by Oakes, Tara
I think quick. “I promise I won’t tell. But, I need to know. Who is he? Either you tell me or you tell the boys when I let them know what I saw.”
She breathes deep, weighing her options. “He’s a part of some cartel. They’re moving in, slowly. Got some kind of connection here in Chisolm. It’s been real hard for me to find any shit around here without having to drive to Riverdale. He’s been selling me what I need.”
I step back.
Cartel? As in Mexican drug cartel?
My heart jumps into my throat.
“Somehow he found out that I OD’d and about my connection to Blue, to the club. He came here to let me know if I told them where I got the drugs he’d finish off the job. I’m supposed to say I got them from some Slayer instead. Charlie… these guys are the real deal.”
I close my eyes.
“Hey, you.” I nearly jump sky high as Harris enters the room, clipboard in hand. “I’ve been looking for you.”
I feel my heart still. “You- you have?” I try to sound casual, but I feel a cold sweat starting.
He nods. “Yeah. You were supposed to call me. Set up that dinner date.”
I swallow hard, laughing nervously. “I’m so sorry! I forgot! I got so tied up last night. Sable got into some trouble down at my dad’s bar. Thank God I was there to help out. Completely lost track of everything else.”
He nods. “I heard. That was some crazy stuff. I read the report. It was amazing what you did… really quick thinking.”
I smile as best I can. “Thanks. You know… working around such great doctors. I’ve learned a lot.”
He closes the flip top to the metal clipboard. “I’ll bet you have… Listen, about that dinner?”
“Uh, yeah. Let’s- let’s do it. How ‘bout tonight? Seven?” I feel myself stuttering.
I can see Sable’s confused expression, and I pray she’ll have the sense to just shut the hell up and not say anything right now that could blow this.
“Seven’s perfect. I’ll pick you up, just got my car back.” He steps closer and slips his arms around my waist. “You’re shivering….”
Oh God! I control my muscles and do my best to hide my fear. “You have that effect on me, I guess.”
He growls deep, pulling me in closer. “Let’s see what other effects I can have on you.” He leans in and takes my lips in his, quickly. I don’t push him off. I’m too scared. He releases me soon enough though. “Tonight.”
I let out a nervous sound that I’m able to mask as a giggle as Harris leaves the room to finish his rounds. Once he’s gone I feel my knees buckle and I stumble into the vinyl-covered chair nearby.
“Um… I may not be an Ol’ lady, but I know damn well enough it’s not a good idea to be doin’ this shit behind Clink’s back, Charlie.”
I feel the onset of some sort of panic attack.
Drugs. Cartel. Harris being involved. Cartel. The only person who knows enough about this other than the leather-jacketed man who threatened Sable is Harris.
I may have only flirted with him to make Clink jealous and thanks to that, I now have some of the pieces to put this all together.
“You don’t want me telling your secrets? Then don’t go telling mine,” I clearly threaten Sable into staying quiet. She may think I’m a trashy slut right now, fucking around on my Ol’ man, but this crazy turn of events just may come in handy.
The hospital room door opens again, and it takes my eyes a few seconds to register that the men entering are not truly patients, but Kingsmen.
“Oh, thank God!” I run into Clink’s arms, holding tight, clambering to him.
“Shh… It’s Okay, Sugar. Everything’s Okay now.” He tried to calm me. It’s not Okay. He has no idea how fucking not Okay it is.
Blue moves past us to reach Sable. I pull out of Clink’s arms and I can feel her eyes on me, wondering if I’ll keep my work or sell her out.
“Broom closet,” I stutter. “The one I told you about. He’ll go back, trying to find me as soon as he can get back in the building.”
Clink’s shaking his head. “Who? Who’s going to go back looking for you?”
I try to sort out as much of the details as I can without having to relinquish any of Sable’s connection to it.
“Drug cartel member. I… I overheard him. I ran. He chased me to the closet and I locked myself inside. Go! Go quick!”
Jay steps in between Clink and me. “Did you say drug cartel?”
~*~
CLINK
“You don’t really think he’ll be stupid enough to come back?” Jay whispers from behind me.
We both stand, at the ready, weapons drawn. I’ve got my gun in the right hand, knife in the left, aimed at the door. Yeah, I silently answer Jay’s own question in my head.
I do think he’s stupid enough to come back. He may not expect to find anyone, let alone two armed bikers ready to tear him apart for goin’ after Charlie, but I’m sure he’s at least expecting to find some clue as to who spotted him.
Guys like this don’t leave any trails. No witnesses, no evidence. In his mind, whoever saw him, overheard him, is as big a liability to him as she or he is to the Cartel.
If he was sent here to scope things out to possibly set up shop and have the cartel move in, then he’s going to be held directly responsible for anything that fucks it up.
No way his bosses are gonna let him live if he’s the reason this deal goes sour. He’s got every single reason to come back here and clean up after himself rather than risk that.
It’s what I’d do in his position.
“Shh! I think that’s him,” I whisper through the dark as the knob begins to click.
I’ve kept the light off to give us an advantage. He won’t be able to see us, but we’ll be able to see him.
I move aside and step to the side wall. The door opens and I see an aimed gun slowly make its way passed me into the small room. A wrist. An elbow.
It’s firm, steady. He’s not nervous, he’s not scared. He’s a trained killer, I can tell by the way he confidently moves into the space.
But he has no idea who the fuck I am. He has no idea how I’m practically fighting off a boner, just itching to get my hands on him, thinking he can get away with comin’ after my woman.
Once I see his shoulder, I move. I take the hilt of my marine issued knife and pound it down hilt first onto his skull. He drops in my arms like a lump of dead weight, and Jay quickly moves to disarm him, kicking his gun out of the way.
“Shut the door, throw the light on,” I instruct him.
It takes my eyes a moment to adjust, blinking wildly, holding this fucker down tight in case he’s gonna decide to give us a fight.
He’s out cold, a thin trail of blood streaming down the side of his head. I check his breathing, find his chest moving unevenly, but moving nonetheless. For now, anyway.
Give me some time. I’ll fix that.
“Text them,” I ask Jay to set the plan in motion. We didn’t have much time to piece it together, but it’s the best we could do with such short notice. Should work, though.
It doesn’t exactly help that the hospital is still on lockdown, with cops crawling all over the fucking place. Jay makes good use of our time and quickly checks this guy’s pockets.
A cell. Some cash. Both are stashed in Jay’s pockets for now. We work the dipshit out of his jacket and t-shirt, studying the multicolored tats and scars on his torso. He’s definitely affiliated. Once the door knock comes, we’re ready to move forward.
Blue opens the door, fully dressed in scrubs and a lab coat, throwing a pile of the same garments to each of us. We quickly tear off the hospital gowns throw them on, stashing our own jeans and leather cuts on the gurney that Blue’s brought with him.
He hands each of us the boots he managed to collect from where we’d kicked them off earlier in the gift shop, and we put not only them on, but the little blue elastic surgical shoe covers to hide the black leather that would most defini
tely give us away.
“Done,” I reach forward and help Blue lift the unconscious man onto the gurney and we pull up the sheet to cover him while Jay finishes with his shoes.
“Done,” he finally calls, picking up all the weapons to stash under the gurney as well.
We roll out the stretcher and turn left just as Charlie had instructed us and continue down the hallway until we see her standing with a clipboard.
“Doctors,” she nods to each of us and hands us little face-masks that loop around our ears.
We each put them on, some having more trouble than others. I roll my eyes at Blue and wait until he’s figured the thing out. Stupid, Asshole. My son could have managed the thing in half the time and he’s not even in kindergarten yet.
“This way.” Sugar leads us as we try to look as medically professional as possible.
She swipes her employee badge, setting off a pair of mechanical doors. We move forward and keep our eyes cast down whenever we pass a legit doctor. Most of these people know Charlie and don’t give us more than a quick glance. She’s changed into some scrubs, too, and although she’s not supposed to be working right now, she sure looks like she is.
We stop at a bank of elevators and she scans her badge once more, before pressing a round black button.
We remain silent as we wait for the elevator to arrive. The patient breaks that silence with a deep moan. Charlie snaps her head back and widens her eyes at the man as he struggles to regain consciousness.
Fuck!
“After you, Doctor,” another nurse joins us as the elevator door opens.
Thank God the elevator is empty, but wouldn’t you know it? The nurse steps in right after us. I can feel Charlie start to panic as the door closes, trapping us all inside.
The man on the stretcher moans again, drawing the new nurse’s attention.
“Looks like he’s in a lot of pain,” she states. “Hey, Charlie. I hear you and Dr. Jacobs are going out tonight.”
I widen my eyes and set them on my woman as she nearly falls.
What. The. Fuck?
“U-uh, no,” she stammers on her words. I bunch my fists, grit my teeth, and feel my eye twitching as I wait for her to finish. “I mean,” she laughs nervously, the kind of laugh she gives me when I catch her doing something she doesn’t want me to know about. “I wouldn’t call it going out, June. Just two coworkers… being social. Completely innocent and absolutely nothing to get worked up about.”
I can tell she’s speaking more to me than the other nurse. It doesn’t do a damn bit of good, though. The semi-conscious man stirs again. I feel the temperature rise about twenty degrees as I begin to sweat in fury.
“Whatever you say, Charlie.” The elevator stops and the troublemaker nurse steps to exit, but stops. “Send me a text and let me know all about it. Have fun!” she says in a knowing way.
Once she’s left and the door shuts securely behind her, I pull my mask off.
“She sayin’ what I think she’s sayin’?” I confront her.
Jay steps in between us, holding me back as I feel my chest swell. “No time for that, brother.”
A loud moan once again calls out and I look down at the man on the gurney as he opens his eyes and stares from one to the next of us, registering he’s in some deep shit.
I feel all the anger that’s built up in me over the last sixty seconds and channel it all into my fist, wailing it down on the lying man’s face, knocking him out cold once again.
Sugar gasps. “You didn’t have to hit him like that!”
Even her brother eyes her, not believing she’s showing compassion for a drug dealing asshole who had every intention of murdering her.
“Oh yeah?” I ask, anger riddled through my voice. “Point me in the direction of Dr. Jacobs and I’ll hit him instead.”
The door rings out and opens, clearing the way to the basement parking area. Charlie’s already managed to move her Jeep to one of the first available spots and we ditch the gurney, propping the half-dead man up to toss into the back.
I slam the hatch door shut. “Get your ass in the car, Miss Social Butterfly.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Dawson on his way?” Vince asks out to whoever can answer first.
Jay nods, “Called him myself. They’ll be here late tonight.
Our Prez steps up to the man hanging from his wrists, tied in a metal chain from the rafters. “And what about this motherfucker? What’s he got to say?”
I loosen my cramped fist and dunk it into the bucket of ice water, hissing out as the pain hits. I hold it steady waiting for the ice to work its magic and cause the hand to go numb.
The once clear water has turned pink over the last hour as I continuously dunk.
“Not much. His lips are sealed tighter than the vag on a pissed-off wife.” I open my fingers and wiggle them.
“What about the tats?” He circles around my specimen and inspects the many tattoos. “Any clue who he’s linked to?”
I withdraw the battered hand and accept the towel that Trojan hands over to me, wrapping it up tight. “You need me to take over?” he asks me.
I shake my head. “Nah. He’s mine.”
I turn around to face Vince who’s still trying to read the artwork over this man’s bloodied skin.
“I don’t speak Espanol, but I got a good grasp on the word ‘Conquistador’. Pretty sure that’s who he’s with,” I update my Prez.
The mention of the word causes the hanging man to stir, attempting to open one swollen, bloodied eye.
“Ain’t that right, motherfucker?” I step forward and ask him. He grunts and spits on the floor, dangerously close to my shoe.
I drop the towel on the floor and swing hard, not caring about the pain it might cause me because I know it will cause him more. My rings cut up his cheek even more, and the punch is just enough for him to pass out again.
His mouth hangs open and the remnants of a tooth falls out.
My fist goes right back into the ice bucket.
“You’re done here. We’re havin’ church. Clean up and get in there.”
Trojan hands me another towel.
~*~
CHARLIE
“I need to see him,” I plead with Jay.
He holds out his arm, barring me from crossing. “Not right now, Charlie.”
I throw my hands up in frustration. “You don’t understand! I need to tell him. It’s getting late, I’m running out of time.”
“Running out of time for what, sis?” He thinks it’s that easy. He thinks I can just tell him, but I can’t. I know how it will sound. I have to be the one to tell Clink, to his face.
I shake my head in annoyance. He’s stubborn, just as stubborn as I am. He won’t let me in.
The other brothers are filing in, taking their seat for the meeting that’s been called to discuss their options.
Vince walks up behind Jay, “What’s going on?”
Desperate people do desperate things.
“You! I need your help!” I lunge passed Jay and take hold of Vince’s arm. “Please, you need to listen to me.”
His eyes are wide, surprised that I’ve not only used the word please while addressing him, but I’ve managed to do it without a single curse word, insult, or flying object.
His free hand reaches up and takes my shoulder. “Anything, Charlie. What is it?”
I look around at all the faces watching our unusual interaction. It’s no secret how much I’ve loathed this man.
“I-I can’t tell you like this, in front of everyone.” I feel the whispers around me.
“Okay. Fine, we’ll talk in private,” he assures me, before leading me over to a corner booth far out of earshot of all the other brothers.
“What is it?” he asks, taking a seat.
I press my lips together, not knowing where to start. “I know what kind of shit you guys are about to get into.”
Vince sits back, “Charlie, you may be my daughter, but you still d
on’t get to be involved in club business. Leave it to me, the rest of us, and your Ol’ man. We’ll take care of it. There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“You don’t understand! I’m guessing that man didn’t tell you guys all that much. But there’s someone who can.”
Vince’s eyes light up like a fucking Christmas tree at my revelation.
“What are you talking about, Charlie. Who can tell us the rest?”
I shake my head. “Not until I have your word. You have to swear to me. If you ever hope to have me do anything other than hate you for the rest of my life, you have to swear.”
I’ve laid out my terms.
He eyes me, probably not liking that I’ve given him an ultimatum. I really don’t care at this point. Enough people have gotten hurt over all of this, maybe even killed and plenty more could end up in the crosshairs unless we do something about it.
Clink walks out of the garage that he’s been locked in for the last hour. He’s sweaty, his hand wrapped in a towel, but he looks… calmer, somehow. As if he’s found a way to let off the steam that’s been building.
He spots me sitting at the far end of the room with Vince an he slows his walk, squinting his eyes. I see him mouth something to Jay, and the two of them look just as perplexed as the other.
“Fine. You have my word.” Vince draws me back into our conversation.
I nod. “All right then. There’s this doctor. He’s had a little thing for me for a while and I took advantage of that to make Clink jealous when he came back into town. Well, I happened to see him with the man that is currently being used as a punching bag in your garage.”
Vince’s eyes widen and he sits forward on his forearms.
“I also happened to see them today, and I overheard their plans. He’s with a cartel. He’s mixed up with the doctor somehow. I’m sure he’s got to be blackmailing him or something. The man took a Hippocratic Oath for Christ’s sake. He’s not the type to go around hurting people, selling drugs. He must have gotten mixed up somehow.
“Well, anyway, he kind of thinks we have plans to see each other tonight. At seven. At my apartment. I know I can get information from him, I know I can find out what all this is about. I just need to talk to him. Please. Let me help him. He doesn’t need to get hurt. I know he’ll cooperate.”
