Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Doc
“Do we have any leads on who abducted the people we rescued?” I ask as we sit around the table in church.
“No, but the cameras I placed caught some interesting video the other night,” Nerd says. “Let me set it up.”
I take a closer look and see that Pokey doesn’t look well.
Fuck, he’s a stubborn asshole on the best of days, but I make a mental note to get him into the clinic for a full work-up.
He’s older than most of us as he was part of the club when Paps was president, so it could be that time is simply catching up with him.
Regardless, he’s a brother and we don’t leave one behind so whatever I can do, I will.
Nerd sets up the screen and starts playing the video.
Initially, all you can hear are normal night sounds—dogs barking in the distance, the occasional banging of a door that wasn’t secured that’s now blowing in the slight breeze, faraway horns.
Then the sound of tires moving across the asphalt can be heard and as a unit, we all lean in closer.
A black SUV stops in front of the burned-out warehouse and after several long minutes, a tall, lanky man gets out and stares at the rubble that remains.
“Son of a bitch!” he yells before pulling out his phone. “Jbone, where the fuck are you and Gash?”
They must respond because then he yells, “No the fuck you are not! Because I’m standing here looking at the detritus of our base of operations.
Get your fucking asses down here now so we can figure out what the fuck happened.
We’re gonna have to push the auction back.
I told you it wasn’t a good plan as to how you procured them but no, you thought it was a great idea. Now, get here, motherfuckers!”
We watch him stomp around muttering, but his voice is now too low to catch anything of substance. Twenty minutes later, another black SUV rolls in next to the first one and parks. Two guys get out; one is short and stocky, the other is tall and lanky.
“Do you have other views that can get their faces?” Rio asks as we watch them walk over to the first man.
“Already running them through facial recognition, prez,” Nerd replies, his fingers flying over another laptop keyboard.
The man should have a bad back since he usually carries two of them at a time, but instead, he acts like it’s nothing.
Again, something that’s new over the past few months.
How have I missed this? Pokey has been taking more of a backseat to Nerd for quite some time and I decide to have a chat with Rio as soon as possible because he probably knows what’s going on.
As the three men huddle together, the audio picks up their conversation. “Jbone, tell me again where you and Gash were at?”
The one called Jbone audibly gasps and says, “We were here around seven, made sure all of them were topped up, got rid of the one dead guy, then we went to grab something to eat really quick. When we got back, it was on fire.”
“So, you didn’t think to call me?” the one who appears to be in charge asks.
“Sorry, Boss,” Gash replies. “We was worried that the cops would see the flames and didn’t wanna get caught here and raise questions.”
“But again, you chose not to call me?” the boss questions. “I swear to God, you two are imbeciles. Now we have to start all over again.”
“Might be harder, Boss, because of the Kings.”
Abyss growls out, “He’s got that right. Find those fuckers, because hearing the word auction makes me think they’re traffickers. Not very good ones, thank fuck, but nobody deserves that hell.”
“The fact that they had to drug them to keep them compliant says a lot about them,” I add.
“I’ve got ten people, including Gretchen, currently detoxing.
Most were in our medically assisted transition program through the clinic, and quite a few had a lot of recovery time under their belts.
This shit is gonna set them back and possibly cause them to relapse. ”
“Fuck the Kings!” Boss man shrieks, throwing his hands in the air. “They’re nothing but a bunch of pussies.”
Both Jbone and Gash step back and look around, as if their boss saying what he said will conjure up the club. “Boss, nobody fucks with them, that’s the word on the streets.”
“Yeah, well, if they try to dismantle us, they’ll find out who the fuck they’re messing with, that’s for damn sure,” the boss snarls.
“Now, you two start scouting for a new place, we’ve gotta get up and running again so we can hold our first auction.
Maybe try spreading yourself around the meetings so you don’t get too many from the same place.
That’s what probably tipped them off, if this was them. ”
“You got it, Boss,” Jbone replies.
We watch as the three of them leave without another word.
I have so many fucking questions in my head right now it feels like it might explode.
Were the people abducted picked because they were at their meetings?
Did these men sit in and listen to stories and then decide who would be the unlucky one chosen to be abducted and drugged?
“It’s obvious that Jbone and Gash are street names,” BamBam says, breaking the silence. “Because there’s no fucking way a mother would name their child something so ridiculous.”
“We need to reach out to any contacts we have on the streets to see if they’ve heard of these two fuckers,” Rio states. “Gopher, take Mongrel with you and see what y’all can find out.”
“About Mongrel,” Abyss interjects. “Seems he’s pretty close to patching in. We need to call for a vote.”
“He is, and we’ll do that and set up a party once we get this dealt with,” Rio advises. “But the other two need a little bit longer.”
“We gonna change his road name? We’ve always used Mongrel, Monkey, and Mutt for our prospects, but I’ve gotten used to calling him Mongrel,” Nighthawk asks. “Plus, he’s been a huge help to me a few times and keeps his mouth shut. Maybe we need to ask him.”
“Gopher, feel him out about a possible name change,” Rio says. Banging the gavel, he says, “Church dismissed!”
I don’t waste time; I hurry out of the room and back up to mine. I want to check on Gretchen before I head over to the cabins to see about those other patients. Then I have to go to the clinic. Maybe I’ll hear something that’ll help us find these three fuckers.
When I walk into my room, my eyes widen looking at the bed. “What on earth?” I ask as my gaze locks in on a small table tray that covers her lap.
“It’s something called diamond art,” she replies. “Livy and Shelly came by and brought it for me to do so I could keep busy.”
I move closer and see there’s a canvas with a pre-printed design on it. She’s holding what looks like a pair of tweezers and there’s a box with partitions and a shit ton of sparkly beads in them. I watch her pick one up then place it on the canvas and see her smile when she looks down.
“What’s it going to be?” I question.
“It’s a carousel,” she says. “I’ve never done this before, but it’s relaxing, Doc.”
“You didn’t get too tired when they came to visit, did you?” I query.
“No, I had just woken up from a nap,” she says.
“They didn’t stay long, but Shelly offered to bring her stuff here once you say it’s okay.
We’re going to do a different kind of tattoo, though.
She feels that I should still honor the sixteen years I had clean, even though I’m starting over again.
I’m kind of excited about the design she’s working on. ”
“Can’t wait to see it, sweetheart,” I reply as I check her IV then her vitals. “I’ll be back a bit later, I’m heading over to the cabins to check on the people there, then I need to put a few hours in at the clinic.”
“I’m sorry I can’t go in and help,” she tells me.
“Don’t be sorry, Gretchen, this isn’t your fault in the least. Do you need me to get you anything before I leave?”
She looks around like she’s just realized she’s not in a guest room. “Is this… is this your room?”
“Yeah.”
“Doc, I can’t… no, this isn’t right, I can’t be in here with you like this,” she stammers. “Can you put me in another room? And why am I here and not out at the cabins with the others?” she asks, firing off question after question.
“No, you’re not going to another room, you’re staying right here where I can keep an eye on you,” I reply. “As for why you’re not out at the cabins, I need you to understand that you’re mine.”
“I don’t understand it, we’re work colleagues, maybe more like acquaintances, so I don’t comprehend how I can possibly be yours,” she retorts.
I see some of the sass that has always turned me on in her right now and I bite back my smirk.
“The first day you came into the clinic to work, I was intrigued, Gretchen. The longer we worked with each other, the more I liked what I saw. My mistake was waiting to act on it, because we had a few things going on in the club. But when you were abducted, I decided that life was too fucking short to wait for the perfect time. I’ve seen the looks you give me when you think I’m not looking and if I’m right, you’re just as interested in me as I am in you.
All I’m asking is for you to give me a chance. Give us a chance.”
She sighs, then says, “I don’t know why you’d want to take a chance on someone like me, especially given the current circumstances, but I’m willing to try.”
“That’s all I want, sweetheart. I know you’ve got this hurdle to overcome, but while you’re going through it, I’m going to be right by your side,” I promise.
Her head drops and she quietly replies, “I don’t think I’m worth the effort now, and I think you’re crazy to stick by me, especially under the current circumstances, Doc.”
When I see tears falling down her cheeks, I sit on the side of the bed and carefully pull her into my arms. “I think you are. There’s someone I’m going to introduce you to, a therapist. She mostly works with women getting out of domestic abuse situations, but she’s a good woman and you’ll have someone you can talk to about how you’re feeling. ”
“Can I talk to you, too?”
“We can discuss anything you want, sweetheart. Now, I know you’re having fun with your diamond art, but it’s almost time for you to eat again and you’ll probably doze off, so we should probably put it up for now,” I say.
“Can you stay and eat with me? I know you need to get to work so if you can’t, it’s okay.” She’s second-guessing herself, and I can’t have that. I need her to be both mentally and physically strong by the time we finish treating her.
“I’ll always have time for you, Gretchen.”
With that, I help get the diamond art contained and off the bed, then walk with her back downstairs so we can eat. It’ll put me behind a bit, but it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.