A Savage Kinda Love

by Kiki Leach

  "Before he nearly died for a second time, yes, he did. Though he let me know in a way that could've given him an out if he wasn't sure or you continued to bullshit your way through an explanation before bolting out of here again with whose dick in your mouth this time? My guess is Chino, though after this failed wedding, he might not be the lock you were hoping for -- Maybe Ronaldo? Unless he's moved onto something better -- possible, considering. Which leaves you with Snake, who is... ah?!" I lifted my hands and feigned a gasp. "The ultimate master behind the puppet." I leaned into her face and sneered. "You're a blockhead with a brain made from wood."

  "You bitch." She slammed her hand on top of the counter, forcing the pictures to rattle against each other, then stormed around the island and pointed. "You don't have any idea what the fuck I had to put up with back then, little girl, and every asshole that came along with it -- but you stand here and judge me as if you know!"

  "Enlighten me!" I told her. "Tell me how the hell it came about that you were pregnant, yet Chino and another woman ended up raising your child?!"

  "The shit wasn't by choice Cheyenne!"

  "Then you were forced into it?!"

  "I had no choice!" she said, tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she sniffed. "He paid me for his own baby."

  "Oh my God."

  "I needed that money more than I needed my child--"

  "YOU SOLD HIM!" I hollered, throwing my hands between us and stepping back to keep them from flying across her face. "As if he weren't your child -- as if he were an animal -- my God! Dogs have been treated better! But the money, as always, was more important than the literal life you had just given birth to! You are a despicable and hypocritical human being -- the worst of any kind I've ever known! Absolutely rotten to the core! What the hell do you expect him to do once he finds out about this?"

  "He's not finding out about this, Cheyenne."

  I guffawed. "Are you also an idiot?! You must be if you think I'm not telling him the truth about who and what the hell you are and have always been!"

  "He loves the woman who raised him -- He loves her as his mother."

  "As he should! That won't change because of you and what you've done, I'll make damn sure of that myself."

  When the front door swung open, she wiped her face and scurried to the corner of the room like a mouse attempting to avoid the snap of a trap.

  "Cheyenne!" Nikko called to me from the hallway.

  I gathered his pictures into a pile on the counter and swallowed back my rising anger. "I'm in the kitchen with Deborah."

  Seconds later, he stormed inside and tossed his jacket into a chair behind the table, then peeked at a quietly sobbing Deborah. "What the fuck happened in here?" he questioned.

  I sighed without response and shook my head. "Did you see Elias?"

  His eyes rolled back to mine as he shifted his jaw. "For a bit out there, yeah. Before he was taken out by a bullet that came from a direction I never saw."

  "What?!" I scrambled around the island as my legs suddenly fell numb and stepped in front of him. "What the hell happened out there, Nikko?!"

  "The old man was sniped right in front of me, baby -- I don't know by who and I don't know the goddamn reason behind it."

  "And now he's dead?" His eyes lowered from mine as he nodded. "My God -- This just keeps happening," I told him. "You understand that it is never going to end at this rate?"

  "It might; Elias mentioned some shit liable to get us halfway there."

  "What the hell did he have to say?"

  "The motherfucker who lit up Rox was likely Ronaldo; which means regardless of my old man, baby, and 'til he has something showing otherwise, it boils down to proving that yours is still involved with stealing his money." He looked to Deborah and knit his brows. "He also told me some shit about babies being sold for cash on the black market."

  I gulped. "What?"

  "The deal between the Gambiano's and your old man that went bad had to do with him being the transport in all that shit; your old man backed out when Ronaldo sniped the motherfucker tryna steal some of what they earned."

  I closed my eyes and brought my hands to my face, covering the growing fear in my expression. "Did he tell you the truth about Deborah's son with Chino?"

  "He was taken out before he had the chance, which is why I'm now asking her about it." He backed away from me and crossed to Deborah; she brought her hand to her mouth to hold back more sobbing and focused her eyes on the floor to avoid his face. "Elias mentioned your kid with Chino being born in New Orleans before being sold to a childless couple. Do you know who the fuck they are?" She dropped her hand to her stomach and nodded as her eyes flushed red. "And you know where the fuck your son is right this goddamn second." She remained silent. "Jesus." He lifted his hands to his waist and grunted. "You realize the shit you've gotten us all into by keeping quiet on what the fuck you know? Cheyenne is right in that it's never gonna end unless you start talking." He paused. "I'm gonna ask you this and want a straight goddamn answer: Did Snake blackmail you with info about your son -- threaten to find him and tell him the truth if you didn't help him frame Rox for stealing from the club and snitch on Chino to get his money?"

  Through a rattling voice, she turned to Nikko and mumbled a quiet, "Yes."

  He deeply exhaled and nodded, seemingly grateful for finally hearing something of the truth. "Was Chino planning to take this money from me and run with it while having you at his side?"

  She wiped her face again and lifted her shoulders. "It's what he told me after I came back and explained why this happened... I snitched because my child learning the truth..." She looked to me and swallowed hard. "What I did to him is something I'm not sure he'll ever be able to forgive me for; it's not something I've ever been able to forgive myself for doing." She pushed herself out of the corner and folded her hands. "Snake doesn't have the money you're looking for, and neither does Rox."

  "Then where the hell is it?" I asked.

  She turned to me and sighed heavily. "Taz."

  Nikko blinked. "What?"

  "Snake wasn't lying when he said he never got that money from Rox," she continued, "because he didn't. Taz intercepted before it got back to the club and in Snake's hands, as he had planned to use every dime to keep you two from getting married until he realized it wouldn't have held you back from being together otherwise."

  "This is insanity--!" I snapped. "Does he realize it wouldn't have mattered?! Or truly understand the hell we've gone through because of this bullshit?! Where's the money you initially stole from the club?"

  "Gone, Cheyenne--"

  "What the hell does that mean -- Where the hell is it?"

  "I don't know. My funds were wiped right before I left Phoenix."

  "That's why you're broke?!"

  "Who the fuck snatched your money?" asked Nikko. "Snake?"

  She looked away from him and shook her head.

  I grumbled. "It has to be Snake. Chino wouldn't have been as desperate as he had become to get us married if he managed to pocket something beforehand and Ronaldo seems to have a particular purpose in getting what he's owed straight from those in his debt. The only thing she gave to him was between her legs and he seems yet to cure himself of that."

  "I'm a slot machine to you, Cheyenne -- why don't you just fucking say it already?!"

  "Why the hell should I have to when you already did the work for me?!"

  Nikko stepped between us and groaned. "Alright--"

  "You and Taz," I interjected, "are a poster pair of bad decisions, you get that?! The fact that so much of this has gone on for so damn long without purpose is downright unbelievable at this rate."

  "You not knowing the purpose doesn't mean there was never one to be had, Cheyenne," she told me. "And Ronaldo being paid before now wouldn't have solved the problem of the club."

  "We won't know either way because there is still no guarantee that anyone is going to be paid after today. Thank you and the rest of them for that."<
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  When Nikko's cell buzzed, he stepped back to the table and snatched it from the inside pocket of his jacket, souring at the number before answering. "Yeah?" As a voice spoke to him on the other side, he looked between me and Deborah and rattled his head. "Yeah, I can meet your ass out there -- When?" He paused and swallowed hard, then exhaled and eyed the ceiling. "Yeah, I'll be out there soon." He slammed his phone shut and grumbled. "Shit."

  "Who the hell was that?" I questioned.

  "Taz. Motherfucker wants to meet me at your club with some prospect?"

  "What? Did he say which one?"

  "He mumbled the name but said there's some shit he needs to tell me about my old man." He looked at Deborah and bent his head, curious. "You know what the fuck this shit is about?"

  I peeked at her as she remained silent and rolled my eyes in aggravation. "Did he mention anyone else being out there with them?" I asked. "Because Brandi, Loco and Nix are at the hospital with Rox."

  "Don't know--"

  "What about Snake?" asked Deborah. "Or Chino? What about him--? Where did he go after realizing you two wouldn't be getting married today?"

  "Home," said Nikko. "Old man got high as a fuckin' kite and was carried to his bed by Green."

  "Are you sure of that?"

  "Why the fuck would I be otherwise?"

  Deborah turned back to me with wide eyes full of concern and nodded toward the door. "I don't think he should be going out there alone -- we should all go."

  "You don't trust me being out there with your kid again?" he asked her.

  She dragged her eyes back to his and peered. "Malcolm isn't the one I'm worried about. We should go." She turned from us and rushed from the kitchen, leaving behind a trail of fire.

  Nikko whirled around to me and rattled his head. "What the fuck is going on with her?"

  "Too much to explain with one sentence. But I think she's right in all of us going to the club. There's some shit she needs to tell you for herself and Taz needs to be there when it happens."

  Reluctantly, he reached for my hand and hurried us out of the kitchen, down the hallway and with Deborah quick on our heels, out the front door.

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Billion Dollar Answer

  Seconds after pulling in front of the club, Nikko slammed the gear into park and shut off the car. Deborah hopped out of the backseat without a word to either one of us and ran inside in search of Taz, leaving her purse behind to fall to the floor. Nikko reached for it while thumbing the corner of a picture sticking out from beneath the flap, then got out for himself and slammed the door.

  I did the same and threw a hand above my head to dull the shine of the sun while scanning the lot in search of a familiar car or bike, then turned back to him as Nikko lifted the picture from Deborah's purse and leaned against the hood.

  His eyes narrowed while looking into the faces staring back at him; he grinded his teeth and shoved his brows together; he shook his head as a mixture of thoughts seemed to fill his mind without explanation and deeply exhaled. "What the fuck is this shit?" he muttered.

  "What?" I removed the picture from his hand to look for myself, then gasped at the image of a bedridden Deborah coddling a baby while Chino and the only woman Nikko had ever known as his mother stood alongside her, beaming from ear to ear. "Oh my God." I lifted my eyes back to his as they became red. "Nikko..."

  "What the fuck is this shit, Cheyenne -- Do you know what this shit is?" his voice cracked as he stood away from the car and reclaimed the picture, staring into my face with a pain deep enough to slice my heart in two. "Why the fuck was Deborah at our place after the shit that went down with your old man at the hospital?"

  "He flatlined right after you left," I told him.

  His face softened. "Shit. Baby--"

  "I didn't have a chance to tell you and I didn't want to call you in a panic before you came home until I knew what was going to happen; but he's fine now, as much as he can be. He was awake and talking before I sent Brandi, Nix and Loco to keep an eye on him in case anything changed for the time being..." I stopped to clutch my chest as a lump filled my throat. "I called Deborah not long after getting home to talk to her about something Rox had told me before passing out."

  His jaw clinched as his skin flushed; he blinked with a fury as his eyes watered. "Your old man had something to say about this shit I'm holding onto?" He lifted the picture between us and grimaced. "He knows what the fuck is happening here--? Knows why the fuck Deborah is holding onto me after I was born?" He paused and dragged his bottom lip beneath his teeth; an attempt I realized was meant to keep him from losing his mind where we stood. "He knows why Chino and my mother are standing over her goddamn bed?!"

  "Nikko--"

  He looked across the lot as I attempted to reach for him and wiped his hand across his nose, sniffing as the water leaking from his eyes rolled to the collar of his shirt. "Rox told you this shit...." He turned back to me as his nostrils flared. "He told you I'm that kid between Deborah and Chino -- I'm the goddamn link between all this shit." I closed my eyes and bobbed my head as an immediate flood of tears coated my eyelashes. "Jesus Christ." His voice lowered to a whisper as he searched for what to say in response. "I'm a goddamn fuckin' idiot with this shit."

  "No--"

  "I am, baby -- I fuckin' am -- Deborah staying pissed at you 'cause of the shit between us -- 'cause of the shit between you and Taz..." He stopped. "The way she made sure to let you know that we'd never met -- the goddamn way she cried when we finally did... The motherfuckin' numbers on my goddamn back..."

  "CHEYENNE!"

  As she hollered to me from the club, her scream rivaling the sound only a dog could hear, Nikko rushed inside. I followed but instantly stumbled into his back as he stopped near the pool table, quietly refusing to move forward.

  "What--?" I stepped around him and looked toward the bar as Deborah stood near the opened fridge. "Oh my God!" I jumped back and covered my mouth while nearly choking on a gasp as the head of a prospect rested on the top shelf, the blood from his neck dripping between bottles of beer.

  "Jesus," murmured Nikko. I swallowed back the start of a vomit spree and shoved my face into his chest to avoid seeing any more of what I had just witnessed. He circled the small of my back to decrease the nausea, then squeezed my free hand and stepped to the bar, tossing Deborah's purse on top and shoving the picture of them together inside his pocket. "Who the fuck is this asshole?"

  Deborah's gaze traveled as tears rolled from her eyes. "A new..." She stopped to inhale. "One of the newest prospects -- just came in last week. 'Runaway' because he had just taken off from his last club..." She slammed the door of the fridge and sprinted across the room. While pressing one hand against the wall, she used the other to clutch her stomach and doubled over to vomit in front of the jukebox.

  Nikko stepped behind her, keeping eyes on every move she made. "Taz is nowhere to be found out here," he snapped. "Did he pull this shit? Maybe hoping to frame my ass -- have me put away for good to keep me from Cheyenne?"

  "He wouldn't... not to a brother -- not to one of his own."

  Nikko's jaw tightened as he gulped. "That so?" She stood up and wiped her mouth, then turned back to him and wagged her head. "But you don't know where the fuck he is?"

  "He called you out here, Nikko," she said. "Not me or even Cheyenne. I was looking for him when the smell of blood hit me, and I found the prospect." She sucked back her remaining tears and rested her hand on top of her heart.

  "Yeah, he called my ass out here and I don't fuckin' know why, but there's a dead prospect in his fridge and he's nowhere to be fuckin' found." Nikko stepped forward and grimaced while looking into her eyes. She swallowed hard and turned from him while attempting to remain in place. "You need to call Taz and see what the fuck is going on with this shit -- ask him what the fuck is up with wanting to meet my ass while he's MI-fuckin'-A." She stepped around him and slid her hand into her pocket, attempting to reach for her phone. "Whi
le you're at it, ask him if he knows why the fuck you've yet to tell him that we share a mother."

  Deborah dropped her hands-on top of the bar and froze. "I...?" she trailed off, unable to form a single word in return.

  Nikko moved to the center of the room as his eyes watered; his pupils expanded as the whites darkened; his skin looked more than ready to burst into flames within a matter of seconds. "Why don't you start looking through your purse," he said. "And find the one goddamn thing you've been praying I never would since all this started up between me and Cheyenne. All that anger toward her about Taz -- all the bullshit you've spewed in being pissed that I was bound to marry the woman my... brother had a thing for?!"

  Deborah blinked away a set of fresh tears and looked over her shoulder, all the while attempting to avoid the look of pain spreading across his face. "Nikko, I--"

  "These numbers on my goddamn back." He pointed. "Chino branding me before I even knew the functions of my goddamn hand -- like fuckin' cattle to be known?!" His brows lifted, then lowered; he pushed them together, allowing his scars to take center stage -- to intermingle with his growing fury. "What you've got going with Ronaldo -- he's at the goddamn center of all this shit 'cause of what the fuck he did for you in selling me off to my old man?" He stepped closer as she remained quiet. "You gave my ass up and sold me the fuck off?!"

  She whirled around to him, her face awash with tears as they spilled from her eyes in buckets. "I never meant..." she squeaked out. "When Chino learned that I was pregnant with you, he was already married to your mother -- we were done in his eyes." She pressed her hands against her stomach and wagged her head. "I had no money -- no place to live -- I had no way of providing for you in the way that you deserved."

  Nikko glared. "How the fuck did Chino find out that you were pregnant?"

  "Snake," she replied. "I called him for help, and he told me to let Chino know what was happening for me to get it. But Chino refused until I threatened to give you away... Snake knew Ronaldo from a stint at Rikers; he knew about the black market and helped me start the process by looking to Rox for help in getting you out of the states... it's why he left. When Chino found out that you were on the way to being adopted and sent to the Philippines, he changed his mind and paid me to have you back."