Barshan (Bratva Blood Brothers Book 3)

by K. J. Dahlen

  Before he could respond to Judge’s accusations Charlie turned, stepping away from his embrace, stood tall as she glared at the man. “No asshole, I’m not working for the likes of Conrad Bane.” Her words were barely more than a whisper but they were loud enough for everyone to hear. “I told you I’ve been watching him for the last three years. I saw him leave the office that night, two years ago, heard him tell his driver to take him home and on a whim, I broke into his office to see what he was up too. It wasn’t planned, nor did I really want to be there but something was up. I’d been watching him and the Ratz over the last few days and there was something in the air. I didn’t know what but they were high alert and I wanted to find out what was going on. I may not have found out what I wanted to know and I don’t know why I grabbed the flash drive but I did and then I got the hell out of there. I don’t know what’s on the drive and I had no way of looking so I put it away for safe keeping. Then a new boat came into Texarkana and everything went to shit for a while. Apparently, a new cartel tried to butt in to the Ratz territory and there was a minor street war for a while. I had to stay hidden or stay away. The Ratz were shooting everything and everyone that didn’t belong for the longest time. Forgive me but I forgot about the flash drive until now. I was too busy trying to survive.” She grabbed her throat to ease the fire in her throat, and told them, “You may chose not to believe a word I say but don’t ever accuse me of dealing with that evil bastard. You may mean something to these men but you mean nothing to me. You don’t trust me? Big fucking deal. I have no reason to trust you either. Right now, I’d rather take my chances on the streets with the River Ratz hunting me, looking to drag my dead body back to Texarkana than stay here with you for another moment.”

  Charlie felt Bull’s arm wrap around her waist and she began to struggle. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

  “Let me go!” she yelled as loud as she could. She felt fresh blood running down her throat as she struggled. “I’m not staying here with that bastard. I won’t do it.”

  Bull tightened his hold around her waist then reached up with his free hand to wrap his fingers around her throat. He held her throat snuggly but not to harm her. “I’m sorry baby, but I can’t and won’t let you go. Please stop, you’re bleeding again,” he whispered in her ear.

  Charlie turned in his embrace and planted her face in his chest. She sobbed into his t shirt and Bull held her close. After a few minutes, he led her back over to the bed and sat down with her on his lap. Grabbing the blanket, he wrapped it around her shoulders. Then he just held her until she calmed down.

  Finally, she was still and her tears had stopped flowing.

  * * * *

  Bull cupped her chin and lifted it so he could see her eyes. They had a defeated expression in them. Her skin was pale and she had blood staining the bandages on her neck. “Are you okay now?” he whispered.

  “No,” she whispered back. “I don’t think so.”

  “Come on let’s get those bandages changed and have a look at the damage.” Bull urged her to her feet.

  Charlie shook her head and tried to lay down on the bed. “Just leave it,” she whispered. “I don’t care anymore.”

  Bull pulled her back to her feet. “I care. You don’t want to get a fever now. You aren’t strong enough to get through that.” Bull dragged her over to the bathroom and got them both inside.

  Just as he was going to close the door, Hawk pushed it open again. “I want to help.”

  Bull looked at Charlie and saw the vacant look in her eyes. Looking back, he nodded at Hawk. Without saying a word, Hawk cut away the old bandage and washed the wound. The cut edges were seeping fresh blood and were now raw and ragged. Using her voice as much as she had hadn’t allowed the wound to close properly. He went over to the first aid kit and got some antibiotic cream along with fresh gauze. He went back to where Charlie was sitting and began wrapping the wound.

  Neither of the men said a word. Charlie’s eyes never changed either. Bull didn’t know what to do to help her but he wouldn’t turn his back on her.

  When they were done, Hawk cleaned up and went back to the door. As he grasped the knob, he paused then said, “Judge can be an ass at times and we don’t necessarily believe him or stand with him in this belief. As a matter of fact we don’t. Charlie has helped us connect more dots today than we did in the last year. By the time the drugs hit the streets, it was almost too late to track it but with her help we were able to find out how it was getting here and who was bringing it in.”

  “I know but he crossed a line just now and I don’t blame her for being mad,” Bull stated. “I’m furious with the man myself. I realize we don’t know that much about her yet but I have to go with my gut and I told you guys my gut is screaming at me to help her, to protect her and until I have evidence to the contrary, I’m going to go with my gut.”

  Hawk shook his head. “I don’t blame her either. I just can’t believe what she did without getting caught. That takes balls.” He walked out of the room.

  Bull hugged Charlie close. He was worried about her. She had slipped into herself and Bull was worried he wouldn’t get her back. He cupped her chin and raised her eyes to his. He noted the vacant look in her eyes and it what worried him. “I need you to come back to me. I know what Judge said upset you, hell it made me mad too. I need you to fight to come back to me. I believe in you and you have to as well.”

  Charlie shook her head slightly. “But I don’t have anything left to fight with.” she barely whispered brokenly.

  “You said you would fight for Braden, well I need you to fight now, if not for yourself then fight for him.”

  Charlie closed her eyes. “But I’m tired of fighting. Braden is safe. I tried to help and got it pushed right back in my teeth for my effort. Those men don’t trust me and they’re going to get themselves killed before this is over.”

  “Hush now, you shouldn’t be speaking. Your throat can’t take it. Come on you need something to eat and more rest.”

  Charlie shook her head. “Your time is running out with Bane.” Her voice was almost gone by this time.

  “Don’t you worry about me. He isn’t going to find us here. This place is secure. I made sure of that.”

  “But he’ll start tearing the town apart if you don’t call him back.”

  “We have another day before the deadline is up. He gave me three days so his men could search the town for my location. He needs to find me and try to take me out before he’ll start burning this town to the ground. He lives here too. He has more to lose than I do. He doesn’t want to authorities here sticking their nose into his business that would be suicide for him. We’ll come up with something to prevent that.”

  “Bane will bring this town down,” Charlie warned him. She had to grab her throat when she tried to talk, as her voice was almost gone again. “He’s a dirty fighter and has no soul. He won’t care who he has to hurt to get what he wants. And right now he wants you dead.”

  “And the Ratz want you dead,” Bull reminded her.

  “I know, but the Ratz work for Bane.”

  “Where is the flash drive you took from Bane’s desk? Maybe there is something on it that we can use to stop him.”

  Charlie looked away from him she said, “When I stay here in Mount Pleasant, I often stay in an abandoned warehouse not far from here. You can see the building from here actually. It’s not ideal but it’s out of the way and hardly anyone comes to this part of town. But I know I’m not the only person who stays there. I’ve seen debris from other people a few times I’ve been here.”

  “Are you sure the flash drive is still there?” Bull frowned.

  “Yeah, it’s still there. I hid it well enough to safeguard it. In fact all my stuff is there.”

  “All your stuff?”

  Charlie held her throat, she wanted to speak but couldn’t/

  Bull grabbed the other notebook and pen, handing it to her.

  She started to write. “I never
had much I could call my own. I’m not bellyaching about that but when I turned eighteen I got a copy of everything I could regarding my mother’s murder. It’s mostly police files and newspaper articles. I wanted to know what happened to her. Then I went back to Social services and asked if my mother left any paperwork behind. She had left some, so I got that as well. I couldn’t remember anything about that night but I needed to know what went down. After sixteen years, I didn’t remember what she looked like and the reports and such couldn’t give her back to me. I read some of it but not all of it. It hurt too much but that wasn’t what scared me. I put everything in a strong box and buried it. As soon as it gets dark, I’ll show you where I hid it.” Then she paused and glared at him as she croaked out, “You and only you. I won’t show the asshole anything.”

  Bull chuckled. “I think I can handle that.” Wrapping his arm around her shoulder he said, “Now let’s get you something to eat.”

  “It will have to be another shake. I don’t think I could swallow anything solid right now.” She grimaced and grabbed at her throat.

  Bull didn’t say anything as he opened the door and led her to the second floor. He made sure he stood between her and the others and Charlie didn’t turn her head to look at anyone else in the room.

  While she sat at the table watching him make her a shake, Hawk joined them sitting down across from her. Charlie ignored him and kept her eyes on Bull. When Bull put the shake in front of her, she sipped it carefully still ignoring the other man.

  Finally, Hawk leaned forward. “I know you don’t like us right now and believe me there are times I don’t like us either but we need your help in order to help Bull and put an end to Conrad Bane and the River Ratz.”

  Charlie picked up her eyes and glared at the man.

  Hawk sat back in his chair and stared right back at her. “If we’re lucky, we might even be able to break up the Benali cartel and put Seth Ritcher in jail for the rest of his miserable life.”

  “I think I’ve helped you guys all I’m going to.” Charlie stated as she held her throat in order to get her bare whispers heard, “I don’t owe you more than I’ve given.”

  “No you sure don’t,” Hawk admitted. “But we need to wrap this up before Bane starts burning the town down and for that we need your help. We need to get our hands on that flash drive.”

  Charlie glared at him. “I told Bull I would get the flash drive after dark. I can’t risk being seen out of the streets by the Ratz.”

  “But they don’t know any of us.” Hawk pointed out. “All you have to do is tell us where to find it.”

  Charlie shook her head. “I can’t tell you where to look for it. It isn’t that simple. I had to make sure the stuff would be safe so I hid it where only I would find it. I have to show you myself and for that we have to wait until dark.”

  Hawk shook his head. “That’s hours to wait. We can’t wait that long.”

  Charlie snorted then regretted that action as fire erupted in her throat. Instead of trying to speak, she raised her finger and gave him the bird. It was rude but it was the best she could do at the moment.

  “Charlie,” Bull warned her. He was leaning against the counter with his arms folded across his chest.

  Charlie turned her head to glare at him but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she continued to sip her shake. Then she spotted a notebook and she got up to fetch it. A few minutes later, she began to write. When she finished, she pushed the paper over to Hawk.

  Hawk watched her for a moment then glanced down at the paper. He noticed she’d written out instructions as to where the flash drive was located. Hawk got to his feet and went back upstairs leaving Bull and Charlie alone.

  Moments later, Tank and Mustang came down the steps. They paused at the second floor but without saying anything, they continued down to the main floor.

  Bull heard the outside door opening and closing.

  An hour later, they heard the door to the outside open again. Mustang and Tank came to the second floor. Mustang held a small duffle bag. Without saying a word, he carried it over to where Charlie and Bull were sitting. Carefully setting it on the table in front of Charlie, they waited for her to open the bag and hand over the flash drive.

  When she did, they turned and walked to the third floor.

  Bull didn’t say anything and Charlie just stared at the duffle bag. After a minute or so, she leaned on his shoulder. “It’s sad isn’t it?”

  “What’s that sweetheart?” Bull asked as he handed her the notebook and pen, with a warning brow raised at her.

  She wrote it out, “My whole life doesn’t even fill a small duffle bag. Everything I own is in that bag and the bag isn’t even half filled. What does that say about me?”

  Bull wrapped his arm around her shoulder and just held her.

  After a few more minutes she wrote, “Do I matter to anyone? If I died tomorrow, would there be anyone who cares?”

  “I’d care.” Bull stated.

  “But no one else would,” she wrote as tears rolled slowly down her cheeks. “Braden doesn’t know me. I love him but he doesn’t know who I am, not really. Maggie asked me to take care of her son and I did but I stayed away for a reason. I stayed away to keep him safe.”

  “Don’t you have anyone else?” Bull asked.

  “Maggie had an older brother, Jesse. When we were growing up, he watched out for both of us. Then when Maggie disappeared, he went nuts. He didn’t stop looking for her and when she was found, he watched over her. He never left her side. Then when she died and I took the baby he left. I didn’t know it then but he joined the River Ratz. He met me a few months later and told me he was looking for the bastard that raped his sister and when he found him he was gonna kill him.”

  “Has he found him yet?”

  Charlie shook her head. “I don’t think so. The last time I saw him he was still there.”

  “When did you see him last?” Bull frowned.

  “The day he slit my throat,” Charlie told him aloud. She met his gaze without a flinch.

  Chapter Nine

  “What?” Bull growled as he scowled. His whole body tightened and seemed to grow bigger with his rage.

  Charlie nodded as she laid her hand on his chest. She could feel the furious pounding of his heart through his skin. She kept writing, “He’s the one who cut me. At least he gave me a fighting chance to survive. I’m pretty sure he drove me here too.”

  “Are you telling me that someone you consider a friend cut your throat?” Bull’s growl deepened.

  “Yeah, but it isn’t as bad as you think.” Charlie tried to defend Jesse’s actions. “If he hadn’t done it, Jermanio would have and he would have made sure he killed me. At least, Jesse didn’t hit anything vital.”

  “I’m gonna kill that bastard.” Bull snarled.

  Charlie shook her head and wrote, “No you can’t.” Tears welled in her eyes. “He’s the reason I’m still alive. I won’t let you hurt him.”

  Bull cupped the sides of her face. “Was he there when this guy beat you up?”

  Charlie nodded slowly and wrote her explanation, “Yes he was there, but he didn’t hit me. I had to stop him from wading in there and beating the hell out of the guys taking part in the beating. I couldn’t let him betray himself, otherwise they would have killed him too.”

  “No baby, he just watched while someone else did.” Bull snarled. “He did nothing to protect you like he should have.”

  Charlie shook her head. “You don’t understand. It doesn’t work that way in our world. Our world isn’t just black and white like yours is. Jesse couldn’t let the Ratz know he knew me. They would have killed us both if they knew.”

  “A real man protects a woman, friend or not. He protects her,” Bull stated.

  “You really don’t know how living on the streets works, do you?” Charlie shook her head slightly.

  Bull’s hands tightened in fists.

  “He did the least amount of damage and got m
e the hell out of there. He did protect me the best way he could.”

  “That’s fucked up and you know it.” Bull growled.

  Charlie just stared at him for a moment, then wrote, “That’s how people like me live and die. If he had done it any other way, we’d both be dead right now.”

  This broke Bull’s heart. He couldn’t imagine living like this and he hated the fact that this was the only thing she knew. He leaned toward her and pressed his lips against her forehead. “You’re right, I don’t understand that way of thinking, and I don’t think I ever will. If I had been there, I would have taken those men apart and not left one of them standing.”

  Charlie shook her head and wrote furiously, “They would have killed you before you got too many of them. Not one of them would have cared about the man next to him. The only one they look after is themselves. They don’t care about you or anyone else in the gang. That’s what makes them so dangerous.”

  “They’re animals,” Bull spat.

  Charlie nodded. “Now you’re finally beginning to understand them. The only ones they really fear is Paolo and Bane. They all know Paolo can walk up to anyone of them and put a gun to his head and shoot him dead for absolutely no reason at all.”

  “How do you know this?”

  Charlie shuddered. “I’ve seen the man do just that. One day when I was watching them, Paolo was discussing something and one of his men disagreed with him, not by saying anything, no he just shook his head at the man. Paolo went over to him whipped out his pistol and shot the man right there where he stood. You want to know what’s worse. Not one of the rest of his men were even shocked at his action. They didn’t even blink an eye, they just stood there until Paolo was done and then they dragged the other body off. They dumped him on the burn pile and a couple of days later they set him on fire. They were more worried about the stink of his body than the fact one of their own was dead.”