by Erin Trejo
Chapter Twenty-One
“Fuck this! Just…fuck it!” Dez roars as she throws the leather across the room. I watch it hit the floor and try to cover the laugh that threatens to bubble out of me.
“You were doing fine.”
“Fuck right off, Fab. I was not,” she huffs as she walks over and grabs the leather. She comes back sitting next to me on the bed.
“Hold it here,” I show her with my good hand. I hate this cast. I hate this pain; I hate it all, but what can I do? Dez moves to hold it where I show her.
“This is dumb,” she grumbles.
“No it’s not. You’re doing great,” I reassure her. Dez starts braiding the leather as I lean back against the headboard and close my eyes. The sounds of her huffing under her breath make me smile until the bed shifts. I open my eyes to see her running toward the door when I spot him.
“You’re here?” Dez asks, looking Sly over. There’s a bandage on his head but she’s pulling at his shirt.
“Stop, Dez. I’m fine.”
“Yeah, getting shot four times is just fine. Idiot.”
“What?” The word falls from my lips before I can stop them. Dez looks over her shoulder apologetically before looking back at her dad. He was shot? That’s where he’s been, and no one told me? What the hell!
“I’ll talk to you in a while, yeah?” he says, pressing a kiss to the top of Dez’s head. She nods and leaves the room as Sly looks at the leather on the bed. Nodding toward it he asks, “Dez learnin’?”
“If that’s what you want to call it,” I tease, earning me a laugh. A laugh that I haven’t heard in far too long.
“You feelin’ okay? Temple told me what happened.”
“Apparently I should be asking you that. Is that why you haven’t been here?”
“Yeah. Been in the hospital. Looks like you probably should have been there too,” he says, nodding toward my arm. I raise the cast and shake it a little.
“Looks good right?” The hint of a smile plays at the corner of his lips as he nods his head.
“Not bad. Look, Fab, I’m sorry about that night. There’s just somethin’ that you don’t know.” He walks toward the bed and sits on the end away from me. I don’t know what I expected but this wasn’t it.
“What is it?”
“Chris was a good friend of mine. We met a long time ago. Fuckin’ good guy. We knew who the other was and we both looked the other way because we were better friends than enemies.”
What the hell is he saying?
“Are you trying to say my brother was a dirty cop?” Anger rushes me and I’m on my feet in seconds, tears burning the back of my eyes. No way. Christopher was not a dirty cop!
“No.”
“What the hell does that mean, Sly? I don’t get it. He was a friend of yours and he wasn’t dirty? I find that hard to believe!” He’s lying. He has to be.
“Like I said, we knew who the other was. Chris wasn’t dirty. He was one of the best goddamn cops that I knew. He knew his place was all,” Sly adds, pissing me off further. My good hand balls at my side when Sly slowly raises his head to look at me.
“I don’t believe he would turn a blind eye on what you do,” I snap.
“I told you he knew his place.”
“Are you saying that if he tried to turn on you, you would have killed him?” I scream, needing to know the answer. I don’t know why; I just have to hear him say it.
“If it came to that. I don’t know,” he admits. I swing my good hand, hitting the side of his head. Blood seeps through the bandage when he stands from the end of the bed.
“I loved him! Just like a goddamn brother! Do you honestly think that I would have killed him, Fab? He was my best friend! He understood me, why I am the way I am. Nobody has ever done that!” The fire in his eyes says he’s telling the truth and I hate it. I don’t want that to be the truth. How could he have cared about him and I never knew?
“I never knew about you.”
“I didn’t know about you either! Fuck!” he roars.
“He made me change my last name,” I say softer now.
“What? Why?”
“For reasons like this,” I say motioning around. “He didn’t want anyone to know about me. He said the less they had to go on the better. If he ever crossed a line or pissed someone off, he didn’t want them coming after me.” Sly’s face slowly pales as blood trickles down his temple. What am I doing? I’m pushing him too hard. He almost died!
“I didn’t know he was in that buildin’.” Oh God. I don’t know that I can handle this now. I’ve wanted to know, but now that the time has come, it feels like too much. “I sent in scouts. I sent people to check and no one knew he was there.” His voice is hoarse, tears filling his eyes. I don’t know what to say. So I say nothing.
“The order was made. We watched that place burn to the ground. We laughed; we had a goddamn party. I didn’t know that I killed my best friend that night.”
“Sly, if you didn’t know, you didn’t know.”
“That’s the thing though! I should have known! I should have checked myself or fuck, I don’t know. I killed him, Fab. I killed your brother,” he says as the tears roll down his cheeks. My heart breaks inside of me as I step closer to him. He raises his hand to stop me, not wanting me near him.
“I didn’t tell you that so you could coddle me, Fab. You should hate me. I hate me,” he says, clearing his throat.
“Sly, come on.”
“You need to rest and so do I. You ain’t leavin’ until we find out who did this to you.”
“I’m not staying, not like this.”
“Yeah, you are. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” With that he turns and leaves the room, leaving me to the words that he left lingering in the air. The words that broke my heart.
He was the one who killed my brother.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“What do we know?” I ask, looking at the guys. We all sit around in the main room as I try to save some strength. Truth be told, I’m worn out.
“Not much. Could have been a cop. Mystic is pullin’ some feeds from in town to see what he can find,” Gauge adds.
I shake my head, a pounding headache working its way through me. It feels like my skull is being split in two.
“Why would a cop come after her? Her brother was a cop and she was supposed to be helpin’ them,” I remind them.
“Not sure, brother. You okay?” Shaft asks, looking me in the eye. I shake my head and grab my beer, taking a long pull.
“Head’s been killin’ me the last few days.”
“You need to rest!” Dez snaps from behind me.
“I know. Thanks, Mom.”
“She’s right,” Temple adds, coming to stand next to me. She rests her hand on my shoulder, the other picking at the bandage on my head.
“I’m goin’. I just need to know what we have on all this shit first.”
“Well we don’t have shit, so I think it’s safe to say you can go relax.” My eyes cut to Wolf’s and hold there. Go relax when someone was trying to kill her? He can’t be serious.
“Why don’t you fuck off? Don’t you have a girl to fuck or somethin’?” Krista giggles behind me. Shit, I didn’t know she was back there.
“Fab is lying down too. She isn’t feeling well,” Krista adds. Turning my head quickly, I glance over my shoulder at her.
“What do you mean?”
“She said she wasn’t feeling well and went to lie down.”
I nod my head and stand from the chair before heading down the hallway. I can hear them talking out in the main room, but my focus is on her. Pushing the door open, I find her curled up on my bed. Too many emotions burn inside of me. I can’t decide which to go with. On the one hand, I know I should stay away from her after what I did. But on the other, I don’t know that I can do that. The pull between us is just too strong. Shrugging out of my cut, I lay it on the chair and walk toward the bed.
“I mis
s him,” she whispers. I climb on carefully and lay down, scooting closer to her before wrapping my arm around her waist.
“Me too. If I could change it all I would, Fab. I’m so sorry.” Her sniffles rip my chest open.
“You were shot four times and didn’t die,” she adds.
“Strange turn of events, wasn’t it?”
“What did you feel?”
“Scared. I was scared to death. I saw death, looked it in the eyes. I saw the fire of hell and I thought… Fuck, I thought that was it.”
“I’m glad that wasn’t it,” she says softly.
“Me too, Fab. I know I fucked up a lot. I know I can’t fix what I did but I don’t know that I can lose you too,” I admit to her. Fab shifts and rolls over to look at me. My hand rests on her hip as she peers up at me with those big brown eyes.
“I’ve thought about it. I’ve cried about it. Hell, I’ve even screamed about it. But I can’t find it in myself to hate you.”
“You should.”
“No, I shouldn’t. Do you know why?” She reaches up with her good hand and runs her fingers down my cheek. My eyes fall closed, loving the way she feels when she’s touching me.
“No.”
“Because I love you. I know that things have been shaky between us. I know that we both fight our feelin’s, but when I’m not with you, I’m not me. I don’t feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”
“God, Fab.” I grip her hip tighter. “I’ve done things…to you. I can’t fix that shit. I can’t take it back.”
“And I’m not asking you to. Being honest, the time you left me in the basement gave me time to think and heal. I didn’t know just how much I needed time to myself, Sly. I needed that; my heart needed that. He’s the reason we have each other now.”
“I know. I know that,” I whisper before pulling her closer and pressing my lips to the top of her head. I hold her there, not wanting to let her go until she falls asleep. My heart beats rapidly against my chest but it’s her. It’s always been her that soothes all the broken parts of me. She eases the ache inside, and I can’t let that go. It doesn’t matter how fucked up I am or what I did.
“I love you too, baby,” I whisper before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep with her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Do you think it needs checked again?” I ask Temple as we stand in the kitchen.
“Not yet. The doc said he could get headaches for a while. Just make sure he’s taking the medicine,” she adds, nodding toward the bottle in my hand.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a grown man take medicine that he thinks doesn’t work?” She smiles and Krista laughs.
“Men suck. They don’t think anything works when they are sick,” Krista adds.
“That’s not even a lie, girl.”
“Fab, can I talk to you?” I turn when I hear Dezzy’s voice behind me. Nodding my head, I grab the bottle of water that I came in here for and follow her out into the main room. Some of the guys linger around but no one pays attention to us.
“What’s going on?”
“I just wanted to say thank you,” she says.
“For what?”
“For sticking around. I think Dad really needs you here. Most girls get what they want and bolt. Not you, though.” Shaking my head, I sigh.
“I’ve thought about walking away. I thought I could run and never look back, but the truth is, I love your dad, Dez. I don’t think I can leave him even if he told me to.”
“Good thing I’m not tellin’ you then.” That voice sends a chill down my spine.
“We’re talking! Go away!” Dez snaps, causing me to laugh. I turn and hold the pill bottle out to him along with the bottle of water. Dez and I both watch as he shakes his head.
“You’re taking them! This isn’t up for debate,” I add in a stern tone. He smirks but I can see it in his eyes, the pain in his head is bothering him. He reluctantly takes the pills and water and heads over to the table.
“See, he listens to you,” Dez adds, pulling my attention back to hers.
“I never wanted to hurt him, Dez. I know what I was doing was fucked up on some level, but I also knew what I was being told. I just wanted some kind of justice for my brother.”
“Have you forgiven him?”
“Who?”
“My dad. Have you forgiven him for giving the orders?”
“There was nothing to forgive. He didn’t do it knowing Christopher was in there. He would never have hurt him. I see that now. I see how much your dad cared about him.” Dez nods her head and pulls me into a hug.
“I’m glad. He needs you, Fab. I’ve never seen him smile or look at anyone the way he does you.”
“I’m glad too.” She pulls away just as the doors to the kitchen fly open. Gauge looks pissed, his eyes scanning the room rapidly when they fall on Sly.
“Shit,” Dezzy whispers. I look over at her before looking back to Sly. He stands from his chair as Gauge heads toward him. The look in his eyes is deadly. Gauge whispers something to Sly when he loses it.
“Where?” he roars, the thundering of his voice causing a few of the girls sitting nearby to jolt.
“You’re not goin’.” Gauge informs him. Dez and I watch the showdown between the two. Sly moves and grabs Gauge’s cut, jerking him closer.
“You tellin’ me, the goddamn Prez, what the fuck I’m doin’?” he questions him. Gauge just smirks in his face, further pissing him off. I can see Sly’s jaw tick from here. This isn’t going to end well.
“You need to rest,” Gauge reminds him. Dez and I share a glance that says this is going to get bad in a minute.
“Rest? You want me to rest when you just sat here and told me that the motherfucker that tried to kill my woman is ten minutes away?” Sly’s voice thunders through the room. I gasp when I hear the words. Dez grabs my arm, trying to support me as the word slowly spins around me.
“Who was it?” I ask when Gauge turns to face me.
“What?”
“Who was it? Who are they?” I ask angrily. I shrug Dezzy’s hand off me and move toward Gauge. When he doesn’t answer me, I push him with my cast. “Who is it?”
“Just calm down, Fab,” Sly says coming toward me. His arm wraps around my shoulders but I don’t want him touching me right now. I want to know who it was.
“Who the fuck was it, Gauge?”
He scrubs his hand over his face looking between me and Sly before he opens his mouth.
“It was a cop.”
The air is sucked from my lungs as my knees give out. I fall to the floor, trying to reason this out but there is nothing. I have nothing. I was helping them, why would they do this to me? Is it because they found out about me and Sly? Is it because they know I’m here?
“Fab.” I ignore Sly’s voice calling to me. I can’t deal with him right now. Those bastards! How could they?
Chapter Twenty-Four
I left Fabiola in Dezzy’s hands. I rounded up the guys and now we wait. We watch. We do what we do and when those motherfuckers step foot outside of that diner, we move in.
“You okay?” Shaft asks when I grab my head.
“I’m fine.”
“You should have stayed back, Sly. We can handle this,” he adds. I ignore his words and keep watching.
“What do we have on them?”
“Officer Anderson is the one who has been puttin’ the orders in. Mystic has him on a recorded closed line. What we don’t know is why,” Gauge says, sticking the cigarette back between his lips and taking a long drag.
“You heard it?” I glance over at him. He nods.
“What the fuck does he have against Fab?” Wolf whispers under his breath.
“Don’t know but we’re gonna find the fuck out.” I go back to looking at the diner as my head throbs. I hate this shit. I hate feeling like I’m useless.
“Prospect got the van ready?” Looking over at Gauge once more, he nods his head in confirmation. T
he plan is to take Anderson when he comes out. We’ll do what we do and see what we can get from him. I’m not against killing a cop like him. If he went after Fab, then clearly, he’s dirty. I want to know why he went after her. Nothing makes sense as I try to figure it out; it’s not adding up. Gauge nudges me as I’m lost in my thoughts. I pull my attention back to the diner when I see a few guys come out.
“That him?”
“Yeah, the one in front smilin’ like a prick,” he says under his breath. I roll my shoulders and shove to my feet when I see Anderson break away from the others. It doesn’t take me long to grab him. He’s about to scream when I tighten my arm around his neck.
“Not a fuckin’ word,” I growl in his ear. The van pulls up next to us and I shove him in the back quickly. Gauge leaps in as the others follow. I climb in the front and direct the prospect as to where we’re going. I can hear the commotion in the back, and I assume they are checking him for weapons and securing his ass. They know how to do this.
“He gonna be shark bait?” The prospect chuckles. Glancing over, I shake my head at his ignorance. He should know what we do by now. Pulling up to the warehouse, Wolf leaps out and pulls the door open before the van pulls in. Wolf locks down the door as we all pile out of the van. Shaft already has Anderson in zip ties which works to my advantage.
“Get him over there.” I nod toward the chair that has been used to hold many men. Shaft drags him to the chair, tying his legs down when he does. Anderson grunts around the dirty rag that they shoved into his mouth. I reach up and snatch it out.
“You’re going to pay for this!”
“Doubtful.”
“What the hell do you want?”
“Answers,” I say calmly as I pace around him. The guys all fall into a semi-circle around us as I grab the bastard by the hair. Jerking his head back, he roars but that doesn’t stop me.
“Let me go!”
“You had her ran off the road. Tried to kill her!” I growl, pulling his head back at an unusual angle. I know it hurts but that’s the point. I want this fucker to feel some of the pain he inflicted on my woman. And this is just the start of payback.
