CHAPTER SIX
My phone rings. Leroy’s name flashing on my screen.
“Leroy, is something wrong?” I answer my phone.
“Are you with them?”
“Why?”
“Whoever she said it is coming for the van called, saying they are not coming. Is she coming for it? I can store it until she is ready to pick it up?”
“I’ll call you back whenever I know something.”
“That works for me, too.”
The call ends. I know I need to loop Rosalie in, but something is fishy about this.
“Hey, Rosalie, did your family member said when they were picking up their van?”
“No. I check with them this morning and they are waiting for the call.”
I frown and worry that Leroy is being forced to say that to bring us there.
I want to check on him but I don’t want to leave Rosalie alone.
What if they are baiting me to go to Saddleback to snatch her while I’m not near?
I can’t bring her with me. It’s too dangerous.
I’m not afraid of getting shot. I’m afraid she will if she comes with me.
Do I trust anyone here to keep her safe?
Two names come to mind, but I hesitate. I don’t want them to be involved with the Silver Crows.
“Cooper, what’s wrong? Did something go wrong with the van?”
I shake my head. “Nothing wrong. You got nothing to worry about.”
“The moment you say that, I worry. Was that Leroy on the phone? Why did you ask if my family member pick the van? Talk to me, Cooper.”
Her five four feet tall lean and strong body sculpted by thousands of hours of dancing and strict diets stand in front of me.
Her aura makes up for the eight inches I have on her.
The more I spend time with Rosalie, the more I understand why outside of performances she is the one they parade.
She has this inner talent to command attention and keep it.
“Yes, Leroy called asking if you were picking up the van since your folks called saying they would not pick it.”
“But how can they say that if they don’t even know the van is ready?”
“I have a feeling he is being forced to say that to lure you into Saddleback. Heck, I think they are just trying to lure you away from me so they can grab you.”
“But what about Leroy? What about his son? What if those cartel people come, and Leroy has clients? Shouldn’t we bait them out of Saddleback?”
“Rosalie Valente coming up with a double bait to trick criminals? We are spending too much time together.”
“Could it work? Forget the spending too much time together crap. Could that work?”
“We don’t know if they are really in Saddleback. You don’t really need to be in front of someone to blackmail them or pressure them into doing something they wouldn’t normally do,” I say.
“True. I know that very well. Too damn well,” she whispers the last part, and I frown.
I need to check in with my brother and see what has he found about LuxeMuse. I feel like the Los Cuervos de Plata is the easiest part of the tangle mess stringing Rosalie and her friends.
“Let me make a couple of calls and check if they are in Saddleback,” I say, already dialing Colin to check through the satellites we have hacked.
I’m not on the phone for over fifteen minutes when I turn around and don’t see Rosalie.
The hotel room we are sharing is small. She is not in the bathroom and I didn’t hear the door close.
I notice the towel on the floor keeping the door from closing and making a sound.
I grab my jacket, pat my pockets to make sure I have my keys and wallet before I run out of the room, kicking the towel inside and hearing the door clicking close.
I race out of Heartstone and onto the highway towards Saddleback.
Before they cross the line between Missouri and Tennessee, I see her inside of a taxi.
I inch close to the taxi car and force him to get off the highway and into the emergency lane.
Before the driver could scream at me, I open the door beside her, grab her by the arm and offered him a hundred-dollar bill.
He presses his lips together and grabs the money.
I close the door and pat the top of the cab to let him know he can leave.
“What the fuck you think you were doing?”
“Getting my van?”
“I’m not stupid, and I know you are not. What you thought you could do by going there alone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe stop them from bringing people who have nothing to do with this?”
“By offering yourself?”
“Yeah. If that’s what it takes for people, for you, for my friends to be safe, I will. I’ve given up so many things; what’s one more that different?”
“What if they want you to give up your life?”
“Kill me? I’m not ready, but if my death protects innocent people and my friends, then so be it.”
“What if they want something else? Something more? What if they want to sell your body to the highest bidder? What if they want to sell your naked photos? What if they want to use your voice to entertain horrible people? What if they want you to sing and dance while men rape other women and little girls in front of you?”
She gasp and her eyes are open so wide I think her eyeballs are going to pop out at any second. Fear colors her face. Her hands covering her open mouth tremble.
“They would do that to me?”
“That and more. Rosalie, Los Cuervos de Plata, left a bigger cartel group because its current core members were doing things the bigger cartel leader despise. The boss of the Crows is ten times more vicious than the cartel he came from. These are not people who would logically negotiate with you. To them, every person is a means to an end.”
The sound of motorcycles catches my ear, and I swear. I grab the helmet she’s been wearing and put it on her fast.
“These helmets are bulletproof. Don’t open the visor and don’t take it off until I tell you to.
It’s gonna be uncomfortable and tight, but we both have to sit here.
If they are using guns, I can’t have you sitting behind me.
You are not ready to drive at the speed we need to.
Come on, we only have less than five minutes to gain some distance from them. ”
I hop on my bike and sit as back in the already small seat as I can. I help Rosalie get on in front of me and instructed her where to hold on. This way, my back can shield her from any bullets. I kick the kickstand and drive faster than I have ever done in my life.
“Hold on,” I scream over the wind, the sound of half a dozen motorcycles and gunshots.
The ones chasing us have shit aim. I tighten my grip on the accelerator before I pull my gun out of my back and shot them.
One deflated tire takes two bikes down. The one I hit loses the control of his bike and hits the one beside him.
I narrow my eyes and zero in the next one.
I hit his shoulder so hard he also loses control of his motorcycle, but he doesn’t take any of his friends with him.
A few of their bullets graze my helmet and one tears my jacket but doesn’t touch my skin.
I hit the foot of the next driver and that one takes care other the rest of the cartel members and makes the motorcycle explode and burn.
I don’t wait until I find an exit to turn to Heartstone.
There is a small open section between the metal barrier dividing the highways.
It is enough space for me to pass with my bike.
I hit the 110 mph as I hear them shooting at us.
I bite the inside of my cheek as one bullet hit me.
I look down to check how much I’m bleeding and how long can I hide it from Rosalie when I see the scratches and holes on my motorcycle.
I take a deep breath, trying to push down the pain on my side. It seems like I’m gonna cash on that favor he owes me.
I get us safely back to Heartstone, stopping at the Miller Car Restoration & Repair. I help Rosalie get off the bike before I do. As I take her helmet off, she presses her hand onto the side I’m bleeding from and she freezes when she sees blood on her hand.
“You got hurt and you come here to get your bike repair? We need to go to a hospital, Cooper.”
I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear before caressing her cheekbones. Gosh, she is so beautiful, in and out. I don’t want to think what I’m willing to do if I didn’t get to her before the Crows.
“If I don’t fix my bike, we won’t be able to escape if they come here,” I say.
“Fuck that. Cooper, you are hurt. You are bleeding.”
I shrug. “As long as you are not the one hurt, I’m okay.”
“Don’t say that.”
Her eyes go watery. She is stubborn enough not to let a single tear down. I open my jacket and clean my blood of her hand on my shirt. She is about to protest, but I grab her by the shoulder, hug her, and kiss the top of her head.
“It is just a graze. It stings more than it hurts. I’m okay. There is no need to freak out,” I say before I knock twice on one of the close rolling doors.
“We are closed,” Wyatt’s voice come from inside.
“Is Cooper Callahan,” I say.
The rolling doors open. A white tall man with brown hair and hazel eyes ushers us in as he pulls my motorcycle inside.
“Where is your first aid kit?” I ask.
After Wyatt sets my bike on his station, he gets the first aid kit from one of the many closets at the back. Rosalie helps me get my jacket off and pulls my shirt off.
My jacket is not fully bulletproof, but it has plates in a few key places. All of those places were bruising. Those motherfuckers don’t have poor aim. They were just aiming for specific areas in my torso that would kill me in one shot or have me bleeding out in minutes.
“Oh my god. Cooper. How did you get these bruises?” Rosalie asks as she caresses my back, counting under her breath the places shades of yellow, brown, blue and purple are blooming.
“Dude, that’s a nasty bullet graze,” Wyatt says.
I grab Rosalie’s neck and pull her so close to my face our noses touch. “Don’t make my girl worry. Can you clean it and patch it for me?” I ask Wyatt, as I massage her neck and keep her looking at me.