Claiming Slice

by Eden Rose

  Joe shrugs him off while taking out a cigarette from his pack in his pocket. He puts it to his lips and then lights it before addressing the stupid prospect. “One, I don’t have to answer to you, mother fucker. And two, wait ‘til your balls drop before you come and talk shit to me.”

  All of us boo like a bunch of idiots. Hey, it’s true. Prospects need to learn respect and that this shit isn’t going to be handed to them. “All right, prez. We’re fuckin’ ready!” I tell him so I can get this moving. The quicker I can get out of this meeting, the quicker I can go drink away my thoughts of Jen.

  My blood boils thinking about her and everything that she did. I can’t believe she lied to me. Just thinking about it makes me want to punch the wall.

  “So, there’s no easy way to say this. Everyone knows that my girl’s friend has been hangin’ around here for the past month or so.”

  Everyone acknowledges what he’s saying by nodding or saying a yeah. Chantal’s face is pressed against The Bear’s chest with her hands gripping his cut. I can tell that she’s nervous everyone is going to blame this on her. Kinda like I fucking did.

  “Anyway, we just found out that she’s married to some hitman from a couple of states over who just got out of the joint. He jumped our brother, Slice, after he was leavin’ her place and told him that he was comin’ for us. From this moment forward, there will be nobody allowed in this clubhouse that is not wearing a patch. That includes the flies.”

  “What the fuck?” Someone yells from the back.

  “Yeah, what the fuck is up with that? What do you mean they are comin’ after us?” Flip asks.

  The Bear shrugs and puffs his cigarette. “I don’t know. What I do know is, we gotta be fuckin’ ready. Also, Val, the fly that’s been here forever, she’s fuckin’ banned for giving this Jimmy McSimmons deets about us. You see her, you tell her to go.”

  “How are we going to handle this?” Bic states from the side of the room. He’s always on the outside of the room almost as if he wants to monitor everything.

  “We need to figure out who are allies are. The mob is bigger than we are and they have more power with the feds. What we have that they don’t, we have an armory full of enough weapons to take care of the situation.”

  Mack Truck places his hand on my shoulder and squeezes lightly. “Hey, man. That fuckin’ sucks. Sorry about this.”

  I half smirk at him and focus back on the prez.

  “Oh!” The Bear says loud enough to stop the grumbling around the circle we are huddled in. “We had a problem with Fang from The Plague. Long story short, he was tryin’ to piss us off by flirtin’ with my girl and her friend. Slice might have broken his hand.”

  It’s my turn to full out grin now. “Hey, the mother fucker should have kept his hands to himself.”

  The whole room busts out laughing at me. I do a little wave before walking over to the bar to grab my good friend Jack.

  “Dismissed. Make sure you remember what I fuckin’ said!” The Bear threatens.

  With my hand wrapped around the neck of the bottle, I begin making the trip back to my room. I’ve got a whole bottle to chug and nothing but time.

  JEN

  Chantal has been over to my apartment every day for the past two weeks and is helping me find something on Jimmy to get his parole revoked. So far, my husband’s record is clear and he’s had no problems within the month that he’s been release. What I have found is he’s been taking photos of me and posting them all over the internet.

  “Holy fuck, this man is sick,” Chantal grumbles while hacking into one of the dating sites to take down my photos. “He’s got you listed in here as a hooker who’s looking for a baby daddy.”

  I shake my head and rub the back of my neck. What she doesn’t realize is that I knew he would retaliate like this. This has Jimmy all over it. “What about my dad? Have you found anything on him?” I question.

  My father has fallen off the map over these two weeks and he’s nowhere to be found. This can mean one of two things. One, he’s on the lam. Two, he’s here with Jimmy waiting to bring me home. If it’s the latter, then I’m fucked because I have no one to stand in front of me to help change his mind on taking me. I have a gun, yeah, but one gun isn’t going to stop my dad from getting what he wants.

  “Here’s something!” She yells and dances a little in her seat.

  “What?” I ask excitedly and roll my chair over towards her. Since we have begun this operation, my apartment has become like an office. We have desks, chairs and bulletin boards to help track down my dad and husband before they come get me.

  “Well, it’s not good, but I found something.”

  I roll my eyes. “Just tell me,” I ask her exasperatedly. I’m already getting tired of this operation and it’s just begun.

  “Hristo Jimenez rented a room under his alias, Mark Mahawak.”

  “Where?”

  She types something quickly before wincing. “It’s in a hotel about five miles from here,” she says with a defeat lacing her voice.

  I rub the back of my neck knowing that it’s only going to get worse. My father isn’t going to let me go without a fight and neither is Jimmy. Especially after I took almost a million dollars from Jimmy’s safe. “What am I going to do?” I whisper.

  Chantal pats my hand lightly. “You’re not going to do anything but live your live. I unleashed a couple of viruses in their computers and phones which ruined their tracking devices. Are you sure you want to stay here? You can come stay with me?”

  I shake my head vehemently. “No! That’s the last place I want to go. No offense.”

  We work in silence for the next hour until she screams. “What happened?” I yell.

  “I found some financial records of your father’s and Jimmy. Turns out they are broke as shit.”

  I burst out laughing nervously. “Are you serious?” I question. “That can’t be true. My dad has money stocked up like grocery stores have chips stocked. That can’t be true.”

  She flips the computer around for me to take a look, and sure enough I see how much money is in their accounts. “What about their off shores accounts? You know they have those, too.”

  Her fingers fly over the keyboard until she finds what she’s looking for. “You mean these accounts?” She retorts with a satisfied smile.

  “Yeah!”

  There’s seven different accounts assigned to both men equaling billions of dollars. I rub the back of my neck trying to decipher what to do next. “How bad do I want to flush them out?” I ask myself and Chantal out loud.

  “I don’t know, Jen. We’re talking about a lot of money here. This is going to piss them off and have them collecting it from you.”

  “Where the fuck is the money hidden?” The man standing behind me snarls in my ear.

  What I would like to know is where did my protection detail slink off to. My body shakes on its own and my teeth chatter together. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stutter out.

  I’m trying so hard to not look at the money that is hidden in the safe behind the picture frame because I’m so worried that’s going to tip him off.

  The blunt force of the barrel of the gun cracks over my skull. My eyes fill with tears and they flood my eyelids. I feel the wind embrace my body before the fluffy white carpet in my bedroom. The raining fury of fists take over all my senses leaving me completely numb.

  Fear rages through me and it’s suffocating.

  “I mean it!” I cry out loud trying anything to get this man to stop hitting me. My body feels as if I’ve been hit by a truck. My breathing is ragged along with my vision getting faded. “I don’t know anything about the money! What money? Jimmy didn’t tell me shit!” I beg.

  My mind flits back to where the money is hidden. I know that there is a good chance that I’m going to die if I don’t tell the man where the money is but I need it to survive when I leave here.

  If I leave here.

  “Jimmy owes me a qu
arter of a mil. You got that to pay off for your old man, sweetness? Or are we going to work something else out?” The man asks as he climbs on my back.

  “I don’t have that kind of money,” I stutter.

  His knees are embracing me on either side of my hips. The man’s hands grip my shoulders to spin me around underneath him and that’s when I realize who it is.

  “Jen, this is the last thing that I wanted to do but it’s business. All of this is business. Your man fucked up and got in too deep and now it’s your turn to pay the consequences,” Gordo says to me.

  He’s my father’s associate that handles all the dirty business. “Are you going to kill me, Gordo?” I ask him. “If you are, just get it over with!” This man has been to every single one of my birthday parties, wedding and family events. Hell, he’s been almost like an uncle to me after Sal was killed.

  He shakes his head. “No, I’ve been advised that if Jimmy didn’t pay his portion of the debt, to use you.”

  “For what?” I ask stupidly.

  Gordo’s hands reach his pants where they begin to unbutton his work pants. I wiggle under him trying to get him off. “Stop! Stop!” I beg knowing exactly what he’s about to do is going to fuck with my whole life.

  He lifts a hand up, makes a fist then plows it across my face.

  Something is rocking me like a boat in the water. My body is moving with a steady rhythm dragging me out of my sleep. My eyes flutter open and then I see Gordo on top of me with his teeth latched onto my breast.

  What’s worse? The rocking rhythm is Gordo sliding in and out of me. I cry out to get him to stop but it makes him harder. He bites deeper into the flesh of my breast while looking at me.

  I scream out hoping that anyone could hear me. No one came.

  I looked over to the left of the bed and noticed that a gun had been stashed over there when Jimmy started getting into the life more. I wiggle just enough to ease my body over towards it.

  “Keep struggling, Jen, keep struggling. I like it more when you bitches fight me!” He shouts out loud then bites my boob harder.

  My insides war against each other just as my fingers touch the gun. Should I do it? Should I shoot the man who has forced himself on me? My mind battled with my heart on knowing that it’s wrong to kill but something has to be done. Something has to be done to stop Gordo, my father and Jimmy.

  I greedily grab the gun in my hand. “Gordo, stop, please!” I beg him one more time. If he doesn’t stop, I’m going to kill him. I have to. There’s no other way to get him to stop.

  He laughs an evil laugh that makes me want to throw up. “No, baby. I’m just getting started. After I’m done breaking you in, there’s three more guys who are waiting for their turns.” Each word that is spoken is another thrust of his little dick inside of me and another piece of my soul that is being sold.

  Shaking, I cock the gun with the silencer on it and aim it at his head. Gordo stops immediately with a sick look. “You want to play rough? Is that how you like it? You want me to pull my gun out on you, too?” He asks me while pistoning his hips harder and faster.

  “No!” I scream and pull the trigger. The moment the blood poured out of his head, I felt him fall on top of me. The heavy weight of the man who is still inside of me, is more than I can fathom.

  With strength I didn’t know I had, I push Gordo off me and he falls to the side. Screaming, I roll away from him. His blood has covered me and the surfaces around me.

  Knowing that I only have a short amount of time to get out of here, I jump to action by getting dressed as quickly as I could. I grab everything that I could stuff in a duffle bag before emptying out the safe.

  “Move the money around,” I say with determination. My father sent Gordo over to my house with the intention on selling me to settle Jimmy’s debt. My own father and husband knew what would happen to me when shit went sideways but they didn’t care.

  Chantal smiles cautiously and then clicks some keys before looking at me one last time. “Are you sure? Once I move this money, it’s only going to be a matter of time before they come looking for you. Jen, I got your back no matter what but two girls aren’t going to take down your fucking family.”

  Nodding my head, I wince. I know that it’s risky but it’s time for me to take back everything. It’s time for me to get my life back. “Do it.”

  SLICE

  There’s not enough alcohol that can be drank to get Jen out of my mind. She’s constantly floating through my thoughts on repeat as if she’s been meant to do that this whole time.

  Little do Jen and Chantal know, but I have friends of my own that can track down everything that is going on. I’m not going to allow some fucking loser husband to get the best of me. No fucking way is he going to come riding into town and beat the shit out of me like nothing is going to happen to him. I’m not going to allow it.

  Even though I’ve made up my mind that Jen is more trouble than she is worth, I still want her. I still smell glimpses of her perfume and I still ride past her salon hoping to catch a glance at her. Anything to hold me over until I can get a new woman.

  Which is why I’m riding past her salon right now.

  Shit. Is that a black car that’s lurking around the salon? I squint my eyes hoping to get a better look at the black car that’s been parked outside of the salon for the past week.

  I park my bike on the corner farthest away from the salon before walking over to the car. The driver of the car sees me coming and guns the car past me. I grab my gun in my jeans. “Stop!” I shout out while aiming my trusty Glock.

  The driver speeds off away from the salon.

  What the fuck was that about? Honestly. Was that her fucking husband watching her at work? Or maybe he was waiting for me to come and see Jen making this the way that he’s going to try and take me down. No. It’s not happening like this and I refuse to let Jimmy McSimmons beat me out of my own game.

  It’s time to settle the score. First, I need to find out how he’s getting his information and then I will be able to use it against him.

  I turn around to see Jen staring at me through the glass of her salon. Her eyes are heavily shadowed making my heart hurt worse than ever. I fight the urge to run to her, take her in my arms and tell her that whatever this is, it’s real.

  I need it to be real.

  Just when I’m about to give in, the same black car zooms past me again. I run to my bike with determination on finding out who is in that car.

  Jumping on my bike, I follow the direction of the car that just turned down Main Street. My mind is racing with the possibilities of everything that could go wrong. Worst case scenario: something happening to Jen. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her. I couldn’t do it. Even though I’m fucking pissed that she never told me anything about her life, I want to know that she will be okay.

  Because, fuck me, but I love her.

  *

  I drove my bike down the same path that the car went for the past thirty minutes. I have lost the damn car.

  Fuck!

  God damn it! What the fuck? The car was only a few seconds ahead of me and managed to out run me. If it’s Jimmy, I’m going to fucking kill him. I’m going to kill him and then torch his fucking body.

  By the time I get back to the clubhouse, I’m so tense from trying to find the car that I almost miss The Bear and Pinky having a fight. Almost.

  “What the fuck you mean you moved money around?” The Bear shouts at Chantal in the middle of the courtyard.

  She props her hands on her hips. “She’s my best friend, Joe! My best friend! You can’t honestly think that I’m going to allow her to face this shit on her own, do you? If so, you’re fucking stupid!”

  Every one of the brothers drop what they’re doing to circle the prez and the first lady. “What are they fighting about?” I ask Mack Truck.

  Mack Truck’s got a guilty look on his face and he’s chiefing his blunt too quickly to tell me that he’s
fine. “I had to do some digging into Chantal’s computer because The Bear thought she was keeping shit from him. Turns out she was. Now he’s pissed.”

  I cock a smile. “What money did she move around?” I question him.

  He shrugs and looks away from me just as the shouting match comes to an end.

  “You are a stupid fuckin’ woman, you know that? If I didn’t know any better, I would think you’re tryin’ to get yourself killed.”

  That’s when I realized what Chantal was saying. “What’s wrong with Jen?” I ask them.

  She shakes her head. “I’m not telling you shit. You fucked my friend and then fucked her over. Left her to her own devices because you’re a little bitch.”

  “What the fuck are you saying, Pinky?” I yell. My mind is whirling around and around. What the fuck happened? “Oh shit! Is Jen okay?”

  “She’s fine. She’s got me.”

  Before I can ask her what she means by that, she’s spun on her heels and strolled back into the clubhouse as if she’s got all the time in the world.

  I seek The Bear out to have a conversation with him. I need to let him know what I saw and ask him how we can get this taken care of. I find him curled up on the bar stool with a beer in his hand. “What the fuck was that about?” I ask him.

  I take a seat next to him and he shrugs. “Women, I tell ya.”

  “That was a little bit more than a ‘woman’ thing. What the hell was that about? What’s wrong with Jen?”

  “Dude, I’ll let you know when I know. I will tell you that we got problems right now that are because of your girlfriend.”

  I snap my fingers to the prospect that’s behind the bar. “Give me the bottle of Jack,” I order. “What problems?”

  He shrugs and takes a pull off his bottle. “Some bull shit about The Plague. Turns out, they’re keepin’ money from us and not reportin’ it. The mother fuckers think they can get away with it.”