Chapter 25
25
ZARINA
“I’ll just wait here,” Livie sighed, slinking back into the passenger seat of Toni’s car.
I rolled my eyes, but could understand her hesitation. She and Sammy had dealt with the Redliners a lot in the past, and close calls had made everyone wary.
But King was dead, and these weren’t the same people who had nearly killed my brothers.
They wore the same patch, they carried the same titles, but they were nothing like the men in the stories. Those people were long dead or long gone—and it seemed that they were better off for it.
“I promise you, Liv,” I squeezed her hand. “You’ll be safe. I know these people.”
Livie searched my face for a moment, before her eyes flickered towards the outside walls of the clubhouse. And then she nodded.
She lingered behind me as I approached the door, not bothering to knock before I headed inside. I had my bag full of goodies with me, and it was fucking heavy.
Heads swivelled our way as the door creaked open, but Freddie was the first one to notice me.
“Zarina,” his voice was rough, like it had been the first time he’d spoken all day. “What’s wrong?”
Prince and Freddie were the only ones inside that I recognised, otherwise, there were only a few of the younger, fresher faces hanging about. Prince rounded the table where he was talking to one of the guys, heavy eyebrows drawing together as he closed the space between us.
I didn’t miss the way his eyes regarded Livie with suspicion, just like she was doing to him.
“Have you heard from Ashe?” I asked.
Both men shook their heads. “I assumed he was with you,” Prince said.
I nodded, eyes dropping to the floor.
“I think my family is in danger. And I think Ashe is too.”
Both men stiffened, sharing a look of something like dread.
Freddie spun on his heel, pulling his phone out of his back pocket and quickly putting it to his ear. Prince gestured with his head towards what I now knew was the meeting room, or ‘church’ , and I grabbed onto Livie’s hand and dragged her along with me. Freddie followed behind, speaking in hushed tones and closing the door behind us.
“What do you know?” Prince asked, pulling out a chair for each of us.
I sat, but Livie refused, lingering by the door instead.
“I woke up this morning and everyone was gone. My sister called. Her husband is my brother’s right hand.”
“Ren?”
My head ticked to the side.
“We’re well educated on the ranks of your family, Zar.”
I nodded, because of course they were.
“Well, Ren didn’t come home last night. No one is answering their phones. No one has even seen them since last night.”
Prince ran a hand down his face.
“Shit.”
“No one’s seen Henny either, Prez,” Freddie said finally, pocketing his phone.
Prince shook his head, leaning forward and steepling his fingers together. After a few silent moments in his head, his eyes flickered to me.
“What do you need from us?”
I lifted my bag and put it on the table with a heavy thump, rifling through it to find the folded piece of paper with the address on it before handing it to Prince.
“I think that it was The EA. Theo must’ve been suspicious after yesterday and I think they panicked and just picked them all up before we could retaliate. We think they’re holding them here,” I pointed to the third option on the list.
Freddie stepped forward, using a single finger to open my handbag a little wider.
“Jesus Christ, Zarina,” he sighed as he snooped through my things.
“What?” I snapped.
He tipped the bag over, causing the guns, knives, and stray bullets to roll across the table.
“Look, I didn’t know if they had you guys as well, okay? There was a possibility that it was just me.”
“And what were you fucking planning?” Freddie scolded, picking up the kitchen knife and tossing it between his hands. “Run in, swinging this around like a fucking lunatic?”
“Kind of. Yes.” I leaned back in my chair, folding my arms.
He dropped the knife back onto the table, turning away from me and putting his head in his hands. “Fuck me dead,” he whispered to himself in agitation.
“Freddie, go get this girl a gun she can handle with bullets that fit,” Prince dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
“Gladly,” Freddie mumbled, giving Livie a wide berth as he stepped around her to leave the room.
“Right.” Prince cleared his throat, standing from his chair to pace a little. “So we have a pretty good idea of where they’ve taken them, but we don’t know what we’re gonna be walking into.”
Livie stepped forward then.
“I can cut the power to the neighbourhood, give us the advantage of darkness if we wait until dusk to strike. I can also do a little more digging and figure out if they have any other accomplices that might be there, so we can at least have an idea of numbers.”
Prince nodded. “That’d be great. We will also need to do at least a little surveillance of the area. They have the cops in their pocket, and need to ensure that they won’t be there already.”
Livie looked to the floor, putting her hands on her hips. I watched her mind work at a mile a minute, as it always did. Prince had a good point. What if they wanted us to come in all guns blazing?
“What if it’s a trap?” I murmured as Freddie came back into the room, shoving a new assortment of guns into my handbag.
Prince and Livie looked at each other, and then back at me.
“What if they’re setting us up? Who knows what they’ve got in that warehouse. They draw us there to find the others, and then they call the cops. The cops find us there with guns and who knows what else.”
“I can get access to the police comms system. If something is called in, we can have a warning,” Livie said.
“But what if they don’t use the radio? If these guys have paid cops to do dodgy things, wouldn’t they just call their phones? Keep it off the radar?”
Prince sighed, leaning back in his chair. “You’re right. We show up with a dozen Redliners and we’re fucked.”
I stood, wandering over to the small window that overlooked the rear parking area behind the clubhouse. It was a bike graveyard, if nothing else. Rusty motorcycle frames, old tyres, miscellaneous bits and bobs were organised in neat rows and piles.
As much as Prince and Freddie and Livie were a comfort to me right now, I wished that I could speak to my brother.
When our dad died, he was visibly nervous about taking over as Don. Of course, he tried to hide it, but he couldn’t hide it from me.
But still, he made careful decisions. Thought things through. Made choices that helped the Santino Crime Family rise to a whole new level of infamy and power. All while keeping his people safe.
Dad had never particularly cared about that part. He believed in numbers, having lots of people under him. People he was willing to sacrifice for the cause.
Toni had fewer men, but every one of them was loyal because they knew that he would never throw them into fire for no reason. He would never send them out to a fight while he sat at home, safe and sound. He would use his power, his influence, his name to deescalate—even if it meant taking a loss or risking himself.
“I have an idea,” I said, trailing my finger along the faint line of dust on the windowsill. “And none of you are gonna like it.”