Professor X

by Kiki Leach

  X turned to Pugh and glowered. "Why didn't the Kings come to your ass first?"

  "They didn't know about my connection to Wexley until the coke," he said.

  "And they used that shit to keep you quiet, yeah? In order for you to keep your job and help get me fucked. Jesus."

  "We're still waitin' to hear how this motherfucker's 2% somehow became Mariah's," said Cheddar. "We ain't got all goddamn night."

  "After Rocka was killed," said Gabi, "T started to realize that he needed the actual contracts for the Kings 49% and 2% he claimed Rocka had promised to him. He knew that he couldn't send anymore of his members to ACE'S without the Devils poking holes and sent Pugh to look for the papers once doors were closed for the night. But your club found the 49% first."

  "We didn't find that 2%... This asshole here found 'em?"

  She nodded. "Rocka stuffed them inside a loose floorboard beneath his desk."

  Scooter rattled his head. "Did those papers have Mariah's name on 'em instead of T-Bone?"

  "No," she replied. "The 2% was going back to ACE'S before we changed it--"

  "YOU changed it?" hollered Cheddar. "GodDAMN -- On what fuckin' authority?!"

  "My own," she replied. "T-Bone knew what those papers said which was why he wanted them so badly -- He needed to have that 2% put in his name before the Devils found out and reclaimed majority ownership. He was testing you with the lie that his name was on them -- he needed to know if one of you would call his bluff in order to keep searching. We kept them for leverage after Pugh found them in case something turned left. That happened after Mariah killed T, and Flex went on a rampage needing to know the truth."

  "Where are the papers now?" asked X.

  "Inside a safe behind a wall at my house back in Edmond," said Pugh. "Gabi said the contracts needed to be rewritten with Mariah inheriting the 2% over your club because the Devils would protect her in the fall-out from T-Bone... a fallout that could've sent members of your club to prison, which would lead to that 2% being reverted back to Rocka and eventually the Kings with the right help."

  "Why the fuck is that?" asked Cheddar.

  "Because all members needed to sign an affidavit that they would remain on the outside for two years in order to officially obtain that 2%. Rocka wasn't certain you could keep the promise."

  "Yeah, just another way to try fuckin' us over." Xavier sneered. "How'd you get this shit done without attorney's bein' involved?"

  He cleared his throat. "I've known Rocka's attorney for years; she used to be a student."

  Scooter made a face. "What kinda student?"

  He remained quiet and looked aside.

  "Jesus. Christ." Xavier fell away from him and turned to Cheddar, wagging his head. "Rocka's attorney is his goddamn, teeny-boppin' baby mama from way back when; bitch moved back here all grown the fuck up, yeah? How goddamn convenient as fuck."

  "It was a coincidence," he replied.

  "Bullshit." Cheddar snickered. "Ain't nothin' a coincidence with any of this shit."

  "She was helpful in moving everything along as quickly as needed. Those papers were signed the day after your club was put on lockdown."

  "They were fuckin' forged."

  "It no longer matters when previous parties are now dead," replied Pugh.

  "That part of why you took off?" Scooter bent his head and arched his brow, eyeing Gabi as she nodded.

  Xavier removed his finger from the trigger and looked at the clothes scattered across floor. "We're gonna need the keys to your place in order to get those contracts."

  "I don't have them," he replied. "They've been with Flex since he put us in here."

  "SHIT!" Cheddar stepped forward. "Then it's possible that asshole has gone to your place and found those goddamn contracts for himself?"

  "They're behind a plastered wall--"

  "As if that motherfucker wouldn't hesitate to put his foot through every goddamn wall inside your fuckin' house to find what he needs? Jesus -- Let's end this shit already. We got the info we needed, we gotta get the fuck outta here and back to the club."

  Pugh flipped onto his stomach and threw his hands beneath another pillow, gripping the base of a pistol and lifting it from the bed. He turned to Gabi and pointed as the brothers jumped back in shock.

  "Jesus, what the fuck," muttered X.

  "Sorry, baby girl." Pugh stood up as his finger rattled near the trigger. "It's either gonna be you or me this time and I'm not going out like this."

  "No, motherfucker, but your ass is goin' the fuck out." Scooter snapped his silencer onto the end of his glock and shot once, cracking a bullet into Pugh's chest that nicked his heart. As he choked on blood and collapsed into the pool pouring from his chest, Gabi fell into Scooter's unwelcome arms and sobbed.

  "I'm so sorry," she muttered. "I never meant..."

  He wrapped his hands around her shoulders and gently pushed her away from himself, revulsion rolling through him as she stared into his face with sorrow. "I ain't takin' you out in the same way as this asshole and neither are they."

  Cheddar groaned. "Jesus--"

  "But I'm gonna need you to get the fuck outta town as soon as possible; take whatever cash you've got left in pocket and run; let me know where the fuck you are when you get there and I'll send you more as needed 'til you're settled. But leave Oklahoma for good, darlin'. And don't ever come back here after this shit or the Devils are gonna swing through for another round to take you out for good."

  She quickly bobbed her head and wiped the tears from her face. "Okay... Scooter?" She pressed her mouth against his lips, but pulled back as he clinched his jaw, rejecting her taste. "I'll do what you want... keep my mouth shut and go."

  "What about the ringleader peddlin' shit to other students," said Cheddar. "We're gonna need that pussy-dick's name in all this shit too."

  "You just killed him," she replied.

  The brothers eyed each other with uncertainty before bolting from the room and scrambling back to the truck.

  As they hopped inside, Cheddar yanked his cell from a back pocket and flipped it open. "If that asshole's the goddamn ringleader like she says, shit means we can't snap anybody else out there without puttin' a bullet to our own goddamn heads. Just gotta get the coke back now and silence those other fucks to be done with this shit. Lem'me call Prez and let him know what happened to save some time on the way back and prepare for what might come next while we're out here."

  Xavier slammed his door and jammed his keys into the ignition without response.

  "Keep the shit with Gabi off his radar for now," blurted Scooter.

  Cheddar glanced at him as his face twisted with anger. "What the fuck are you sayin', asshole?"

  "She ain't gonna cause anymore problems for the club, upfront or behind the goddamn scenes. Her shit's done now -- she's leavin'."

  "Maybe we should make sure of that shit," Cheddar replied.

  "We need to get back to the compound." X turned to Scooter and peered. "You sure you did the right thing where she's concerned?" he asked.

  "No fuckin' clue. But I couldn't send her out like that, X. She was fire pussy, but I started carin' about her beyond that shit; thought she was feelin' the same."

  "She seemed to be feelin' that shit," he replied. "But the green became more important; her need for it mattered more than you and this club."

  "A fuck of alot more," said Cheddar. "Maybe you need to start lookin' elsewhere for pussy. Maybe outside of this goddamn club."

  "Yeah, brother, maybe."

  Xavier looked between them and started his truck, backed out of the bushes and sped into the street.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Xavier

  Within hours, they had returned to a subdued compound.

  After parking near the garage and climbing out of the truck, X, Cheddar and Scooter met with Tractor in front of the club.

  He straightened his back and pulled his feet onto the bench while sitting atop the picnic table and took a hit from
his joint, flicking ashes onto the ground. "Seemed like it took longer to get back than it took to actually get your asses down there, yeah?" He scanned each of their faces and sighed. "You told Prez that nobody saw you bolt from the room."

  Cheddar jerked his hoodie and wagged his head. "Nobody saw shit," he replied.

  "Did you make fuckin' sure? Last thing this club needs right now is another fuck up that starts makin' its way through town." He turned to Scooter, studying the lack of expression on his face, and narrowed his gaze. "How far you think your bitch is gonna get from this shit before she decides to run her mouth again?" He paused as Scooter looked away from him and winced. "This asshole didn't have to say shit about her one way or another for me to know you didn't have enough balls to put her down next to that other prick. She fucked us over and her pussy was more important than this goddamn club."

  "That shit ain't it, VP." He shook his head and rolled his bottom lip beneath his teeth. "Since I been a goddamn kid, we lived off the motto that women and children were off fuckin' limits when it came to puttin' a motherfucker down for what they've done to this club."

  "You think that bitch still counts as either at this point? She was poppin' that used up pussy between clubs for green -- willin' to get us fuckin' killed in order to keep her shit inside a goddamn vault 'til she had no fuckin' choice but to detach the lock. Tellin' you some shit about not wantin' you hurt -- bullshit. She had you in that back room to get one last good fuck before takin' off for good."

  Scooter wiped his hands across his face as his skin began to color, and sniffed. "I can't deal with anymore of this shit tonight."

  "You're gonna have to fuckin' deal with it soon enough. 'Cause at this point, motherfucker, your ass can't be trusted anymore like the rest. Holdin' back on what you knew with this bitch, lettin' her run the fuck off with the info she's got... We ain't even sure if the shit her and Pugh said about Mariah bein' the true owner of Rocka's 2% is a goddamn fact 'til we have the official papers in hand. As of right now, everything is at the motherfuckin' mercy of a liar that you fucked raw. Better hope between givin' it away to that bald prick and whatever the hell she was shootin' inside her arm out there don't result in some kid with arms comin' outta its fuckin' head."

  "What are you tryin' to say with all this shit, VP?" asked X.

  "I'm sayin' that once we get our coke back and these contracts settled with our own goddamn attorney makin' sure shit's official -- 'cause Pugh's baby mama can't be trusted for shit either, this club is gonna have do some serious cleanin'; the motherfuckin' table is gonna need to be rearranged and emptied."

  The brothers looked to each other as Scooter gulped.

  X continued. "You talk to Prez about this shit?"

  Tractor nodded. "Before he conked out with some pussy in chapel, yeah, I did. He agrees. This shit here..." He stopped and shook his head. "We can't have it again."

  "We won't," said Cheddar.

  "No, we fuckin' won't. And if nobody else is gonna make sure of that shit, I will." He climbed off the table and smoked more of his joint, then tossed what was left to the ground and blew out the smoke. "LapDog got another call from his prospect. Said that Flex is wantin' to move forward on some shit that could get 'em comin' out this way soon."

  "How the fuck soon is soon?" asked Xavier.

  "A few hours, maybe a day -- don't know all that just yet. But the asshole said we'll be gettin' a call for a possible meet up to handle a load of shit that's bound to turn ugly and bloody as fuck."

  "Where the fuck would he want us meetin' up that ain't out here or their compound?" asked Cheddar.

  "Could be ACE'S," Scooter mumbled. "Dependin' on if they know the truth about who that 2% actually belongs to now. And it's mutual ground off their radar."

  Xavier nodded. "If he don't suggest that place for some shit to go down, maybe we should do it first."

  Tractor soured. "What the fuck good would that do us as a club?"

  "Get 'em on our turf, we control the goddamn narrative with this shit. Any move they try makin', we'll already see it comin' 'fore it happens."

  Cheddar crossed his arms and wrapped his hand around the base of his chin. "Think he's right, VP. As it stands right now, we're outta options with anymore of this shit. We need to get these motherfuckers at their most vulnerable and just gut as many as we fuckin' can. End this shit, get our coke back and move forward."

  Tractor's eyes trailed the lot as a wave of questions poured through him; he gradually bobbed his head and locked his jaw. "You think Gabi wasn't full of shit in sayin' Pugh was the head of the goddamn snake out there?"

  "We can't be sure with that either," said Xavier, "but who else coulda been pushin' that shit with the students without bein' caught on sight? We knew that more than those pricks had to be involved for it to move through as smoothly as its been. Not to mention, if Pugh was in fact the main source of distribution, it'll be easier to fuck with the Kings, keep the peddlers from pushin' more of their stash and reroute our connections back to the club."

  "And we can dump those backwoods, two-timin' assholes and get their people instead," said Cheddar. "Actual motherfuckers that don't get blinded by so much rank pussy that they're willin' to fuck us over for it." He glanced at Scooter before rolling his eyes into his head.

  "Let me think on this shit," Tractor replied. "Run it by Prez when he wakes up. You and this dumbass head inside and let me talk to X on some shit for a bit."

  As Cheddar and Scooter moved into the club, shifting between a few women dancing alone to low music purring from the juke box, Tractor's gaze drifted.

  Xavier folded his arms and groaned. "What the fuck is this shit about, VP?"

  "You and your girl," he said, his brow arching as he leaned his head. "The shit about Mariah earlier was meant to get your ass riled up enough to push Scooter on the shit I knew he'd been lyin' about for weeks now."

  "I know that shit. But there's also part of you that's pissed with what she did, why we're locked down because of it."

  "She knew not to take her ass back to Bartlesville, X--"

  "She fuckin' did it to help the club, asshole -- How many goddamn times does it need to be said?"

  "She did it to help you first. I know that's her goal -- it's always been her goddamn goal, but she needs to start pullin' the fuck back and only get her ass involved with shit when asked. This reckless shit is gonna end with her bein' more than fucked up if it keeps happenin' this way, you understand my ass?" Xavier remained quiet and swallowed hard. Tractor grinded his teeth and cleared his throat. "This bullshit of her now bein' the recipient of Rocka's 2%. Do you think it's legit?"

  "I don't fuckin' know--"

  "I ain't askin' for the answer you think I wanna hear, I'm askin' for the answer that you think is the goddamn truth. Do you think your girl ownin' some of our nightclub is legit?"

  Xavier stared into his eyes without blinking before rolling them toward the clubhouse and bobbing his head. "They had no reason to lie about that shit."

  "They had every reason to fuckin' lie if they thought it'd spare their lives by doin' what would be a favor to the 'nice one' of that bunch."

  "The shit didn't spare Pugh's life," he retorted.

  "That was Scooter wavin' his dick and bein' pissed that his girl was gettin' one last blow from a rank fuck. Listen, Big Tech and a few others were sent out to his place right before you three rolled back in here. If they find the shit, we'll know who owns what and who doesn't. If Flex and his crew got to it first, we'll know that shit too."

  "And if they did?"

  "We'll fuckin' handle it just like Prez always says."

  "And if we get those contracts back first, and they in fact have Mariah's name on 'em as the owner of that 2%, then what? You gonna try wrestlin' it away from her to get back into the club?"

  "If your girl owns 2%, motherfucker, then she owns 2%. Her choice of where we go from there if it's true."

  "And if we make it through this shit and she decides to kee
p it?"

  He grinned. "Then she decides to fuckin' keep it. But if she decides to keep that shit in her name, we need to make goddamn sure that her ass remains put this time. No more runnin' off for another three years 'cause she's pissed that you can't keep your cock still."

  "She ain't goin' anywhere else again, and my cock ain't gonna be inside anybody else but her from now 'til we're both in the goddamn ground."

  "Don't think too soon about a fuckin' ground 'til we get our shit back in full. And brother, when I say that her ass needs to remain put, I mean you need to make the shit permanent."

  He dropped his arms and stuffed his hands inside the pockets of his pants. "You of all people ain't the one I'd be suspectin' of tellin' me to wife a bitch."

  "I wouldn't be sayin' shit about it if it had nothin' to do with keepin' this club and our assets whole. If her name is truly on those 'new' contracts and she wants to keep the 2% for herself, fine. The money earned can help her stay in school like she wants without her havin' to be back on stage, and I got no problem with quality pussy pushin' for more of the same to take her place. But it's gonna have to come with the fuckin' price of bein' locked down for good. Understand this shit, brother, Mariah ain't gonna be just yours anymore if this shit pans out. Part of her is gonna belong to the club all over again. Not in the same way as before, but she'll retain that Devils' mark; shit's gonna be more than just a goddamn tat on her back."

  "Hey." Xavier turned back to the clubhouse as Mariah stood in the doorway and rested her head against the frame. A wide smile parted her lips as she eyed him with a fullness of love that nearly pummeled her heart. "Did you just get back?" she called.