The girl’s body language seemed to relax slightly.
“You must be in a lot of pain and I’m sure you’re very scared right now but I promise you that we will find whoever did this to you and end them. Until we do you have my assurance that we will protect you. We will post a guard on your door,” hopefully Alex would agree to that, “and once you are well enough you can stay at the clubhouse under our protection until we finish this, ok?”
Chrissy dropped her head slightly and Nikki took that as her cue to continue on.
“I’m going to ask you a couple of questions ok?” She placed her hand in Chrissy’s as she spoke, “I’ll try to ask you mostly yes or no questions but there’s some you’re probably going to have to answer with words. I want you to squeeze my hand once for no and twice for yes. Do you understand?”
Two weak squeezes gave Nikki her answer.
“You took the job off the books right?”
Two squeezes.
“How did you make contact with the guy? Was it through Eros?”
One squeeze. Then she released Nikki’s hand and made a sort of gesture.
“Sort of. What do you mean sort of?”
That wasn’t a question she could answer with her hands. Chrissy lips parted and a dry rasp came out.
“Hang on let me get you some water,” Nikki offered.
After a few sips she tried again and with Nikki leaning in close she managed to pick up the word.
“Party.”
Party bookings, the thought made her grimace. A couple of girls and a bunch of guys all fucking each other in a single room. She’d have to get Lacey to check the details of the booking.
“So he was at a party booking with you and what? You gave him your number and he called for a private booking?”
Two squeezes.
“Did you get a name?”
Two squeezes. Chrissy tried to whisper the guy’s name to her. Dave or David or something. Nikki shushed her, it probably wasn’t his real name anyway.
“Do you remember the place where you met him?”
Two squeezes.
“Can you tell me?”
“Water,” she croaked out.
Nikki grabbed the bottle and held it to her lips. Chrissy shook her head gently and groaned.
“You don’t want the water?”
One squeeze.
“Wait, you met him by the water?”
“Waterfront,” she whispered her voice paper thin.
The waterfront? Nikki instantly knew this worse than she first thought. Chrissy’s grip on her hand started to weaken. She was losing her strength.
“Stay with me Chrissy. You met him at the waterfront? At a house?”
Two squeezes. Damn it. This had to be Black.
“Do you remember which one?”
One squeeze.
“More,” Chrissy whispered.
“There was more people there?”
Two squeezes.
“How many was there Chrissy?”
She held up four fingers. She knew it had to be Black and his goons but who was the fourth man?
“Did one of them have really dark creepy eyes?”
Two squeezes. She knew it.
“Did they say anything to you? Anything at all?”
Two squeezes.
“What did they say?”
Chrissy half mumbled half croaked a weird mess of sounds, “eh oo oo.”
Nikki scrambled for the water shoving the straw in Chrissy’s mouth.
“Take a drink Chrissy and try again,” she commanded.
Chrissy sipped then took a breath and Nikki leaned close.
“Eh too boot.”
Eh too boot? Oh shit. Et tu Brute? There was that phrase again. The words of a dying man to his traitorous friend. Question was who the hell was betraying who?
Nikki rode back to the clubhouse with that phrase rolling around in her mind. She just didn’t get it. Why the hell would their enemy warn them about something that would be to their enemies advantage? She checked in with Beard and offered to close up shop for him. It would give her some time to think.
She was locking the roller door when she heard the clubhouse door slam. She looked up to see Reaper crossing the forecourt.
"Where is everyone?" he asked.
"I think everyone’s out."
Tex and Trace had fed her some crap about a job and she'd let them. King was at the cabin with Rose for their anniversary. They'd left Case, Rock and her behind. But Case had home shit going on and Rock, well he was probably balls deep inside some cop pussy. She had no idea where Rat was and Beard had already left. So the only one left was her. Well her and Dumb and Dumber. As if on cue the Dumb dropped a heavy box of discarded parts on Dumber’s foot.
“Obviously they’re here.”
Nikki eyed him carefully. He was mega tense and his hands were balled into fists.
"You need something?" she asked him.
He turned his head slightly in her direction glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
"Nah. I'm good,” he stated and then stormed off across the forecourt.
Nikki shut the locked the door and moved through the workshop and into the office. She peered out the back window at Reaper as he stood next to his bike.
He was staring down at his hands. From that distance she couldn't see the shaking but she knew that was what he was staring at. She was seriously concerned about him. If he was working a job and that shit started it would put him in some serious trouble. Reaper made a fist and beat it against the seat of his bike. Nikki turned away. She'd offered him her help and he'd refused. That was his choice. She listened to Reaper’s bike roar to life and she knew she couldn’t walk away. She quickly ducked out the office door taking her mustang keys with her.
She only just managed to catch up with him as he moved out of the industrial area and into the suburbs. It was just getting on dark and the traffic was beginning to thin. With the uncongested roads she’d have to keep her distance especially if she didn’t want to be seen. She stayed a few blocks back as Reaper slipped into the inside lane and hit the throttle. Shit. Nikki pulled across and increased her speed weaving between a few cars. They cleared Soldier’s territory and moved into Crow’s terrain.
By the time he started to slow Nikki was barely keeping Reaper in her sights. She nearly missed him chucking a left and had to pull a mad maneuver, cutting of a very angry truck driver. Nikki knew exactly where they were she just had no idea why they were here. Unless it was for a job. But if it was a job surely one of the brothers would’ve been with him? They moved through residential streets and into an industrial area. He made a quick right into Main street and Nikki heard the sound of his bike gearing down through the open window. They must be close.
Main Street was not the sort of area most people wanted to drive through never mind stop in. The buildings were dilapidated and vandalized but they weren’t necessarily abandoned. The residents here were either homeless people, junkies or drug pushers. It was the part of the Crows stronghold that Bull had always struggled to clean up. Depression and desperation were a lethal cocktail that was brewed with great success in that part of town. At the least Bull had always managed to keep the infection contained to this part of town but now the drugs were leaking out, bleeding into other parts of their territory.
This place had always been a dump but now it looked like a third world slum. The warehouse buildings that were still occupied were surrounded by tall barbed wire topped fencing and security cameras. Those that weren’t, were a mix of boarded up, dirty, dilapidated buildings covered in layer upon layer of graffiti. Nikki rolled up to the corner and watched as Reaper slowed in front of an old run down warehouse. He drove past the main entry turning into a side alley. Nikki turned the corner and drove past the warehouse stealing a glance down the alleyway. She glimpsed the back of his bike disappearing around the rear of the warehouse.
Nikki parked on the next block and did a quick scan of the street. Sh
e so did not want to leave her Mustang here but she had little choice. The last of the light lost its hold on the buildings darkening the area around her. Nikki slid from the car and slipped through the shadows toward her target. As she reached the first building Nikki peered around the corner into the laneway that ran behind it.
The taillight on Reapers bike cast a red glow back through the laneway towards her. Ahead of his bike a doorway on the left of the lane way was dimly lit by a single overhead light. Next to the light was a security camera pointed straight at the door. Further ahead the laneway came to dead end. Perfect ambush territory. Nikki did not like this one little bit.
Reaper switched off his bike putting the laneway back into shadow. He was clearly comfortable enough not to need a quick getaway. He removed his helmet and mask attention locked firmly on that door. Nikki needed to get closer. She ducked around the corner of the building and took cover behind a nearby dumpster. There was another bin on the other side of the rear door of the nightclub. If she could make that one it would put her close enough to see and hear what was going on. It would also give her two exits down the alleyway to Main Street or back down the lane to her car.
She ducked around the first bin and hit the wall of the building low down. Nikki slowly crept along the wall to the edge of the bin. In a low crouch she peered around the bin and watched as Reaper approached the door. He knocked firmly on the metal and a sliding sound followed.
"Back again old man."
A dark face appeared behind the barred window.
"You got my shit?" Reaper's voice was gruff and no nonsense.
"Yeah I got your shit. You got my money?"
Reaper took a wad of cash from his pocket and flashed it.
"Wait here."
The slide closed.
What the hell was going on here? He was buying drugs? This did not make sense at all. The slide reopened and lower down a drawer slid out of the door.
"The money."
Reaper placed his cash in the drawer and it disappeared. The drawer reappeared and Reaper collected the contents. He held a small black bag in his hand. He unzipped the bag and pulled out a small liquid filled glass vial. GHB? He placed it back inside the bag and she heard the clink of glass against glass as he slipped the bag into his pocket. What the fuck was she supposed to do with this shit? The club did not tolerate drug addicts. If they knew he'd be kicked out on bad standing. His life would be over.
"Enjoy."
The slide slammed shut.
Reaper turned away from the door and Nikki quickly ducked back behind the dumpster. Shit. Double and triple shit. She so did not need this. She'd have to confront him. She'd have to confront him and give him an ultimatum. Give up the drugs or give up the club. But first she wanted a word with that dealer. Judging by the setup, she'd have to wait until he came out of his steel fortress before she could get to him. She was in for a long night.
The screeching sound of protesting hinges was her first warning that something was not right. Instinct drove Nikki to reach for her gun. She swiveled back towards the door. Her father too had spun around his Zigana, the Turkish pistol he favoured, cradled in his grip. Her eyes skipped over him to the open doorway.
"Well if it isn't Reaper Jones."
A guy stood in the doorway sporting Niners’ colours with the dealer standing behind him. They each held a Berretta, pointed straight at Reaper.
"When Zero told me you were buying from him I thought he was full of shit. But here we are," the guy who was doing all the talking sneered at Reaper.
“Dopamine hey?” he asked.
Dopamine? Nikki couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She wanted to run out there shake Reaper and demand the truth. Somewhere deep down she already knew it to be true. Nikki didn’t know much about dopamine but she did know what drug use looked like and the evidence was there. The shaking in his hands, the mood swings, the growing absences from the clubhouse and the weird freak out he’d had where he pummeled his fists into the seat of his bike. She looked at the hold he had on his weapon. It was awkward and unsteady. Withdrawal maybe? He was in trouble here.
"The club know about your little problem?" the guy retorted.
"What do you want Forty?" Reaper asked gruffly.
"I got a message for the Soldiers," Forty stated.
"What is it?"
"This."
Forty raised his gun. Unlike Reaper Nikki had no trouble pulling the trigger on her weapon. Forty went down like a sack of shit. Nikki quickly followed up that shot with a second one hitting Zero in the chest. Reaper turned his gun on her out of instinct. When he realized it was her he relaxed it would’ve been way too late anyway if she’d been aiming for him.
“Is it just these two?” she asked Reaper as she ran towards the doorway.
“Should be. By this time most of the drugs have been collected and usually Forty and the muscle have taken the cash to wherever it goes,” he replied.
Nikki peered through the open doorway into the dimly lit interior. She couldn’t detect any signs of other life.
“Yeah well Forty’s still here,” she retorted.
“The money?”
She did another sweep of the room with her eyes and came up with nothing.
“No.”
“Then there’s no one else here. We should be not here too,” he stated.
Nikki whirled around on him with her gun still pointed in front of her. Reaper’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t raise his weapon.
“What you doin’ kid?” he asked.
“You gonna tell me what those little vials in your pocket are?” she urged him.
“What they are kid is none of your business. Now let’s get out of here,” he answered turning his back on her and striding over to his bike.
She was not letting him off the hook that easy.
“I just saved your ass old man I think I deserve to know what I nearly got myself killed for.”
“Please kid. You were nowhere near getting yourself killed. Your mother may have given you those looks of hers but the rest of you is all me. Keen instincts, eagle eye, lightening reflexes and winning personality included.”
In another time and place she might’ve laughed at his winning personality quip but not today.
“You don’t explain to me what is going on here I’m taking this shit straight to King,” she warned him.
Reaper turned back toward her and pressed his chest to the barrel of her gun.
“You do not want to do that kid,” he said through gritted teeth.
“You can’t intimidate me Reaper. You think I haven’t noticed your issues. The shaking in your hands, the weak grip you had on your weapon. Hell I watched Sheila come down off that shit enough times to know what withdrawal looks like. You wouldn’t even have the strength to take me down without my gun.”
He tensed up as if preparing to take action but did nothing. He broke off their little stare down.
“It’s not withdrawal symptoms,” he replied as he returned to his bike and swung a leg over the machine.
“What do you mean it’s not withdrawal symptoms?”
“The tremors and weakness are caused by my condition. The dopamine stops them,” he explained.
“Condition? What condition?” Nikki asked warily.
He brought his bike to life and put it in gear while Nikki watched. He was going to take off without answering her.
“What condition?” she repeated loudly.
He yelled out the answer as he took off out of the alleyway.
“I’ve got Parkinson’s.”
Chapter 7
Nikki pulled in to the driveway of the house she shared with the boys. Nikki couldn’t deal with the clubhouse tonight. She needed the sanctuary this place afforded her. It had been her house originally but when she’d moved in with Alex the boys had taken it over. After she left Alex she moved right back in and the boys stayed. It offered them this surreal little bubble of peace where no one and nothing else existed b
ut them. She needed quiet and she needed a drink before she could get her head around her father’s confession.
He had Parkinson’s. The words just kept rolling around in her head. She hadn’t been sure he was telling the truth until she’d looked it up on the internet. All the evidence certainly fit the scenario. The symptoms she’d attributed to the drug use and the weird phone call she’d overheard. She was in this weird numb state of shock as she got out of the car and entered the house. She didn’t even notice Trace until she practically bumped in to him.
“Hey Baby girl. You ok?” he asked smiling at down at her.
“Yeah sorry just a bit tired is all.”
“Well it looks like we’ve got the rest of the night off. Why don’t you go have a nice hot shower and then you can sit down and watch a movie with me,” Trace suggested.
“Sounds good,” she replied and quickly escaped to her bedroom.
Nikki plonked down on the edge of her bed. So Reaper had Parkinson’s it wasn’t the end of the world. Obviously it was treatable. It was just a case of how treatable and for how long? Why the hell hadn’t he told anyone? And why was he getting drugs for it from that Niners’ dealer? Shit, the dealer. She’d been so distracted she’d just left the dealer and his Niner buddy lying in that doorway. That part of town could get pretty nasty and she was sure they wouldn’t be the first dead bodies to show up there. Nikki just hoped those bodies didn’t cause Bull any trouble. After all it was Crows territory and she was there unannounced and had made a kill without informing the powers that be. That was just not how shit was done. How could she have been so stupid?
She looked down at her feet as she cursed herself. A smear of something dark and wet glistened on the toe of her boot. Blood? Damn it. She must’ve got some on her shoe when she’d stepped over the bodies to check the inside of that bloody warehouse. Nikki went straight for the bathroom pulling off her shoe and running water over it to remove the blood. She frantically checked the rest of her clothing and hoped to good none of that shit had transferred from her shoe to anything else in the house. She jumped into the shower and washed all traces of the event from her body. She took those dead bodies and Reaper’s confession and shoved them deep down alongside the safe that held the darkness at bay. She couldn’t share that shit with anyone.
Among the Chaos: Book 2 of the Soldiers of Chaos MC Series Page 6
