Chapter 13
Widow
“How long have they been missing?”
“Since about two this morning.” Menace seemed pretty shaken up as he told me, “We all came to the bar after Stilettos. Had a few more beers, and when we called it a night both Badger and Danny were busy cleaning shit up. I checked the monitors, and it looks like they left out about two this morning. Maybe they went out for cigarettes or something. I don’t know where they went. I just know they never made it back.”
Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have been a huge concern that two of our prospects had gone AWOL.
Prospects have a lot to contend with and often need a breather, but after what happened with Country, l found it doubtful this was the case with Badger and Danny. “Has anyone gone out to look for them?”
“Hawk and Rafe left out a few minutes ago.” He motioned his head behind him as he said, “Viper wants me and you to do the same. He and Axel are in his office putting feelers out to see if anyone’s seen them.”
“I’m ready when you are.”
“Then, let’s get moving.”
As we started out to the parking lot, I asked, “You thinking this might have something to do with us bringing in Grant?”
“Hard to believe it’s just a coincidence.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same damn thing.”
“You never know though. Danny and Badger might’ve come across some hot chicks and decided to get a little side action.”
“Doubt it, brother. Danny’s made too much headway to fuck it up over some pussy.”
“You got a point there.”
“I’ll go check with some of the girls and see if they’ve seen them. You head over to Stilettoes. Check around there and see what you can find. If you see or hear anything, let me know.”
“Will do.”
I was relieved to see that Zeek, one of our prospects, was pulling in with my bike.
I thanked him, then got on and started over to Candy’s place.
She was one of the club’s strippers who was known to have a thing for prospects.
As I drove over, my mind was all over the place.
It was utterly gut-wrenching to know that two of our own were missing, and we had no idea why.
It didn’t help matters that every time it looked like Shotgun was going to break Grant, he’d break down and go into fucking shock again, making it impossible for him to continue.
We were on the losing side of a waiting game, and there was nothing we could do about it.
I spent the entire afternoon checking in with all the girls, and none of them had seen or heard from Badger or Danny.
I called to check in with the others, and none of them had had any luck either.
I was at my wits end. I had no doubt that we were about to face some real trouble.
With that in mind, I decided to stop by Frankie’s place and let her know I might be out of pocket for a while.
I’d barely made it up into her driveway when Corry opened the front door and shouted, “Hey, Sean! Widow’s here. ”
I’d just gotten off my bike when both Corry and Sean came racing towards me. “Hey, you two, how’s it going?”
“Good.” Sean glanced over at his brother. “At least it is for me. Corry’s still grounded until the end of time.”
“Shut your pie hole, ass-face. I’m only grounded for two more weeks.”
“You were already grounded for a month!”
Corry’s face grew red like he was about to blow, so I quickly intervened by asking Sean, “No basketball practice today?”
“Nah. Coach had something going on, so he called it off.”
“Good deal.” I motioned my head towards the house as I asked, “Your mom home?”
“She’s inside making burgers for dinner, but I’m pretty sure she burned them up.” Corry rolled his eyes and sighed. “It’s pretty smoky in there, and she’s slamming all the cabinets shut...She does that when she gets mad.”
“So, you’re thinking the burgers are a no go?”
“Definitely.”
“How does pizza sound?”
A smile crossed Sean’s face as he replied, “A lot better than burnt hamburgers.”
“Good deal.” As I started towards the front steps, I told them, “I’ll see if your mom agrees.”
“Awesome!”
I tapped on the door, then eased it open. As I stepped inside, I was hit with the smell of burnt grease. Seemed the boys were right about their dinner. I didn’t want to startle her like the last time I’d come by, so I stood in the doorway as I shouted, “Frankie?”
“Roman?” She popped her head out of the kitchen as she asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I needed to talk to you.” I could tell by the smoke billowing overhead it wasn’t a good time to talk. She was dealing with her own shit, and I wanted to do what I could to make things better for her—at least for a little while, so I smiled and said, “Looks like I probably should’ve called first.”
“Maybe, but then, you would’ve missed out on my famous charcoal burgers.”
“About that.” I walked over and slipped my arms around her waist. “The boys and I were thinking pizza might be good.”
“Is that so?”
“Um-hmm.” I lowered my mouth to her neck, kissing her softly. “My treat.”
“Okay. You win.” Her body melted into mine as she whispered, “Pizza it is.”
“Good.” I gave her a light smack on her ass, then pulled out my phone as I told her, “I’ll call it in, then we’ll dispose of those famous charcoal burgers of yours.”
“They really aren’t that bad.”
“Um-hmm.” I started dialing one of the local pizza places as I asked, “What do y’all like on your pizza?”
“Anything is fine.”
Hoping for a more definite answer, I asked, “Anchovies? Jalapenos?”
“Umm, no. Definitely not.”
“Then, what do you guys want?”
“Pepperoni and sausage for the boys, and cheese for me.”
“See. That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”
I gave her a wink, then I dialed the number to the pizza place. After I put in our order, I helped Frankie clean up the mess in the kitchen. Just as we were finishing up, Sean came barreling into the kitchen and asked, “Are we gettin’ pizza?”
“Yep,” Frankie answered. “Should be here any minute.”
“Awesome!”
Sean helped Frankie get out the paper plates and put them on the table, while I filled our glasses with ice.
Frankie had a nice place with plenty of room for her and the boys.
The kitchen was a bit smaller than mine, but equally as nice with bits of Frankie’s personality scattered throughout.
There was an oversized sofa with two large recliners in the living room, and a TV mounted over the fireplace.
It wasn’t overly extravagant, but it was comfortable and warm.
Being there helped ease the knot that had been building in the pit of my stomach over Danny and Badger.
I knew I needed to get back soon, but I needed this short reprieve in case all hell broke out.
When the pizza came, I paid the delivery guy, then carried the boxes over to the table.
The boys swooped in, and in a matter of minutes, their plates were piled high, and they were diving in.
Frankie and I followed suit, and the room fell silent as we all started to eat.
The silence didn’t last long. I was just starting my second slice when Sean asked, “You ever play video games?”
“Never had much interest in them.”
“Oh.” He thought for a moment, then asked, “What about sports?”
“Played a little football in high school.”
“That’s cool. What position did you play?”
“Tight end.”
“I could see that. Coach wants me to try out for the team next year to help me with my reflexes and speed, but I haven’t decided what I’m gonna do yet.” He took a bite of pizza, chomped down for a second, then with his mouth still full, he asked, “You got any brothers or sisters?”
“Dang, dude,” Corry fussed. “What’s with the twenty questions?”
“What?” Sean looked at Corry like he’d just punched him in the gut. “Widow doesn’t mind, do ya? I mean, if you do, I’ll stop.”
“I don’t mind. I’ve got a younger brother. His name is Madden, and we got along about as well as you and your brother do.”
I glanced over at Frankie and found her smiling like the Cheshire cat.
She was clearly amused by my exchange with the boys, and to be honest, I was rather amused by it myself.
It was the closest I’d ever come to a real family dinner.
There was no fussing or screaming. There were no bruises or broken bones that we had to pretend weren’t there.
It didn’t feel like I was sitting there waiting for a fucking bomb to drop.
Instead, it was just easy. I could just sit there and enjoy the moment.
That wasn’t something I was used to. It certainly wasn’t something I thought I’d ever actually enjoy, but I did.
And that had me feeling guilty. I’d been hoping one of the brothers would call and say they’d found Danny and Badger laid up with a hell of a hangover, but that call never came—which had that knot in my stomach returning.
We’d all just finished eating when Sean turned to Frankie and asked, “Are we still gonna watch the movie?”
“I don’t know, Sean. It’s getting kind of late and....”
“It’s not even seven yet,” he pouted. “Come on. You promised.”
“You guys go ahead. I’ve gotta get back.”
“You can’t stay a little longer?” Frankie asked, sounding disappointed.
“Sorry, but I’ve already stayed longer than I should.” I looked over to Sean as I said, “I’ll stay for the next one.”
“Okay. Bye Widow.”
I gave them a quick wave as I said, “Bye boys. I’ll see ya soon.”
When we started out of the kitchen, Frankie told Sean, “Go start the movie. I’ll be right back.”
I followed Frankie through the kitchen and out the front door. As soon as we were outside, she looked up to me and said, “I hate you have to rush off.”
“Yeah, me too. I’d stay if I could.”
“Well, you saved the day with the pizza.”
“I’m sure you would’ve managed without me.”
“I’m glad I didn’t have to.”