by Naomi West
Hook and Ink were closing in on her once again. Venus tensed, twitching her finger on the trigger. She wanted to do it so badly, but her body simply wouldn’t cooperate. The men grabbed her and easily stripped the gun from her grasp.
“You know what, Venus? You want to help her so bad? That’s fine. You stay here. You do what you need to do. Let’s go, boys.” Jet hopped in his car, as did the rest of the men. They screeched out of the parking lot, leaving wakes of dust rising in the fading light.
Venus watched them go, simultaneously devastated and relieved. Her life had just changed in a matter of a few minutes.
2
Blade leaned down over the table, judging the angles of the balls and trying to decide what his best shot would be. Someone had turned on some music, the beer and the whiskey were flowing freely, and all the men and women were having a great time. It was a good night to be in the Devil’s Fangs.
Champ lounged against the brick wall of the clubhouse, holding his cue stick in one hand and a beer in the other while he watched Blade judge his next move. “Are you going to go, or just stare at them all night?”
“Patience, my friend. I want my win to be a slow and painful one.” Blade grinned at his second-in-command, knowing they both enjoyed this game of cat and mouse. “Or am I taking up all your precious time when you could be out getting some ass?”
The big bald man cast an appreciative gaze around the room. “I don’t think I’d have to go anywhere. The club girls we’ve got these days are smokin’ hot, and most of them are pretty cooperative, if you know what I mean.” He winked at a blonde who passed by with a beer in her hand.
“Don’t let me stop you,” Blade said as he leaned down, pulled back his cue, and let it fly. He couldn’t help the sense of satisfaction he felt when the ball he’d been aiming for went straight into the corner pocket. “I’ll accept your forfeit anytime you’re ready.”
“Right. And let you hold that over my head? I don’t think so. Only reason you’re getting as far as you are tonight is because I’m tired of seeing you lose all the time. I wouldn’t want to make you look bad.”
Blade laughed. “Okay, sure. That’s what it is. If you say so.” He took his next shot, but Lady Luck was no longer smiling at him. It was Champ’s turn.
Stepping away from the table and grabbing a sip of his beer, Blade looked around with pleasure. He’d been leading the Devil’s Fangs for over five years now. Nobody had thought a kid in his late twenties would have the balls to really step up and lead a group of men like this. Blade had not only done it but had held the position, and he knew he was well-respected to boot. There was no reason why he shouldn’t be. Blade was cautious never to overwork his men, and he treated them all with the respect and dignity they deserved. Even the old-timers had come around to him eventually. At this point, he knew there wasn’t a single man in the clubhouse who would dare go against him.
There were other MCs that ruled out of fear, but Blade thought it was infinitely better to gain true loyalty. The clubhouse was full of men sharing stories of old, buying each other beers, and flirting with the club girls. There were a few on guard outside the doors, and several had been sent off to patrol their area, but those duties all came in shifts. Everyone took their turn, including Blade. This was the best he’d ever seen the club, and they’d come a long way from the disorganized group of bandits he’d initially joined.
“Your turn, man.” Champ gestured toward the table with a laugh. “I didn’t leave much for you.”
“You sure as hell didn’t.” Blade assessed the table once again, knowing he should’ve been paying more attention. But he didn’t take this all that seriously. Whether he won or lost, he knew he’d have Champ’s respect.
He was just leaning down to take his shot when he felt the distinctive draft of hot air from the door filter through the cool of the room. It wouldn’t have bothered him so much, except he knew it wasn’t time for shift change. Everyone who wasn’t on duty was at the club, and anyone else arriving could only spell trouble.
Leaving the table untouched, he stood and turned around. An older man with deeply tanned skin and long blond hair wove through the club directly toward him, a grim look on his face.
Blade held out his cue toward Champ. “Put this up for me, would you? I think you might be the one getting the forfeit.” He waited for Gator to come to him, even though it was tempting to holler at him and ask what was wrong. By the look on the other man’s face, something clearly had gone down. There wasn’t any blood on his shirt, and Blade hoped he didn’t need to assume the worst. He turned to head toward the back of the building and his office.
Gator was hot on his heels, but he didn’t speak until they were safely behind closed doors. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I heard some news you might be interested in.”
Blade leaned against his desk, too on-edge to sit down. It wasn’t very often that his men brought back bad news, and he didn’t want to miss the tiniest detail. “I’m listening.”
“I was out on patrol, and everything was pretty normal. There wasn’t much of anything going on at all, and I thought it was going to be another boring night. But when I stopped to talk to some guys I knew from my old neighborhood, they told me about some chatter they’d heard on the police radio. A drug deal at the old Savvy Shopper must’ve gone down badly, and one of the Savage Skulls was shot. Killed right in the parking lot.”
“When did this happen?”
“Several hours ago. Wasn’t even dark yet, from what I understand.”
Blade glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost one in the morning. Most of the time, things like this happened past midnight, when the more innocent types were already at home and safely tucked into their beds. “I don’t like it. The Skulls shouldn’t be anywhere near our territory, and they sure as hell shouldn’t be pulling this kind of shit when it’s barely even nighttime. They’re going to pull the wrong kind of attention toward the area.”
Gator paused, hesitating before he continued with his story. “I’m afraid there’s more.”
“Then let’s have it. You might as well tell me everything now, because you know I won’t want to wait and hear it later.” The peace Blade had felt while playing pool and surveying the men of his club had faded. He’d heard rumors about the Skulls getting more active and trying to expand their range, but he’d hoped it would be a temporary thing that would fade with time. Nobody had messed with the Fangs in a long time.
“It was a woman,” Gator said.
“What?” Blade knew he couldn’t have heard him right. “Who was a woman?”
“That’s who got shot. She was a Skull, and they’re saying she was shot by one of her own.”
“Son of a bitch.” Blade turned toward the minibar in his office and poured them each a couple of fingers of whiskey. The Fangs kept plenty of club girls around, and it was true that they were more like possessions than members of the club. But they were there because they wanted to be, and Blade would never tolerate something like this happening to one of them. “There’s got to be more to the story.”
“Maybe,” Gator agreed, “but I don’t know what it is. Other than crazy. What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to have to think about that a little bit. The Skulls are small compared to us, but they’ve been around a long time. We’ve already warned them to stay away, and clearly that wasn’t enough to change their minds about how they do their business.” He shook his head, wondering just how something like this would’ve happened. Was she a girl who wouldn’t submit to the will of the men? Was she doing the drug deal on her own? There was always a possibility that she’d been shot by someone else, maybe a rival gang, but Blade had no way of knowing at the moment. He needed more information. That gave him an idea.
“I’m taking you off your regular guard rotation, Gator. You’ll be heading up a new mission for me to find out everything we can about the Skulls. If the story is true and this woman was shot by her own, then the
Skulls are clearly having trouble. They might be having enough internal trouble that we’ll be able to take them down without an issue, and then we won’t have to worry about this anymore.” As he spoke, Blade liked the idea more and more. He wasn’t against an all-out war, if need be, but the less blood was shed, the better. He liked to keep his men whole.
“Who do you want me to take on for the job?” Gator asked, looking pleased that he would be in charge of the investigation.
“You can choose your own team. You know who you’re going to work well with. But I do suggest Sherlock. He didn’t earn his name for nothing. Just make sure you’re careful. If these guys are ruthless enough to shoot their own women, there’s no telling what they’re capable of.”
“Yes, boss. You know you can count on me.”
“Yes, I do. And make sure you report straight back to me with any information you find, even if it doesn’t seem significant. We’re going to take care of this before it becomes a real problem.”
“I’m on it!” Gator left the office, no doubt heading straight to the bar to tap his team.
Blade could have returned to his game of pool or joined the men at the bar. There was no direct threat to their club at the moment, not tonight. But the Skulls were definitely infringing on their territory, and they were likely far more unscrupulous than the other organizations in the city. The Devil’s Fangs certainly took part in plenty of illegal activities. That was where the most money could be made. But this was something different, and he was going to handle it right away.
3
Vixen lay so still in the hospital bed. There were so many tubes and wires coming out of her that Venus could hardly even recognize her best friend, but still she knew that she was the only person Vixen had to rely on.
The doctors and nurses were doing their best. Venus had thought they would pronounce her dead on arrival, but they’d been determined to save her. After an incredibly long emergency surgery, a surgeon had come out to tell Venus that they would simply have to wait. There was no telling what might happen at this point, although the prognosis was grim.
As traumatic as it had all been, and as upset as Venus was about the prospect of losing her best friend and perhaps her only ally, everything got significantly worse when she had to call Kurt and explain that his girlfriend was potentially going to die. He’d sobbed uncontrollably on the phone, and Venus had cried right along with him.
“I can’t leave,” he said with a broken heart when he called her back a little while later. “I explained it all to my commanding officer, but they won’t make any exceptions for me since she’s just my girlfriend. Damn it, I should’ve just taken her to the courthouse and married her the last time I was home.”
Venus couldn’t help but smile at the thought. She knew Vixen was wildly in love with Kurt, but she also wasn’t the kind who liked to be tied down. “You’d probably have had to drag her kicking and screaming. She’s always been so independent.”
“Yeah, I know.” There was a long pause on Kurt’s end of the phone. “So, um, did the doctor say if she can hear anything? Does she know you’re there with her?”
“It’s a possibility, but they can’t guarantee it,” Venus replied.
“So, could I talk to her for a minute? I mean, I know she can’t talk back, but I just want to tell her a few things.”
“Of course.” Venus moved a few wires out of the way until she was holding the phone to Vixen’s ear. “Here she is.”
She pretended not to listen as Kurt expressed all his sentiments for Vixen, telling her how much he loved her and wanted to be there with her. It only brought a fresh set of tears to Venus’ eye, knowing there was a possibility they would never talk to her again. She wished she could take Vixen’s place, so that at least she and Kurt could still be together.
A short while later, after she’d promised she would stay with Vixen as much as possible and that she’d call again if there were any changes, Venus hung up with Kurt. He only had so long on the phone, but that was probably a good thing. Otherwise, Venus had a feeling he’d have stayed on the line for days. It was sweet, but it wouldn’t have helped.
It was so quiet in the hospital room, with only the soft beeps of the monitors and the faint noise of conversations just outside at the nurses’ station. Venus knew she was surrounded by hundreds of people in this massive hospital, but she’d never felt more alone. Vixen had joined the Savage Skulls at a time when Venus was desperate for some female companionship, someone who not only knew what it was like to be a woman, but who understood the gang life. It wasn’t anything like the rest of the people in the world, working their nine-to-five jobs and coming home to their white picket fences every night.
The two women had instantly bonded, even if they were completely different. Venus had always been complacent in her role within the gang, knowing that her father controlled everything and everyone. Vixen wanted to be a part of it, but she’d always been a little bit of a rebel. In some ways, that had earned her some respect within the organization. The men knew Vixen had a mind of her own, and she wasn’t just some bitch that could be bent over a table and fucked from behind when someone had the urge. They left her alone unless she wanted their attention, and then she demanded it from them. Only those of the slightly older generation of Skulls, like Jet, had disapproved of her antics.
Not for the first time, Venus wondered if anyone else in the Skulls would be upset to hear about what happened to Vixen. There was a chance none of them would even hear the true story, though. Jet would never admit it was his own fault, because Vixen had been trying to defend Venus. He would probably acknowledge that he’d shot her, but it would be a matter of pride, and yet another way to demand loyalty from his men. Yes, he’d shot a woman who’d chosen not to obey, and he wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if need be.
Venus leaned forward in the hard plastic chair next to the bed and gently took Vixen’s hand, being careful to avoid the IV that had been placed in the thin skin on the back of it. “You just hang in there, okay? I’m here, and I’m rooting for you. When you get all better, we can do whatever you want. We can run away. We can start our lives over. You’re in charge. I know you like that idea, so you’d damn well better wake up and take advantage of it, okay? You hear me, Vixen?” A tear leaked down her cheek and splashed coldly on her leg. She would give anything to have her back.
The sound of the door closing behind her made Venus snap her head up, expecting a doctor with an update or at least a nurse making her rounds. Goose bumps rose on her skin when she saw that it was Jet. Any number of insults and angry words came to Venus’ mind, but she simply watched him as he came around the bed to stand opposite her.
His expression was neutral as he eyed the patient. “Isn’t this bitch dead yet?”
“Clearly not,” Venus grated out.
“That’s a shame. All she’s doing now is wasting money and the time of all the doctors and nurses who could be helping someone who would actually benefit from their care. You shouldn’t have brought her here, Venus. It was a stupid decision.”
She looked away from him, not wanting to see those cold black eyes staring into her soul. “You didn’t give me much choice.”
“I gave you every choice,” Jet corrected her. “You could’ve cooperated and gotten back in the car. I would’ve sent some men to clean things up, and then it would be like it never happened.”
It was such a cruel thought, and it was almost impossible to imagine anyone having it. Almost. “I couldn’t just leave her there, and you know it.”
“What I know is that now you and your little friend have seriously compromised my business.”
“That’s a funny way to describe rape, murder, and drug deals,” Venus muttered.
Jet leaned over the bed and cracked his palm across her face so quickly that Venus hardly saw it coming. At the very least, she had no time to react until it was over. She sat back in her chair, her hand covering the stinging area on her cheek. “What the hel
l?”
“It’s the least you deserve, after all the trouble you’ve caused,” Jet growled. “I’ve got enough to deal with now that Pedro is changing his business structure. Then Vixen had to go and get herself shot, which brings around other attention I don’t need. Now that you’ve brought her here, there’s no telling who’s going to start investigating. What did you tell the police?”
Venus sucked in a deep breath. It was tempting to lie to him and say the police hadn’t come around, but that wasn’t how things worked when the hospital was working with an obvious gunshot wound. As soon as Vixen had been wheeled back for surgery, two men in uniform had come to talk to Venus.
“Tell me now, before I have to get it out of you.”
Venus knew exactly what that threat meant. Jet had never made her submit to the kind of tortures he’d carried out on his enemies, but she’d heard the screams from the basement.
It had been so tempting to tell the police the truth. She could have promised to give them all the information on the Savage Skulls they wanted in exchange for protecting her from Jet, but Venus had known it wouldn’t work. The police were fully aware of the Skulls and where they operated, but they didn’t dare to touch them. They were just a little bit too powerful, a little bit too intimidating, and the uniformed men wanted a chance to go home to their wives and children at night.
“I told them I didn’t know what happened. I said I was supposed to meet up with her to go to a movie, but she never showed up. I got worried when I couldn’t get ahold of her, and I found her in an abandoned parking lot.” She felt like such a coward as she said it out loud once again. The lies had come easily enough in the moment, but now she knew for sure that Vixen would never get the justice she deserved.
But what was Venus to do? She could be a strong woman, sometimes. She’d managed to fend off the advances of the other men in the Skulls, and nobody messed with her beyond a casual appreciative glance across a bar every now and then. But that was probably only because of Jet. He controlled every tiny aspect of her life. What money she had all came from him. She had a roof over her head, but only because he’d given it to her, and it was still a roof she shared with him. Venus could hardly breathe without him knowing about it. She wore no shackles, but she was his prisoner.
