Chapter 26
Shooter
“What are we doing, chasing ghosts?” Skaggs rumbled. The grizzly old man had a point. That’s what it felt like, chasing rumors on the streets that could simply be a way for someone to throw us off our game.
Businesses had been good enough, shipments were on time, our “associates” were careful, especially after the whole Razor Hog incidents.
There had been enough whispers for a second party coming into our territory and I wasn’t going to have it. Hound Dog ordered us to scope out the neighborhood business and other “associates” to see what we could find.
Yet all I wanted to do was see my girl, even after she left my bed for work I just wanted to keep her to myself.
I hated it more especially when we had to do businesses like this that I never knew what to expect.
The monster in me had been at bay, she calmed that portion in me.
Partially that I had an excuse to come home, someone to look forward to.
I wanted more nights with her, any time she could give me.
I also wanted to murder her “husband” to have one less obstacle. But I promised good behavior. Let’s be honest, as much as I could tie her up and control every ounce of pleasure, she was the one that could hold me on a leash, and I wouldn’t blink an eye.
“Anyone heard from Dillon lately?” Fender asked as he parked his ride in the alley.
I lifted my head from hooking up my helmet. “What do you mean?”
“Was talking to Stray and Hank, they mentioned that ever since fight night, the boy has been in and out of the gym.” Fender’s voice grew concerned.
A pain of guilt hit my chest. After that night and almost tearing Chris’s heart out of his chest, I guessed I never paid any attention.
And being very wrapped up with Amelia, my mind has been somewhere else.
The boy rarely missed a session or the potential to earn money from teaching the little ones.
I wondered how much I had let slip through my responsibilities, knowing that B.B. or Hound Dog hadn’t said anything to me until I went to go see Amelia at the hospital.
“Do I need to go to campus and check on him?” I asked.
“Maybe the man got himself a girl. A pretty face knows to distract a man, ain’t that right, Shooter?” Skaggs elbowed me, teasingly.
“And I know to mess one up too,” I warned him, feeling the spike of anger rise to the surface.
“Hey, I’m just fucking with you. Lord knows if my ol' lady heard me say that I’d be sleeping on the couch.
I turned my attention back to Fender. “When was the last time someone heard from him?”
Fender paused for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s been a couple of weeks. I don’t know. Maybe the man is busy studying, you know the semester is ending in the next few weeks or something.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on with him, just like at the fights he was holding back.
I took out my phone, between seeing the brief little messages from my girl and random missed calls, I found Dillon’s number and hoped that he would pick up. My face dropped when I got his voicemail.
I tried to brush off the fear that something was going on with him and I wasn’t noticing but on the other hand I was using Fender’s judgement as well.
I’d trust Dillon to tell me if something was up, he may be a young buck but the boy was smarter than anything else.
I simply nodded as we all headed through the busy morning streets of one of the main districts.
The club was never too fond of rumors. We knew too well that it happened when we ignored rumors. But the mafia? A new business in our town? We were possessive fuckers, we took what we wanted and we fought like hell. Fender’s quiet, observant tendencies leaned more of a helping hand than anything.
I knew some of his story, the way he had one of those promising careers until an “accident” happened which left him with some nerve damage on his dominant hand.
He was cautious of everything and the angel on my shoulder that was surrounded by demons.
He was the epitome of what the girls would say from their romance books; he’s cinnamon roll but could kill you.
If a cinnamon roll that could kill you was a thing, I could see it.
Fender scanned the streets, seeing if there were different people that shouldn’t belong in our town.
Cars zoomed past us, people hustling in the streets.
During the day, the city wasn’t too bad, it was at night that the demons loved to hunt and watch their prey.
Night was where all the shadows lived, a home away from home.
Anyone doing business during the day would be a complete fool, but they were the dangerous ones, the ones you never wanted to turn your back on because they were fearlessly stupid.
Skaggs apparently had answered the phone and grumbled something under his breath. “Fucking chasing ghosts.”
“What now?”
“That was Prez, Greene said that he hasn’t heard any chatter but said he was checking some sources.”
I rolled my eyes. Sometimes Greene could be helpful, other times he was an annoyance. It didn’t help that I had mixed thoughts that he knew Amelia’s story and had been collecting enough evidence. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what was going on in the city, but was holding back information.
“Whatever, we don’t need him anyway. We’ve gotten along just fine until Hound Dog brought him along,” I muttered.
“Yes, but your ass would be currently in a prison for murder charges on more than one occasion,” Fender pointed out.
Fucker was right. The amount of blood that was on my hands was enough for someone to decide I shouldn’t be on this earth.
Jokes were on them, I was still walking and a trail still was behind me.
Skaggs pushed ahead, pulling us into a small business that we knew too well.
A little “boutique” that benefitted from the Saints’ help.
The owner was a middle-aged woman who wasn’t afraid to pull out the shotgun, but seemed like she belonged in the 70's era.
Raven, the owner, was a quiet business partner, one that we appreciated.
Her energy enchanted anyone who came near her.
Sometimes the quiet ones were the most helpful.
The little bell at the entrance alarmed her, pulling her attention from a customer she was showcasing a long necklace to. Her bright smile faded as our boots stepped heavily.
“I’ll be with you gentlemen in a moment. Have a look around.” she said in a brushed off cheery voice.
Fender smiled back with his boyish charm and shoved us through the door.
The store was floor to ceiling of anything and everything.
A section of random robes that scraped the floor, lamps of all shapes and sizes, cases of different pieces of gold and silver jewelry, and much more.
She was the ideal person of “she had just what you needed” and nothing was free.
I joked with her that she was a witch in another life and she just answered me back with a mischievous smile and a twinkle in her eyes.
As the customer left, she locked the door behind them, pulled the door shade down and released a heavy sigh. “Anytime you boys walk in my damn door, it’s like you bring the tornado of crazy.”
“Good to see you too, Ms. Raven.” Fender plastered on the charm. I stayed silent, quietly observing her behavior.
She turned her attention from Fender and furrowed her eyebrows. “I wouldn’t touch that Skaggs, unless you want a curse on your household.”
I turned to see Skaggs freeze like a kid caught with his hand in the candy jar, slowly moving his hand away from a strange orb. I didn’t believe in the “special nature” but I also was one to never take a chance.
She looked back at Fender. “I wish I could say it’s a pleasure seeing your faces, but you brought the guard dog with you. That’s never a good sign.” She folded her arms, leaning against drawers.
I smirked, remaining quiet as Fender hung his head knowing his charm wasn’t working. “It’s not always bad news. Sometimes a friendly face just wants to say hi.”
“There’s nothing friendly about you, especially roaming around my store. Not with that look in your eyes like you’re ready to hit something or someone.” Her eyes glared.
“When am I not ready to hit something?”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“We’re looking for information,” I directed.
She scoffed. “What makes you think that I have information you’re looking for? Have you seen what I do for a living?” She extended her arms, showcasing her store.
I started toying with a strange mannequin, something that resembles a toy.
Funny how your mind can fixate on an object and then get drifted into a memory or two.
Fender cleared his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“No, Ms. Raven, we just thought that you would have heard something from people who visit your shop.”
“So you think I attract people that have secrets?” she questioned.
We were wasting time, obviously she wasn’t going to help and the more that we danced around what we really wanted to know the more I was away from Amelia.
“Listen, Hound Dog just thought that you may have heard something about a new business in the city or someone spreading rumors with the intention of booting out the Saints. Something about people who don’t belong here.
” I was direct, my voice was firm, I wasn’t dancing around this.
Fender shot me a look as if I stepped out of line. He was about to get my foot in his ass.
“Now who would go and do such a thing?” She smirked.
Her smile lines became more visible. But quickly that smile faded into concern.
She sighed, a deep relief like she had been keeping something from us.
“I thought it was a prank or a scam.” She turned and walked back behind her counter, bending down to search for an object.