“Whoa, wait a second,” Gabriel said. “The Laughlin chapter did what?”
I stared back at his wide eyes, shaping my words carefully. “The True Northers convinced Laughlin to strike up a partnership. The Laughlin president made it seem like it was to get me back, but really it was just for the money.”
“And now they’re dealing drugs over there?”
I shrugged. “As far as I know. I’ve been out of the loop for a few days now.”
Gabriel knitted his dark brows together, scrutinizing me. “So, why are you in Vegas, then? After going through so much trouble to run away in the first place?”
I looked down and fingered the pattern of my bedspread. Who knew? Even I didn’t. My returning to Vegas defied all logic. Still, my gut told me it was the right thing to do. Maybe it was because it was all my fault. If it weren’t for me, the Laughlin Skull Kings and True North never would’ve crossed paths.
But there was another reason, too. It was one I hadn’t even realized until just before Larry walked out the door.
I exhaled slowly. “Anna,” I said simply.
“Anna?”
“She was my best friend when I was living here. I lost track of her, and I’ve been looking for her ever since.”
I spread my hand flat against the bedspread. My fingers looked almost infantile, short and thin, beside Gabriel’s wide, weathered hands. I dared to peek at his face and saw his jaw muscles clenching.
“Larry kind of alluded that Anna might be back in town, right?” he said.
“Yeah.”
“Kind of a weird coincidence, right?”
I laughed, surprised. “Yeah. Weird. But I believe that things happen for a reason. Maybe I ended up here so I could find her again.”
Gabriel nodded stiffly. His eyes were fixed at the wall in front of us. He hadn’t looked at me the whole time since he’d sat down. “I believe things happen for a reason, too.”
What are you saying? I thought at him. I watched his profile until I forgot to feel self-conscious about looking at him. I didn’t have time to glance away when he finally turned to face me. His eyes were startling in their earnest brownness.
“I’m a Skull King, and somehow we met in this big ol’ city. I don’t believe in coincidences, Lisbeth. Whatever it is you have to do here, I’m going to help you.”
* * *
Although I paid for a week’s stay, Gabriel made me pack up my belongings, saying we could worry about finding me a place later. It was in case what Larry said about the gang looking for me was true.
“In the meantime,” he said, “let’s go talk to Gloria.”
We rode back to Lip Service. By then, the nightlife crowd was in full swing. The warbling jukebox tunes were replaced by a DJ spinning electronic dance music, and go-go dancers in shiny silver bikinis danced on top of tables. Gabriel had told me earlier that Gloria was their unofficial official cocaine dealer. Everybody knew to look for the woman in the cowboy hat.
I followed Gabriel as he weaved through the crowd, keeping an eye out for that hat and that crazy face of hers. We ended up at the bar, and Gabriel signaled to the bartender, this time a tall, modelesque woman with teased black hair and winged eyeliner.
“You seen Gloria?” I heard him yell over the music.
“She went out back with a customer,” the bartender yelled back.
Gabriel nodded once in thanks and grabbed my hand. I grew warm from the sudden, unexpected contact, but he didn’t seem to notice. I bit my lip as he pulled me through the crowd, hoping that my blush would fade away soon. The crowd thinned out by the time we drew close to the bathrooms, and he finally let go.
“This way,” he said, jerking his head toward a back exit. He put both hands on the door and pushed, letting in a rush of cold night air.
I walked slowly out into the damp, empty alleyway. There was nothing but a brick wall, a single light, and a pile of empty boxes by a dumpster.
“Gloria?” Gabriel called. His boots echoed against the walls as he walked off in one direction.
“Uh...Gabriel?” I said.
“Go look for her over there.”
“I think I already found her.”
I stared at the pile of boxes, afraid to get any closer. I could see two splayed legs, the rest of the body obscured by the pile. There was a shadowy lump just a few feet away, shaped suspiciously like a cowboy hat. I heard Gabriel’s footsteps bounding closer to me. I hugged myself, shaking.
He stood over the body and released a low whistle. “Yeah, that’s her all right. You wanna see?”
“No.”
He leaned over and put his hands on his knees. “Looks like she took a shot to the chest. At least she died quickly.”
“At least.”
Gabriel turned toward me. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I took a few steps back, feeling faint. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
Gabriel hurried forward. He grabbed my arms to hold me steady, even though I was okay on my own. There was a soft look of concern on his face, as if at that very moment, nothing else existed in the world but me.
“Take a few deep breaths. Like this.”
I mimicked the shape of his pursed lips and inhaled, exhaled, inhaled along with him. His eyes were concentrated on mine for a few moments. Then, they lowered to my mouth.
I reminded myself to keep breathing.
Suddenly, the door opened loudly behind us, issuing music into the alleyway.
“What’s going on—”
The pallor of Gabriel’s face made me turn to look. The bartender from earlier stood there, one hand still holding the door open. The other rose steadily to her mouth as she stared toward the dumpster. It had taken her much less time to realize what was hidden in the trash.
“Is that—”
“Yeah,” Gabriel said.
She let the door swing shut behind her. “Did you guys find her like that?”
Gabriel ran his hands through his hair. “Fuck, Sarah. Of course we did.”
Sarah walked over to join us in the middle of the alley. The perfume she wore smelled strongly of sandalwood. Her slim arms crossed over her chest. “What should we do?”
“Give me a minute,” Gabriel muttered. He backed away slowly, covering his mouth as he eyed the sky, deep in thought. “Okay, you said she came back here with a customer. Did you happen to see what the customer looked like?”
“It was a chick,” Sarah said. “White. Young, kind of like your friend here. Peroxide blonde. Honestly, a little generic looking.” She shrugged helplessly.
“That’s okay,” Gabriel said. “I think we have a...” His voice dropped away as he scanned the walls. I followed his gaze to a security camera mounted just a few feet away from us. “Yes! We have a camera there. We can check the footage and see if we can get a good look at—”
“Why?” Sarah asked suddenly. “What’s going on?”
“It’s none of your business—”
“Sure it is.” She smirked. “I’m a witness. The police will be interested in talking to me.”
Gabriel groaned. “Just give us a few minutes with security to look at the tape, okay? Then we’ll worry about the cops and everything else.”
Sarah lowered her head, gazing at Gabriel through her eyelashes. “It’s going to look suspicious if we’re standing around talking like this, and the tape is time-stamped. I’m going to call the police right now. You should have enough time to review the tape before they get here.”
“Awesome. Come on,” Gabriel said.
Sarah caught my wrist just as I began to walk away. “Rude of him not to introduce us. I’m Sarah.”
I returned her warm smile. “Lisbeth.”
There was no use lying about my name, now.
* * *
Gabriel and I stood behind his colleague, Omar. We were in the office, and Omar sat at a cluttered desk to fast forward through the footage from the outside surveillance camera.
“Wait!” Gabriel said, c
lamping his hand onto Omar’s large shoulder. “There.”
The footage stopped and resumed at normal speed. A door swung open in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and I recognized Gloria in her cowboy hat and braids as she entered the frame. A small figured followed close behind her.
Gabriel and I leaned forward.
“It’s kind of grainy,” Omar remarked.
“Looks young, white, and blonde, just like Sarah told us,” Gabriel said, sounding a little disappointed.
“And tattooed,” Omar said, noting her heavily inked arms.
I remained silent. My stomach felt like it had collapsed on itself. I pressed my lips together and kept watching the tape.
“Are they arguing? They’re arguing, right?” Gabriel continued.
In the footage, Gloria gestured wildly with her hands. The young woman in front of her was also moving her hands, but with much less enthusiasm. Gloria shrugged and shook her head, stepping close to the other woman, who backed off. Then, the woman raised her middle finger and shoved it in Gloria’s face before walking off.
“Huh,” Gabriel said. “Someone else killed Gloria, then.”
The young woman walked toward the camera, passing under the lamp. Her face was illuminated for the entire two seconds she remained in the frame. Then, she was gone.
“There!” Omar cried out.
A second figure in a black hoodie emerged from the shadows, running in from the opposite direction. Gloria reacted with a surprised jump, but she didn’t have time to do anything else. The figure pointed what was obviously a gun at Gloria’s chest. A white flash briefly filled the screen. Although there was no audio, I heard the shot sound off in my head. Then, Gloria crumpled to the ground. The hooded figure tucked his gun back into his belt, grabbed Gloria by her wrists, and dragged her toward the dumpster. Her hat fell off and rolled away into the darkness.
“Jesus,” Gabriel said, straightening up. He exchanged a troubled glance with Omar.
Just then, the door opened behind us. Sarah poked her head in. “You guys might want to take off. The police just pulled up.”
“Great. Thank you,” Gabriel said. Before she could step back out, he stopped her. “You mind if we crash at your place tonight?”
“Sure,” Sarah said. It sounded like it wasn’t a big deal at all, as if she were used to Gabriel randomly asking to stay at her place. “Come with me. I’ll give you my spare key.”
Gabriel caught the strange look on my face and chuckled. “Don’t worry,” he said, misreading my emotions. “Sarah’s cool. No gang affiliations or anything. Probably the first normal person you’ve met since you got here.”
Back out on the floor, we waited patiently while Sarah ducked under the bar to get her keys. Two uniformed police officers entered the room, enduring jeers from the drunk and grinding crowd. The younger looking of the two met my eyes from across the room and walked up to me.
“Someone called the police. Was it you?” he asked, his voice dripping with authority.
“I did,” Sarah said, suddenly popping up from behind the bar.
“Take us to the body. And—” he waved a hand at the crowd behind him “—you might want to close early tonight.”
“I’ll let my boss know,” Sarah said. “Please follow me, officer.” She walked away from us, leaving a single key on the bar just where her hand had been a second ago.
“Smooth,” I said as Gabriel picked up the key.
He raised his eyebrows at me. “That’s Sarah for you.”
We were on our way out the door when the music stopped.
“Ladies and ladies, I’m sorry to say that we will be forced to shut down early tonight,” the DJ’s voice boomed through the speakers.
Chapter 5
Sarah lived in a sketchy apartment complex, but entering her actual apartment was a whole different experience. I smelled sandalwood and patchouli incense the moment Gabriel unlocked and opened the door. Instead of couches, she had benches carved from black wood. Her windows were draped with sheer sequined scarves the color of fire. A stone elephant stood sentry beside the door. I slipped off my shoes and left them at its feet.
“Pro tip: sleep on the floor,” Gabriel said as he dropped my backpack onto a bench. “Trust me.”
The living room had no television. I wandered toward a weathered old bookcase, its shelves straining under the weight of her many books. “Have you stayed here often?”
“A few times,” Gabriel said casually. “I’m always coming and going, so I don’t have a place of my own here. Sarah’s the coolest about letting people crash in her living room, but the no couch thing...” He gestured around the living room and laughed. “Yeah, I try to save this as a last resort.”
I lowered myself onto a bench. “So, what now?”
“Hm.” Gabriel sat down next to me.
I tried to position myself in a way that was comfortable and natural. My hands hung between my knees, still trembling from the night’s excitement. I couldn’t hide how jittery I was from Gabriel. His keen eyes picked up on that right away.
He shrugged deeply. “Well, I guess now we drink.”
“What?” I said.
“Stay here.”
Gabriel stood up and went around the corner into the kitchen, disappearing from view. He turned on the light and rummaged loudly through the cabinets. A minute later, he was back holding a bottle of whiskey.
“Won’t Sarah mind?”
“She won’t notice a nip or two gone out of the bottle.” He took a deep swig. “Wouldn’t want to leave dirty glasses around as evidence, would we?”
I stared warily at the bottle. I liked to have a beer or some fruity cocktail every now and then, but whiskey straight out of the bottle was just not me. But there was something about seeing Gabriel standing there, extending that bottle toward me like an open hand. Maybe it was the strange night I’d just had. My wad of cash from Tim Hawks was still in my pocket. Had that really been just a mere few hours ago? This didn’t feel like real life anymore.
“You’re right, I could really use a drink,” I said. “Give me that.”
Gabriel sat back down beside me, laughing, as I took my first swig. Whiskey pooled on the back of my tongue, delivering a full mouthful of heat. I coughed, and tears sprang to my eyes.
“It burns,” I croaked.
Gabriel laughed again, and in spite of myself, it felt good to hear him enjoying my company.
“You’re not trying to shoot cheap tequila for a quick buzz. Really explore the complex notes of this whiskey,” he said.
I passed the bottle back, skeptical. “Are you serious right now?”
“Nah. You just have to learn how to drink like a man,” Gabriel said. He took another deep swig and handed the bottle back to me, looking like it wasn’t any stronger than lemonade.
I smirked. “Girls can drink, too. Watch.”
After passing the bottle back and forth a few times, we’d put a noticeable dent in the whiskey reservoir. I had a good little buzz going and could tell Gabriel was, too. He broke away to check his phone, and that was when I realized that Sarah hadn’t come home yet.
“Was that her?” I asked hopefully.
“Yeah,” he said as he typed out a quick text. “She says the cops just left. She also got a chance to watch the footage and has an idea, or so she says. She’s on her way now.”
The little hairs on my arms rose. I suddenly remembered. “That girl in the video...the one who was talking to Gloria before that guy came to shoot her...”
“Yeah?”
I started playing with the hem of my shirt. I felt foolish for even thinking it, and I was afraid to admit my hunch, but...
“She looked a lot like Anna.”
Gabriel’s eyes focused on an area just over my right shoulder. “I mean, are you sure? The quality of the video wasn’t that great, and it was dark—”
“I know. But there was a second where she walked under the lamp. It could’ve been anyone, but I’
m just saying that she looked like Anna.” I chewed on my lip.
“You’re really freaked out about all of this, aren’t you?” Gabriel asked softly.
I nodded. “Kind of.” Then, I laughed. “It’s just...it’s just bananas! I just got here two days ago, thinking I’d bum it around town for a few days before taking off again. Then, I meet you, and Larry shows up at the motel, and some drug dealer I’ve never met who recognizes me in a random bar gets shot, and somehow Anna is involved—”
“Breathe,” Gabriel reminded me, taking my hands. “Here.”
Before I knew it, he’d wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me in for a hug. I sat stiffly against him before breaking down and hugging him back. The scent of his leather was comforting, reminding me of home. I closed my eyes and imagined the faces I’d left behind: Liam, Carmen, Aspen, and the rest of the brothers in the club. I tried to remember what had made me leave.
“You okay?” Gabriel asked softly. His hand pressed against the back of my head.
I rested my cheek against his shoulder, turning my face toward his neck, breathing slowly. “I’m fine.” My voice came out quieter than I’d intended.
Gabriel pulled away to see my face. He blinked lazily, probably from the whiskey. But there was a clarity within his eyes that I couldn’t explain, but I could’ve sworn I could feel his gaze on my skin. I felt vulnerable all of a sudden. I wanted to look away but found that I simply couldn’t.
What’s happening to me? My heart was beating so hard that I was afraid Gabriel could feel my pulse pounding in my skin against his hands. My limbs were frozen in place. My body was waiting for him to make the next move.
Then, we heard it. A key scraped in the lock of the front door and turned. We jumped apart as if we’d been electrified. I watched as the door opened and Sarah entered the living room. Her soft face looked confused as she passed her attention between the two of us sitting on the bench.
“Goddamn it, Gabriel,” she said, dropping her keys on the coffee table. “You raided my liquor cabinet again, didn’t you?”
* * *
Gabriel and I sat at Sarah’s kitchen table while we waited for her to change. Caught between the bright fluorescent light and beige linoleum floor, I felt like I’d just woken up from a dream. Gabriel had his chin propped in his left hand, while his right tapped a steady rhythm on the surface of the table barely inches from my own.
Wild Child: A Skull Kings MC Novella Page 3
