39. Chapter 39
Mothman, Red and I head to the warehouse on our rides, me carrying the coke in a saddle bag. When we get to the address where X is supposed to be, we hang back until Mothman’s in position. Once he texts, we move in, bikes on full throttle to announce our arrival. One of the overhead doors is wide open, but no one comes out to greet us.
“Hey!” I shout. “Where the fuck is everyone!”
No sign of movement. It feels like we’re standing in the middle of a ghost town.
Both Red and I have itchy fingers, wanting to pull our guns, knowing that if we do, it could put X in the middle of a firefight. “What now?” Red asks as we duck down behind a couple of crates.
I’m staring at the warehouse, willing the assholes to come out. “Wait for them to show.”
Ten minutes later and still nothing. Not even crickets.
I pull my gun. “Let’s go.”
We zig-zag towards the building, taking shelter behind whatever’s around: more crates, a rusted-out Ford Escape, a stack of barrels. When we reach the warehouse, Red covers me as I jog low into the interior. There’s not enough light inside to find our way around without tripping, so I duck behind a forklift, and listen for movement, voices.
Dread wells up inside me. What the fuck is going on? What if they’ve already killed X? What if they’re planning to kill us, grab the coke, take off. Doesn’t matter if Mothman shoots them. It won’t bring X back.
Red’s hand on my shoulder makes me jump. “What the fuck?” I whisper.
“What the fuck, is right! Lettin’ me sneak up on you. Get your fuckin’ head on straight.”
He’s right. Panic won’t save X. “Yeah.” I peer into the dark. “Can’t see a fuckin’ thing.”
“Wait here,” Red says, then disappears.
A moment later light floods the warehouse.
“Jesus Christ!” I snarl at him as he returns. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Gettin’ us some light,” he replies. “They can see us, we can see them.”
Goddamn fucker and his logic. We stay low behind the forklift watching and listening for signs of life, but there’s nothing anywhere. In the background, a phone starts ringing. It’s faint. Red and I hold our breath as if we rehearsed it.
“It’s coming from outside,” Red says.
“The pricks are outside,” I snarl losing my patience. “What the hell are they playing at?”
“Maybe the phone’s for us. They’re calling to send us somewhere else.”
“They fuckin’ better not be.”
We make our way out of the warehouse, less cautious than we were before. The ringing is coming from a bunch of barrels. “Cover me,” I say to Red as I run low towards them, skirting behind the old Ford again.
Red’s on my heels.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I snap. “I told you to cover me.”
“I’m not your stooge,” he snaps back. “And isn’t that why we have Mothman on the rooftop?”
“Fuckin’ asshole,” I mutter. “Mothman must be wondering what we’re doing.”
The cell phone stops ringing.
“Shit!” we say together.
I call Mothman.
“Yeah?” he says when he picks up.
“No one around outside.”
“No shit. Can’t see anyone anywhere. What the fuck are you doing?”
“Cell phone’s ringing somewhere near the barrels. We’re gonna check it out.”
“Got you covered,” he grunts.
I hang up without replying. “Let’s go,” I say to Red.
We get bolder as we go, feeling sure we’re alone. When we get to the barrels we start searching the vicinity. Nothing on the ground and I’m getting fuckin’ frustrated. Then I spy an open barrel and look inside.
“Jesus fuck!”
“What?” Red says, hovering over my shoulder.
I point at two guns and two cell phones.
“Don’t make sense,” Red says.
I stand and look around. “This is a clusterfuck.”
“They ain’t here,” Red decides. “Let’s call Hangman and meet up with the other guys.”
“Not yet,” I reply, distracted by my thoughts. “Don’t know what the fuck’s going on, but we can’t leave until we search the warehouse. What if X is inside?”
Red nods. “Makes sense.” He’s already movin’ towards the open overhead door.
When we get inside, we split up, Red taking the right side, me taking the left. There are a few rooms. I open each door carefully, check inside. Nothing but junk and dust.
“This one’s locked from the outside,” Red says as he hovers in front of a door. “I hear movement.”
“X,” I say as relief floods me. X is safe. She’s still alive.
“Or it’s a trap,” Red says.
I raise my eyebrows. “It’s locked from the outside. How’s it gonna be a trap?”
Red shrugs. “Lots of scenarios.”
I don’t have time for his shit, so I slam the bolt back and yank open the door.
No X to my dismay, but there’s a couple of assholes, one propped against a wall holding his shoulder, blood on his shirt and his hand, the other standing, leaning against a desk, cupping his balls.
Red and I stand motionless for a moment, trying to understand the scene in front of us.
“What’s going’ on, fellas?” Red asks casually.
I pull my gun. “And answer quick or I’ll fucking shoot you both between the eyes.”
The guy standing says, “We had the girls, but they took off.”
“Girls?” Red narrows his eyes. “Thought you had one girl.” He kicks the guy on the floor. “His girl!”
Guy on the floor jerks and whimpers. “We did. The Mexican one and the other bitch we picked up along the way.”
“Jesus fuck!” I say thinking it’s gotta be Lavender.
“Where the fuck are they?” Red asks. He’s prowling around the room, looking at shit.
“They got away. Took off with the dog. Locked us in here.”
“Please don’t kill us,” the guy with the hole in his shoulder begs.
I shoot him between the eyes, then watch as he slumps over onto the floor.
“Oh fuck! You killed him!” his partner yells.
Red raises his gun. “You’re next fucker.”
“Wait,” I stall him. “We gotta find out where X is.”
“You got to shoot one,” Red pouts.
“You can have this one when we’re done,” I tell him.
There ain’t much left of him by the time we’re satisfied they don’t have X, but we leave him alive. One of the brothers will come back later to check up on him. If he’s still breathing, we’ll take him in. If he ain’t, well the world’s a better place without him.
I call Mothman as we head outside.
“Yeah?” he says.
“Stand down. X and her friend beat the shit out of the clowns who were supposed to be doing the exchange and took off.”
“Coming down,” Mothman says, then the line goes dead.
“Explains the guns and phones in the barrel.” Red reaches in and picks them up. It kind of does. “This was the one that was ringing.” He hands it to me.
“Locked,” I tell him as I hand it back. “Probably calling from a burner anyway.”
He drops the phones on the ground and crushes them under his heel. “No point givin’ them back to dead men.”
He’s right. As we wait for Mothman, I call Hangman and explain the situation.
“Jesus Christ. Why the fuck can’t that mouthpiece stay put!”
I sigh. He has a point. “Guess she likes to solve her own problems.” I kick at the dirt. “One of the phones was ringing, but we didn’t get to it in time.”
I look around the yard of the warehouse. “Gotta find X, Prez. She might have taken off, but that don’t mean she’s safe.”
“You’re kidding me, right? She’s a fuckin’ wrecking ball.”
She is and that kind of makes me proud. “Don’t matter. She’s out there and I’m gonna find her.”
“How asshole?
Good question. “Just gotta think like she does.”
“There’s no fucking sane person in the world that thinks like she does.”
He’s getting my back up. “Back off, Hangman. She’s somewhere in fuckin’ Reno, I’m gonna find her if I have to tear this town apart.” I pause. “We don’t fucking abandon one of our own.”
“Did I say that!” Hangman bellows because he knows I’m right and doesn’t like it. “I know my fuckin’ role in this club! So get the fuck out there and find Houdini!” He takes a breath and his voice settles down somewhat. “Send Mothman my way and keep Red as back-up. When you find the mouthpiece, tie her up, gag her and throw her in a fucking vault.”
Any other time, any other brother, and I’d be laughing. But we’re talking about X and I have to find her. I’ve only known her a few short days and I already know I can’t live without her.