Chapter 10
TEN
KALANI
Ialmost sighed with relief when he turned away from me.
While he thought my eyes were closed, I’d been watching him the entire time through a small crack between my eyelids.
It was something I learned to do during my time away when I wanted to be left alone but needed to remain aware of my surroundings.
Had I not seen him approaching me, I probably would have screamed in fear instead of headbutting him in anger like the asshole deserved.
I had more important things to think about.
Like what in the hell I was going to say to Birdie.
She was going to kick my ass, and I was going to let her.
Because I knew better. I was never criminally insane or whatever term they used.
I knew what I was doing when I killed Chet.
And I knew what I was doing when I killed Matthew.
The difference was, after Chet’s death, Birdie asked me to tell her if I felt the urge to kill again, so she could talk me out of it.
And I promised her I would. I betrayed the one person who stood by me unconditionally.
But I did it to protect her. Because she would’ve helped me and taken the fall if we got caught.
And clearly, I wasn’t good at not getting caught.
In my defense, I wasn’t thinking about the repercussions when I killed Chet and didn’t take any precautions or try to conceal my actions.
With Matthew, I didn’t have much time to prepare.
Even though I technically got away the first time, I didn’t finish the job, and I stabbed the wrong person.
And obviously, I got caught when I did get the right one.
Maybe I do have impulse control and anger management issues.
The thought flickered to life for a few moments before I snuffed it out.
Chet killed my mother because she loved his brother instead of him.
Matthew planned to sell his six-year-old niece into human trafficking.
Intense anger was a reasonable response to both scenarios.
Murder might not have been deemed an acceptable response by most people, but most people were pussies.
“Why are you smiling?” Sugar asked.
Fuck.
Justifying and rationalizing my behaviors always made me feel better, but I didn’t mean to show it. I didn’t like that I’d become relaxed enough in his presence to self-soothe, let alone allow the thoughts and emotions necessary for soothing to happen in the first place.
I pretended to jolt awake and blearily asked, “What?”
“Why are you smiling?” he repeated.
“Didn’t know I was.”
He huffed and turned back to the television. I considered riling him up some more. It was more entertaining than it should have been to ruffle his feathers, and I had some time to kill.
At some point during the night, I fell asleep and woke up to sunlight filling the room, meaning hours had passed.
Birdie.
“Where’s Birdie?” I demanded.
Sugar snored in response.
“Hey, asshole!” I yelled.
Nothing.
I didn’t have time to wait for him to wake up. Something was wrong. Birdie should have been at the clubhouse well before sunrise, and she would have demanded to see me immediately.
I did the only two things I could do: I hopped the chair toward Sugar while screaming at the top of my lungs. My efforts were successful with bonus entertainment, though I was too upset to enjoy it.
It happened fast. Sugar jumped to his feet moments before Cookie barreled through the door. Confused and half asleep, Sugar threw a punch at Cookie, and Cookie responded by tackling Sugar. I didn’t see what happened after that because I hopped my ass toward the open door as fast as I could.
I didn’t make it far before Sugar grabbed my chair and stopped me. “What the fuck are you doing?” he yelled.
“Where’s Birdie?”
Sugar’s face flashed with worry. He tried to hide it, but not before I saw it.
“What happened?” I demanded. “Tell me what happened!”
Sugar glanced at Cookie before his eyes returned to mine. “When Coochie got to Birdie’s, it was raining harder there and had been for a while. They thought it was best to spend the night at her place and drive back this morning.”
I didn’t believe him for one second. Birdie would’ve insisted on speaking with me once Coochie told her what was going on. “Can you call her?” I asked, hoping I sounded less worried than I was. “I want to make sure she’s okay.”
“We already—” Sugar said, but Cookie interrupted him.
“I’ll call Coochie.” He tapped the screen of his phone before bringing it to his ear. “It’s going straight to voicemail,” he said and put his phone on speaker so I could hear for myself.
“Try Birdie,” I said and rattled off her phone number.
“Hold on.” Cookie fumbled with his phone. “All right, say it slower this time.”
I repeated her phone number slightly slower and anxiously waited to hear her voice. Seconds later, my stomach dropped when her pre-recorded message played. Cookie ended the call and tried calling her again, as if he knew I was going to ask.
“Why isn’t she answering?” I mumbled to myself.
“They probably turned their phones off to conserve their batteries in case the power goes out. Coochie said water was already pooling in places around Makani,” Sugar explained.
I wasn’t sure I believed him, but I accepted his answer for the time being. What else could I do?
“I have to pee.”
Sugar exhaled heavily. “Of course you do.”
“I’ll stay until she’s finished,” Cookie said with a wry grin. “In case she gets away from you again.”
“She doesn’t have a knife this time,” he said. “But I think she’ll keep her shit together if she wants to see her grandmother again.”
Yes, I would keep my shit together so I could see Birdie again, but not in the way he thought. I’d cooperate, but if an opportunity to escape presented itself, I’d take it.
He cut the tape and removed it from my chest and legs, but not my hands. “Unless you’re planning on wiping my ass for me, I’m gonna need to use these.”
“Fine,” he said and cut through the paracord binding my wrists before he drew a gun and pointed it at me. “Bathroom is the first door on the left.”
I stood and slowly took one step toward him. “Guns are so impersonal.” Then I turned and hurried to the bathroom.
Once inside, I shut the door and took a moment to close my eyes and think. I knew they were lying to me, but I didn’t know why. Whatever the reason, it couldn’t be good. I needed to play along until I could figure out how to get away from the Kings and find Birdie.
Inhaling deeply, I opened my eyes and turned to use the facilities when I noticed a simple black comb on the counter.
I slipped it into the upper part of my sleeve so it was concealed against my body.
Then I peed and left the bathroom without flushing or washing my hands.
It was petty and childish, but I didn’t give a single fuck.
“Where do you want me?” I asked, holding my hands up so he could see them.
“Pinned to the floor with a knife through your thigh,” Sugar deadpanned.
“For fuck’s sake,” Cookie grumbled. “Chair.”
“Oh good. Somewhere familiar,” I said as I forced myself to sit and allowed him to restrain me.
“You got this now?” Cookie asked Sugar.
“Fuck off.”
I almost laughed. Sugar was the enforcer for an outlaw motorcycle club, and I’d given him hell every time I’d interacted with him. And I was going to give him more.