Chapter 45
Quinn
My hands trembled as I paced the hallway, my eyes darting to the few boxes on the table. Today was the day. Today could be the difference between my biker boys having their revenge or all of us getting locked up for the rest of our lives.
Rick Moralles had been sitting near the door of Detective Chin’s storage unit for three days. Zane had been scouting the area, and the corpse was ripe. Apparently, he could smell the decay every time he passed by.
I was grateful the fucker was gone. Luke could rest in peace, but even those thoughts couldn’t push the guilt away from my mind. Two men were dead because of me. Dead because I met three killers and fell for them. They presented me with the head of my enemy, and now it was my turn to present them with the head of theirs.
Swallowing hard, I walked over to the table and lifted one of the boxes filled with miscellaneous things from my apartment. It was stuff I could easily replace and had very little attachment to. Drawing a deep breath, I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled before walking to my Jeep and loading it up.
I needed to look like I was packing things away. A normal errand on a normal day. When I got to the unit, I would call the manager about the smell. And then he’d hopefully open Chin’s unit and see all the planted evidence. I could only imagine a large corkboard covered with pictures and tacks with string, like in the movies.
I hopped in the Jeep just as Keith pulled up. “Everything will be alright, Quinn.” His face was serious, and he stared at me with haunting eyes. “If it goes sideways, we’ll take the fall. Nobody will know you had anything to do with this. I promise you, Quinn, you will remain a free woman.”
“I killed a man,” I whispered, dropping my gaze.
Grabbing my chin, he forced me to look at him. “We set you up. It’s all on us. If you keep your mouth shut, nobody needs to know. We will bring that secret with us to the grave.”
I didn’t want to thank him. If they went down, I should go down, too.
Even if I didn’t kill half as many people as they did. To be honest, I didn’t know how many people they killed before going on their vengeance spree. I shuddered. “Everything will work out.”
He leaned forward and kissed me sweetly on the lips. Please, God, let
everything turn out alright.
Pulling out of the driveway, I headed to the storage shed that was only a small jump away from the trailer park. When I left the insolated comfort of the Jeep, the smell hit me. It wasn’t super strong, but it was unmistakably death. Even if I didn’t call, someone else was bound to. Pulling out one of the boxes, I placed it in front of my unit and called the owner’s number. “Hi, I think there may be a dead animal or something inside the unit next to mine. It smells nasty.”
As expected, the man agreed to have a look. It took ages for him to arrive, long enough for all three of my biker boys to make an appearance. The scruffy guy walked over to Chin’s unit and scrunched his nose. “Must be a raccoon.”
“Well, fucking get rid of it,” Keith insisted, putting on a sickened expression.
“I can’t just go into someone’s unit. I have to call the renter.”
“Just fucking cut the lock, Smalls. We have to work here for a bit. If it’s a raccoon, then I’ll toss it out, and problem solved. Tell the owner you’ll replace the lock.”
“I can’t just break into their unit, Keith.”
Zane stepped in. “We can find someone else to do business with. Someone who ain’t gonna make us smell that shit.”
Smalls sighed, slumping his shoulders. “Come on guys, you gotta work with me. Just let me call the owner. I’m sure he’ll come right down.”
“God damn it, Mason, I don’t want that dick showing up here. He’s a fucking cop. If you get the cops sniffing around our unit, I’ll make sure they know exactly who we sell to. You got me?”
The man deflated even more. “Fuck! Fine. Let me get some bolt cutters.”
Grumbling, he stormed off, and I let out a heavy sigh, taking a seat in the Jeep.
I desperately wanted nothing more than to drive off and let the boys deal with whatever was about to happen. But I couldn’t let them deal with everything alone. It could go one of two ways: really good, and Chin gets arrested, or really bad, and we all go to prison. Of course, there was also a third option, death.
We sat there for a good ten minutes before Smalls came back with a set of bolt cutters. His nose wrinkled the closer he got to the container. “That shit does stink.” With a grunt and a metallic squeal, the lock fell free.
Smalls tossed it to the ground and rolled up the doors. He jumped back with a high-pitched yelp, and I screamed as the rotting corpse rolled out. It wasn’t a fake scream either. The bloated face, discolored skin, and awful stench were far too much. After slamming the door closed, I covered my face as tears rolled down my cheeks.
What have I done? I asked for this. This was my doing. That man would be alive if I didn’t ask the boys to hurt him. What if he had a family I didn’t know about? I would be the cause of small children never getting to see their father again.
There was commotion outside, but I couldn’t force myself to look for a long while. When I finally gathered the courage to take a peek, Smalls was on the phone, presumably calling the cops. Here we go.
It took all of twenty minutes for a white car to zoom into the lot with a siren blaring. It screeched to a halt, and a short detective bolted from the car, pistol raised. “Freeze, McKnight! All three of you shitheads!”
My boys put their hands up, glaring defiantly. Chin slowly looked inside his unit, and my assumption had been right. There were pictures on the wall, with tacks and yarn, just like in the movies but on a much larger scale. On a desk near the wall was a pig’s mask.
Turning back to the guys, Chin tossed them an angry, damn near crazy grin. “Oh, you think you’re slick, don’t you? Think you can frame me? Who the fuck is this?”
Keith glared. “You’re a sick fuck, Chin. Is this why you’ve been hunting us? To make us your fall guys?”
“You’re going to death row for this, McKnight. I can promise you that.”
“This is your unit,” Taven muttered.
Swinging around, Chin pointed the gun at him. “You three little pigs are going to fry like bacon.”
There were sirens in the distance. Biting my lower lip, I hopped out of the car. The weapon swung toward me. “Don’t move! Get on your knees!”
“Don’t point that fucking gun at her!” Zane shouted, rushing towards Chin.
There was a bang, and time stood still. It was like I could see the small projectile soaring through the air, piercing Zane through the stomach. His eyes were wide with shock, and he clutched the wound, collapsing.
“Zane!” I cried, frozen in fear. I didn’t know if he was alive or not. Blood pooled under his body; he wouldn’t survive if he didn’t get help soon.
Keith charged Chin, and the weapon fired again. Taven screamed, but the detective was successfully dragged down. With a fury I had never seen before, Keith slammed the cop’s hand into the ground until he dropped the weapon and began beating the man’s face.
The sirens were getting closer. They were so loud I could barely hear myself think. The cruisers kicked up dirt in their wake as I dashed to Zane’s side.
Rolling him over, I lifted his shirt; there was a small hole gushing blood on his right side. He was alive but barely conscious. “Zane!”
“Freeze!” a voice yelled.
I looked up. Keith had gotten off Chin, who was rolling over. “Arrest them!”
As the other officers drew their weapons, I shouted, “It’s his unit! He killed that man!”
I could see the other officers give a slight pause. Eventually, one sprinted over, weapon drawn. “Get an ambulance here! ASAP! Keep pressure on the wound.” I nodded, following his directive.
Keith’s hands were clasped over his head in panic. “I swear to God, Chin, if he dies, I’ll end you, motherfucker!”
“These are the cop killers!” Chin shouted over the noise.
Smalls spoke up, “The body is in that cop’s unit.”
The lead officer strode towards the body, visibly cringed, and scrutinized the wall. After a long moment, he spun around. “Put your hands up, Dan.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?!”
“You’re under arrest.”
“I didn’t fucking do this! It was them!”
The officer glanced away from Detective Chin towards the other cops. “Arrest the other two and get this man some help. Bring them all downtown!”
Chin struggled, insisting that he wasn’t the killer. Keith and Taven, on the other hand, gave up without a fight, allowing the cuffs to be placed on their wrists. They didn’t give any of the officers a reason to get rough.
As the three men were hauled away, the remaining officer addressed me, “An ambulance should be here shortly. You can ride with him, but we will need you to answer some questions.”