by Domino Finn
It was imperative that she got to Diego. Her search had revealed no direct evidence of any wrongdoing but she had possible leads. That had to be enough to buy good faith.
The president's office was in the back of the clubhouse. It was an easy walk from there to the exit. She creaked the back door open a peek and it was all quiet, so she slipped out, wondering if she would ever be welcome inside again.
iv.
"You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"
The crisp voice spun Nicola around, and she jumped backwards at the sight of the police detective. Maxim was standing flush with the cabin wall, holding a gun with both hands steadily pointed at her.
The strength was back. Nicola could feel it building up in her wiry frame.
"I saw you duck away from the window," he said plainly.
Nicola looked around the clearing. The CDC woman wasn't here. No one else was in sight. But she didn't want any trouble. She wasn't about to attack a police detective, and she certainly didn't want to get shot.
"I didn't cut that cop," she said, pleading. "It was Doka."
Maxim remained calm and looked at her curiously. "That's funny. He said the same thing about you before the CDC got him."
What did that mean? If the CDC had already killed Doka, then what chance did Nicola have of surviving this confrontation?
She looked to the tree line. It wasn't that far away.
"I'm packing silver rounds," said Maxim. His hardened eyes didn't miss a beat. "I wouldn't try anything."
Holding the strength back was all she could manage. She needed to remain rational here. A wild animal wouldn't make for a sympathetic victim. But she balled her hands into fists anyway, if only to fight off the instinctual pressure. Nicola took a backward step.
"Listen," said the cop, lowering the gun ever so slightly, "I just want to talk."
"Is that why the CDC is here? You know what's gonna happen to me."
It was a statement that he acknowledged with his troubled face. But his lies continued anyway.
"I can protect you if you can help me."
"Fuck you, pig," she shot back, taking another step to the trees. "You can't protect me from her."
Maxim looked around in frustration. His left hand let go of the gun as his right finger eased off the trigger. He held both palms towards her, turning the pistol to the side. "Ask yourself why I haven't called the others yet."
The overbearing sun glinted off a silver ring on his left hand. He seemed earnest, but cops, especially detectives, were trained liars. Still, even as she watched Gaston sneak around the corner of the house, he had given her pause enough to question his motives.
"I just need to know what it is you know." The detective had a tender note in his voice as he broke from his usual authoritative gruffness. "Why were you trying to keep Diego from finding his sister?"
Nicola was caught off guard. "It wasn't me," was all she said.
From immediately behind the detective, Gaston swung a fist and jarred the pistol loose. Maxim's arm buckled. He tried to snag the weapon but it flew past his fingers.
The detective recovered and forced his elbow back, catching the big man in the gut, but he barely winced. Gaston shoved the cop into the ground.
Maxim reached through the wild grass for his pistol. Nicola scrambled to find it, sprung ahead, and kicked the gun away toward the tree line. She didn't want any part of it.
Gaston gripped the detective's black vest with both hands and lifted him into the air. He righted Maxim's body and slammed him into the cabin, thrusting his robust forearm into the cop's neck.
"Don't make a sound," said Gaston. "I could have killed you."
The cop had both of his hands on Gaston's arm, easing some of the pressure on his neck. He was angry and, although overpowered, still had fight left in him. "You stupid motherfucker," he choked out. "You're going to jail for this."
Nicola put her hand up to instill reason in the big man. Gaston was a towering figure—his broad frame could've subdued the detective even without his wolf strength. He was a hothead. And he liked to fight. And he was showing unbelievable discipline right now.
"That's not how the CDC warrant operates," said the big man calmly. "You think it's a mistake that this clubhouse is outside your town? You are only here on that bitch's authority. You can't get me on this."
Maxim's shoes scratched against the wooden wall for purchase. "You can't interfere with the CDC warrant."
Gaston smiled and showed a large set of teeth. "Is that what you were doing here?" He looked back at Nicola, who didn't know what to do. "It didn't look like it."
A twig snapped and Nicola turned quickly.
"Put him down, Gaston." Diego stood some distance away, holding the detective's gun.
That was him. Nicola's heart jumped. That's who she was looking for.
"You're Angie's brother, right?" she asked. "You need to get me out of here." Nicola took another step away from the cabin but Diego was preoccupied. He was still pointing the gun at the other two.
Gaston didn't move at all, but he released what sounded like a deep, guttural growl. "You," he said, not bothering to face Diego. "What are you doing at my clubhouse?"
Maxim yanked on the big man's arm but it held strong. "What does she know, Diego?"
"I don't know," he insisted. Despite the other two still locked in a grapple, Diego slackened his pose and looked at Nicola. "Where's Angelica?"
"She's alive," she spit out. "I don't know where she is, but I can help you find her. I'm a good tracker." All Nicola needed to do was get away from the CDC and the police. She would tell Diego all about Carlos, show him the papers, and give him everything she had. Now that Doka was dead, he wouldn't care. Nicola could leave Mom out of it and hopefully not be hunted by the MC.
Maxim heaved his body against Gaston's. "Fucking let me go," he said, staring the wolf down. The big man let out a heavy hiss that sounded like steam escaping. He backed up, and Maxim slid down the wall to his knees, coughing. "You need to tell me," he said, clearing his throat, "everything you know right now if you want any chance here."
Nicola thought it couldn't hurt but it was Gaston who spoke. "We don't talk to police."
"I'm not a cop," said Diego.
Gaston was unimpressed. "You killed Steve."
"Gaston," said Nicola. "Doka told me and Steve to grab Diego after you talked to him. We kind of worked for him on the side."
"What?" he blurted out, taken aback. It wasn't the scuffle with the police detective or the gun to his back that had set Gaston on edge. It was the threat of him having to change the narrative in his head over who was at fault.
"I'm sorry. I know Steve was your friend. I should have told you." Nicola felt awful, but it had been Steve's choice. He was the one who'd gotten her involved. He was the one who'd told her to keep it a secret.
"Why would Doka attack Diego?" Gaston looked to both of them for answers. Nicola wasn't sure how to tell him. If he knew, then the CDC might just hunt him down too.
"It's about the missing people," said Maxim, returning to his feet. "Isn't it?"
Nicola saw Diego and Maxim's pleading eyes and felt bad for their pain. But it was Gaston looking at her with furrowed brows that hit her the hardest. He just stood there, at a loss.
"Yes," said Nicola, and then, "no. Not missing people. Not really." Nicola wrapped her arms around her body like she was cold. It had to be said. "The suicides."
Diego's eyes widened. "What suicides? My sister?"
"No, I don't think so. I'm guessing they have her somewhere. You have to understand that I only saw a little of it a long time ago. They didn't trust me." Nicola felt tears coming to her eyes but forced them back. "I wasn't a part of it," she asserted.
Maxim rubbed his arm and looked like he was in pain. He carefully circled around the big man, keeping a safe distance as one would with a wild animal. Then he stepped up to Diego and held his sore arm out. The biker handed the gun back to the cop.
"The Sanctuary suicides?" asked Maxim. "The ones over the falls?"
Nicola stood motionless and nodded.
The four of them in the back yard were imposing figures, each in their own way, but all allowed the silence to linger. They each wanted something: understanding, closure, family. It was easy for Nicola to blame Doka, but she knew she had some involvement, however small, and perhaps one day what she would seek would be forgiveness. But for now, she had other priorities.
Maxim cocked his pistol to make sure it was still loaded and ready to fire. "Do you have material evidence in these cases, Makarova?"
After quietly digesting the turn of events, Gaston spoke up. "Nicola, we don't talk to the police." He stood stubborn as Maxim glared at him. "Mom won't have it."
The detective quickly turned his pistol in his hand and butted Gaston hard in the face. The wolf stepped back with a scowl but thought better about resuming violence against the cop.
Maxim puffed out his chest and held the pistol tightly. "There you go," he said. "You're learning."
Diego huffed impatiently. "Maxim, we don't have time for this. I don't give a shit about dead people—I need to find my sister."
Nicola agreed. Everything else could wait. The detective, instead of answering, just looked at the ring on his finger.
Dead people. That's where his thoughts were. Nicola moved slowly towards Diego.
"I'm taking her out of here," he said, "away from the CDC."
"I can protect her," countered the detective.
Diego shook his head. "They will kill her."
"No one is dying here today," said Gaston with unusual restraint, "especially not Nicola." The big man positioned himself between them and Maxim, who half raised his gun. It was an act that Nicola attributed to his idealism and sense of brotherhood. It really was a shame that Gaston wasn't the MC president instead. "Diego," he said nobly, "take her."
Nicola made sure the big man blocked her from the pistol, but Diego didn't move. He just stood there, looking to the detective, waiting for his word.
Gaston urged him in a warning voice. "Diego..."
v.
Up until now they had been alone. At least as far as Nicola knew. She had been looking back and forth nervously since this began, but this time, when she looked at the cabin door, she saw it was open a crack. Inside, behind the shadow of the sun, she saw two glowing orange eyes watching them, and she knew it was over.
Debbie kicked the back door fully open with her cowboy boot and had a look of disappointment on her face. "I can't say y'all are my favorite people right now."
The others all turned as one. This was a clear complication for everybody.
Diego, furthest from the house, spoke with a sardonic edge. "You lied to me about Angelica, Mom."
The older woman stepped outside and brushed her long hair to her back. "Now honey, what I told you was a truth you didn't want to hear."
"And what about Makarova not being in the club?" cut in Maxim. "Two days ago, you swore you didn't know who she was."
"Well that," said Mom, a sly smile on her face. "I guess you caught me there." The woman laboriously looked over each one of them. Her face was cold and Nicola couldn't meet her gaze. "My agreement with the CDC had to be upheld, unfortunately. None of that matters now that you're on Ms. Rao's team."
Nicola's eyes flitted to the detective. What did that mean? It was hard to trust either Debbie or Maxim right now. All the more reason for her to go with Diego.
Mom pulled off her cowboy hat and waved it in front of her face like a fan. "My, but it is hot out here this afternoon."
"Mom," said Gaston, ignoring her theatrics, "we can get Nicola out of here right now."
Debbie raised her eyebrows and looked at Maxim in surprise. A grand smile grew on her face, and she shook her head. "Oh no. Everything's all worked out with the CDC. There's nothing to worry about. Besides," she said, pausing as she caught Nicola's eye, "you don't know anything anyway. Do you, sugar?"
Her smile, her tone—nothing was right about this. Nicola tensed her muscles.
"Deborah," said the detective, "you need to tell me what happened to Lola right now." Maxim held his pistol tightly in his hand, but he pointed it down.
"Lola," said the woman, suddenly becoming less accommodating. She walked to Nicola and patted her on the shoulder gently. Nicola tried not to shudder at the touch as Deborah spoke. "Lola was my good friend, Maxim. We spent a lot of time together." The woman winked at Nicola and moved to Gaston, putting her arm around his shoulders. "That's more than I can say for you. You were always working, burying your head in other people's problems." Debbie walked around the big man's back and leaned on his other side. He softened his stiff posture some. "And when you finally decided to give it a rest, more than not, you would pick up the bottle."
Maxim's face hardened. Nicola saw there was truth to what Mom had said.
Debbie stepped away from Gaston and gave him a slight nod. Diego backed away from the dangerous wolf, but Mom wasn't moving toward him. Maxim was the target of her story.
"I know you have an intricate mind," she said to his face, "a detective's mind, but just because you investigate the insipid plots of the world don't mean something similar happened to Lola."
"Deborah," he warned.
"It's Debbie, hon," she said, tossing her hat onto the doorstep. "I never liked you, but your wife did. She cried the countless nights you ignored her. She never understood why your work consumed you." The others watched in rapt attention as Mom paced around the detective without masking her contempt. "Then one day—after suffering through all the drinking, after losing all the fights—one day, Lola realized that she didn't love you anymore."
A crease formed between the detective's eyebrows as he heard her words. He looked injured. The story came easily because it must have been true, and the man was about to break. But Mom didn't stop talking.
Debbie turned her back to him. "Your wife wasn't taken. She wasn't abducted." The woman returned to Gaston's side and coldly faced the troubled detective again. "Lola left you, Maxim. I should know. I helped her. She stayed at my house for a few days until she was ready to leave." Mom's voice broke a bit. Nicola thought her eyes were teary.
The cop's knees almost buckled. He wasn't looking at Mom or anyone anymore. His focus was past all of them, on a time and place far away. Slowly, the detective slid his pistol into the holster at his waist.
For a second, Mom put her face into her arms while leaning on Gaston's back, and then she wiped her eyes and continued. "Lola made her own decision, Maxim, and then she was gone."
The detective's chest heaved. He walked to the cabin and rested a hand against it, leaning over like he was ready to throw up. Nicola looked to Diego. He was uneasy.
Gaston suddenly jolted upright and let out a whimper. He dropped to the floor as Nicola saw the taser in Debbie's hands.
"Mom!" she yelled in a panic, not believing what she saw right in front of her.
"Out here, Nithya!" Debbie called.
As Gaston convulsed in the grass, Mom rolled him over, sat on his back, wrapped her arm around his neck, and squeezed. Nicola clenched her fists and looked at the distant trees. Adrenalin flooded her body as her thin frame gained invisible strength.
"Sorry, big guy," said Mom. "This is for your own good."
Diego immediately whipped a long silver blade from his jacket sleeve, the same one he had stabbed Steve with. He feinted forward, measuring his options.
Mom noticed the knife and leaned away from it, keeping pressure on the headlock. "Detective," Mom said briskly, "I do believe that's the murder weapon you've been looking for."
Diego looked to Maxim for a moment, feet glued to the floor, but the cop didn't respond or even look. He just knelt, weeping against the wall.
Gaston had barely seen what hit him, and he was weakly clawing at his neck. His open mouth was attempting to form words, but there was nothing he could do. His head fell limp.
He would be okay, thought Nicola. He wasn't the one they were trying to kill.
Nicola planted her feet to run to Diego, but Mom launched herself from the ground and hit her square in the gut, tackling her. Nicola fell on her side and, with quick reflexes, backhanded Debbie across the face. Debbie swatted her arm away and pounded on her abdomen. Pain exploded in her gut. Nicola tried to pick up her legs to fight off the stronger wolf.
Diego advanced with his silver knife drawn, and Mom jumped off of Nicola, being extra cautious when faced with the deadly metal.
"Let's go," Diego yelled. Nicola rolled forward in a somersault and jumped to her feet as Diego retreated to the tree line. As she ran, she glanced back at Maxim with his silver bullets safely tucked away in his holstered gun. It was now or never.
Nicola wasn't as strong as most others, but she was a good tracker, and she was fast. Faster than Debbie. She bolted along the same path that Diego was taking. Power surged through her body as she pushed ahead. The long stalks of white grass bent beneath her sinewy legs.
Her stomach still hurt, but the pain didn't slow her stride. She ran hard and overtook Diego, who was only human. A sort of tunnel vision formed and all she could see was the safety of the trees and shadows getting ever closer.
A gunshot rang out. Nicola instinctively ducked her head to make herself a smaller target. She had to hope that Diego would be able to make it out alive too, but there was no time to look. Only time to go.
Nicola ran as fast as she could, but she couldn't duck the next bullet. It wasn't immediately painful but her leg just failed her. She tripped up and fell into the tall grass. As she gripped her left thigh, blood spurted out. She squeezed it tightly and pushed herself to her feet. Diego ran by her in a flash. Go. Go.
Another loud report and the tree trunk ahead of Nicola exploded, throwing pieces of bark into the air. That one had whizzed right by her. She hopped forward like a wounded rabbit. She was almost there.
Nicola didn't hear the fourth shot. All of a sudden her throat erupted in a horrible warmth and she fell to the ground.
