by Kiki Leach
"I'm not avoiding anything--"
"The fuck you ain't."
"Hey."
"What the fuck is Rattlesnake wanting you to do in order to pay back the club?" I glanced at him over my shoulder as he leaned against the edge of my table and crossed his arms. "I ain't going anywhere 'til I hear a goddamn answer on this shit."
"I'm guessing that once you do, it won't be pretty," I told him.
"Chances of you being right on that are high as hell like always, but I'm still here and listening."
I made a face and whirled back around to him, then squeezed one eye shut before answering. "He wants me to marry Chino's son for the money."
"WHAT?!" He shoved himself away from the table, hard enough for it to slide across the floor and into the pile of cabinets behind it, and lowered his arms. "What the fuck?!" he barked, forcing me to jerk back as the echo of his hardened voice filled the room. "He said that shit to you on the real?"
"It's why he wanted to talk to me without you or Taz around."
"Fuckin' Christ! He knew we'd veto this shit as soon as the first goddamn word of it started flying outta his mouth. This asshole -- FUCK!" He stepped to the door and threw his hand against the wall beside it, forcing the frame to rattle beneath his fingers. As his eyes rolled back to mine, a line appeared between his brows. "Is that why your old man wanted you back out there today? To go along with this shit?"
"As far as I know, he's not aware of it yet."
"Then what the fuck was he calling you back out there for, Chey?"
"He didn't. Chino used him to call up Rattlesnake in order to get me to show up again."
"Chino?!" he said. His entire face went blank as he shook his head. "You met that son of a bitch in person?"
"Yes. While I was expecting Rox to walk back through the door, he showed up instead."
"And told you what?!"
"Essentially the same as Rattlesnake, that he wants me to marry his son."
He moved toward the center of the room and opened his hands. His face went sour as he stared. "What the fuck is he getting outta this shit for himself?"
"He's being put away thanks to much of his illegal activity behind those casinos finally coming to light."
"Shit. How'd you find out about that?"
"Snake... Did you know?"
"Not that this motherfucker wanted you to marry his kid. But the shit about why he's being put away and how it happened thanks to Lena? I knew. The rest of 'em do too."
"Have you ever actually met this woman? I mean, have you actually seen her around the club?"
"Years ago... but I wouldn't be able to pick her ass out of a line-up today or some shit if that's what you're asking."
"It's not, but..." I stopped to rattle my head. "Did you know about her and Chino having a thing at some point before all of this, years ago? At least according to Snake."
"I know what he told me recently in what I'm guessing he also told you." He rolled his eyes around the room and dragged his hands around his waist. "Snake said their history is why she convinced your old man to steal that money with the promise of sucking him off, along with that dope. Bitch needed to skip her ass the fuck outta here before Chino could catch up to take her out himself for being a goddamn snitch."
"His being locked up for what she did is why he can't touch what's left of his money not taken in by the government," I said. "Neither can Nikko."
"Why the fuck does he need you as a wife, Cheyenne?"
"Because that money has to be under an account with only his wife's name attached in order to make it look clean. In this deal, I would get what needs to be paid back to the club while Nikko would get the rest after I signed it all over to a dummy before we split."
"How much dough are we talking here?"
"According to him, twelve million."
He leaned away from me and whistled. "And it was Chino's idea for you to be the one his son married in order to hang onto it?"
"I wasn't at the top of his list... Nikko asked for me himself."
He blinked. "This kid didn't know you from a can of goddamn paint before any of the shit that went down out there today?"
"I don't think so--"
"But he asked for you personally."
I nodded. "What are you thinking?"
"That you might've actually said yes to this shit from how goddamn calm you're acting. And that it might cost you more than just the opinions of certain brothers from the club."
"I did say yes to him."
"Jesus, Cheyenne." He grumbled while lifting his eyes and sighed hard enough to blow another sharp whistle, this time through his nose; he threw his hands out to me and shrugged. "What the fuck for?! Why the hell would you do something like this to yourself?!"
"Because we both need the money and I want to help him out."
"This same motherfucker you watched take out three guards on the goddamn courtyard?"
I looked aside and flinched; his words stung much more than they should've. "It was in self defense."
"That's the shit they're wanting you to believe, baby girl."
"It's what I believe to be the truth, Nix. And no offense, but it's not as if you have much reason to judge on it either way -- no member of the club does after all you've ever done to other people."
His eyes softened with a low light shining high behind them that I never knew could exist inside of a man like him until this very moment. He rattled his head and peered. "I ain't judging shit as much as I'm worried about you being all in with this asshole," he said. "You know Chino and the rest of those motherfuckers are connected to the Gambiano's?"
"The local crime family I used to hear about all the time on the news as a kid?"
"That's them. Your old man had a dealing with 'em outside the club for awhile at one point, but after some shit went down that nearly fucked him up, he cut all ties as best as he could."
"Why was he ever trying to get involved with them in the first place?"
"That's something you've gotta ask him about, baby girl -- assuming he'll tell you all the facts in what was up with the goddamn mafia. Right now my concern is you and what all this shit you're planning with Nikko is gonna mean, especially with him still being locked up."
"He's hoping to be out by the end of the week or next."
Slowly, his head bobbed as a familiar look of outright fear crossed his face. "If that's the case, Chino is getting help from the Gambiano's, who are no doubt gonna want something from him or his old man in return for it. Maybe both." He eyed me with question and pressed his lips together. "Why the fuck are you wanting to help this asshole, baby girl? You being desperate for the cash is one thing, but--"
"I felt bad for him." I shrugged. "Chino seems almost as bad if not worse than Rox on nearly every level imaginable."
"The shit from this motherfucker shouldn't be yours to have to clean up."
"I'm not cleaning up anything. I'm helping someone out of a bind in the same way they've offered to help me."
"By getting fuckin' married to him?!" he spat. I recoiled at the harsh tone of his voice and rushed back through the living room; he followed. "What about school?" he called out behind me. "You're so goddamn close to finishing up that degree with one semester left. And you're wasting time in between to be locked down to a muthafucka connected to the goddamn mafia?!"
"It wouldn't be forever," I said, moving near the couch and removing my shoes. "It's temporary until we both get what we need out of it."
"And what the fuck else is he looking for from you?" His voice piqued as he rested his hands along the edge of the couch and bent forward; his face a mixture of indignation and dread. "'Cause ain't no motherfucker on God's green earth with a working dick gonna give up his life of free pussy if he knows he can get it from home every goddamn night."
"He won't be getting anything from me except his money in return for the amount I need for the club. You're being paranoid on top of crass."
"I'm being realistic as fuck -- somet
hing you were all about before heading back out there today." He pushed himself to stand up straight and glared. "Did you talk to Nikko on your own after seeing Chino?"
I bugged my eyes before rolling them to the corner in an attempt at avoiding all contact with the reaction I knew was coming next. "For a little while, yes--"
"Fuckin' CHRIST, Cheyenne!" He spun away from me like the needle at the head of a top while tossing a fist into the air and traipsed toward the stairs on the opposite side of the room. "He put that asshole on you in order to get you to change your mind on this shit -- 'cause I know good and goddamn well you weren't for it after leaving the club."
"Talking to him face to face let me see who he was behind the man I saw on the court."
"And no part of you thought that shit might've been a goddamn act in order to get you to say yes?! You don't think Chino and his kid might've been setting all this shit up just to get you to sign over the money to him before he bolts with it?! His old man being put away is no guarantee even with the goddamn Feds on his ass, and you know why? 'Cause if Nikko gets outta this shit with help from the Gambiano's despite fuckin' up those guards, you can bank on the fact that they're gonna do the same for his old man." He pointed. "Which means there's gonna be a steep goddamn price to pay here, baby girl, and I don't want you being the one forced into paying it for 'em."
"I am telling you that I won't be in this long enough to pay for anything outside of what's owed to the club," I said. "My name will be on the money before either one of them will be able to get their hands on any part of it for themselves."
"You think your name being on something is gonna keep them from getting what they need from this shit first?"
"That's the point. They won't have access to anything without my handing it over."
"I love you, Chey, on everything I've got and always will. But there are times when you can be naive as fuck out here in these streets, baby girl."
"Hey!"
"I'm just telling you how it is."
"You're telling me how you feel -- those are two different things."
"Or it's a goddamn truth you're just not tryna hear." His shoulders dropped in the manner of someone who knew he was fighting a losing battle as he stepped back over to the couch; his eyes darkened with disappointment while shaking his head. "I don't feel as if you truly know what the hell you're doing with all this shit. I feel as if instead" -- his eyes shifted as he jerked his chin -- "you're thinking about it with some other part of yourself right about now."
"And which part of myself would that be?"
"Your goddamn heart."
"What are you talking about?"
"The shit's been open to the wrong kinda people ever since you were born; ain't nothing changed about it since."
Damn.
An unexpected answer if there ever was one from him, I pushed my brows together and scowled in hearing it. "Why would you say something like that to me?"
"Because it's the goddamn truth, Cheyenne. You feeling sorry for this mafia connected asshole is what got you here; it's also what's gonna be liable in getting you fucked up unless you start thinking with the good senses God gave to ya."
"The club isn't clean," I shot back. "Don't forget that I'm in this whole mess to begin with because of my father's penchant for deep throating hookers born and bred from within the walls of that house; this one just so happened to be busier with her mouth than usual, and in more ways than just the one that's known to be most popular with the rest of you."
"Baby girl--" A knock at the door cut him short. "Jesus fuckin' Christ, who the fuck is it?!" he barked.
"Hey!" I sneered at him for speaking out before throwing my hands along either side of my hips and turning my eyes to the door. "Who is it?" I said.
"Chino," the voice called out from the other side.
"Dammit. Just give me a quick second--!"
"Fuckin' Chino?!" Nix sucked in a heavy breath and lifted his shoulders like a player on the field ready for battle against the opposing team. "What the fuck is that asshole doing here, Chey? Stalking to make sure you ain't changed your mind since leaving there for the second goddamn time today?"
"It's more than likely to bring me the keys and address to Nikko's place--"
"Nikko's place?" He pulled back as if someone had just yanked at his spine with a rubber string and shoved his brows together. "You're moving in with that asshole?"
"We can't exactly be married while living in separate houses."
"The fuck you can't." He turned from me in a huff and hurried toward the door like a giant, raging bull that had just seen the flash of a red cape.
"Hey!" I rushed in front of him and slammed my hand into his chest, forcing him to stop in his tracks and stumble back onto his heels.
He grumbled. "What the fuck--?!" He jerked the lapels of his cut and lifted his chin. "Move outta the goddamn way, Cheyenne."
"Not until you come to grips with the fact and fully understand that this isn't about you, Nix." I lowered my hand between us and sighed. "I'm doing what's best for me and mine right now, which means getting my hands on that money to pay back Rattlesnake and get the hell back out of here all over again. I love you like a second father, I always have... but you're not him. If you were, no doubt none of this would've ever happened to me yet again, but it did. I'm out of options here and I don't hate this one as much as you wish that I would."
"You don't know this motherfucker!"
"You're right, I don't. But from what I've seen outside of what happened, he isn't as terrible--"
"You can't be for real with this shit!"
"I am," I said. "What he did scared the hell out of me -- I admit that free and clear. But I would be lying to the both of us if I said that I wouldn't have done something of the same to save my own life if I could've..."
I paused and swallowed hard as he deeply inhaled and rattled his head.
"Baby girl--"
"There's a chance I could be wrong about all of this," I interjected. "A chance that he could screw me over just like his father could, and that I might have to pay a price for what could turn out to be my ultimate version of stupidity in allowing myself to trust him. But I can't just sit around hoping like hell that a pile of money suddenly falls into my lap to help make all of this go away. I have to do something in order to get my life back on track, and right now, this is it. So please just learn to respect that or get the hell out, because I'm tired and don't have anymore energy for anything else today, especially from you or any other member of the club."
He stared into my face for a long while in silence, his eyes roaming as his mind worked overtime on what to say next before finally turning to the door and pointing. "You got the same mouth on you that your mother once had -- you know that shit?"
"Yes. Now can you please just--?"
"That son of a bitch tries some shit..." He turned his finger toward me and narrowed his eyes. "I'm coming after his ass with these." He balled his hands into fists and nodded toward each one. "And I ain't leaving you alone with him out here either."
"That's fine, as long as you promise not to say anything about any of this to Rattlesnake. I need to be the one to tell him what's going on; and when he decides to tell you and Taz and the others, I don't want you acting as if you already know about it -- because I don't need to hear his mouth about it, alright?" He bobbed his head and rolled his eyes in the manner of a petulant child, then crossed his arms and jutted his chin.
I spun away from him as Chino knocked again and crossed the room to open the door.
When I pulled back, he was leaning against the frame with one hand shoved inside his front pocket while the other was holding onto a set of keys with a small blue chain dangling from the center. He nodded and flashed a quick, uneasy smile before his eyes darted to Nix.
His head tipped toward forward as he peered. "Long time no see back there, old man," he called out.
I peeked over at Nix as his face changed; he puffed his chest and grunted.
"We're damn near the same goddamn age, muthafucka. And I ain't a fan of our 'reunion' being under a pile of bullshit circumstances like the one you've brought to the table for my baby girl over here," he replied.
"Your baby girl?" His gaze lowered as he snickered. "She told you about this shit, I'm guessing--"
"Yeah, the bullshit. She had no goddamn choice in knowing that my ass wasn't leaving from here 'til I knew just what the fuck was going on down there at Rikers, and why."
"Rattlesnake know that she said yes to this yet--?"
"No," I blurted. He looked to me and smirked. "And he won't until I'm ready for him to know about it."
"When is that gonna be?" he questioned, pushing himself away from the frame and standing upright as he stared hard into my face. "'Cause this shit has gotta get on the goddamn road sooner before later--"
"What actual progress have you made in getting your son out of Rikers in order to make that happen since this morning?" I snapped.
He stepped forward and chortled, seemingly bemused by my response. "I've done enough to know he'll be out within the next week or so."
"'Or so'. And that's a guarantee?"
He shrugged and casually rolled his head aside. "More or less."
"What the fuck does that shit even mean, asshole?" asked Nix. "More or fuckin' less? Either you know when that bastard of yours is getting out, or you fuckin' don't -- there's no goddamn in between here."
Chino lifted his hand and wagged the keys. "I know that your 'baby girl' should probably get to moving her things into his place soon. Here." As I opened my hand, he dropped the keys inside my palm. "My driver back here" -- he flicked his thumb out to a silver-haired man leaning against the passenger door of a sleek black Cadillac with silver rims, his hands crossed in front of himself as his sky blue eyes with tiny crinkles around the edges remained focused on the building -- "can come and pick you up at any time when you're ready. His name is 'Green' and the number for his personal cell is on the small white strap hanging from that chain." He gradually moved his eyes across my living room and pointed. "How much of this shit are you planning to bring along with you out there?"
