by Erin Trejo
“He was into coke bad. He was messing with the wrong people to run it though.” Damn it, I never knew Nix was running coke.
“Who was he fuckin’ with?” I ask barely able to contain the anger inside of me. I’m pissed that I didn’t know about this shit. I’m pissed that Nix would risk his life and family for some extra fucking cash.
“Columbian Cartel. He could get over the border easier than some being a Nomad.” Fuck! I run my hand through my hair letting out a breath before focusing on the kid.
“Who is his local contact?” His eyes shoot to mine and fear races through them. I knew there was more to it and he just confirmed it for me. His head slowly shakes from side to side and my nerves begin to fire off.
“You wanna end up like your boy over there?” I ask nodding toward the dead guy on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Danny’s eyes follow my direction before snapping back to mine quickly.
“Javier. That’s all I know. I don’t know a last name, man. I’ve only ever heard him referred to as Javier,” he says quickly, holding his hands up in defeat. I nod my head and tug at my hair.
“You know how to find him?” Danny shakes his head slowly when I reach for him. Grabbing him by the throat, I jerk him out of the chair. I grab his sleeve and pull it up noticing the track marks.
“You’re a user. You know where to find him or connect with him. I won’t ask again,” I hiss.
“Down by Swanks. He hangs out back there!” Lying little bastard. Here I thought the little fucker had more common sense than his friend did. Shoving him back a step, I pull my gun quickly and fire.
“Little fucker,” I mumble as I turn on my heel and stalk from the warehouse. If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s little fucking liars like him. I should have known he was a junkie from the get go but that was on me. When I step outside I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Stone. I need to know what he knows and if I might need any backup going over to this Swanks place. I’ve never heard of it and don’t rightly give two shits what it is but I need to be prepared for whoever might be with him. Lighting a cigarette I wait for him to answer.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, Stone. Got any info on a place called Swanks?” I hear him chuckle on the other end. This is about to get good.
“Swanks is an upscale restaurant at the Plaza Suites. Your high class fuckers and the occasional mafia boss frequent that fucker. What’s goin’ on?” At least the little fucker was telling the truth about something.
“Just got some intel that Nix was runnin’ drugs for the Columbian ’s. A guy named Javier.” The line is silent for a second until Stone starts losing his shit.
“The fuck? Cross, that man is dangerous. Never goes anywhere without an army. If he’s over at Swanks you can guarantee that there are some big bosses with him.” Not really what I wanted to hear but it’s good to know what I’m up against.
“I’m headin’ that way. Anything I need to know about?”
“Yeah, he’ll shoot first without a second thought. We’ll meet you there,” he adds.
“Don’t want you in a war that’s on me, Stone.”
“Fuck off, Cross. You don’t run this part of town, I do. You got issues over here, we got issues over here. You’ve always been straight with me and to be honest, Nix still didn’t deserve what he got. We’re in. See you in twenty.” The line goes dead as I chuckle to myself. If there was ever a club that I would settle with it would be Sons. I’ve never met a more in tune and focused club in my life. Taking one last drag from my smoke, I flick it to the ground and climb on my bike. It’s time to pay Javier a little visit.
Chapter 7
Dani
Men grabbing on your ass. Men grabbing on your tits. If I wanted to be grabbed on I would have worked at the strip club. I’ve never had an issue working here, but today, I’m about to lose my mind. I glance around and when I see Shy I beeline toward her.
“What is it with these assholes?” I ask her as we refill our trays with drinks. She shrugs but it’s the bar tender that answers for us. She leans over the counter and looks around quickly before looking at us.
“This isn’t just a normal day, girls. That guy in the corner? He’s from Columbia. Big time drug lord and the guy with him is one of his biggest dealers in town. Just go with it, they tip well. And whatever he wants, he gets,” She winks as my mouth falls open. Shyla grabs her tray and turns to look at the men once more as I follow along and do the same.
“Drug lords. She said drug lords, Shy. Like on Drugs Inc. Holy shitballs,” I nearly squeal.
“I don’t think we should be doing this. We don’t need to be involved in this shit. I don’t want to die by drug lord,” Shy sighs heavily.
“We won’t. I’ll just take over that table. Who the hell wouldn’t love my personality?” I giggle as I grab my tray and head toward the table. The men are amazingly dressed from head to toe in the most expensive suits I’ve ever seen. Almost all of them have slicked back hair, accentuating their eyes. The main man looks up at me as I make my way closer to them.
“Complimentary drinks. You must be someone special,” I smirk as I set the drinks on the table in front of them. The man smiles politely until it all changes. His sweet smile disappears when he reaches up and grabs me around the waist, jerking me into his lap. I huff out a breath as I get my bearings back. Turning my head I glance at the man over my shoulder.
“You look much better on me than next to me,” he says with a deep accent. My breathing kicks up a notch as his dark eyes burn into me.
“As lovely as that sounds, I have to get back to work.” I try to stand from his lap but his hand tightens. His nose nuzzles into my neck, a few men at the table chuckling. I don’t like the feeling I have in the pit of my stomach.
“I can have anything in this place that I want. That is what the owner told me and right now, I think I want you.” Oh God. Bile swims in my stomach threatening to explode out of me. I take a deep breath and calm my nerves getting back to the real me. The me that isn’t afraid of anything, but this man has a really bad vibe about him. If anyone was throwing out good juju I’d suck it up like a sponge.
“Oh. Now that sounds like a party but I’m sure you were in a meeting or some sort of chat with your men here. I’m working so it isn’t like I’m going anywhere,” I tell him just as I feel his lips skim over my neck. My body trembles. I can’t do this. I can fuck a random man in a bar but there is no way in hell that I’m getting involved with a cartel boss. Even I’m not that stupid. I have to figure out how to get away from him and out of here.
“You are right but I will only tell you this once. You now belong to me. When this meeting is over, you are mine.” I force myself to remain calm even when my eyes lock with Shyla’s from across the room. She can see the panic in me but there is nothing she can do to help me now. I nod my head, letting him know that I understand completely. He sucks my flesh into his mouth before releasing it with a pop and shoving me roughly out of his lap. I stand and hurry toward the bar, grabbing a shot and tossing it back. Shyla comes to meet me.
“What was that?” She asks nervously.
“I have to get out of here, Shyla. I have to leave.” She watches me intently before she nods her head.
“I’ll watch your ass. Go to the elevator and I’ll meet you at home.” I want to argue but I can’t. The bartender even said that he gets what he wants and let’s face it, I’ve seen all the movies. He’s a freaking drug lord! They never lose. Shy slaps my shoulder and I hurry toward the elevator. I swear I hold my breath the whole ride down and as soon as the door opens, I run. I don’t make it far but at least I tried. I slam into a hard chest swinging my fists and screaming. If this is one of his guys, I’ll at least claw his face off. I won’t let him take me without a fight.
“What the hell?” A gruff deep voice vibrates through me. Oh like hell! I swing harder and start to kick too, you know? For good measure when the man shakes me roughly.
“Stop!” Th
e one word that ricochets from his body and into mine causes me to stop. There was a threat in that tone. The man slowly sets me on my feet and when I look up, blinking through the tears, I’m shocked.
“Cross?” He cocks his head to the side before he narrows his eyes.
“What the hell are you doin’ here?”
“I was working.”
“Was?”
“Yeah, I was until I was claimed by the creepy drug lord. I saw in a movie once that you never escape them so I ran. Well, I tried to run but in the movies they always trip and fall. You know? Get caught but then you were here, and I slammed into you s-,” his hand comes to cover my mouth making me stop talking. When he lowers his hand, I smile up at him. He somehow looks cuter than he did before.
“What do you mean you were claimed?” His growl shoots through me causing a tingle to run down my spine.
“He said that I was his and that he got whatever he wanted,” I tell him what the creeper told me. Cross watches me intently when Stone speaks up next to him.
“Fuck! You’re in trouble then,” he says with a slight smirk on his face.
“What do you mean?” I ask needing to know what that means. I don’t want to be in trouble. I’m not a trouble maker or at least I try not to be.
“It means you’re fucked,” the other man standing next to him says. Shaking my head, they don’t know me. Fuck them. I’m not fucked. I’ll run home and what? Hide under the bed! Yep, that’s where I’ll be until Shyla gets home. I roll my eyes and walk around the guys when I feel a hard body pressed against my back.
“Just be quiet and walk.”
“I’ll deal with him,” Stone says from behind us. I want to turn and look but with Cross crowding my back there’s no way that I can. He pushes me forward, out the door and halfway down the damn block before I stop causing him to slam into me. I nearly fall to the ground but his strong arms wrap around me, holding me up.
“Why are you shoving me down the road?” I snap trying to wiggle out of his arms. Cross slowly lets go of me and I turn to look up at him waiting for a response.
“That guy that claimed you, he’s a fuckin’ drug lord.”
“Yeah, I know that!”
“You know that? How the fuck do you know that?” he narrows his eyes at me.
“The bartender told me,” I say surely. Cross steps toward me, lowering his head to my height and fuck me, I could kiss him again. Or lick him. Or both I’m not picky.
“Did they tell you what he’s into? What he would do to a girl like you?”
“No.”
“He likes to chain his women up. He likes to cut them, carve them. Leave his mark on them and then when he’s done usin’ their body he tosses them to the side and finds a new one. You wanna end up in the ocean?”
“Chains like chain chains? Or like fifty shades of grey like chains?” His eyes nearly bug out of his head when I ask but I think it’s a legitimate question. I can be kinky but if we’re talking chain up a two hundred pound dog chain I’m not in.
Chapter 8
Cross
She’s delusional. She must really have some sort of mental illness.
“Look, if you want to stay alive I need you to shut the hell up and listen, yeah?” Her eyes widen but she just sticks her lip out in a pout just as my phone rings. I pull it out quickly and see that it’s Stone.
“What is it?” I growl keeping my eyes on her.
“He’s got his men lookin’ for her. Threw him off as to why we’re here but he knows she isn’t in the buildin’.” Fuck and double fuck! I don’t need this shit.
“Goddamn it. Can you hide her?”
“Sorry, can’t brother. Got the meetin’ with the Mexican’s in a few days and I can’t have a girl on my hands,” he says solemnly. I know he would if he could. Stone is a good guy like that.
“Fuck, man.”
“What are you thinkin’?” he asks and I don’t know the fucking answer to that but I blurt it out anyway.
“I’m takin’ her underground.” Dani cocks her head to the side staring at me.
“You’re going to kill me?” She screams loudly before taking a step back. Stone laughs into the phone no doubt hearing her outburst. “Oh God, Shyla is going to be alone. She’s going to die without me.” The more she rambles the more I regret what I just said.
“Tell her I’ll keep an eye on her girl while you figure shit out. You need help with any of it, let me know.” I hang up on him and focus on her.
“We gotta leave, now,” I tell her reaching for her arm, but she shrugs it away. She turns on her heel and starts running, but in those shoes she isn’t getting far. I take long, quick, purposeful steps, grabbing her arm once again and jerking her to a halt.
“I don’t chase people. You wanna live, get the fuck on my bike. You wanna die, say the goddamn words and I’ll leave your ass standin’ here for his boys to find.” That was my last offer to her. I refuse to chase some psychotic girl around town trying to help her ass out. I don’t even know why the fuck I’m doing it to begin with. When she doesn’t answer me, I release her, turn and walk back to my bike. Grabbing my helmet, I slide it on my head and start to climb on when she walks over.
“I can’t get on that thing. I could barely make it up the bus steps in this skirt,” she says raising an eyebrow and glaring at me. Climbing back off my bike, I lean down, grab the hem of her skirt in each hand and rip the side. She gasps and looks down at me before I stand and offer her a hand.
“This was my best skirt! Now how I am going to get the good jobs?” She whines but takes my hand. I help her on the bike noticing the way her skirt has now hiked up her thigh. She’s fit from what I can see. What the hell am I doing looking at her thighs? I know she’s fit, I fucked her for Christ’s sake. I climb on cursing myself for even doing this, but why the hell should she be left to the likes of Alvaro? The girl has some issues, yeah, but she doesn’t deserve what he would do to her. I climb on and reach behind me, pulling her in close before pulling my helmet off and giving it to her.
“Hurry up. The faster we get outta here, the better,” I growl. When her hands wrap around my waist, I take off. Running from a man like Alvaro isn’t high on my list of things to do but I suppose I have nothing else going on. I can get to Javier later. Right now I need to put as much distance between Alvaro and Dani as I can. I don’t have a destination in mind so I just ride. The open road can be as calming as it can be dangerous. With nothing but the cool air rushing around you, there isn’t much of a barrier between you and anyone looking to hurt you. That’s why most people opt for a cage. They know they are safe and secure from the outside elements. I never liked that. It felt confining. Like I was being suffocated from the inside out.
My body relaxes the more I ride. Knowing that I’m getting as far out of Dallas Texas as I can at the moment makes it all the easier. I don’t stop until we reach Oklahoma City. Pulling over at the first hotel I see, I kill the engine and climb off the bike. Dani jumps off so quickly I almost didn’t see her.
“What the hell?” I ask when she stands there, holding my helmet in her hands with her legs spread wide.
“I can’t feel my ass. Or vagina for that matter. Everything south is asleep and numb. Is that normal?” For the first time in a very long time, I laugh. A real fucking laugh.
“It’s normal. You’ve never been on a bike?” Dani shakes her head no. I kind of figured that already though.
“I feel like a porn star. You know that girl that set the world book record for the number of dudes she fucked in twenty four hours? Yeah, I feel like her. Not that I’d know what fucking that many men in a day would feel like,” she rambles on again.
“I get it. It’s normal. Walk around while I get a room.”
“One room? Don’t expect me to sleep with you again. For one, I am not drunk this time,” she says holding up one finger. “Two,” another finger. “I don’t want you falling in love with me and well, to be honest, I think you might.” I cl
ose my eyes and try to reign in what I’m feeling, whatever the hell that is.
“Let’s get this straight. I’m not gonna fall in love with you. I don’t even know how that plays into what’s happenin’ here. I’m tryin’ to keep you safe while I figure out what to do about Alvaro. Two, I don’t give two shits if you’re drunk or not, darlin’. If I want you, you’d offer it. That much I can promise. Now walk around and stretch out that pussy of yours because when I’m in it, the only reason you’ll be tinglin’ is because my cock is tearin’ it up.” Turning on my heel I hear her giggle, but I don’t turn to look back. This girl is pushing my buttons. I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to handle her shit before I lose mine.
After I get the room all paid for, I moved the bike around back. I’m not worried that his men will find us here but I’m cautious. Dropping onto the bed, I let out a long sigh. As much as I love to ride, it can be draining too. The never-ending road is like heaven, but time catches up to you. Dani sits on the edge of the bed no doubt wanting to question me, but I keep my eyes closed.
“What is it?”
“How do you know I want something?” she asks clearly amused. God just kill me now.
“I can sense it. Just like I can sense you starin’ at the side of my goddamn head right now. Spit it the fuck out, troublemaker.”
“Where are we going exactly? I’ve never left Texas so this is all new to me. I don’t have any clothes. I don’t have any money. I mean, there is like forty dollars in my bank account but that isn’t going to pay for much. I could always find another job. Should I do that?” Rambling. God fucking help me, more rambling!
“Do you always ramble on like that?” I crack an eye open and find her looking at me much like I knew she was.
“It isn’t rambling. It’s talking. You are too bossy. Maybe you should learn how to talk instead of boss.” Sticking her tongue out at me, I nearly laugh again. Her raised eyebrow gets a smirk.
