26. Taylor
Chapter twenty-six
Taylor
When Player leaves, I shower, dress, and head to the kitchen.
Mama Pearl is laying out rolls in a big basket.
“What are you doing?” I ask. The room smells like something amazing.
“When Player and Drae came in, I heard the rest of the club wasn’t far behind them, so I whipped up a crockpot of pork shoulder. Thought the boys could make their own pulled pork sliders if they’re hungry, which they always are.”
“What can I help with?” I ask.
“There’s a big bowl of coleslaw in the fridge. If you can grab that, I’ll carry the rolls, and we’ll get a prospect to come get this heavy crockpot. I thought we could set it up near the pool tables.”
I grab the bowl and a stack of paper plates and follow her out.
We set up a table, and soon there’s a line of brothers forming.
Cruz wraps an arm around Mama Pearl and kisses her forehead. “Thanks for this, Mama.”
She pats his chest and blushes like a schoolgirl.
Player is nowhere to be seen, and I head back down the hall.
Suddenly, I’m grabbed and shoved into the women’s restroom. At first, I giggle, thinking it’s Player, but when I spin around, I come face-to-face with Molly.
“What are you doing here?” She standing between me and the door, which she locks.
“I need to talk to you. I heard the men talking. You’re going to get Player killed by that ex of yours. That or he goes up for murder. He’ll go to prison. Is that what you want?”
“It’s none of your business.” I try to push past her.
“I’m trying to help you.”
“Bullshit. I heard you the other day. You’re working with the club’s enemies.” By the way her face pales, I know it’s true. “I bet they don’t know that, do they?”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just as caught in this as you are.”
I fold my arms. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“My sister is in danger. There’s so much you don’t know.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Do you want Player to go to prison?”
“Of course not.”
“You’re nothing but trouble. Player was happy before you came back. You need to go home and make sure that ex of yours doesn’t do anything to him.”
“You want to know what I think? I think the biggest threat to Player and this club is you.”
“Look, you’ve got it all wrong. I know information that will help them. I’ll give it to you. It’ll prove I’m not trying to hurt the club.”
“Fine. Hand it over. We can go and show it to them now.”
“It’s in my car. If the Depraved Sinners find out I have it, I’m dead. I’ve been terrified.”
“So, go get it.”
“It’s heavy. Can you help me carry it inside? My car is parked in back. I didn’t want to take a chance of the Sinners spotting it.”
I straighten, my arms coming unfolded. “They’re close?”
“They’re always close. They’ve got this place under surveillance. Come on. We have to hurry before they see my car.”
She unlocks the door and pokes her head out, then waves me to follow.
Everything in me tells me to find a patched member, but she’s already cutting through the kitchen. When I enter, it's empty, and I suppose Mama Pearl is still in the main room with the boys.
Molly cracks open the back door. “Come on. It’ll only take a second.”
I follow her out, clutching my phone in my hand, pulling Player up on speed dial, ready to press call if this is some kind of trick.
I see her little car against the back fence near the dumpster, and she moves to it, going to the trunk and popping it open. “It’s this big box. Get that end and help me.”
There’s something covered with a black plastic sheet, but I can’t see if it’s a box or not.
With my phone against my thigh in one hand, I reach in to lift the cover with my other, and a jolt of electricity shoots into my thigh.
My body shakes, and I’m unable to control any movement, but my eyes see the projectile embedded in my skin and the wires leading to the taser is Molly’s hand.
I feel instant, uncontrollable muscle contractions and a complete loss of coordination.
My muscles seize, contracting rapidly and locking up; the feeling of a severe cramp hits me.
I’m completely incapacitated, losing voluntary control of my body, and I collapse forward into the trunk.
I’m disorientated and confused.
It all happened so fast.
My legs are lifted into the trunk, and Molly grabs a cloth from the corner of the trunk, tips a plastic bottle onto it and lays it over my mouth and nose. I’m unable to move away from it, and when I take in a breath, I smell the chemical.
Molly’s smiling face is the last thing I see before she slams the trunk closed, and I’m in total darkness.
Unable to move, I lay in a heap, drooling on the plastic sheeting.
Player. Help me. The words scream through my brain, but all I can do is moan.
I feel the motor start, and then the car is rocking as it pulls away. My body is flung around as Molly peels out of the clubhouse parking lot, hitting the pavement and speeding away.
My heart is racing.
Where is she taking me?
Am I going to die?
I was so stupid to follow her.
The chemical is dragging me under, and soon I lose consciousness.