Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Begging From the Bad Guy
L inc stood at his motorcycle, strapped with two knives and three guns. Things were quickly set in motion. Cyrus, Linc, and Priest had all rode their motorcycles. Slade and Darrow followed in a beat-up junkyard truck with the you pick logo on the side. They were out back of the house. A normal looking house in a normal looking part of town.
There was space between all the houses. Lots of overgrowth too. Most of the people that lived around here were elderly. In all honesty it was the perfect spot to have a drug house. Nobody would suspect a thing. Keep the traffic very minimal. Don’t make noise. Linc hated the idea of something like that being right there in town.
Slade circled the block one last time and drove down the narrow, dirt alley to meet up with the others. He gave a nod to Linc. Linc looked at Cyrus.
The President’s face looked like stone and ice. Narrow eyes. A monster ready to attack. He gave the signal and they began to move toward the back door of the house. There were a few ways of entry to the house, the last one being actually breaking in. Kicking down a door or busting up a window.
Lucky for them when Linc reached for the back door knob, it turned with ease. Unlocked. Linc opened the door and began to step inside, gun drawn. Priest pulled Linc out of the way. A sign of respect. Priest knew his position in the club. If a bullet were to fly near Cyrus or Linc, it was Priest’s job to take that bullet for his Prez and VP .
They filed into a small kitchen that looked and reeked of an elderly woman. Old, cheap decorations on the walls. The fridge with plastic fruit shaped magnets. Linc took note that the calendar on the fridge was from four years ago, still on February. He opened the fridge and there were a few cans of beer and some bologna and bread.
Cyrus smelled the air. To him everything smelled clean. To Priest, everything seemed way off. Wrong. For a second he wondered if this was another setup. And that there was a bomb in the house and they were all going to explode.
He grabbed for Cyrus’s shoulder.
“I have a feeling,” Priest growled. “You and Linc leave. Let me clear the house. In case.”
“Fuck no,” Linc said.
He walked out of the kitchen, pissing Priest off. The dining room was unused. The living room looked the same. Priest let out whispering whistle and nodded to a door near the stairs.
Basement.
All three nodded. Priest opened the door and started his descent. The lights were on in the basement.
About halfway down the steps, the ceiling to the basement began. Priest crouched and looked. What he saw made him stick his right hand out, stopping Cyrus and Linc.
What the fuck is it? Linc thought.
Priest crept down two more steps.
“Hey, fuckhead, you awake or dead?” Priest called out.
“Move,” Linc growled at Cyrus and Priest.
The three outlaws climbed down the rest of the basement steps. Down here it all began to make sense. The basement was a total wreck. Like some college dorm bachelor pad. It smelled of body odor, rotting food, and some cheap body spray in the hopes of covering it up. Video game controllers rested on the floor, along with bags of empty chips and tipped over soda cans, beer bottles, and bottles of booze.
“Look at this shit,” Cyrus said as he nodded toward a large TV screen.
On it was a video of two women with an obnoxious huge, rubbery toy , going at it…
“I’ve seen this one,” Priest said. “The blondie squirts first. Not bad.”
Then came the prize of the day. Seated on an old leather couch with his head back, eyes shut…
“Jed?” Linc asked.
“I’d assume so,” Cyrus said.
“Let’s find out,” Priest said.
He walked up to the couch and tossed the sleeping guy to the side like a toy. The guy didn’t move. A second later Priest had a wallet in his hand.
“It’s him,” Priest said, flicking a driver’s license at Linc.
Linc showed Cyrus.
“We’ve got some serious cash in here too, Prez ,” Priest said.
“How much?” Linc asked.
Priest pulled out the wad of hundred dollar bills.
“That’s probably four grand,” Cyrus said.
Linc looked at Jed. He curled his lip, grabbed Jed’s shirt and started to shake him.
“You dead, you stupid fucker? Huh?”
Jed’s head rocked left to right. His eyes flickered for a second.
“Priest,” Cyrus said. “Go for it.”
Priest slammed his hand to Jed’s throat. Jed’s eyes popped open. Bloodshot and crusted.
“There’s no yellow bunny allowed in this fucking town. Where’s your stash, asshole?”
Jed tried to talk but couldn’t. Priest eased up on his grip.
“They’ll fucking kill you,” Jed whispered.
“Fuck this,” Linc said. He pointed his gun at Jed.
Priest grabbed Jed’s wrist and twisted once like he was wringing out a wet washcloth. Jed’s wrist popped and broke that quick. Before Jed could scream, Priest put a hand over Jed’s mouth.
“I’ll break bones until you die,” Priest said. “Tell me where your stash is.”
Jed nodded. He pointed to the TV. He mumbled something. Priest moved his hand.
“Behind,” Jed groaned. “My wrist is fucked. Oh, it hurts too. I need a hit. I need to chase the pain away.”
Linc sat down on the couch. “Hey, man, we’re here for you. We’re your support system now. What I mean by that…? You bring that shit into this town and this house again and we’ll kill you.”
“No, that’s not right,” Cyrus said. “We can’t give him a break.”
“Shit, Prez ,” Linc said. “You’re right. He’s got to go right now.”
Jed tried to move but Linc grabbed him. He pressed his gun to Jed’s temple. Priest threw the TV to the floor and found a storage compartment behind the TV stand.
“Four fucking bags of the shit,” Priest said.
“Goddammit,” Cyrus roared.
“Who did you get this shit from?” Linc asked.
“You’re going to kill me no matter what, man. So fuck yourself.”
Linc pressed the gun harder to Jed’s head.
“I’ve got the shit,” Priest said. “Let’s go. Kill this asshole and let’s move on.”
“This will look bad for the town,” Linc said.
“Then we take him with us,” Cyrus said. “Toss him in a fucking cage for a while.”
Before Linc could debate what to do, there were footsteps above them. Then footsteps on the steps to the basement.
“Fuck,” Linc growled.
“I’ve got it,” Priest said.
He walked to the steps, ready to pull the trigger. Even if it was Jed’s ninety-five-year-old grandmother. Oh fucking well.
When Linc heard the sound of the scream, he jumped from the couch. He didn’t need to see Nova to know that’s who it was coming down the steps.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Priest asked.
Nova showed her hands. She crouched down.
“I had to know if it was Nick or not,” she said. “But you’ve big problems.”
“Darling, you need to get out of here,” Linc said.
“So do you!” Nova cried out. “I think there are cops about to bust in here!”
Sometimes outlaws just had no choice but to scramble and think on their feet. Priest threatened to break Jed’s other wrist if he didn’t write down the phone number of his dealer. Cyrus made it clear to Jed of what would happen if any of this was talked about. Linc then gave what felt the same old story, but it was effective.
You got high, tripped and knocked your TV over and broke your wrist.
“And broke your eye bone,” Priest said.
He punched Jed so hard in the face it knocked him clean out. They all hurried up the basement steps and shut the door. Linc scooped up Nova. He was so pissed at her right now…
… yet she was saving their ass…Once out back, Cyrus signaled to Slade and Darrow to drive.
“I’ve got this,” Nova said to Linc. “I’ll do something. They don’t know me. Trust me.”
Linc didn’t like the sound of that at all. Maybe the only reason he let Nova go was to be some form of punishment. He knew she had left the clubhouse earlier before the rest of them did. But to show up here? For what? What was she planning on doing even if Nick was here?
Probably throw herself in front of her brother so we wouldn’t kill the stupid prick.
“Fuck,” Linc growled.
He, Priest, and Cyrus all got on their motorcycles and already knew they were each going to take a different path once they cleared the end of the alley.
Better to deal with a lawyer and all that legal shit with one guy picked up instead of three. Having the President ride solo was a risk, as was the VP, but there was no option here. Something went wrong. Very wrong.
Linc and Cyrus had the same thought about what went wrong. For Priest, all he could think about was how satisfying it felt to feel Jed’s wrist snap in his hands and the feeling of Jed’s eye socket breaking like cheap drywall.
And then there was Nova…
… she darted through the neighbor’s backyard and got back to her SUV.
She started it and began to drive toward the house.
With no clue what to do next as she saw what looked like an unmarked police car or detective car coming down the street, Nova cut the wheel. She put the SUV into neutral, revved the engine, and then hit the brakes over and over to make the vehicle rock.
She then put it into park and turned it off. Instantly she began to cry and climbed out of the SUV. She ran a hand through her hair and looked up, begging for more tears.
This is insane. I am insane. I am going to go to jail. Prison. I’m going to end up in some intense, scary, women’s only prison for years…
Nova looked forward and saw a man getting out of the car. “Hey! You have to move!”
“It won’t start,” Nova called out, faking crying. “It keeps jumping and stalling out! Can you help me, sir?”
The pretty doe eyes that Nova’s mother always said would get her in trouble worked like magic.
The man— totally a detective —came rushing toward the SUV.
Nova popped the hood and the man lifted it up.
“Look, you’re in a bad spot here,” the man said. “Middle of the road. You’ve got to move.”
The man looked under the hood, touched a few random hoses and twisted a couple caps.
“Can I try it now?” Nova asked.
“Uh, yeah, sure, go for it.”
Nova got behind the wheel and turned the key. Of course the SUV started right up. The man dropped the hood shut and Nova greeted him with a giant smile through the windshield.
She stuck her head out the window. “Thank you so much, sir! You saved my life! I’m on my way to work and if I’m late one more time I’m fired!”
“Okay, get moving then, right now. Go!”
Nova nodded and put the SUV into drive. She moved slow and pretended the SUV sputtered a few times. Once she made it to the end of the street, she turned right, and then floored it.
Her heart jumped into her throat and she felt like she was going to vomit. Getting inked by Linc was one thing to take part in the outlaw life. But this… getting involved in what should have been that detective busting in and arresting Linc, Cyrus, and Priest…
Nova wondered if she was now one of the bad guys.