped away before anyone could tell what was going on.
“Let’s check back in with Loki and report what we found…she could have him sitting anywhere,” Butch had already started the engine to his bike.
We all agreed that finding Avery was top priority. The only thing was we didn’t have a clue about was how long Avery had left.
Britney Lee was a fucking monster and I could still feel her eyes on me. It was like she locked onto my soul with some sort of dark voodoo spell.
Britney Lee might have been running the Koreans, but she was born and bred in Louisiana. Her dangerous words had been purely southern and there was no covering those roots.
Yeah, she was from around these parts and I could just tell it.