by Kiki Leach
"Asking her for it was the only way I could get her to dig into Deborah's history with Chino. You know that nothing for her comes without a price, even if she can't currently use her mouth to actually say the words aloud."
"That's true, but did she ever find anything on Deborah's son with him?"
"Only that he was born in New Orleans, which I mentioned to Loco and Nix. But everything else about the hospital and date -- even the damn year were all blacked out." I stepped around her and moved to the bed, slid into my off-white ballerina shoes and reached for my earrings. "Nikko says that nothing with her and Chino's current situation is adding up."
"He's right, because I don't care how good the sex between those two might be -- I don't care if they share a son; this woman still turned him into the Feds for Snake and is still screwing his brains out whenever he calls her for it. After what Chino did to Benny at the very idea of him having pictures of them being together...? There is something not adding up with all of this."
"Maybe I should've dropped the bullshit and re-invited her along with Taz in the hope that one of them would finally tell the truth on who knows what and why."
She anxiously shook her head and toyed with the straps of her silk, lavender dress. "I wouldn't have banked on that happening if they showed up. You might have a better chance with Ronaldo, depending on what he knows for himself or what she's told him."
"I might have a chance if he's still willing to go the distance for information without expecting more than he's getting."
She dropped her hands and looked directly into my eyes with growing concern. "You think he might try something with you?"
"No. I mean money," I told her. "His agreeing to talk in person was in part to make sure that he and his brother would continue to get what they're owed from Chino."
"Do you think he's dead once they've finished using him against Snake?"
"I honestly don't know. Nikko seems convinced of it, but with them backing off wanting him to take out Rox..."
"Do you think that is going to last if it turns out he was lying and Snake doesn't have the money after all, Chey?"
A knock at the door kept me from responding with what I feared.
She brushed my arm before crossing the room to answer. I rolled my eyes in a panic and returned to the window, staring into the street as passing cars and hordes of motorcycles from neighboring charters made their way toward The Metropolitan Museum of Art for our wedding.
"Baby girl." I peeked behind me at the low sound of Nix's voice. After stepping ahead of Loco and adjusting the fit of his cut on top of his black and white tuxedo, he eyed me from head to toe and nodded with a proud smile. "Beautiful as I always knew you'd be on a day like this."
"She looks better than whatever the fuck you claim you knew before now, asshole," blurted Loco. He jabbed Nix in the arm with his elbow as Brandi closed the door, then fixed his leather jacket around his own tuxedo and cleared his throat. "You never mentioned how your boy managed to score the goddamn Met for this wedding, 'cause I know that shit can't be rented out for events like this and is expensive as fuck for everything else."
"Nikko knows people that owed him a few favors, allowing us to have the bill waived until midnight, but..." I peered. "How the hell would you of all people know about the expense otherwise?"
He shrugged. "Ain't rocket science, Cheyenne. But if you wanna be specific on this shit, one of the randoms I laid up with last night gets down with a baller whose old man did some new construction on the building a few years back with his company. Can't remember her name now, but she ran her mouth about it before I sent her home."
"Convenient -- I hope she wasn't your plus one for today?"
"This shit's too classy for her in being outside the club; I brought a regular who can keep her hands off my dick 'til we no longer have to keep it chill with Chino's people."
"That's very lovely of you, Loco, thanks."
"Yeah. But speaking of that asshole, doesn't seem like we're getting any further with learning why the fuck he's still hooking up with his own goddamn snitch." He traipsed to a chair near the closet and took a seat. He crossed his ankles and opened his hands in question. "And we're even less into finding out if VP knows anything about this so-called kid, she's got with him."
"I still don't think Taz knows a goddamn thing about that shit if it ain't him that was born from their 'union' from hell," said Nix. "He barely knows about Snake being his old man."
"That 'nepotism' shit is what got his ass from the back to the head of the table in less time than it takes for muthafuckas to officially patch in, yet he still can't figure it the fuck out after all these goddamn years?" He shook his head. "Brotha, you didn't think VP knew a goddamn thing about his mother being the one to fuck us over either and look where the fuck we are right now."
"Don't start with me on this shit, asshole," he muttered.
"I'm only telling you the goddamn truth about it -- can't help if that shit hurts."
"There's truth in everything that's been said," Brandi interjected. "But maybe what we're missing is where the hell it actually starts."
"What are you talking about?" I asked her.
She looked between each of us with a feared expression. "Snake, Taz, Deborah, Chino -- and by extension, Rox, are the only ones who know the full story as to how this all went down. Chino and Snake sharing Deborah again for their own reasons might not be something we can figure out on our own, and Taz more than likely has no idea about his mother currently hopping between them like a hot potato. If he does, he's not going to spill that information or the reason behind it. We all know that they protect each other more than anyone else within the club. Rox snitched to Nikko because he was pissed, and I can't blame him for that. Chino has the most to gain when it comes to the money, but Snake has had the most to gain when it comes to information -- he's had as much from the start. With him setting everything in motion, it's obvious he not only has his own skeletons inside a closet, but everyone else's locked in there with them." She paused. "There's no way in hell he doesn't have an idea about Chino wanting to run with that money and has plans set in place for when he tries -- either through Deborah telling him so, or his own certainty that Chino wouldn't stick to their original deal. More than that, if he became aware of Deborah and Chino's son and knows who the hell it is, he could've used that information to scare her into helping him by threatening to snitch."
"Or he doesn't know shit about shit," said Nix, "and he was screwing with her."
"Snake wouldn't do something like that," I replied. "You should know that by now, but still refuse to see it."
"Baby girl--"
"No, Nix. If by chance he used the information of Deborah's son with Chino to force her into helping him set up Rox, he knows exactly who the hell it is and would have snitched for his own gain in a heartbeat. Now it's just a matter of finding who and where the hell this person actually is."
"Taz could still possibly know something," said Loco. Nix peeked over at him and glared. "I know you wanna protect his ass from the pile of shit that's bound to shatter over his head once this all comes to light. And I know he protects his mother something serious. But if he knew about her being the one to help set all this shit in motion and kept quiet about it, there's also the chance she told him about this other kid. We've gotta shake that shit from his ass if he's got the info."
"And what the fuck are we supposed to do after finding out who the fuck he is?" asked Nix. "What if this kid has no goddamn idea about Chino and Deborah -- What if he's living a happy life somewhere else with no connection?"
"It's still something we need to know," I told him.
"Why Cheyenne?"
"Are you kidding?!" I walked toward him and rested my hands-on top of his shoulders; I stared directly into his eyes and frowned. "Chino's hope to screw over Nikko with this money is something that can't happen. If this other son isn't a factor, I need to know what the hell can stop him in his tracks, along with Deborah's
role beyond a snitching sex toy. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
He nodded and narrowed his eyes. "You really love this asshole; going through all this shit for him even if you can't be sure of the outcome."
"He doesn't deserve what Chino wants to do and the club also deserves to be paid what they're owed. I haven't forgotten about that either. It's part of why I'm standing here in this dress."
"Yeah, part." He reached for my left hand and tapped my ring. "Something new from him?"
"He gave it to me this morning."
"It looks good on your hand." He nodded again and glanced between the three of us, then pinched his brows and exhaled. "I'll see if I can get that new prospect, Runaway, to go through Snake's shit back at his place while he's out here for the wedding -- ask him to look for some non-specifics about New Orleans while putting emphasis on our business out there with a few of the garages to keep it from looking like something else; might be able to get some names, dates -- any of the useful shit Marleena couldn't find on her own."
"Thank you," I told him. "It could be more than what we have already, which isn't much."
He squeezed my hand. "Listen, me and the other one back here need to start heading over to make sure everybody knows where the fuck they're supposed to be placed, but I wanna give you something first." Nix reached inside the pocket of his cut and removed a blue and white kerchief, placing it inside my hand. "The club came together on this for you except for Snake and Taz. The whole something old and blue and all that..." He pointed along the edge. "I gave it to your mother when she first started out with the club; found her crying over your old man one night and told her to keep it after she wiped her face; she did." He chuckled. "After you were born, she used it for your tears 'til you were about two years old and had your initials sewn into the bottom corners. Loco found it after going through the closet in the apartment and we had Nikko's initials sewn beneath yours. Left some space if you ever change your mind about the kids and whatnot."
Tears filled my eyes almost too quickly to catch with my hands as they fell; I swallowed back the feeling of wanting to sob into his arms and bit my lip to keep it from trembling. "I can't believe you did something like this for me."
"Believe it." Loco stood up from the chair and leaned in. "Your man is good people," he said, "and I was wrong."
I blinked and sniffed, then shook my head at him and gulped. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I'm not repeating my shit," he snapped. "But getting to know the kinda muthafucka he is without you around let me see that he's serious about you and everything that's gonna come with being married into who we are. Whatever happens with his old man and Deborah -- with this money... knowing he's got your back is more important than all this shit combined right now."
"And you mean that?" I questioned. "Honestly?"
He bobbed his head. "Cross my goddamn heart."
"If you can still find it."
"It's in there somewhere. You can sometimes dig it outta me when you want." He walked around Nix and bent forward to kiss the center of my forehead. "I love you no matter our shit, Cheyenne; always will. Even if you still want this other muthafucka being the one to walk you down that aisle."
Nix wrapped a hand around his arm and yanked him back. "She picked me 'cause she knows my ass won't trip over her dress." He kissed my cheek and pointed to the door. "Find us when you head over there, alright?"
I nodded as he and Loco left the room.
After closing the door, Brandi hurried back over to me and placed her hands-on top of her hips. She scowled. "They still don't have any idea about you meeting with Ronaldo."
"Because they would try scaring the hell out of me to keep it from happening. Nikko's already tried and failed."
"Maybe they're right."
"They could be, but so am I." As I stepped to the dresser and reached for my veil, the hotel room phone began ringing off the hook. Brandi eyed me with question before rushing to answer, then turned back with an open mouth and pair of wide and glassy, reddening eyes while listening to the voice on the other side. "What is it?" I asked, moving toward her with open hands; I rattled my head and grimaced. "Who is on the phone?"
"Downstairs," she muttered. "The front desk." She clamped her lips back together and swallowed hard, then lowered her attention to my dress as a single tear fell from her eye.
"Brandi--"
"There's a message for you from Deborah... she's at Mount Sinai."
"Hospital?" I frowned. "What--?"
She blinked as another tear fell and quickly bobbed her head. "She couldn't reach our cell phones and didn't know the number for the room -- It's about Rox, Cheyenne." My heart nearly plummeted as she rested a hand on top of my shoulder. "Deborah says that he's been admitted for third degree burns."
"What?! How--?!""
"Someone doused his mattress with gasoline and threw a match into his cell this morning--"
"Oh my God." I fell away from her and clutched my chest. Tears rushed my eyes as my nose clogged; I looked to the ceiling for guidance while anxiously shaking my head in disbelief. "Is he...?"
"She claims he was unconscious when he was found, and the fire was put out." A sigh of relief escaped her beneath an exhale. "Still alive, but unconscious -- he's been in surgery for a few hours now."
"Does anyone else know about this yet?"
"We were her only call and the Feds have yet to know what's up because Rikers released him under an Anon for safety purposes. But Chey..." She stopped and tightened her jaw. "She's claiming that Rox removed your name as the emergency contact and listed her last night." Bile instantly filled my throat as I grabbed my bag from a chair, tossed the kerchief inside and ran to the door. "Cheyenne--"
"Call Loco." I shook my eyes of more tears and wiped my face. "Tell him and Nix what the hell is going on and to make sure this is still off the radar."
"Alright--"
"Let them know that they don't need to come to the hospital just yet either."
She lowered the phone from her ear and made a face. "You need us all there with you right now."
"No -- I need Nikko there with me because he's the only one who won't hold me back from slapping the taste out of that bitch's mouth or knocking her teeth into a place they don't belong, because Rox didn't replace me with her as the emergency contact without help. I need you here in case someone else calls or the Feds go rogue, and I need Loco and Nix to keep the peace at the museum until I figure out what the hell needs to come next."
"You're sure?"
"Positive. I'll let Nikko know what's happening the closer I get to the hospital."
"Keep me updated once you're there."
I agreed in silence before hurrying from the room.
Chapter Fifty-Four
King of the South
Nikko's POV
After watching his old man throw back his fifth glass of bourbon on an empty stomach, Nikko snatched the bottle from his hand and flushed what was left down the toilet.
"Christ." Chino watched with a sneer as his son emerged from the bathroom, then jumped to his feet and grumbled. "You're an asshole -- prick."
"Always takes one motherfucker to know the face and motivation of another. You taught me some shit about that, remember?"
"Didn't think you'd continue taking it to heart."
"Why the fuck wouldn't I? Number one lesson in your book, old man -- longest one that's ever been taught." Nikko stepped past his dresser and reached for his suit jacket from the corner of the bed. He eyed Chino while pushing his arms through the sleeves and adjusting his tie, then nodded toward the window and made a face. "Looked like you damn near invited all of Italy out here for this wedding," he said.
"Old country shit -- Gotta make it look as authentic as possible to those who need it most, especially with it being so goddamn last minute." He grinned. "Feds gotta have that motherfuckin' front row ready to cart me off if anything goes left."
Nikko nodded and scanned his eyes across his suite.
"Is that why you've got no papers ready for Cheyenne to sign out here? After everything you kept spewing -- now you don't want it looking too goddamn obvious on what today has always been about for you?"
He adjusted his belt and moved toward the door. "We need this ceremony to happen before she signs anything."
"The legal shit could've been drawn up days ago," said Nikko. "Your new tits and ass attorney made every effort into telling me as much. If you wanted Chey to sign for the money on top of it, shit could've happened then."
"You need to say your goddamn vows in front of these motherfuckin' Feds before shit else can be followed through, alright? That's how the fuck it works -- it's what the fuck I agreed to with this shit." He snarled. "Why the fuck are you even giving me lip when marrying this girl is what the fuck you ultimately wanted more than the money?"
Nikko deeply exhaled while eyeing his father with a trace of apprehension laced with regret. "What the fuck happened with you after leaving Poughkeepsie?" he questioned. "The night of my bachelor party when you claimed to be looking for new rep before finally picking the one that managed to palm your dick with one hand beneath the table." Chino turned his head and fiddled with the lapels of his jacket. "Where the fuck did you go after that deal was made?"
"Where the fuck else would I go but home?"
"Was anybody there when you showed up? Anybody drop by after?"
Chino snarled. "What the fuck are you getting at with this shit, Nik?"
"Deborah," he replied. "I want the truth about the shit between you and her -- I wanna know the facts on what the fuck it's been about."
"Not a goddamn thing." He paused. "Why the fuck are you still asking me this shit in the first place? I told you it was ancient fuckin' history."
"You and I both know that shit ain't the goddamn truth no matter how many times the words keep floating outta your mouth; you capped Benny in the middle of his own goddamn office thinking he had taken pictures of you being with someone -- was it her?"
